''Rid of Me'' is the second
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by English singer-songwriter and musician
PJ Harvey. It was released by
Island Records in May 1993, approximately one year after the release of her critically acclaimed debut album ''
Dry''. It marked a departure from Harvey's previous songwriting, being more raw and aggressive than its predecessor.
The songs on ''Rid of Me'' were performed by Harvey's
eponymous
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
trio, consisting of Harvey on guitar and vocals,
Rob Ellis on drums and background vocals, and Steve Vaughan on bass. Most of the songs on the album were recorded by
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
, and it was the last album they recorded as a trio before disbanding in late 1993. ''Rid of Me'' was met with critical acclaim, and is cited as one of the greatest albums of all time, ranking at number 153 on the 2020 version of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s
500 Greatest Albums of All Time (up from 406 on the list's previous edition).
Background and history
Harvey's first two albums were recorded in quick succession and their histories intertwine. In October 1991, she released her debut single "
Dress
A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that co ...
". She signed with
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
record label
Too Pure
Too Pure was a London-based independent record label formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox. The label gained prominence after the release of PJ Harvey's debut album '' Dry'' in 1992, and subsequently found further success in the lat ...
and relocated to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with her bandmates. Almost immediately after the single's release, she began to receive serious positive attention from music critics in both the UK and United States. This led to several major record labels vying to sign her. Harvey was initially reluctant to sign to a major label fearing she might lose artistic control of her music, but eventually decided to sign with
Island Records in February 1992. A month later, Too Pure released her debut album ''
Dry'', containing both "Dress" and "
Sheela-Na-Gig", her second single. Island would later distribute ''Dry'' under its Indigo imprint.
The band toured extensively in the UK and US to support ''Dry''. Harvey turned down an offer to play the
Lollapalooza festival in the summer of 1992, but did play the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
that August. By this time, non-stop touring had begun to take its toll on Harvey's health. She suffered from what has been described as a
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, brought on by a number of factors including exhaustion, poor eating habits, and the break-up of a relationship.
Making matters worse,
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...
, where she had been accepted for study, refused to hold her place for her any longer.
She left her London apartment and retreated to her native
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
. While recuperating in October 1992, she worked on the songs that would appear on ''Rid of Me''.
Music and lyrics
Structurally, Harvey continued to complicate her songwriting by utilising "strangely skewed time signatures and twisty song structures",
[Sandall, Robert, "Just Like A Woman", The Sunday Times (London), Features section, 2 May 1993] resulting in songs that "tilt toward performance art".
The album's lyrics have been widely interpreted as being
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
in nature. Harvey, however, repeatedly denied a feminist agenda in her songwriting, stating "I don’t even think of myself as being female half the time. When I’m writing songs I never write with gender in mind. I write about people’s relationships to each other. I’m fascinated with things that might be considered repulsive or embarrassing. I like feeling unsettled, unsure."
Some of the lyrics were inspired by her personal experiences. The title track, for instance, was admittedly influenced by one of Harvey's relationships coming to an end. When told by an interviewer that "Rid of Me" sounded psychotic, she replied that she wrote the song "at my illest" and added "I was almost psychotic" at the time.
But, she made it clear that not all of the lyrics were to be read autobiographically, saying "I would have to be 40 and very worn out to have lived through everything I write about".
The album also includes a cover of the Bob Dylan song "
Highway 61 Revisited
''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on ever ...
". Harvey's mother and father, both Dylan fans, suggested she record the track.
Recording
In the late fall of 1992 the trio embarked on a short US tour. When the tour concluded in December they stayed in America to record their new album at the secluded
Pachyderm Recording Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Harvey chose Chicago musician and sound engineer
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
to record the album. Harvey had admired Albini's distinctively raw recordings of bands like
Pixies
A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
,
Slint
Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...
,
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...
and
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with ...
.
The recording session took place over a two-week period, but according to Harvey the bulk of the recording was done in three days.
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Most of the songs were played live in the studio. Harvey spoke highly of Albini's recording, stating, "He's the only person I know that can record a drum kit and it sounds like you're standing in front of a drum kit. It doesn't sound like it's gone through a recording process or it's coming out of speakers. You can feel the sound he records, and that is why I wanted to work with him, 'cause all I ever wanted is for us to be recorded and to sound like we do when we're playing together in a room".
She also gave insight into his recording methods, saying "The way that some people think of producing is to sort of help you to arrange or contributing or playing instruments, he does none of that. He just sets up his microphones in a completely different way from which I've ever seen anyone set up mics before, and that was astonishing. He'd have them on the floor, on the walls, on the windows, on the ceiling, twenty feet away from where you were sitting... He's very good at getting the right atmosphere to get the best take."
The song "Man Size Sextet" was not recorded by Albini. It was instead produced by Harvey, Rob Ellis, and Head.
Artwork
The cover of the album depicts Harvey topless and swinging her drenched hair into the air. The photo was captured by Harvey's friend and photographer
Maria Mochnacz
Maria Mochnacz is a British photographer and music video director, best known for her collaborations with PJ Harvey.
Life
Mochnacz holds a degree in fine arts. She also attended a photography course in Weston-super-Mare. Notably, she does n ...
, and was taken in Mochnacz's bathroom in her flat in Bristol. Due to the small size of the room, she had to place her camera against the wall opposite Harvey and could not look through the camera's viewfinder. The photo was taken in total darkness and only illuminated by the split-second flash.
When the photo was delivered to Island Records, Mochnacz was told that the imperfections in the picture (such as the water drops on the wall and the house plant) could be removed. She protested this decision, responding, "It’s supposed to be like that – It’s part of the picture".
Release and reception
''Rid of Me'' was released on 4 May 1993, and was met with widespread critical acclaim. ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' raved that "No other British artist is so aggressively exploring the dark side of human nature, or its illogically black humour; no other British artist possesses the nerve, let alone the talent, to conjure up its soundtrack". Veteran UK broadcaster
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
, a supporter of Harvey since the beginning of her career, added "You're initially so taken aback by what you're hearing. But you go back again and again and it implants itself on your consciousness." The ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' called Harvey "A talent and a singular voice that demands to be heard." Evelyn McDonnell of ''
Spin'' wrote that Harvey made it a point to "confound expectations and stereotypes". The album also drew attention from more established musicians.
Elvis Costello, for example, commented that a lot of Harvey's songs "seem to be about blood and fucking", a statement Harvey disagreed with.
Steve Albini's production of the record proved controversial. Critics were divided over whether his recording complemented Harvey's voice or buried it. On the positive side, it was written that "Albini deftly balances heavy feedback and distortion with unexpected quiet breaks, making this release more musically diverse- and ultimately more satisfying- than PJ Harvey's debut." But others considered the recording too harsh, saying "Steve Albini's deliberately crude production leaves everything minimal and rough, as if the whole album were recorded in somebody's basement, with the drums set up in a bathroom to clatter as chaotically as possible." Another review called it simply "a trial to endure". Critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
tried to reconcile Albini's production with Harvey's songs. He admitted the album has a "bloodless, abrasive edge" that leaves "absolutely no subtleties in the music", but theorises that Albini's recordings "may be the aural embodiment of the tortured lyrics, and therefore a supremely effective piece of performance art, but it also makes ''Rid of Me'' a difficult record to meet halfway."
Harvey herself was pleased with the result. "I do everything for myself primarily," she said, "and I was happy with it. I don’t really listen when people say good things about my work because I tend to not give myself praise about anything. But I was really pleased with ''Rid of Me''. For that period of my life, it was perfect. Well, it wasn’t perfect but as near to as I could get at that time".
She remained friends with Albini afterward, finding in him a kindred spirit. "People read things in and make him what they want him to be," Harvey said. "He's the only other person I know that that happens to besides myself. People have a very specific idea of what I am- some kind of ax-wielding, man-eating Vampira- and I'm not that at all. I'm almost the complete opposite."
The album yielded two singles; "50 ft. Queenie" and "Man-Size". The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s for both songs were directed by Maria Mochnacz. "50 ft. Queenie" was named a buzzworthy video by
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in the Spring of 1993.
Tour
Harvey and her band toured in the spring and summer of 1993 to support ''Rid of Me''. The tour began in the UK in May and moved to America in June. Maria Mochnacz documented aspects of the tour, and her footage was used to create the long-form video ''Reeling with PJ Harvey'' (1994). Harvey's concert setlist drew from ''Dry'' and ''Rid of Me'', but also highlighted songs that did not appear on either of those recordings. For example, she regularly performed a cover of the
Willie Dixon song "
Wang Dang Doodle
"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records i ...
". One reviewer praised Harvey's version and called it "perhaps the definitive version of that song."
In August they finished the tour with a string of dates opening for
U2 during their
Zooropa
''Zooropa'' is the eighth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno, and the Edge, it was released on 5 July 1993 on Island Records. Inspired by the band's experiences on the Zoo TV Tour, ''Zooropa'' expanded on many o ...
tour. In the fall the trio started to disintegrate, first with the departure of Ellis and then Vaughan shortly afterward. By September Harvey was performing as a solo artist.
Accolades
''Rid of Me'' entered the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
at number three and quickly went silver, and enjoyed a top-30 hit in the single "50 ft. Queenie". In the US it generated major college-radio airplay and expanded her growing fan base. It also won considerable critical acclaim and featured in various top ten album-of-the-year lists in respectable press, like ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', ''
Spin'', ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'', ''Vox'' and ''Select''. ''Spin'' gave it a rare ten out of ten review rating. ''Rid of Me'' was shortlisted for the 1993
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
, but lost to
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...
. If anything its critical stature has grown over the years—''Rolling Stone'' selected it as one of the Essential Recordings of the 90s, and in 2005, ''Spin'' ranked it the ninth greatest album of 1985–2005
after it had ranked it only the 37th greatest album of the 90s after ''
To Bring You My Love'' at number 3.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 405 on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
;
the list's 2012 edition had it ranked 406th.
In 2011, ''
Slant Magazine'' ranked Rid of Me as the 25th greatest album of the 90s. In 2014, the album placed tenth on the Alternative Nation site's "Top 10 Underrated 90’s Alternative Rock Albums" list. The title track was ranked #194 on the 2021 version of
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Track listing
Personnel
All personnel credits adapted from ''Rid of Me''s liner notes.
PJ Harvey Trio
*
PJ Harvey – vocals, guitar,
organ, cello, violin,
producer (6)
*Steve Vaughan – bass
*
Rob Ellis – drums,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, backing vocals, arrangement, producer
(6)
Technical
*
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
– producer,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
mixing
*Head – producer, engineer
(6)
*
John Loder –
mastering
Design
*
Maria Mochnacz
Maria Mochnacz is a British photographer and music video director, best known for her collaborations with PJ Harvey.
Life
Mochnacz holds a degree in fine arts. She also attended a photography course in Weston-super-Mare. Notably, she does n ...
– photography
Charts
Singles
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rid of Me
1993 albums
PJ Harvey albums
Albums produced by Steve Albini
Island Records albums