Polly's Official Instagram Account

[BobSimms]

Good question, bruise. Has that “full size” (meaning uncropped) picture ever surfaced anywhere else before? If not, I would assume it means the vaults have been officially opened. I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen that full image.

There’s also this listing for a forthcoming vinyl on this German record store’s website, but it doesn’t look like it’s expanded and doesn’t give any information about it apart from price point:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail ... um/9882192

Edited to add: I see that the “Dry - Demos” photo is actually an entirely different, alternate image from the album’s back cover photo shoot and not merely an uncropped version of the photo on the back cover. I’m still wondering if anyone’s ever seen that exact image before. The only weird thing about that artwork is how unfinished it looks: “DRY - DEMOS”, like it’s just a provisional text. The collection of demos was called Dry Demonstration.

[BobSimms]

Something “very very special winging its way” to this show tomorrow, from 1-4pm (GMT+1) on the BBC. Mentioned on today’s show at roughly the 2h 56m 19s mark:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000jf1y

What could it be?

[bruise]

This was uploaded by the official account!
I guess if there's going to be a reissue, that will be the cover art.



And on Amazon you can purchase all the Dry Demos as mp3 (release date: July 24th), the same cover is there:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pj+harvey+dr ... nb_sb_noss

As much as I hope for a physical reissue, I wouldn't be surprised if that's going to be it, just mp3s.

The only weird thing about that artwork is how unfinished it looks: “DRY - DEMOS”, like it’s just a provisional text.

Well, the overall feeling is not too different from her last release's cover art, the All About Eve soundtrack...

[BobSimms]

Very exciting indeed. This confirms that her post last week of the cassettes was a clue of forthcoming releases. I just hope we do get to hear all those unreleased songs and alternate takes. (“Clothes”, “He’s Just My Type”, “Long Time Coming”...)

The vinyl will be 180g black discs, two separate releases for Dry and Dry—Demos.

http://ow.ly/WUs150zS3ti


https://www.bullmoose.com/p/34555026/pj ... lack-vinyl

I’m guessing it’ll be possible to pre-order from her website very soon, as well as other retailers internationally. Maybe starting tomorrow. In the meantime, Bull Moose is a legit U.S. shop.

[bruise]

Yes!! So the physical release is pretty much confirmed!!

[gaviinj]

Not to sound too thick here but wasn’t this released with the original pressings of Dry? I thought some came with a bonus disc called Dry-demonstration?

Hopefully with the post of the tapes of TBYML and ROM these could also be on the horizon. I’d love to hear the works in progress of ITD....

[Amnesiac]

It's not the right speed. Her voice seems too sharp. There is a transfer problem on the demo tapes

[BobSimms]

It's not the right speed. Her voice seems too sharp. There is a transfer problem on the demo tapes

No, it’s the correct speed. I compared the pitch on the song with the original release of the demos—the CD was uploaded to YouTube a year ago. You can compare the two Sheela demos, from the original 1992 Demonstration disc, to the new one released today. They are the same pitch, along with the full band version. I checked with my guitar, too, to try to detect any sharpness; there isn’t any. They’re all in the key of F, perfectly pitched, the way the song has always been. That goes for the demo, the album version, and all subsequent live versions.

What you’re hearing is the quality of her singing, which was very “young girl”-ish at the time. She just hadn’t developed her voice yet to what we hear on the finished album version. The pitch is exactly the same, however. This is one of the reasons why I could never prefer the demos for Dry over the finished album, as some people do.

[an tha]

Little bit more here:

https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/05/ ... s-catalog/

[Amnesiac]

I have a demos cassette with dry demos before the regular release it's not the same speed. I noticed the difference but what is the correct speed ? From the cassette her voice seems like the studio album.

[BobSimms]

I have a demos cassette with dry demos before the regular release it's not the same speed. I noticed the difference but what is the correct speed ? From the cassette her voice seems like the studio album.

It’s the correct speed if the chords on the verse are F and G#. That’s the simplest way to tell. That’s what they are on the Dry Demonstration disc, the Dry album itself, and this newly released demo, which is the same exact speed and pitch as the one on the Dry Demonstration disc. Can you play your cassette copy and compare it to those?

[AineteEkaterini]

What you’re hearing is the quality of her singing, which was very “young girl”-ish at the time

Can you believe - not being a completist in any way - I hadn't listened to any of this before now? I'm actually astonished by the difference in her voice between the demos and the album. I suppose these must have been recorded right at the start of 1991 and then her vocal style developed very quickly over the next few months. Quite amazing.

[BobSimms]

What you’re hearing is the quality of her singing, which was very “young girl”-ish at the time

Can you believe - not being a completist in any way - I hadn't listened to any of this before now? I'm actually astonished by the difference in her voice between the demos and the album. I suppose these must have been recorded right at the start of 1991 and then her vocal style developed very quickly over the next few months. Quite amazing.

I think they were actually done sometime in 1990 because there was a tape of them circulating (not widely at all) that year. See this link:

https://www.discogs.com/PJ-Harvey-PJ-Ha ... e/10841217

[BobSimms]

September ‘90, as this other cassette (featuring her handwriting) makes clear:

https://www.discogs.com/PJ-Harvey-Demos ... e/12393353

[AineteEkaterini]

Thanks, that makes sense.