Worst PJ Album?

[Blackie]

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[elsinore]

Oh, and elsinore - Passionless, Pointless and Cracks in the Canvas are some of the standout tracks on AWAMWB as far as I'm concerned. Which tracks on the album do you find to be the strongest?

I think Pig will not is one of the very best tracks she has done in the years 2000 (my opinion is basically that the 2000s were a tough time for her music, especially for someone who had realised continuous masterpieces in the 90s).
I also think A woman a man... and 16, 15, 14 are standouts on this record. Then, Black hearted love, The chair and The soldier. The other ones are not my think, and the last two REALLY not

[Me and my Marshall]

AWAMWB (sharing credits)
White Chalk (PJ album)

In the other hand, I like very much UHH and am finding out that is considered the worst among many Gardeners. I use to love also 2004 B-Sides, maybe caused by the mood I was living around 2004 era...

[kristianwinther]

I must admit I dislike the Rid Of Me album very much.

My favourite album would be the new one, "Let England Shake" - although i think it sucks that she has removed the "Istanbul (Not Constantinoble)" sampling on the title song.

My second best-liked album is "White Chalk"...

Guess music taste is different for all of us hehe

[somme]

4-track Demo's or Rid of Me.

[soulfadelic]

Among my friends there are two clearly defined PJ camps. People who like balls to the wall rock (me included) and appreciate the lo-fi beauty of 4-Track demos, and those who like more whispy introspective stuff and played White Chalk to death.

[Amanda_ataxia]

The one I don't listen too often is 'Dry' because of its quality, sounds too low.
I believe that all albums carry their concepts really well, I don't necessarily think there is 'the' worst PJ album. I love UHH, some songs are kinda funny, and others are so beautiful like "the desperate kingdom of love", "it's you", "the darker days of me & him". Stories is outsanding.

[dickie]

Among my friends there are two clearly defined PJ camps. People who like balls to the wall rock (me included) and appreciate the lo-fi beauty of 4-Track demos, and those who like more whispy introspective stuff and played White Chalk to death.

I agree, my favourite work is Dry and Rid of Me (the moment where Rid of me kicks in still gives me goose bumps 18 years after hearing it for the first time.)

And i'd go as far to say that White Chalk is awful, considering what came before.I think i've listened to it about twice all the way through. Some of the songs are beautiful (the lyrics to the title track move me a great deal)but the piano and high pitched voice spoil them. Her voice sounds forced and out of character.

As for Stories, i think it's a great album, couldn't care less if it was "too commercial".I love some pop music.It's how much it moves me that matters, not how many units it shifts.

I've got a feeling i'm going to be disappointed by Let England Shake from what i've heard so far. A couple of the songs sound promising(last living rose amongst them) but on the whole not as goose bump inducing as some of her previous work. The jury is still out.

For my personal taste there are several other artistes about currently producing better and more stimulating material.

[soulfadelic]

I don't know if I'd consider WC awful, but I find myself unable to appreciate the songs on there unless I listen to the entire album as a whole (apart from the title track, which stands on its own). I'm not sure if that's a quality issue or not. You can listen to songs individually from all of her other albums and they still retain their power. Let England Shake is far more accessible on first listen. I can't wait to hear it live. Production-wise it leaves some things to be desired. I understand Polly feels comfortable working with her usual cast of musicians and Flood, but it'd be nice if she thought about changing her band like she used to in the past. There's a whole list of players in my head I could see her connecting with - Steven R. Smith comes to mind. He sculpts the most amazing guitar pieces, and she listed his EP "The Death of Last Year's Man" as one of her favorite records from 2000. It definitely would vibe with the kind of writing she's into at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFsgLw6MUVk.

[50 Ft JJ]

Uh Huh Her

[astroboy64]

Dry and Rid of Me, not for their lack of song quality, but for the production quality. I much prefer Dry Demonstration and 4-Track Demos as alternate listening experiences. I'd love to see Dry remastered to bring a bit more punch to the songs, and Rid Of Me...screw Albini and bring up the vocals.

[sweetforthesoul]

I don't like the collaboration albums with Parish...

But if we're just talking about PJ I have to say UHH.. With exceptions ofc! Many of the songs that got me into PJ is from UHH so I can't say that I dislike it :P

[zeez]

Worst PJ Album? - None, also my least favorite PJ Album is still "Is this Desire?" - but compared to what other Artists release - i think it's gold!
I always skip the sky lit up, the wind and Catherine - not bad Songs at all but i just don't need to hear it - on the other Hand i absolutely love Angelene, Leah and No Girl so sweet - and going with that i really didn't like her hairstyle in this Period - just don't like this short fringe -no no no no no ...............

[Lara]

I don't understand why Stories gets such a bad press. Agree it is more commercial compared to her other albums, but does it deserve such criticism? If it wasn't was Stories, I probably wouldn't have got into PJ in the first place. And for that reason it will always remain my favourite album.

And I can't understand how anyone can laugh at Passionless, Pointless and the Chair. They convey a lot of emotion. Laughing isn't one of them. Agree with whoever made the point about different tracks sounding better live than in the studio. Wasn't keen on AWAMWB when I heard the album. But absolutely fell in love with it once saw her perform it live at the SBE.

Surely the point about Polly (as she continually tells us) is that she works hard to try new sounds and make every album different?

Personally there isn't a worst PJ album. But if you asked me which album I listen to least it's White Chalk. But I love tracks on there as well.

[Pocket Knife]

I don't understand why Stories gets such a bad press.

But does it, even? It's got very good reviews overall, in fact they were so good I think a lot of fans find it undeserved not because it's bad, but because she's got other work that is perceived to be more challenging than that. I think the reason why it gets judged unfavorably by fans is because the standard set by her other albums is too high, so it's said to be worse, not necessarily bad. Surely there are people who'll claim it is really bad, but we get those for every album and I'd say they're in a minority. It seems to me people overreact to how criticized it really is.

Personally, it's one of my least favorites, but I still like it a lot, and I got into PJ in the Stories era myself. It is a great introduction to new listeners, probably the best album for that purpose (along with maybe TBYML).