B-SIDES, DEMOS & RARITIES (2022) 6-disc VINYL BOX

[Sebastiano Boina]

Yep all 50+ tracks( i believe that's the right number, can't remember right now) have been released on youtube:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5 ... ldv5NVnUyo

But, since here is currently 02:30 AM, i'm tired as hell( i fell asleep like an idiot on the couch ) and i have to go to work tomorrow, i'll postpone writing my thoughts. Good night.

[BobSimms]

59! I don’t think I’ll make it to midnight here, have to get up early to catch a train, but at least I have something to keep me occupied on my trip!

[bruise]

Listening now to the unreleased demos so far and loving every bit of it!

Spoiler! :

The demos for Highway 61 and Me-Jane remind me more of the Dry demos than the 4-Track Demos, soundwise. On Me-Jane there are a couple of verses I can't really figure out (don't load it on me? good lord he's in me??).

Oh man, the remastered version of Why D'Ya Go To Cleveland is a masterpiece

Skipping on to Instrumental #1, well nothing much going on. Seems like she had just discovered a digital pedal and was playing around with some effects.

The demo for Cat On The Wall is basically the official version minus the proper drum part, though there is a drum machine beat carrying the song. Still don't get why it wasn't included in the Uh Huh Her demos. Instead, You Come Through... I totally get why let's say.
The demos of Uh Huh Her and Evol are SPECTACULAR!! Low, dirty, aggressive... So glad to get to hear them!

Moving on to the Hope Six demos, love them all as well. Guilty is sonically pretty much the same as the Hope Six demos, there are some additional verses and voices unheard in the version on the documentary. I'll Be Waiting is instead completely different, quite a nice surprise.
Homo Sappy Blues... MY GOD I LOVE THIS ONE

[uroboros]

So, the majority of these songs are “performed by pj harvey”. Credits for other players are listed om the rest. The Stories b-sides are performed by pj and produced by her, rob ellis & mick harvey. So did she play all the instruments on Wicked tongue, 66, revolution and as close as this?

I am also heel-head-over for the first set of demos. Are these not the missing tracks from 4-track demos? Dry does sound like demonstration. The demos of man-size & me-jane were recorded in the latter half of ‘91 and missed and highway in ‘92. Those songs have that special grit to them that demonstration lacks in comparison with “4-track demos”. I mever knew i needed these songs so bad. Her vox on me-jane send me reelin’.

Anyhoo, what a joyous day

[lepetitlord]

Received the signed boxset today, it contains a signed lyrics sheet of "The Bay", i'm in awe of the quality of the boxset it's beautifully manufactured, the materials, shapes, printing/ink quality are truly next level, it's a fantastic object, i wished there was more pictures but it's real thing of beauty <3

there's no digital coupon tho... i mailed the shop to ask, don't want to pay again for the lossless files

[BobSimms]

There are some songs credited solely to “PJ Harvey” (as the performer) where it’s conceivable she could have played everything, but I know for sure something like “This Wicked Tongue” features Mick Harvey on bass and Rob on drums.

I love the demos for “Highway” and “Me Jane,” especially the former. Goodness! Right away I noticed she got her Telecaster to feedback like it does on those early solo performances of that song, from 92-93 (White Horse Tavern 1992; McGabes Guitar Shop ‘93, post-ROM tour). I’ve never been able to achieve that with my Telecaster, just not enough gain, especially not from the neck pickup like she used. What a treat that demo is— so wild.

Another thing, I really really wish the version of “30” here was the “Live from the Fallout Shelter” version with the full band and not the lifeless, slide-guitar demo. The difference between the two versions is like night and day. Glad I have the CD-ripped file of the full band version.

Overall very happy to have these all on my phone via Apple Music until I get the vinyl box, and I hope the availability will facilitate more people discovering hidden gems like “Angel”, “The Falling”, “Kick It To The Ground”, and that pair of sick UHH demo outtakes, “Evol” and the title track. Bad-ass!

In case anyone missed it, here’s what was posted in her Instagram story today:

Of the track 'Evol', Polly says,
"I wrote this in a hotel in LA on a tiny 4-track
and drum machine and a guitar I borrowed
from Moris Tepper along with one of his
fabulously strange guitar tunings. Thank you
Moris! My 2004 band and I enjoyed playing
this song a great deal but it never made it onto
a record.

[bruise]

[BobSimms]

Is there any difference whatsoever between the “You Come Through” demo included here and the one on Uh Huh Her? I’m not intimately familiar with the song.

A few other things I noticed: the first couple seconds of “Angel” are cut off here, where you could hear a couple seconds of tape hiss and then her finger sliding along a string, and on “Lying In the Song” there are 3 notes either coming from one of the strings instruments or her guitar feedback that are cut from the box set version. Anyone else notice differences? The mastering level is turned up on a lot of these, too— the “Man-Size” demo is noticeably louder and the mix may be slightly different (it was listed as a ‘previously unreleased’ version of the demo, so…).

Lastly, “Kick It To The Ground” in its unadulterated form here, doesn’t have the “stereo expander” effect on it that whoever ripped the vinyl added to it before disseminating it online years ago. Thankfully, it also doesn’t cut off the last few seconds of the track as that person’s rip did, for whatever reason.

[Sebastiano Boina]

Good God here i am, finally. Just quick thoughts on some of the tracks:

-"mansize" demo is perfect, simple yet complete enough to enjoy it, and it has such an intimate feeling to it, it almost sounds like PJ is singing next to you!. Mansize was the first ever PJ's song i listened to, so i got a bit emotional listening to this demo.

-"me-jane" demo is unique and listening to it is plain satisfactory.

-"why d'ya go to cleveland", good ol' rock and roll and perfectly mastered, it had justice, at last.

-"the northwood", such a dark and atmospheric track, but unfortunately it seems cut at the end, just like the old version you could find on the internet before. Better than nothing, though.

-"the faster i breathe the further i go" thank God this badass song made it, hoooray.

-"97°" is basically an alternative version of "cat on the wall", but it's so cool i'm glad it made it here.

-"guilty" demo was a bit underwelming, to be honest. The "complete" version rules.

-"homo sappy blues" good ol' blues, finally i can get my hands on it.


I'll cut it short now, i loved all of the songs and i'm satisfied. goodnight or day.

[erik7778910]

Loving this set so far. My only complaint would be the missing studio tracks: Guilty, Dance on the Mountain, A Dog Called Money etc. deserve to be here!

[AineteEkaterini]

“Kick It To The Ground” doesn’t cut off the last few seconds of the track as that person’s rip did, for whatever reason.

Listening back to the version I have, it also cuts off the very end; I recorded it from John Peel's show many years ago, so presumably I cut it off because there was speech or a trail-in to another track. Perhaps that's the explanation for the rip that's been available.

[Orange Monkey]

There is a review in Uncut which is quite an amusing read:
https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/p ... es-140906/

"The demo has a different flavour: the guitar still grinds like an argument conducted inside a cement mixer, but the vocal is brighter"
"has the urgency of a busk in a warzone"

[AineteEkaterini]

That's good fun, thank you. 'Brechtian oompah'!

[BobSimms]

I loathe that review. Albini didn’t do anything. The band arranged the songs and Polly played and sang how she wanted to. Why attribute arrangement and playing decisions to him? The writer also notably skips over so many of the interesting B-sides in the middle of the set and spends an inordinate amount of time talking about “Red Right Hand.” I’m glad he liked the set overall, though, I guess?

[Sebastiano Boina]

Hello, while listening to the first CD i'm always left wondering what kind of instrument plays in "darling be there"; is that a hurdy gurdy of some sort?