Kate Bennett wrote: > > ...one of her other major influences/inspiration is pj > harvey...this is someone i have been meaning to but not yet listened to > yet...so, where should i start? at the beginning?
I suggest starting with her most recent one, "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea." I'd read a long gushing magazine review of this cd when it came out, and that plus the title being so similar to Joni's first recording... I was curious enough to get it, and was smitten by her immediately. Soundwise she reminds me most of Patti Smith, but PJ's lyrics are more sophisticated and clever. With that "Stories..." title I expected there would be some Joni influence, but I don't hear it. She does remind me of Joni, though, in her fierceness. There's a sense of integrity and taking a chance with her work that's similar to Joni's "I seek the truth and don't flinch when I find it" attitude. I like "Stories" a lot, especially when I can play it loudly. My favorite PJ Harvey cd is from 1998, "Is this Desire?" Most of it is very intimate and sexy, especially through headphones, and some of the songs are the "have to play it over and over again" kind. I would stay away from "Rid of Me" unless you become a PJ Harvey completist. That cd is adventurous, primal, screechy and very hard to listen to. It's an ouch on many levels. Has your niece listened to much of Patti Smith? What PJ Harvey has she recommended you start with? Debra Shea
