B-Sides, Demos & Rarities

by PJ Harvey

Overview

Though the reissue campaign that presented PJ Harvey's albums with their demos was extensive, it still didn't gather everything in her archives. She fills in those gaps with B-Sides, Demos & Rarities, a comprehensive set of harder-to-find and previously unreleased material that covers three decades of music. Kicking off with a handful of previously unreleased demos, the collection celebrates what makes each track special within Harvey's chronology. Short but fully realized versions of "Dry" and "Man-Size" reaffirm that by the time she hits the record button, she knows exactly what she's doing; the guitar and voice sketches of "Missed" and "Highway 61 Revisited" are as formidable as the finished takes; and the demo of the B-side "Me Jane" (yes, that's how thorough this set is) offers one of the Rid of Me era's catchiest songs in an even rawer state. B-Sides, Demos & Rarities reinforces just how vital Harvey's non-album tracks are to her creative trajectory. The uncanny carnival oompah of "Daddy," a "Man-Size" B-side, feels like one of the earliest forays into the eeriness that gave an extra thrill to To Bring You My Love, White Chalk, and much of Harvey's later work. She continues Is This Desire?'s experimentation on "The Bay," which contrasts songwriting befitting a classic folk ballad with pulsing keyboards and jazzy rhythms, and continues to try to make sense of the world's chaos on Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea-era material spanning the whispery Saturn return of "30" to "This Wicked Tongue," an updated expression of biblical sin, desire, and torment that delivers one of the set's most quintessentially PJ Harvey moments. Fittingly for such an anachronistic-sounding album, White Chalk's B-sides reach back to Harvey's earliest days: "Wait" and "Heaven" date back to 1989 and deliver sprightly, strummy folk-pop that's almost unrecognizable as her work. The set's previously unreleased music contains just as many revelations. One of its most notable previously missing puzzle pieces is the demo of Uh Huh Her's title track. A shockingly pure expression of rage, jealousy, and sorrow, it may have been too raw and revealing even for a PJ Harvey album, but it's a shame that it and the like-minded "Evol" didn't make the cut. Conversely, "Why'd You Go to Cleveland," a 1996 collaboration between Harvey and John Parish, and the 2012 demo "Homo Sappy Blues" are downright playful, proving the complete picture of her music includes something akin to fun. Highlights from the collection's 2010s material include "An Acre of Land," a lush ballad rooted in the British folk traditions that are just as essential to her music as punk or the blues, and the 2019 cover of Nick Cave's "Red Right Hand," which pays homage to a kindred spirit while transforming the song into something more desolate and plaintive. A must-listen for anyone following Harvey's archival series, B-Sides, Demos & Rarities serves as a fascinating parallel primer to her music and the multitudes within it. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	11/04/2022
Label:	Island / Umc
UPC:	0602508511011
Rank:	77784

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Dry [Demo]
2. Man-Size [Demo]
3. Missed [Demo]
4. Highway 61 Revisited [Demo]
5. Me-Jane [Demo]
6. Daddy

Disc 2

7. Lying In The Sun
8. Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name
9. Darling Be There
10. Maniac
11. One Time Too Many
12. Harder
13. Naked Cousin
14. Losing Ground
15. Who Will Love Me Now
16. Why D'ya Go To Cleveland

Disc 3

17. Instrumental #1
18. The Northwood
19. The Bay
20. Sweeter Than Anything
21. Instrumental #3
22. The Faster I Breathe The Further I Go [Four-Track Version]
23. Nina In Ecstasy 2
24. Rebecca
25. Instrumental #2
26. This Wicked Tongue
27. Memphis
28. 30

Disc 4

29. 66 Promises
30. As Close As This Is
31. My Own Private Revolution
32. Kick It To The Ground [Four-Track Version]
33. The Falling
34. The Phone Song
35. Bows & Arrows
36. Angel
37. Stone

Disc 5

38. 97¿¿
39. Dance
40. Cat On The Wall [Demo]
41. You Come Through [Demo]
42. Uh Huh Her [Demo]
43. Evol [Demo]
44. Wait
45. Heaven
46. Liverpool Tide
47. The Big Guns Called Me Back Again
48. The Nightingale
49. Shaker Aamer

Disc 6

50. Guilty [Demo]
51. I'll Be Waiting [Demo]
52. Homo Sappy Blues [Demo]
53. The Age Of The Dollar [Demo]
54. The Camp
55. An Acre of Land
56. The Crowded Cell
57. The Sandman [Demo]
58. The Moth [Demo]
59. Red Right Hand

Album Credits

Performance Credits

PJ Harvey   Primary Artist,Harp,Cello,Drums,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Harmonium,Keyboards,Saxophone,Percussion,Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Eric Drew Feldman   Primary Artist,Vocals
John Parish   Primary Artist,Bass,Drums,Organ,Guitar,Vocals,Trombone,Keyboards,Percussion,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Electric)
Harry Escott   Primary Artist,Piano
Ramy Essam   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Ali Friend   Double Bass
Ted Barnes   Guitar
Joe Gore   Guitar
Flood   Guitar
Mick Harvey   Bass,Drums,Piano,Vocals,Harmonica,Drums (Bass)
James Lynch   Vocals
Sonia Slany   Violin
Emily van Evera   Vocals (Background)
Rob Ellis   Drums,Piano,Harmonium,Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer
Nick Bicat   Piano,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Catherine Marks   Vocals (Background)
Adam Bartlett   Piano
Jean-Marc Butty   Drums,Vocals
Robert Ellis   Drums,Keyboards

Technical Credits

PJ Harvey   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer,Recording,Musical Producer,Vocal Arrangement
Bob Dylan   Composer
John Dent   Mastering Engineer
Flood   Mixing,Arranger,Engineer,Producer
Cat Stevens   Photography
Victor Van Vugt   Mixing,Engineer
Rainer Ptacek   Composer
Nick Cave   Composer
Seamus Murphy   Photography
Mick Harvey   Composer,Producer
Tom Bailey   Producer,Programming
Adrian Bushby   Producer
John Parish   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Instrumentation,Mastering Consultant
Rob Ellis   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Instrumentation,Vocal Arrangement
Rob Kirwan   Engineer,Recording
Thomas Wydler   Composer
Nick Bicat   Composer,Producer,Instrumentation,Drum Programming
Head   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Claudio Fabi   Composer
Sumit Bothra   Executive Producer
Harold Stott   Composer
Rob Crane   Artwork
Jason Mitchell   Mixing,Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Maria Mochnacz   Artwork,Cover Photo,Photography
Catherine Marks   Mixing Assistant
Oliver Baldwin   Engineer,Recording
Giuseppe Cassia   Composer
Harry Escott   Composer
Lisa Power   Project Manager
Howard Bullivant   Recording
John Catlin   Mixing Assistant
Ramy Essam   Composer
Robert Ellis   Composer,Producer