PJ Harvey-Is This Desire? (1998)


Artist: PJ Harvey

Title:  Is This Desire?

Label: Island

Format: CD

Cat #: 314 524 563-2

Year of Release: 1998

Country and Year of Edition Issue:US 1998

Listed Condition: VG+/VG+

Sell Date: 5/31/21

Sell Price: $2.99

Discogs Last Sold: 2/11/21

Low: $1.99

Median: $2.37

Average: $3.10

High: $8.99

Current low price: $0.74

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 25

Have/Want: 950/68

Where Sold: Jacksonville, FL

Time it took to sell: 8 years

Where and When Bought: internet late 90's

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A-

Sad To See It Go: No

PJ Harvey had a run of great albums in a varied catalog, certainly in contention in my view for best "serious" songwriter of the past quarter century or so.

This particular album I always looked at subliminally as a "lesser-major" work compared with Rid Of Me, Songs From The City, Songs From The Sea and To Bring You My Love.  Those records I felt we great start to finish, track for track.  The one is a bit weird, perhaps Flood's electronica production made it less listenable for me than the others.  The other odd thing is it opens up with my absolute favorite PJ Harvey song "Angeline."

"Angeline" has that great quiet to loud soaring chorus I'm a sucker for, and it tweaks my brain like nothing else in her catalog except for maybe "Rid Of Me" except that isn't as pretty.

I had a "hot date" who was a PJ Harvey fan that I promised I take to this tours show at Hammerstein Ballroom on the midtown west side of Manhattan and of course it was a sold out CMJ show with the tickets split up floor and balcony.  It was a rare music taste commonality,  so I had to take advantage when I had my shot.   My station head at WFDU, Jerry Rubino, was able to get me a single free ticket, so I rolled the dice with the date confident in my ability not to get screwed over by a scalper and needing that specific ticket.  Lo and behold, the scalper FELT PITY on a monstrosity such as me that I had an attractive date and was trying to match my single ticket and hooked me up for $50 with a single matching ticket. The things my 28 year old self would go through!  Desire indeed.  The beast won one for the beauty that day.

One thing about the internet age is you can find the actual promotional videos that MTV would never show you even when she was hot stuff.  Perhaps a little too intellectual for prime time lamestream.  Until today I never knew "The Wind" or "Angelene" got video treatment although I knew "A Perfect Day Elise" was a single that never stuck in my craw.  The title track and "The Garden" are standouts for me on this couple listen go round. "Joy" also works up a nice little racket.

All these songs are good, as are everything PJ Harvey does.  This album is a good one to revisit and I know she has some other ones that I'd like to go back to as well, particularly the newer ones that never got cemented in my mind.  I think the nature of these tracks are that they require multiple listens to sink in where as other albums she's done were a bit more instant connections.  

Sometimes it works out that way.



  


 

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