Dry (album)

Dry
Studio album by PJ Harvey
Released	30 June 1992
Recorded	November–December 1991
Genre	Alternative rock, punk blues, indie rock, lo-fi music
Length	39:54 79:54 (Limited Edition)
Label	Too Pure/Indigo
Producer	Rob Ellis Polly Jean Harvey Vernon
PJ Harvey chronology
Dry (1992) Rid of Me (1993)

Dry is the debut album by PJ Harvey. It was recorded at the Icehouse, Yeovil, UK, and released in the UK on Too Pure (with the first 5000 LPs and first 1000 CDs including demo versions of the album's tracks), and subsequently on Indigo Records in the US. Both versions were released in 1992.

Background

Speaking to Filter magazine in 2004, Harvey said of her debut album: "Dry is the first chance I ever had to make a record and I thought it would be my last. So, I put everything I had into it. It was a very extreme record. It was a great joy for me to be able to make it. I never thought I'd have that opportunity, so I felt like I had to get everything on it as well as I possibly could, because it was probably my only chance. It felt very extreme for that reason."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(A+) [2]
NME	(9/10)[citation needed]
Robert Christgau	(A−) [3]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) [4]
Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

The album generated an overwhelmingly strong critical response. According to Variety, the album was “not so much stripped-down rock as it is flayed-alive rock”. MTV described it as "a dark, twisted, arresting work which sounds both rubbed red raw and invigorating", while the NME praised it as "a crossover point possessing natural songwriting and scorching guitar noise" in its 9/10 review. Around the time of the album’s release, Harvey attracted some controversy for posing topless, with her back to the camera and baring an unshaven armpit, on the cover of NME. Received as well in the States as the UK, the album prompted Rolling Stone magazine to name the then-22-year-old Harvey the year's Best Songwriter and Best New Female Singer. In spite of the acclaim, "Sheela-Na-Gig" was the only single to chart in the US, at #9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[6]

Accolades

In a 1993 critics' poll of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, NME ranked Dry at number 71, and in a similar poll conducted by Melody Maker in 2000, the album was placed at number 86. It was on Kurt Cobain's 50 greatest albums list. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All songs written by Harvey, unless otherwise noted.

1. "Oh My Lover" – 3:57
2. "O Stella" – 2:36
3. "Dress" – 3:16
4. "Victory" – 3:16
5. "Happy and Bleeding" – 4:50
6. "Sheela-Na-Gig" – 3:11
7. "Hair" – 3:45
8. "Joe" (Ellis, Harvey) – 2:33
9. "Plants and Rags" (Ellis, Harvey) – 4:07
10. "Fountain" – 3:52
11. "Water" – 4:32

Limited edition release

1. "Oh My Lover" – 4:02
2. "O Stella" – 2:30
3. "Dress" – 3:18
4. "Victory" – 3:15
5. "Happy and Bleeding" – 4:50
6. "Sheela-Na-Gig"– 3:10
7. "Hair" – 3:46
8. "Joe" – 2:33
9. "Plants and Rags" – 4:09
10. "Fountain" – 3:54
11. "Water" – 4:35
12. "Oh My Lover (Demo)" – 2:30
13. "O Stella (Demo)" – 3:16
14. "Dress (Demo)" – 3:16
15. "Victory (Demo)" – 4:19
16. "Happy and Bleeding (Demo)" – 4:44
17. "Sheela-Na-Gig (Demo)" – 3:15
18. "Hair (Demo)" – 3:37
19. "Joe (Demo)" – 3:16
20. "Plants and Rags (Demo)" – 3:32
21. "Fountain (Demo)" – 3:05
22. "Water (Demo)" – 4:32

Singles and promo videos

1. "Dress" (two versions)
2. "Sheela-Na-Gig"

Personnel

• PJ Harvey - guitar, violin, vocals, producer
• Robert Ellis - drums, harmonium, vocals, producer, mixing
• Steve Vaughan - bass
• Ben Groenevelt - bass, double bass
• Ian Olliver - bass
• Mike Paine - guitar
• Chas Dickie - cello
• Vernon - producer

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1992	UK Albums Chart	11

As of 2005, "Dry" had sold 176,000 copies in the US.^[7]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1992	"Sheela-Na-Gig"	Modern Rock Tracks	9 [6]
1992 (Feb)	"Sheela-Na-Gig"	UK Singles Chart	69

References

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Dry (album) at Allmusic. Retrieved 27 June 2004.
2. ^ Wyman, Bill (October 2, 1992). "Dry P.J. Harvey > Album Review". Entertainment Weekly (138). http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311958,00.html. Retrieved 21 February 2009. 
3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "PJ Harvey > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1087&name=PJ+Harvey. Retrieved 28 June 2004. 
4. ^ Coleman, Mark (December 10, 1992 - December 24, 1992). "The Year In Records Dry PJ Harvey". Rolling Stone (645-646): p. 182. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/dry-19921210. Retrieved 18 October 2011. 
5. ^ Brackett, Nathan with Hoard, Christian, eds (2004). "PJ Harvey". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 368-369. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA368&dq=. Retrieved 18 October 2011.  Portions posted at "PJ Harvey > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/pj-harvey/albumguide. Retrieved 18 October 2011. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Dry - PJ Harvey > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at Allmusic. Retrieved 27 July 2005.
7. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 27, 2005). "Ask Billboard: The Legend of Polly Jean". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/ask-billboard-1001738247.story#/news/ask-billboard-1001738247.story. Retrieved 6 June 2007.