B-Sides, Demos & Rarities＜限定盤＞

30年に渡るキャリアから14の未発表音源を含め、今では入手困難なBサイド、デモ、レア音源を59トラック集めたコレクション。プロデューサーJohn Parish監修の元、Jason Mitchell(Loud Mastering)がマスタリングを手掛けた3CDデジパック仕様。

Though the reissue campaign that presented PJ Harveys albums with their demos was extensive, it still didnt 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 Harveys 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 shes 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, thats how thorough this set is) offers one of the Rid of Me eras catchiest songs in an even rawer state. B-Sides, Demos & Rarities reinforces just how vital Harveys 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 Harveys 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 worlds 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 sets most quintessentially PJ Harvey moments. Fittingly for such an anachronistic-sounding album, White Chalks B-sides reach back to Harveys earliest days: "Wait" and "Heaven" date back to 1989 and deliver sprightly, strummy folk-pop thats almost unrecognizable as her work. The sets previously unreleased music contains just as many revelations. One of its most notable previously missing puzzle pieces is the demo of Uh Huh Hers 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 its a shame that it and the like-minded "Evol" didnt make the cut. Conversely, "Whyd 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 collections 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 Caves "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 Harveys archival series, B-Sides, Demos & Rarities serves as a fascinating parallel primer to her music and the multitudes within it. ~ Heather Phares