In Praise of Dry

[DrDark]

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/mus ... arvey-dry/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cat on the wall]

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/judging-a-cover-by-its-cover-pj-harvey-dry/

Yeah that's a very fascinating article thanks! Agree with most generally of what he says but this

The startling photos have their impact lessened just a bit by the plain and mildly clumsy typography applied by Foothold.

I feel plain type is better for powerful imagery usually and for sure in this case.

[protocols]

the spacing (or lack of kearning) between the “P” and the “J” has bothered me for 17 years!

Even though this reviewer is going into such detail about the Dry cover, he must not be very observant. Her name is written "P J Harvey" (with a space) on every single one of her albums except on the spines of Rid of Me and 4-Track Demos. That is not an accident.

Anyway, Dry is a hell of an album. As I've said before, I think some of the arrangements should have been thought out a bit more, but overall it's a great listen.

[bluesman]

By far my favourite Polly Harvey album & one of my favourite albums of all time period.
Never ever get tired of listening to it.

I think some of the arrangements should have been thought out a bit more.

Sometimes to much thinking can ruin or at least change a sound. Dry retained the (great) feeling of those demo's very well. That could easily have been lost if messed with to much. Just my two cents of course

[protocols]

Sometimes to much thinking can ruin or at least change a sound. Dry retained the (great) feeling of those demo's very well. That could easily have been lost if messed with to much. Just my two cents of course :wink:

See, I don't think it retained the feeling of the demos. My problem with the album arrangements is that the bass parts on the album are almost always just lifted from the acoustic guitar parts on the demos. Sometimes that works ("Oh My Lover") and sometimes it doesn't ("Hair"). I think the interplay between the acoustic and electric guitars on the demos is fantastic (the demo of "Joe" comes to mind) and I wish it was preserved on the album. I'm glad she ditched that Vaughan guy; he added absolutely nothing to the band, whereas Rob Ellis's drumming is one of my favorite things about "Dress" and the cello part on "Plants and Rags" is spot on.

[yarnforhair]

the spacing (or lack of kearning) between the “P” and the “J” has bothered me for 17 years!

Even though this reviewer is going into such detail about the Dry cover, he must not be very observant. Her name is written "P J Harvey" (with a space) on every single one of her albums except on the spines of Rid of Me and 4-Track Demos. That is not an accident.

I never even though about that. I just went and checked all my cds and yep, every one is like that. I wonder why it is like that cause I've only ever thought of the PJ as one thing. Could it be the space is there to seperate the two because they kind of run together so they want to make them stand out more? I don't know. I'm thinking about this too much.

[bluesman]

See, I don't think it retained the feeling of the demos. My problem with the album arrangements is that the bass parts on the album are almost always just lifted from the acoustic guitar parts on the demos. Sometimes that works ("Oh My Lover") and sometimes it doesn't ("Hair"). I think the interplay between the acoustic and electric guitars on the demos is fantastic (the demo of "Joe" comes to mind) and I wish it was preserved on the album. I'm glad she ditched that Vaughan guy; he added absolutely nothing to the band, whereas Rob Ellis's drumming is one of my favorite things about "Dress" and the cello part on "Plants and Rags" is spot on.

I thought Head did a fine job of hanging onto a very raw sound. I still get the same vibe more or less from both versions. I agree with you on the acoustic/electric thing but in the end it obviously wasn't the sound she was after in a finished product. Thankfully everyone knew how cool those demo's sounded and that gave us Demonstration. One of the first things I did when I was able to rip/burn was put a CD together with the songs playing back to back (fits perfect on a disc if you remove the gaps and leave the Dry demo off) interesting and fun way to hear it all. I kind of liked Steve Vaughan's playing, I figure she dumped him because of the goofy haircut

[protocols]

I hope we see a 20th anniversary reissue of Dry and the demos on vinyl and CD!

I kind of liked Steve Vaughan's playing, I figure she dumped him because of the goofy haircut

So true!

[Pitifuljoy]

the spacing (or lack of kearning) between the “P” and the “J” has bothered me for 17 years!

If this guy knew anything about kerning, ( I mean for fuck sakes, he even spells it wrong) he would know that its not a kerning issue. I'm guessing whoever set up these CD cover sleeves for PJ, or whoever made the decisions, probably didn't like the way P.J. looks, and decided to omit the (periods) separating the letters with one space. Looking at it now, it does look odd, but its not that bothersome.

[Hell and High Water]

If this guy knew anything about kerning, ( I mean for fuck sakes, he even spells it wrong) he would know that its not a kerning issue. I'm guessing whoever set up these CD cover sleeves for PJ, or whoever made the decisions, probably didn't like the way P.J. looks, and decided to omit the (periods) separating the letters with one space. Looking at it now, it does look odd, but its not that bothersome.

I knew it!

Sie sind ein typenfascist!!

[Pollyphoniac]

I'm guessing whoever set up these CD cover sleeves for PJ, or whoever made the decisions, probably didn't like the way P.J. looks, and decided to omit the (periods) separating the letters with one space. Looking at it now, it does look odd, but its not that bothersome.

however Polly was being asked (in a magazine article from 1993) how she writes her own name with the initials (with or without periods) and she answered: "it is P J no period Harvey". (which caused a little chuckle among those present even though her statement might not have been intended for humorous effect.)

[DrDark]

If this guy knew anything about kerning, ( I mean for fuck sakes, he even spells it wrong) he would know that its not a kerning issue. I'm guessing whoever set up these CD cover sleeves for PJ, or whoever made the decisions, probably didn't like the way P.J. looks, and decided to omit the (periods) separating the letters with one space. Looking at it now, it does look odd, but its not that bothersome.

I knew it!

Sie sind ein typenfascist!!

[yarnforhair]

I'm guessing whoever set up these CD cover sleeves for PJ, or whoever made the decisions, probably didn't like the way P.J. looks, and decided to omit the (periods) separating the letters with one space. Looking at it now, it does look odd, but its not that bothersome.

however Polly was being asked (in a magazine article from 1993) how she writes her own name with the initials (with or without periods) and she answered: "it is P J no period Harvey". (which caused a little chuckle among those present even though her statement might not have been intented for humorous effect.)

i thought of that article too when reading this conversation.

and hell, i've seen that video but instead of talking about font it's about hitler being upset over the oasis breakup

[Pitifuljoy]

I knew it!

Sie sind ein typenfascist!!

"I used to paint you know.."

That was brilliant. I'm passing it on to all my 'offending' designer friends. Hell, I wish I could send it to my clients!

however Polly was being asked (in a magazine article from 1993) how she writes her own name with the initials (with or without periods) and she answered: "it is P J no period Harvey". (which caused a little chuckle among those present even though her statement might not have been intented for humorous effect.)

Yes, I remember her saying this now! I had a feeling it wasn't a typographical error.

[Hell and High Water]

There's a whole Hitler series based on that scene, it's from the movie "Downfall" apparently. I think this one is the funniest, but I haven't seen them all.