Wow, this album is really excellent. I have owned rid of me (and all of PJ's other albums) for the better part of a year now and because I love her music so much I decided to buy this album to complete my collection. The demos of the tracks on rid of me are not really that great actually, with the exception of rid of me, legs, and yuri-g. The real reason to buy this is for the other songs previously unreleased. Hardly Wait has to be one of my top five pj harvey songs ever (if I could narrow it down that much...) and reeling, driving, easy, and m-bike are also PJ Harvey's voice at it's very best. The music is also very hypnotising, and suprisingly the absense of drums didn't take away much from the album at all. I strongly suggest that any PJ harvey fan -or music fan - get this album as soon as possible!

...ok so after picking up raw,gritty Rid of Me, I moved on with the 4-Track Demos that were released years after the release of Rid of Me. And even listening to it now, I still sit there in utter silence with my mouth to the ground. Think of this album a more unpolished than Rid of Me. This album is amazing, simply, and clearly crafts the amazement of this cult-heroine. She coughs,screams,moans,and messes up which gives a more intimate acosoutic feel to it. But also when things get intimate, things get raw as bones with this album. I feel that this album kinda separted the true fans from everyone else, because its such a hard pill to swallow. Water isn't going to help it go down,you nearly have to choke down her words,and ever gasp she makes..she is absolutly brillant...

I guess I'm one of the few people that actually heard 4 TRACK DEMOS before I heard Rid of Me. It was actually 4 TRACK that made me a lifetime PJ fan. To me its the closest thing a rock album has come to being anything like real original blues. Straightforward as hell, just her, her guitar, her studio & ALL her issues!

RID OF ME seems over-produced by comparison. The drums are just overkill on whats already perfectly balanced. It's like comparing 50's BB King to the big band King of today. The personal quality and strength of the songs is diluted; reduced to entertainment. It may sound stupid but, to me, this stuff is more than just entertainment. It's some sort of personal cult of deep sound from the back of the heart. You rarely hear people go here!

Step on up and hear Polly jane sweat the blues.

This album STILL almost hurts me. When I first bought it (I was 15 or something- a girlfriend recommended it) I simply hated it. HATED IT. Too honest. Too sincere. It was too raw, to open, too discomfiting. This makes most punk, hardcore- goth, whatever look like bland treacly window dressing. Polly Jane, within these terrifying little gems, cuts her throat open and spits venom in your ears. She hangs you with her guts. Wow. This music is so personal its a tad disturbing.

And still gorgeous. This razor sharp lil' collection is vastly better than the more polished and mediocre 'Rid of Me,' from which most of these tracks ended up- albumwise. It was her second, which makes this her 2 and a half, right before her masterful "To Bring You My Love,' a milestone.... it's been downhill trek from there, in my opinion.

Which is not to say that the album is noisy or subversive or transgressive or some other such pc, tame lit-jargon BS. It's just that she doesn't care how she affects the listener- you can tell she's singing these songs primarily for herself.

Trivia!!!! A great scene in a great little movie- 'Strange Days,' Juliette Lewis is in some post-grunge band and covers two PJ Harvey tracks, 'Rid of Me,' and 'I can Hardly Wait.' Both are from this album. Ms. Lewis, who can sing quite admirably in fact, pales in comparison with Ms Harvey.

Stand out tracks: Easy (my fave- what a great guitar lick!), Rid Of Me, Yuri-G, Ecstasy, M-Bike, I Can hardly Wait and Legs (the way she wales still raises the hairs all over my body)

A great catch!

This is one raw album. Lyrically, vocally and instrumentally. It's also PJs best record as far as revealing that she has a sense of humor. On her other records, that humor is often difficult to see, even though it's there. It just takes time to notice it. Here, the humor is quite evident, all the while the music is still shaking your fillings and stomach content by it's stark, powerful and raw directness.

One thing I've admired about PJ Harvey is her willingness to sound bad. That is, not always singing in a pretty or melodious voice. Sometimes her voice is used as an instrument of discordance. Wailing, shreiking, moaning, you name it, PJ does it.. and there is a lot of it on display here. It can be quite alarming if your listening tastes are a little more sedate. Certainly unlike most of what has been heard on the radio or MTV over the last 20 years. But if you are a Diamanda Galas fan? no sweat. Nothing will surprise you here! Of course, when PJ Harvey wants to she can sing with the sirens, but with this record, her prettiest singing is left elsewhere.

This record contains many songs that ended up on the 'Rid Of Me' of me record. Some people prefer this record to that one as PJ's vocals are more "there" here, as opposed to the studio 'ROM' record, which lowers the vocals a bit in relation to the instruments. On balance, I prefer the studio 'ROM' a little more, as there is a little more filler on this 4-Track Demo record. Still, lots of great stuff here, and a must for any major fan. For everyone else, unless my description appeals to you, I would suggest this be the last PJ record you explore. Check out some of her other ones first.