To Bring You My Love

PJ Harvey took a break from the spotlight in 1994. After releasing two studio albums (Dry and Rid of Me) and a compilation (4-Track Demos) in less than two years, she kept a low profile for most of the year. Harvey made only one public appearance in 1994, performing a cover version of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" with Icelandic singer Björk at the annual BRIT Awards.

Using the royalties that she had received from her first two studio albums, she bought a house in rural England close to her parents' home in Yeovil. She described her new home as "completely in the countryside. I have no neighbours. When I look out the window, all I see are fields."DeLuca, Dan, "Songwriter PJ Harvey is reaching out to her fans", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 31 May 1995, pg. E01 Living in near isolation, she began writing the songs that would appear on To Bring You My Love.

To Bring You My Love was Harvey's first album of new material since disbanding the original PJ Harvey trio in 1993. For this recording she recruited producer Flood, her old Automatic Dlamini bandmate John Parish and a new line-up of session musicians including multi-instrumentalists Joe Gore, Eric Drew Feldman, Mick Harvey and drummer Jean-Marc Butty. She herself played guitar, keyboards, vibraphone and bells on the record, as well as co-producing it with Flood and John Parish.

{{listen|filename=To Bring You My Love.ogg|title="To Bring You My Love"|description=The title track recalls the blues of Robert Johnson as well as the song "Dirt" by The Stooges.McLeese, Don, "Between Heaven and Hell; Modern Musicians Sing About the Passion of Life", Austin American Statesman (Texas), Entertainment section, p. 5, 6 April 1995.|format=Ogg

|filename2=PJHarveyMeetZeMonsta.ogg|title2="Meet Ze Monsta"|description2=|format2=Ogg

|filename3=PJHarveyDownByTheWater.ogg|title3="Down by the Water"|description3=The song features extensive use of a synthesized organ and features an orchestral ensemble.|format3=Ogg

|filename4=PJHarveyTheDancer.ogg|title4="The Dancer"|description4=The album's closing track is influenced by the Spaghetti Western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone.|format4=Ogg

}}

The subject matter and tone of the songs on To Bring You My Love differ somewhat from what Harvey had presented on her earlier albums. The songs on Rid of Me (1993), for example, are more aggressive in their depictions of relationships. They focus more on revenge ("Rid of Me", "Rub 'til It Bleeds"), or act as an attack on traditional masculinity{{cite news |newspaper=San Diego Tribune |last=Niesel |first=Jeff |title=Album Review Alternative To Bring You My Love PJ Harvey |at=Entertainment section, p. 8 |date=23 February 1995}} ("Man-Size", "50ft Queenie", "Me-Jane"). Although these songs do directly consider longing and loss, many of the songs on To Bring You My Love focus particularly on these topics, specifically considering the loss of, or longing for, a departed lover. The title track presents a narrator who not only desires love but is willing to sacrifice everything to get it. "I've lain with the devil," Harvey sings, "Cursed God above/Forsaken Heaven/To bring you my love."

Many of the songs on To Bring You My Love employ biblical imagery such as Heaven, God, and Jesus Christ. Harvey, however, is not a religious person. She was not baptized and did not attend church as a child.Dollar, Steve. "Preview; PJ Harvey" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Arts section, p. 2M, 4 June 1995. She spoke of her use of religious imagery by saying "I look towards religion as possibly one means to finding an answer, to making sense why we're here. That's what drives the creative force, to make sense of one's life. A very natural place to look is in that divine area, because it's so strong and has been here long before us."

With the exception of two tracks ("Meet Ze Monsta" and "Long Snake Moan") the album is considered much softer musically than her previous studio albums.

Many references are made to one of Harvey's major influences, Captain Beefheart. The opening line of the album, "I was born in the desert", is also the opening line of Beefheart's debut studio album, Safe as Milk (1967). The album's second track, "Meet Ze Monsta", is a direct response (from the perspective of one of the "young girls" invited to meet the monster) to Beefheart's "Tropical Hot Dog Night", the second track of his 1978 album Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), an album which Harvey has said had a particular impact on her. A lyrical and melodic resemblance to Beefheart's "Dropout Boogie" is also found on the track "I Think I'm a Mother," and the vocal melody at the end of Harvey's "Teclo" ("Let me ride on his grace for a while...") seems to mirror Beefheart's melody in "Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles".

Musically, the album is more complicated than Dry or Rid of Me. Two guitar parts are used in many of the songs, in most cases played by Harvey and Parish. Acoustic guitar and strings, used sparingly in her previous releases, can be heard throughout To Bring You My Love. Bells, chimes, and a vibraphone add to the atmosphere of the recording. Keyboards and organ are also used extensively, a result of much of the album being composed on a Yamaha keyboard Harvey bought second-hand.Rosen, Craig, "U.S. radio brings Harvey its love- 4th Island set poised for mainstream", Billboard, 18 February 1995. The deep, rumbling organ tones provide many of the lower notes on the album, replacing traditional basslines.Jenkins, Mark, "PJ Harvey: Electric Blue", The Washington Post, Sunday Arts, p.G10, 5 March 1995.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/to-bring-you-my-love-mw0000123539 |title=To Bring You My Love – PJ Harvey |website=AllMusic |access-date=19 November 2015 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}

| rev2 = Chicago Sun-Times

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4274220.html |title=PJ Harvey, 'To Bring You My Love' (Island) |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |date=19 March 1995 |access-date=16 October 2016 |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |author-link=Jim DeRogatis |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905094058/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4274220.html |archive-date=5 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = A{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/03/10/bring-you-my-love/ |title=To Bring You My Love |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=10 March 1995 |access-date=21 February 2009 |last=Browne |first=David |author-link=David Browne (journalist)}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite news |title=CD of the week: PJ Harvey |newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 March 1995 |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline}}

| rev5 = Los Angeles Times

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-26-ca-36120-story.html |title=A Potent Artist for the '90s |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=26 February 1995 |access-date=6 June 2010 |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 8/10{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000042reviews.html |title=Voodoo You Love |magazine=NME |date=25 February 1995 |access-date=19 November 2015 |last=Bailie |first=Stuart |page=39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991115131341/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000042reviews.html |archive-date=15 November 1999 |url-status=dead}}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/to-bring-you-my-love-206172/ |title=Voodoo Child |magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=703 |date=9 March 1995 |access-date=28 June 2004 |last=O'Dair |first=Barbara |pages=63–64}}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite book |chapter=PJ Harvey |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA368 |access-date=18 October 2011 |last=Hoard |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Hoard |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/367 367–368]}}

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9score = 10/10{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=495Bl1_hMr8C&pg=PA195 |title=P.J. Harvey: To Bring You My Love |magazine=Spin |volume=11 |issue=1 |date=April 1995 |access-date=21 October 2011 |last=Powers |first=Ann |author-link=Ann Powers |page=195}}

| rev10 = The Village Voice

| rev10score = A{{cite news |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv495-95.php |title=Consumer Guide |newspaper=The Village Voice |date=11 April 1995 |access-date=19 November 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}

}}

As her second full-length release on a major label, To Bring You My Love received a heavy promotional push from Island Records. Extensive MTV rotation and college radio airplay for the first single "Down by the Water" — with its eccentric, eye-catching Maria Mochnacz-directed music video of Harvey drowning in an emerald pond while wearing an extravagant wig, heavy make-up and a slinky red satin evening gown — gave Harvey her biggest radio hit to date, reaching number two on Billboard{{'}}s Modern Rock chart.{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards/billboard-single |id=r209249 |label=To Bring You My Love PJ Harvey > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles |accessdate=12 December 2005 }} The album itself debuted at number 40 on the Billboard 200{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=charts-awards |id=r209249 |label=To Bring You My Love PJ Harvey > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album |accessdate=12 December 2005 }} and number 12 in the UK,{{cite web|title=PJ HARVEY | Artist | Official Charts|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/pj%20harvey#albums|work=UK Albums Chart|accessdate=10 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721043601/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/pj%20harvey/#albums|archive-date=21 July 2012|df=dmy-all}} and went on to sell roughly one million copies.{{cite web| url = https://www.popmatters.com/137154-pj-harvey-let-england-shake-2496078095.html |title = PJ Harvey: Let England Shake {{!}} PopMatters| date=14 February 2011 }} The moderate commercial breakthrough of To Bring You My Love had nothing to do with any scaling-down of her trademark lyrical intensity: the infanticide fable "Down by the Water" — whose whispered coda of "Little fish big fish swimming in the water/Come back here, man, gimme my daughter" references the old Lead Belly blues standard "Salty Dog" — ostensibly deals with a mother drowning her child.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/14/pj-harvey-10-of-the-best |title=PJ Harvey: 10 of the Best |work=The Guardian |date=14 January 2015 |accessdate=16 October 2016 |last=Hewitt |first=Ben }}

The critical response was overwhelmingly positive. Rolling Stone praised the record as "astonishing" in its four-star review. The Independent shared the same point of view, writing that Harvey's performance "make[s] the record stand out from its peers"; reviewer Nicholas Barber saw it as "a threatening, nightmarish creature", adding "imagine Siouxsie and the Bad Seeds".{{cite web |first=Nicholas |last=Barber |title= P J Harvey: To Bring You My Love|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-records-new-releases-1574999.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-records-new-releases-1574999.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent|date=6 February 1995 |accessdate=15 January 2015}} Los Angeles Times noted the "rich imagery" of the lyrics, writing that "in the most gripping moments, [...] [Harvey] speaks with the captivating clarity and force of someone reaching for a final, life-saving anchor."

The album received universal acclaim. It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll by a wide margin,{{cite news |newspaper=The Village Voice |date=20 February 1996 |title=The 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres95.php |accessdate=21 March 2005 |ref=PazzJop}} and was also voted the year's number-one album by publications such as Rolling Stone, The New York Times, People, USA Today, Hot Press and, in "the biggest landslide victory in 15 years", the Los Angeles Times. It featured in Top Ten lists for magazines like Spin, NME, Melody Maker, Mojo and The Wire,{{Cite magazine |title=Blessed Releases: Records of the Year |date=January 1996 |magazine=The Wire |issue=143 |page=32 |location=London |url=https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/35808/spread/32 |url-access=subscription |via=Exact Editions}} {{subscription required}} though a contrarian Time list dubbed it the "Worst Album of 1995."{{cite news |newspaper=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983899,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013140022/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983899,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 October 2007 |title=The Best Of 1995: MUSIC |date=25 December 1995 |accessdate=9 November 2009 }} The album received two Grammy Award nominations as Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the single "Down by the Water",{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/pj-harvey|publisher=Grammy|title=Artist: PJ Harvey|accessdate=17 August 2018}} and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Spin later ranked it at number three in a list of the best albums of the 1990s.{{cite journal |journal=Spin |volume=15 |issue=9 |date=September 1999 |page=117 |first=Sia |last=Michel |title=The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s: 3 PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjsvmNt8UgC&q=pj%20harvey&pg=PA117 |accessdate=21 October 2011 }} In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 435 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.{{cite book |chapter=435 | To Bring You My Love - PJ Harvey |chapter-url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/to-bring-you-my-love-pj-harvey-1969123 |accessdate=30 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050405193252/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6626893 |archive-date=5 April 2005 |last=Levy |first=Joe |author2=Steven Van Zandt |title=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |orig-year=2005 |edition=3rd |year=2006 |publisher=Turnaround |location=London |isbn=1-932958-61-4 |oclc=70672814 |ref=RS500}} Slant Magazine, in 2011, rated To Bring You My Love as the 20th best album of the 1990s.{{cite magazine |magazine=Slant Magazine |date=14 February 2011 |title=Best Albums of the '90s |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-90s/251/page_9 |accessdate=22 February 2011 }} As of December 2005, (according to AskBillboard) To Bring You My Love has sold 371,000 copies in the US.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/60260/ask-billboard|magazine=Billboard|title=Ask Billboard|date=27 December 2005|accessdate=17 August 2018}}

{{Track listing

| total_length = 42:27

| all_writing = PJ Harvey.

| title1 = To Bring You My Love

| length1 = 5:32

| title2 = Meet Ze Monsta

| length2 = 3:29

| title3 = Working for the Man

| length3 = 4:45

| title4 = C'mon Billy

| length4 = 2:47

| title5 = Teclo

| length5 = 4:57

| title6 = Long Snake Moan

| length6 = 5:17

| title7 = Down by the Water

| length7 = 3:14

| title8 = I Think I'm a Mother

| length8 = 4:00

| title9 = Send His Love to Me

| length9 = 4:20

| title10 = The Dancer

| length10 = 4:06

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Limited edition{{cite web|title=Albums|url=http://www.jphuntley.co.uk/pjh/FullPages/fullalbums.htm|work=pollyharvey.co.uk|accessdate=2 March 2012|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204339/http://www.jphuntley.co.uk/pjh/FullPages/fullalbums.htm|url-status=dead}} B-sides CD

| total_length = 31:27

| title1 = Reeling

| note1 = demo version

| length1 = 3:00

| title2 = Daddy

| length2 = 3:16

| title3 = Lying in the Sun

| length3 = 4:30

| title4 = Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name

| length4 = 3:40

| title5 = Darling Be There

| length5 = 3:46

| title6 = Maniac

| length6 = 4:01

| title7 = One Time Too Many

| length7 = 2:52

| title8 = Harder

| length8 = 2:05

| title9 = Goodnight (demo version)

| length9 = 4:17

}}

Musicians{{cite AV media notes|title=To Bring You My Love|title-link=To Bring You My Love|others=PJ Harvey|year=1995|type=CD |publisher=Island Records|id=LC0497|location=London, United Kingdom}}

• PJ Harvey – vocals, organ, guitar (1, 4, 5, 8), piano (5, 6), vibraphone (1), marimba (9), bells (5), chimes (5), percussion (9)
• John Parish – guitar (1, 2, 6, 9, 10), organ (6), drums (4-8, 10), percussion (1-4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
• Joe Gore – guitar (2-4, 6, 7), e-bow (1)
• Mick Harvey – bass (6), organ (9)
• Jean-Marc Butty – drums (2), percussion (9)
• Joe Dilworth – drums (3)
• Pete Thomas – string arrangements
• Sonia Slany – violin (4, 7, 9)
• Jocelyn Pook – viola (4, 7, 9)
• Jules Singleton – viola (4, 7, 9)
• Sian Bell – cello (4, 7, 9)

Production

• Flood – producer, engineer, mixing
• PJ Harvey – producer, engineer (1, 4, 5, 7)
• John Parish – producer
• Howie Weinberg – mastering

Design

• Martin Callomon – artwork, art direction
• Valerie Phillips – photography
• Kate Garner – photography

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for To Bring You My Love}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Belgium|artist=PJ Harvey|title=To Bring you My Love|award=Gold|certyear=2007|certmonth=11|relyear=1995}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=To Bring You My Love|artist=PJ Harvey|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=1995|certyear=2013|id=7631-516-2|accessdate=12 April 2012}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=To Bring You My Love|artist=PJ Harvey|type=album|nocert=true|salesamount=371,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/60260/ask-billboard|magazine=Billboard|title=Ask Billboard|date=27 December 2005|accessdate=17 August 2018}}}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|title=To Bring You My Love|artist=PJ Harvey|type=album|nocert=true|salesamount=1,000,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/1999/jan/17/life1.lifemagazine|work=The Guardian|title=Cat woman|date=17 January 1999|accessdate=28 July 2023}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{discogs master|52631}}

{{PJ Harvey}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:To Bring You My Love}}

Category:1995 albums

Category:PJ Harvey albums

Category:Albums produced by Flood (producer)

Category:Island Records albums

Category:Albums produced by John Parish

Category:Blues rock albums by English artists