PJ Harvey (8,054 views)

[Alex61]

Polly Jean Harvey
Vocal Range: B♭2‌ – D6‌

Significant High Notes:
D6 ("The Dancer", "Pig Will Not", "A Woman a Man Walked By/The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go")
C♯6 ("Maniac", "The Mountain", "Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen")
C6 ("The Devil" live The Basement 2008, "Double Dare" live Bristol 1996, "The Mountain‌", "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore")
B5 ("The Devil", "No Girl So Sweet")
B♭5 ("City of No Sun", "The Glorious Land" Let England Shake demo, "Reeling" 4-Track Demos version)
A5 ("City of No Sun", "Dear Darkness", "Kamikaze", "Legs", "On Battleship Hill", "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore‌")
G♯5 ("50ft Queenie", "Snake" 4-Track Demos version, "The Wheel")
G5 ("50ft Queenie", "C'mon Billy", "Grow Grow Grow", "A Line in the Sand", "On Battleship Hill", "Snake", "White Chalk", "Who the Fuck?")
F♯5 ("Cat on the Wall", "Evol" live BBC Radio 1 2004, "A Girl Like Me", "Losing Ground", "Me-Jane", "Naked Cousin", "That Was My Veil‌", "Wang Dang Doodle")
F5 ("97 Degrees", "Big Exit", "Dance on the Mountain", "The Darker Days of Me & Him", "Evol" live BBC Radio 1 2004, "Hook" live Glastonbury 1995, "Kamikaze", "Leaving California", "The Letter", "Losing Ground", "M-Bike", "Medicinals", "The Piano", "Primed and Ticking", "Reeling", "Shame", "The Sky Lit Up", "Who the Fuck?")
E5 ("97 Degrees", "Dance", "The Dancer", "The Devil", "A Dog Called Money", "Dollar, Dollar", "Driving", "England", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Johnny Hit and Run Paulene", "Leaving California", "Legs", "Let England Shake", "Long Snake Moan", "Lost Fun Zone", "M-Bike", "Me-Jane", "Missed", "The Mountain", "The Nether-edge", "Nina in Ecstasy", "No Child of Mine" PJ Harvey solo, "Passionless, Pointless", "A Place Called Home", "Primed and Ticking", "River Anacostia", "Snake", "Wang Dang Doodle", "The Words That Maketh Murder", "Written on the Forehead")
E♭5 ("Airplane Blues", "Big Exit", "Daddy", "Dance on the Mountain", "The Darker Days of Me & Him", "Electric Light", "A Girl Like Me", "The Glorious Land", "Hardly Wait", "A Line in the Sand", "The Ministry of Social Affairs", "The Nether-edge", "The Nightingale", "Passionless, Pointless", "Reeling", "River Anacostia", "Seem an I", "Shot of Love" live Music of the Millennium 1999, "To Talk to You, "Urn with Dead Flowers in a Drained Pool")
D5 ("50ft Queenie", "April", "The Bay", "Before the Poison", "Big Exit", "The Big Guns Called Me Back Again", "Bitter Branches", "C'mon Billy", "A Child's Question, July", "The Darker Days of Me & Him", "Dear Darkness", "A Dog Called Money", "Dollar, Dollar", "Easy", "England", "Guilty", "The Guns Called Me Back Again", "Hair", "Handing in the Wire", "Harder", "Hedda Gabler", "Henry Lee", "Highway 61 Revisited", "In the Dark Places", "Let England Shake", "Long Snake Moan", "Lwonesome Tonight", "Man-Size", "Maniac", "The Ministry of Social Affairs", "Missed", "Naked Cousin", "The Nightingale", "On Battleship Hill", "A Perfect Day Elise", "Primed and Ticking", "Powdered Wig Machine", "Rid of Me", "River Anacostia", "Rub 'til It Bleeds", "Shot of Love" live Music of the Millennium 1999, "Silence", "Snake", "White Chalk", "Who the Fuck?", "Who Will Love Me Now?", "The Words That Maketh Murder", "You Said Something" acoustic version, "Yuri-G" 4-Track Demos version)
C♯5 ("Airplane Blues", "Chain of Keys", "Dress", "Grow Grow Grow", "I'll Be Waiting", "In the Dark Places", "The Letter", "Lost Fun Zone", "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln", "No Girl So Sweet", "O Stella", "Prayer at the Gate", "Rebecca", "Rope Bridge Crossing", "Shame", "Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen", "The Soldier", "Taut", "There Will Never Be a Better Time", "Wang Dang Doodle", "Water", "Working for the Man", "Yuri-G", "Zaz Turned Blue")
C5 ("50ft Queenie", "All and Everyone", "Autumn Term", "Big Exit", "The Big Guns Called Me Back Again", "Bitter Branches", "The Camp", "The Chair", "Claudine, the Inflatable One", "The Colour of the Earth", "The Crowded Cell", "The Dancer", "Daddy", "Dance on the Mountain", "Driving", "Dry", "Electric Light", "The Faster I Breathe the Further I Go", "Fountain", "The Garden", "Girl", "A Girl Like Me", "The Glorious Land", "Good Fortune", "Grow Grow Grow", "Guilty", "The Guns Called Me Back Again", "Hanging in the Wire", "Heela", "Hedda Gabler", "Johnny Hit and Run Paulene", "Kamikaze", "Kick It to the Ground", "The Last Living Rose", "Let England Shake", "A Line in the Sand", "Long Snake Moan", "Memphis", "Missed", "The Mountain", "My Friends Have", "Near the Memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln", "Nina in Ecstasy", "The Orange Monkey", "The Piano", "Pig Will Not", "Pocket Knife", "Red Right Hand", "Rid of Me", "Sheela-Na-Gig", "Uh Huh Her" Peel session, "Victory", "Wait", "The Wheel", "White Chalk", "Working for the Man")
B4 ("97 Degrees", "All and Everyone", "All Souls", "April", "Cat on the Wall", "Chain of Keys", "A Child's Question, August", "A Child's Question, July", "Dance", "Dead in Love", "Dear Darkness", "The Devil", "Dollar, Dollar", "Double Dare" live Bristol 1996, "Easy", "Ecstasy", "England", "Giraffe in Warszawa" live Southampton 1990, "Green Eyes", "Guilty", "Hair", "Happy and Bleeding", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" live BRIT Awards 1994, "I Inside the Old I Dying", "I Wanna Make It wit Chu", "In the Dark Places", "It's You", "The Last Living Rose", "The Letter", "Long Snake Moan", "Losing Ground", "Lwonesome Tonight", "M-Bike", "Me-Jane", "The Ministry of Defence", "My Own Private Revolution", "Nickel Under the Foot", "The Nightingale", "No Girl So Sweet‌", "One Time Too Many", "Passionless, Pointless", "A Perfect Day Elise", "A Place Called Home", "Putty", "Sorry for Your Loss", "That Was My Veil", "Uh Huh Her" Peel session, "The Wind", "The Words That Maketh Murder", "Written on the Forehead")
B♭4 ("Airplane Blues", "All Souls", "Before Departure", "Bobby Don't Steal", "A Child's Question, August", "The Colour of the Earth", "Crawl Home", "The Crowded Cell", "Dry", "Ecstasy", "The Garden", "Green Eyes", "Hair", "Hanging in the Wire", "Harder", "Hit the City", "Hook" live Glastonbury 1995, "Joy", "Love Too Soon", "Medicinals", "The Ministry of Social Affairs", "Oh My Lover", "Pocket Knife", "Prayer at the Gate", "Rub 'til It Bleeds", "Silence", "Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name", "There Will Never Be a Better Time", "This Is Love", "This Is Mine", "To Talk to You", "The Wheel", "Who the Fuck?", "This Wicked Tongue", "A Woman a Man Walked By/The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go", "Zaz Turned Blue")

Significant Low Notes:
A3 ("66 Promises", "All and Everyone", "An Acre of Land", "Autumn Term", "Beautiful Feeling", "Black Hearted Love", "Bobby Don't Steal", "Broken Harp", "C'mon Billy", "Cat on the Wall", "Catherine", "City of No Sun", "Claudine, the Inflatable One", "Crawl Home", "The Dancer", "Darling Be There", "Death Is Not the End", "The Devil", "Dry", "The Faster I Breathe the Further I Go", "Fountain", "Good Fortune", "Happy and Bleeding", "Henry Lee", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Hitting the Ground", "Horses in My Dreams", "I Inside the Old I Dying", "Joe", "Joy", "Maniac", "Meet Ze Monsta", "Memphis", "Missed", "The Mountain", "My Own Private Revolution", "Nickel Under the Foot", "O Stella", "Oh My Lover", "The Piano", "A Place Called Home", "Powdered Wig Machine", "Red Right Hand", "Rid of Me", "The River", "River Anacostia", "Rub 'til It Bleeds", "Shot of Love" live Music of the Millennium 1999, "Silence", "The Sky Lit Up", "The Slow Drug", "This Mess We're In", "To Bring You My Love", ‌"Uh Huh Her", "Victory", "Wait", "White Chalk", "Who Will Love Me Now?", "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore")
G♯3 ("As Close As This", "A Child's Question, August", "Come to Me", "Dance", "Electric Light", "Happy and Bleeding", "In the Dark Places", "Kamikaze", "Man-Size Sextet", "My Beautiful Leah", "One Time Too Many", "Plants and Rags", "Principles v Feelings", "Shame", "Sheela-Na-Gig", "Sixteen, Fifteen, Fourteen", "Sorry for Your Loss", "That Was My Veil")
G3 ("30", "All and Everyone", "Angelene", "April", "Big Exit", "The Big Guns Called Me Back Again", "Civil War Correspondent", "Claudine, the Inflatable One", "Cracks in the Canvas", "Crawl Home", "The Darker Days of Me & Him", "The Desperate Kingdom of Love", "Driving", "Evol" live BBC Radio 1 2004, "The Faster I Breathe the Further I Go", "Fountain", "The Garden", "Guilty", "Hair", "Harder", "Hardly Wait", "Heela", "Henry Lee", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Is That All There Is?", "Janet, Johnny + James" live London 2004, "Joe", "The Last Living Rose", "Liverpool Tide", "Long Snake Moan", "Long Time Coming", "Losing Ground", "Love Too Soon", "Lying in the Sun", "M-Bike", "Man-Size", "Me-Jane", "Meet Ze Monsta", "Memphis", "My Own Private Revolution", "No Child of Mine" PJ Harvey solo, "The Northwood", "One Line", "The Orange Monkey", "Passionless, Pointless", "Rid of Me", "River Anacostia", "Rub 'til It Bleeds", "Seem an I", "The Slow Drug", "Sweeter Than Anything", "Teclo", "This Mess We're In", "Wait", "This Wicked Tongue", "Urn with Dead Flowers in a Drained Pool", "Victory", "Water" Automatic Dlamini, "You Said Something")
F♯3 ("97 Degrees", "An Acre of Land", "April", "Beautiful Feeling", "Before Departure", "The Crowded Cell", "Down by the Water", "Dress", "Hitting the Ground", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" live BRIT Awards 1994, "Is That All There Is?", "It's You", "The Ministry of Defence", "Nickel Under the Foot", "O Stella", "Powdered Wig Machine", "Red Right Hand", "Rest Sextet", "Rope Bridge Crossing", "Teclo", "There Will Never Be a Better Time‌", "Water" PJ Harvey solo)
F3 ("All Souls", "The Darker Days of Me & Him", "Green Eyes", "Harder", "Hardly Wait", "Hook", "I Think I'm a Mother", "Is This Desire?", "Kamikaze", "Man-Size Sextet", "Medicinals", "No Child of Mine" Marianne Faithfull version, "Rest Sextet", "Seem an I", "Shame", "Sheela-Na-Gig", "This Wicked Tongue", "To Bring You My Love", "We Float", "White Chalk", "Working for the Man")
E3 ("As Close As This", "The Bay", "The Big Guns Called Me Back Again", "The Chair", "A Child's Question, August", "Civil War Correspondent", "Daddy" Spleen OST version, "The Dancer", "The Devil", "Guilty", "The Guns Called Me Back Again", "It's You", "The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth", "Liverpool Tide", "Long Time Coming", "Lying in the Sun", "Me-Jane", "My Beautiful Leah", "The Orange Monkey", "Somebody's Down, Somebody's Name", "Teclo", "There Will Never Be a Better Time", "The Wind")
E♭3 ("Before Departure", "Daddy" Spleen OST version, "Dance on the Mountain", "A Girl Like Me", "Green Eyes", "Is This Desire?", "Zaz Turned Blue")
D3 ("50ft Queenie" 4-Track Demos version, "Darling Be There‌", "England", "Goodnight‌", "The Guns Called Me Back Again", "I Think I'm a Mother", "Maniac", "Rope Bridge Crossing", "Snake" 4-Track Demos version, "To Bring You My Love", "We Float" Stories from the City Stories from the Sea – Demos demo, "Working for the Man", "Zaz Turned Blue")
C♯3 ("Ballad of the Soldier's Wife", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" live BRIT Awards 1994, "The Ministry of Defence" The Hope Six Demolition Project - Demos demo, "The Nether-edge")
C3 ("Goodnight", "Hook" 4-Track Demos version, "The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth", "A Woman a Man Walked By/The Crow Knows Where All the Little Children Go")
B♭2 ("Ballad of the Soldier's Wife")
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• Bold marks notes or passages that are particularly outstanding (relative to the singer).
• Italics mark non-melodic notes.
• Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.

There's a reason why PJ Harvey is the sole artist to win the Mercury Prize more than once - her music is damn good. Emerging in the '90s as an alt rock singer-songwriter, PJ has consistently been revered as an exceptionally talented artist, one who is unafraid to defy categorisation and experiment with her music. What's perhaps most impressive is that in her incredibly eclectic discography - which ranges from the brutally raw Rid of Me to the quieter, more sinister White Chalk (an album which she learned the piano for) - she has hardly put a foot wrong, with her music now still sounding as fresh and original as her debut album.

PJ's vocal approach could perhaps most accurately be described as unorthodox. A relatively low mezzo-soprano, in her earlier albums she adopted a rather weighty tone and used her upper register inconsistently, mostly to break into a tentative falsetto or belt in the lower fifth octave. Her later albums focus almost exclusively on her upper register, however - across White Chalk and Let England Shake she sings in a soft head voice, most notably on tracks "The Mountain" and "On Battleship Hill". Her lower register is a rather strong one too - though she sometimes resorts to growls for her absolute lowest notes, her lower third octave is weighty and confident. Her voice is definitely unconventional, but the power she sings with is incredibly unique.

SPOILER: Click to show

{A Few Examples of Her Voice}
Some nice belting towards the end here - performances like this contrast her later career.


Something from 2011. PJ has a lovely head voice here.


Low singing throughout.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}
E♭6 ("Hook" live Glastonbury 1995^[1][2], "Legs 4-Track Demos version^[1][2], "Snake"4-Track Demos version^[1], "The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore"^[1])
D6 ("Double Dare" live Bristol 1996^[1], "Harder"^[1])
C♯6 ("Hitting the Ground"^[1])
C6 ("Long Snake Moan"^[1][2])
E5 ("Meet Ze Monsta"^[1])
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1. Questionable intent.
2. Questionable brevity.
3. Questionable identity.
...................................................................
Questionable notes are any notes of questionable significance. In short, this spoiler acknowledges notes that I am aware exist, but do not want to contribute to the singer's range. These involve (but are not limited to) notes of questionable identity, notes of questionable legitimacy and notes of significantly poor quality.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notewatching Credits & Other Info}
Alex61
Solo:
Dry (1992): F3 – D5
Rid of Me (1993): E3 – A5
4-Track Demos (1993): C3 – B♭5^[1]
To Bring You My Love (1995): D3 – D6
Is This Desire? (1998): E♭3 – B5
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000): F3 – C6
Uh Huh Hur (2004): C3 – G5
White Chalk (2007): E3 – C♯6
Let England Shake (2011): D3 – A5
The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016): E3 – G♯5
I Inside the Old Year Dying (2023): C♯3 – E5

With John Parish:
Dance Hall at Louse Point (1996): D3 – B♭5
A Woman a Man Walked By (2009): C3 – D6
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1. Demos album.
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Notewatching of other performances not listed above done by Alex61

[Baronessa]

SPOILER: Click to show

{We Float (Demo)}

D3 !

[Baronessa]

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Glorious Land (Demo)}

B♭5 !

Also the Let England Shake demos are strainy af lmao.

[andrassy]

Jan 28, 2022 8:57:56 GMT Baronessa said:

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Glorious Land (Demo)}

B♭5 !

Also the Let England Shake demos are strainy af lmao.

Well it's nice to hear how much polish the songs receive before they end up on the album.

[Baronessa]

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Ministry Of Defence (Demo)}

I'm not sure how legit these potential A2s sound to you (may be more at 1:01 and 3:14), but she definitely goes for some hella D3s and C♯3s in this demo.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Also I really like this picture, do with that information as you will}

[andrassy]

 First new album in 7 years. Can't wait for this one.

[andrassy]

Her beautiful new album is out! I loved it.