Search - Desert Sessions :: The Desert Sessions, Vols. 9 & 10

I See You Hearin' Me

El Duderino | Kalifornia | 03/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This latest installment of "Desert Sessions" entitled "I See You Hearin' Me (Vol. 9)" and "I Heart Disco (Vol. 10)" respectively, is proof that great music can still be made sans high priced producer and big name record label. In fact the music contained on this disc is so good, only a song by song review can do it justice, so lets do it.



Vol. 9 "I See You Hearin' Me"

1. Dead In Love--The albums strong opening song begins with a guitar riff that sounds stuck somewhere between Alice Cooper and AC/DC. Pretty much a straightforward rocker until the timer hits 3:00, at which point the listener is treated to an excellent outro, complete with clarinet, piano and slide guitar.



2. I Wanna Make It WitChu--Undeniably the best song on the album. Great vocals, great musicianship, all around wonderful song. You'll be listenin' to this one over and over.



3. Covered In Punks Blood--A song that sounds pretty much what the name implies. The "hardest" song on the whole album. Nothin' but guitar, bass and some awesome drumming.



4. There Will Never Be A Better Time--A stripped down song featuring PJ Harvey on vox and Chris Goss on guitar. The beginning isn't bad; however the song eventually grows old, with PJ whining along with a boring, repetitive guitar riff. I find myself skipping this frequently.



5. Crawl Home--Featuring PJ on lead vox and distorted bass and Al Johannes providing "relatively surfish guitar". Good vocals, good chorus, good song.



6. I'm Here For Your Daughter--Shortest song on the album (44 seconds). Morbid but funny lyrics and a funky little guitar lick make this "song" quite interesting.



Vol. 10 "I Heart Disco"

7. Powdered Wig Machine--Not extremely good, not bad either. Kinda middle of the road. See what you think.



8. In My Head...Or Something--Catchy, very catchy. Could be a B-side to a single off of QOTSA "Songs For The Deaf".



9. Holey Dime--Starts off with a nice lap steel and evolves into a rhythm heavy song. Good stuff.



10. A Girl Like Me--A half sung, half spoken word song featuring PJ rambling in cryptic lyrics about a failed relationship. Another middle of the road song.



11. Creosote--When I first heard this I was remined of Helmets country/blues inspired song "Sam Hell". "Creosote" kinda falls along the same lines. Nice little piece of weird music.



12. Subcutaneous Phat--A nice groovy song with a cool steady beat. Hints of guitar here and there and no vocals, save for the "Oooohhs" in the background. Very listenable.



13. Bring It Back Gentle--Sort of brings to mind a darker version of Ween, much darker. Good raw chorus.



14. Shepherds Pie--A you-had-to-be-there "song". All it is, is a bunch of people singing "shepherds pie" over and over again. Not the best way to end an album, but what are you gonna do??



All in all "Desert Sessions (Vol 9&10)" is a great album filled with great music. There must be something in the water out in Joshua Tree,CA."

They just get better and better!

theatomicbeast | UK | 10/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Desert Sessions 9&10 is by far the most cohesive of the series with an almost normal song-to-song flow and it also has some of the best desert sessions tracks to date. I really can't knock it even though I'm trying. Vocals are outstanding throughout and PJ Harvey shines on several occasions, particularly "There Will Never Be A Better Time", "Crawl Home" and "Powdered Wig Machine". It's great hearing a truly powerful voice repeatedly over-driving the mic, even from a distance!If you're a Queens fan you will almost certainly enjoy this album and if it's your first time with the Desert Session you'll come away wanting to explore related bands. Do it. There's so much diversity here but it really does hang together as a single entity, and you will definitely keep coming back for more.Twisted, simple and wonderfully engineered. The perfect balance of spontaneity, drugs and craziness supported by underlying musical genius. Buy it."

Queens, PJ, Ween, et al.....

J. A Kelsey | Maui, Hawaii | 10/27/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is amazing. I was in some dive of a record shop and the owner saw me pawing through Queens (my copies had been stolen) and turned me onto this album. I was reluctant to buy it but he swore it was a must have (unliike the other deserts sessions apparently). I was never into PJ Harvey or Ween for that matter but they rock! PJ especially. This is a little corner of flip side heaven...except for the 'In my head' which is a-side and a hit but it sounds like the rest of this surprise great album. Take the plunge!"