![]() ‘Dissident’ also showcases Vedder as a storyteller, as do the acoustic songs ‘Daughter’ and ‘Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town’, and they’re the most effective pieces here. ‘Rearviewmirror’ is more memorable with its catchy riff, while ‘Dissident’ stands out with its open and soaring melody. Songs like ‘Leash’, ‘Animal’ and ‘Go’ have catchy riffs and intense performances, but the simple, repetitive lyrics make it difficult to take them seriously. New drummer Dave Abbruzzese also gives the band a busier and heavier sound.ĭespite the improved sound, the songs are often inconsequential, partly because they’re adolescent – Pearl Jam are trying to connect with teenagers here, not with grownups. The production from Brendan O’Brien suits the band much better, giving them a rawer edge than the stadium rock of Ten. Pearl Jam refused to produce music videos for the album, and the sheep on the cover is symbolic of their perception of themselves as prisoners. Ten has some very assured songs, but Pearl Jam became more interesting as they matured and they had better-produced records.įollowing on from the massive success of 1991’s Ten, Vs. finds Pearl Jam in a darker mood. ![]() There are strong songs – ‘Alive’ is a huge sounding anthem, ‘Black’ is sweet and melodic, and ‘Even Flow’ is driving with a soaring chorus melody – but I don’t find the lesser material memorable, and the second side is generally unremarkable. When vagrant surfer and service station attendant Eddie Vedder added lyrics about his personal angst -‘Alive’ is a biographical story about his difficult relationship with his father – the resulting band Pearl Jam was an instant success. The songs on Ten began as instrumentals guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were in Mother Love Bone, which disbanded after their singer overdosed on heroin they had written most of the music for the record before they hooked up with the rest of the group.īecause the songs were initially instrumentals, there are plenty of memorable musical hooks: the vibrant introduction to ‘Alive’, the bass line of ‘Jeremy’, and the lovely verse melody of ‘Black’ are all fine examples. It has an arena-rock quality, with a reverb-heavy production that sounds like the hair metal that the 1990s rockers were replacing. | Vitalogy | No Code | Yield | Binaural | Riot Act | Pearl Jam | Into The Wild (Eddie Vedder)įor an album that surfaced in the wake of Nirvana’s Nevermind, Ten doesn’t sound much like grunge. I haven’t checked in since 2006’s self-titled album, although I did enjoy Vedder’s 2007’s Into The Wild soundtrack more than most of the band’s studio albums. ![]() Pearl Jam always looked uncomfortable as superstars, and throughout the 1990s gracefully exited from the mainstream, avoiding commercial success with ploys like not making music videos, including avant-garde tracks on their albums, and releasing an album without a bar code. 1998’s Yield was arguably Pearl Jam’s last gasp of cultural significance and since then they have continued to make respectable records, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever return as the mouthpiece of disaffected youth and instead they’ve been growing up alongside their audience. The emergence of Creed and other less talented but deep-throated pretenders has made Vedder’s baritone less unique. On their first couple of albums, their music feels like it’s aimed at spotty-faced, angst-ridden teenagers, and Pearl Jam started to grow up on 1994’s Vitalogy as Vedder took more control of the band. lists Pearl Jam as the 14th most acclaimed act of the 1990s, which seems fair or even slightly generous. It might well be worth using 2003’s double-disc Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003) as a one-stop shopping solution to the band’s work. I favour 1996’s eclectic No Code, but don’t think Pearl Jam ever made a great album. Fan opinion is often divided on their best work many fans enjoy their first two albums and think they fell away afterwards. They’ve explored plenty of sonic territory while largely sticking to meat and potatoes rock. It’s difficult to credit Pearl Jam as innovators, as they’ve always felt like a seventies stadium rock band at heart, but they’re a likeable band all the same. and Vitalogy, Jack Irons helped facilitate the eclecticism of No Code, while Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron has been the drummer since 2000’s Binaural, and has contributed more as a songwriter than any of the other drummers. ![]() Dave Krusen anchored the arena rock of 1991 debut Ten, Dave Abbruzzese’s busy style was highlighted in the aggressive Vs. The band have gone through a succession of drummers who have all influenced the group’s sound. Rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament started a new band with Mike McCready on lead guitar and recruited surfer Eddie Vedder as their vocalist. Pearl Jam grew from the remnants of Mother Love Bone, whose singer Andrew Wood overdosed. ![]()
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