Thanks for sharing! No Code was the first Pearl Jam album that I didn't instantly love when I first listened to it. It actually took a few years to really appreciate it (they matured before I did) and this is probably the point where a lot of casual fans dropped off and looked elsewhere.
The below quote sums is up well.
"They were packing up their gear and heading off the grid. If you wanted to follow them, great; if not, that was fine, too."
Post edited by Eddieshometown on
6/26/98 & 6/27/98 - Alpine Valley, 10/9/00 - Allstate Arena - Rosemont, IL 6/18/2003 - United Center, 5/16/2006 - United Center, 5/17/2006 - United Center (7th row center, caught Eddie's pick), 6/29/2006 - Summerfest with Tom Petty, 8/24/2009 - United Center, 7/19/2013 - Wrigley Field, 10/3/2014 - St Louis, 10/17/2014 - Moline (GA), 10/20/2014 - Milwaukee, 5/14/2015 - Pete Townshend/EV, 8/20/16 & 8/22/16 Wrigley Field Part 2&3, 8/18/18 & 8/20/18 Wrigley Parts 4 & 5, 9/18/2022 - St Louis
Thanks for sharing! No Code was the first Pearl Jam album that I didn't instantly love when I first listened to it. It actually took a few years to really appreciate it (they matured before I did) and this is probably the point where a live of casual fans dropped off and looked elsewhere.
The below quote sums is up well.
"They were packing up their gear and heading off the grid. If you wanted to follow them, great; if not, that was fine, too."
That quote did sum it up real well. I actually wasn't a fan at all until Vitalogy...and I know that's when a lot of "mainstream fans" dropped off. In my opinion they just got better and better with No Code and then Yield
I remember I had my cousin pick this up for me the day it was released. We were on a family vacation in the Chicago area. It was their first studio album I got upon release. I had gotten the Merkin Ball EP for the Christmas prior and had become completely obsessed shortly after Vitalogy came out before that.
The internet was barely usable at this point so I remember searching for hours in the school library for low quality wav files of SOLAT, Wash and other b sides.
When I first listened to No Code, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the lack of hard rockers. I remember when Who You Are was playing mainstream radio and I was like, hmm, interesting first single, but then Hail, Hail started leaking out and I would wait to hear it again so I could record it to tape. I played the crap out of that tape. Then there was staying up late to see them play Letterman. Such an awesome performance. The whole album quickly grew on me and is to this day my favorite overall musical album that they put out.
The first thing I did every day when I got home from school was pop this CD in my tiny Zenith stereo and lay on my bedroom floor until the last notes of Around the Bend finished playing. Often times the warm chords of this album would lull me to sleep.
I can't wait for the vinyl edition to finally land on my doorstep in a few weeks. This album and the change from summer to fall go hand in hand and bring me back to those teenage years so long ago now. It is a timeless album.
Thank you Pearl Jam for making this album and the everlasting memories it created in my life.
I have to admit when I first heard Who you Are I was a bit taken a back with the different sound & the slow start with Sometimes but when Hail Hail came on I knew it would rock & In my Tree was the highlight & still is. The album they needed to make & if all the people who bought the first 3 albums knew then what we know now.
Eastern Creek 95,Syd 1 98,Bris 2 98, Syd 1&2 03, Reading Fest 06, Bris 1 06, London 09, Hyde Park 10, Gold Coast BDO 14
This is when I made the unfortunate mistake of letting my "vitalogy club" membership lapse. So never let your number go!! I still have Newsletter #6. But I was 22 then, & I could not figure out their direction. This was no Vs. They were making it difficult for me to see them live due to the TM thing. And things were getting weird in the rock world. "Maybe that was a fun run," I thought. But I bought it on Vinyl, still have it, still play it, still love it. Just lost my way for a minute. And probably 15 rows, LOL.
great article about my fav album...so diverse and experimental which ended up in perfection as an album for me
Vedder explained a dream in which the band took the stage, started playing, and just didn’t stop. In his dream they played so long that the crowd just started trickling out until there were only six fans left at the lip of the stage. In essence it was a vision about a life after No Code in which Pearl Jam could finally just do what they wanted, how they wanted, with a core audience that would follow them regardless. And that’s exactly what happened.
Thanks for sharing! No Code was the first Pearl Jam album that I didn't instantly love when I first listened to it. It actually took a few years to really appreciate it (they matured before I did) and this is probably the point where a lot of casual fans dropped off and looked elsewhere.
My musical tastes were all over the place and they rarely matched up with what Pearl Jam was doing at the time. I got Ten and at first I didn't like it at all, I was into metal at the time for some reason. Jeremy did become one of my favorites though. Then Vs came out and I remember hating Daughter, maybe because of how popular it got. I did like listening to my brother's copy of Vitalogy, but I wasn't quite there yet. When No Code came out I didn't really pay much attention to it, so I didn't experience the divisiveness of it. It wasn't until Yield and finally seeing them live that it all came together, and we've been in sync ever since. Now I love every one of those early albums.
I still find all of us to be extremely fortunate that - to this very day - we get to see them play the music that has been the soundtrack to the lives of most of us here. Great article and important perspective!
6/27/98 - East Troy, WI
6/29/06 - Milwaukee, WI
9/25/11 - Vancouver, BC
11/4/12 - (Eddie Vedder) Phoenix, AZ
11/1/13 - New Orleans, LA
11/19/13 - Phoenix, AZ
11/21/13 - San Diego, CA
10/12/14 - Austin, TX
10/22/14 - Denver, CO
8/22/16 - Chicago, IL (Wrigley 2)
great article. just made me realize: 2 years since my last show. 3 years the one prior. 6 years the one prior. 2 years the one prior to that. and TEN YEARS before that one.
Fucking NO Code! You beautiful bastard! I can't stop thinking about it since it's birthday. I googled No Code reviews and must have read 30 of them, old and new.
Unfortunately the quote I best relate to is " Pearl Jam knew what they were doing with No Code. I did not." I too shelved the CD and it would take years for me to fully appreciate it so I feel like I owe it an apology. Haha!
Unfortunately the quote I best relate to is " Pearl Jam knew what they were doing with No Code. I did not." I too shelved the CD and it would take years for me to fully appreciate it so I feel like I owe it an apology. Haha!
me too. at the time, I wasn't one of the ones who "got it". I didn't mind the songs, but something got lost on me at that period. I didn't even really pay much attention to them at that moment in time.
Always skeptical of articles written about PJ (few good ones that understand the band, music well enough) but this is a good one that's worth reading, especially if you're a longtime fan who lived through the mid-90s with the band.
Unfortunately the quote I best relate to is " Pearl Jam knew what they were doing with No Code. I did not." I too shelved the CD and it would take years for me to fully appreciate it so I feel like I owe it an apology. Haha!
me too. at the time, I wasn't one of the ones who "got it". I didn't mind the songs, but something got lost on me at that period. I didn't even really pay much attention to them at that moment in time.
True that Hugh but I have found this to be true to a lesser degree of most PJ releases as they never seem to make the same record twice. When I heard Daughter on the radio before VS was released and after playing Ten a gazzilion and one times I said WTF? Even now I can go back to any of their records and find something astounding that I didn't realize before.
Unfortunately the quote I best relate to is " Pearl Jam knew what they were doing with No Code. I did not." I too shelved the CD and it would take years for me to fully appreciate it so I feel like I owe it an apology. Haha!
me too. at the time, I wasn't one of the ones who "got it". I didn't mind the songs, but something got lost on me at that period. I didn't even really pay much attention to them at that moment in time.
True that Hugh but I have found this to be true to a lesser degree of most PJ releases as they never seem to make the same record twice. When I heard Daughter on the radio before VS was released and after playing Ten a gazzilion and one times I said WTF? Even now I can go back to any of their records and find something astounding that I didn't realize before.
yes, I remember hearing Go for the first time on the radio, with Oceans being my favourite track off Ten, I was just a tad taken aback. But I loved it. Every other record I have listened to a lot when it first came out. No Code dropped me. But then it picked me back up again way later in the game.
Comments
The below quote sums is up well.
"They were packing up their gear and heading off the grid. If you wanted to follow them, great; if not, that was fine, too."
5/17/2006 - United Center (7th row center, caught Eddie's pick), 6/29/2006 - Summerfest with Tom Petty,
8/24/2009 - United Center, 7/19/2013 - Wrigley Field, 10/3/2014 - St Louis, 10/17/2014 - Moline (GA), 10/20/2014 - Milwaukee,
5/14/2015 - Pete Townshend/EV, 8/20/16 & 8/22/16 Wrigley Field Part 2&3, 8/18/18 & 8/20/18 Wrigley Parts 4 & 5, 9/18/2022 - St Louis
Mansfield '08
Hartford '10
Worcester, Hartford '13
Global Citizen, NY '15
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
The internet was barely usable at this point so I remember searching for hours in the school library for low quality wav files of SOLAT, Wash and other b sides.
When I first listened to No Code, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the lack of hard rockers. I remember when Who You Are was playing mainstream radio and I was like, hmm, interesting first single, but then Hail, Hail started leaking out and I would wait to hear it again so I could record it to tape. I played the crap out of that tape. Then there was staying up late to see them play Letterman. Such an awesome performance. The whole album quickly grew on me and is to this day my favorite overall musical album that they put out.
The first thing I did every day when I got home from school was pop this CD in my tiny Zenith stereo and lay on my bedroom floor until the last notes of Around the Bend finished playing. Often times the warm chords of this album would lull me to sleep.
I can't wait for the vinyl edition to finally land on my doorstep in a few weeks. This album and the change from summer to fall go hand in hand and bring me back to those teenage years so long ago now. It is a timeless album.
Thank you Pearl Jam for making this album and the everlasting memories it created in my life.
But I was 22 then, & I could not figure out their direction. This was no Vs. They were making it difficult for me to see them live due to the TM thing. And things were getting weird in the rock world. "Maybe that was a fun run," I thought.
But I bought it on Vinyl, still have it, still play it, still love it. Just lost my way for a minute. And probably 15 rows, LOL.
Vedder explained a dream in which the band took the stage, started playing, and just didn’t stop. In his dream they played so long that the crowd just started trickling out until there were only six fans left at the lip of the stage. In essence it was a vision about a life after No Code in which Pearl Jam could finally just do what they wanted, how they wanted, with a core audience that would follow them regardless. And that’s exactly what happened.
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
6/29/06 - Milwaukee, WI
9/25/11 - Vancouver, BC
11/4/12 - (Eddie Vedder) Phoenix, AZ
11/1/13 - New Orleans, LA
11/19/13 - Phoenix, AZ
11/21/13 - San Diego, CA
10/12/14 - Austin, TX
10/22/14 - Denver, CO
8/22/16 - Chicago, IL (Wrigley 2)
I need to see this band again. And SOON.
www.headstonesband.com
Melbourne #2 '03
Melbourne #3 '03
Melbourne #1 '06
Melbourne #3 '06
Melbourne '09
Melbourne '14
2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
2017: RRHoF 4/7 2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4 2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18
2022: MSG 9/11 2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
LOOKING FOR A SINGLE TICKET TO MSG NIGHT 2
I googled No Code reviews and must have read 30 of them, old and new.
Unfortunately the quote I best relate to is " Pearl Jam knew what they were doing with No Code. I did not."
I too shelved the CD and it would take years for me to fully appreciate it so I feel like I owe it an apology. Haha!
www.headstonesband.com
Always skeptical of articles written about PJ (few good ones that understand the band, music well enough) but this is a good one that's worth reading, especially if you're a longtime fan who lived through the mid-90s with the band.
Thanks for sharing.
Always blows my mind they released four records from 1991-96. They survived and the music will last forever.
Would love to get Randalls as a Vault release.
When I heard Daughter on the radio before VS was released and after playing Ten a gazzilion and one times I said WTF?
Even now I can go back to any of their records and find something astounding that I didn't realize before.
www.headstonesband.com