"pearl jam" revisited, 2 yrs later.

Cropduster84

guitar_davey wrote:

THAT, I will concede. The last album probably has the weakest production of any of PJ's releases. A lot of the songs definitely sound very compressed, which is un-Pearl Jam-like. I've always liked the fact that as far as "modern rock" bands go, Pearl Jam has always had a very organic sound to their albums, aside from Ten--chalk that up to a new band probably having minimal input into how their first studio recording was done.

I think Brendan O'Brien has done some very bland albums by bands that don't excite me personally (Audioslave comes to mind), but he has gotten some amazing atmosphere out of Pearl Jam's music over the years.

Also, mildly disappointed to hear that they got away from live recording on the last album--they'd be well advised to go back to live takes for the next album as it suits the band much better.

Dave

I agree with every word of that



The O Brien albums easily have the best production.....


compare the organic sound of tracks like Present Tense and Given To Fly to the stodgy yet compressed sound of songs like Life Wasted....


hard to believe its the same band.....


and yeah, definately move back to live takes......

gus stills

It's all a matter of opinion, of course, but I'll contend that this is their finest release. Not their most passionate (Ten), angriest (VS), grungiest (Vitalogy), transdecent (No Code), lyric (Yield), contemplative (Binaural), experimental (Riot Act) or interesting (Lost Dogs). But put all of those together with a maturity that not too many bands have today (I can name a handful, if that...)and add serious political relevance that doesn't distract from gorgeous music, and you have my favorite PJ album. But, like I said, a matter of opinion. I find myself listening to it more and more--that is, when I'm not cranking Don't Gimme No Lip.

Sexy2aFault

gus stills wrote:

It's all a matter of opinion, of course, but I'll contend that this is their finest release. Not their most passionate (Ten), angriest (VS), grungiest (Vitalogy), transdecent (No Code), lyric (Yield), contemplative (Binaural), experimental (Riot Act) or interesting (Lost Dogs). But put all of those together with a maturity that not too many bands have today (I can name a handful, if that...)and add serious political relevance that doesn't distract from gorgeous music, and you have my favorite PJ album. But, like I said, a matter of opinion. I find myself listening to it more and more--that is, when I'm not cranking Don't Gimme No Lip.

Hey Hey, Vitalogy was punk, not grunge! Ten was their only album which could be considered grunge. Thank for showing love for the latest ALbum.

Roeghmann

After reading the first posts in this thread - I found my avocado and gave it a spin or two. I must say I really like the album, it sounds fresh. Somehow the band sounds fresher than they have in some time. The album has a great feel about it and I think it´s some of their best lyrics - WWS is one of their best rockers ever.........
So two years old and stil rocking fresh -I Love it

Man_Of_The_Hour

guitar_davey wrote:

THAT, I will concede. The last album probably has the weakest production of any of PJ's releases. A lot of the songs definitely sound very compressed, which is un-Pearl Jam-like. I've always liked the fact that as far as "modern rock" bands go, Pearl Jam has always had a very organic sound to their albums, aside from Ten--chalk that up to a new band probably having minimal input into how their first studio recording was done.

I think Brendan O'Brien has done some very bland albums by bands that don't excite me personally (Audioslave comes to mind), but he has gotten some amazing atmosphere out of Pearl Jam's music over the years.

Also, mildly disappointed to hear that they got away from live recording on the last album--they'd be well advised to go back to live takes for the next album as it suits the band much better.

Dave

Agreed, that compression war needs to stop. Music isnt supposed to be 100% loudness. It's the alternation between loud and quiet moment that gives music its dynamic. I think Avocado overall is too loud an album (doesnt necessarily take away from the quality of the songs, songwriting).

Cropduster84

Man_Of_The_Hour wrote:

Agreed, that compression war needs to stop. Music isnt supposed to be 100% loudness. It's the alternation between loud and quiet moment that gives music its dynamic. I think Avocado overall is too loud an album (doesnt necessarily take away from the quality of the songs, songwriting).

Agreed.....


There's hardly any change in dynamics on the whole album, renderring it very 2D.....

Think of Sometimes into Hail, Hail.......I want that experience back as a listener.....

Man_Of_The_Hour

Cropduster84 wrote:

Agreed.....


There's hardly any change in dynamics on the whole album, renderring it very 2D.....

Think of Sometimes into Hail, Hail.......I want that experience back as a listener.....

Yeah, but oddly enough, I think aside from Avocado, Hail Hail os one of the most compressed tracks in their discography. That song has basically a single loudness level throughout with lots of clipping. But still, at least there is variation between a punker like Hail Hail and Sometimes.

I think that Illustration tells the whole story of the modern music industry. I had hoped PJ would take a backseat in the loudness war though

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cd_loudness_trend-something.gif

Cropduster84

Man_Of_The_Hour wrote:

Yeah, but oddly enough, I think aside from Avocado, Hail Hail os one of the most compressed tracks in their discography. That song has basically a single loudness level throughout with lots of clipping. But still, at least there is variation between a punker like Hail Hail and Sometimes.

I think that Illustration tells the whole story of the modern music industry. I had hoped PJ would take a backseat in the loudness war though

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cd_loudness_trend-something.gif

yeah, maybe my example wasnt great.....


Pilate off of Yield has great dynamics.....And Given To Fly

actually that album is my favourite in terms of production......


Ive also found Ed's voice low in the mix on the 3 albums since Yield.....

STLJOE

I love the Avocado. Great album by the greatest American rock band. Period.

~Hollywood Madam~

Sexy2aFault wrote:

Hey Hey, Vitalogy was punk, not grunge! Ten was their only album which could be considered grunge. Thank for showing love for the latest ALbum.

Agreed.

Gmoney

dont get me wrong, i got love for the last album, marker and parachutes are both in my top ten favs ever. but there is something, one little element that i cannot figure out that is missing from this album...

UncleSalty

Loved it from the start; listening to it right now actually.

The whole album, IMO, is fantastic from start to finish.

culot4

pjfanman wrote:

No Code is severely overrated on this board.
.

Yeah right. No Code gets the proverbial red headed step child treatment except for those with working ears. It doesn't get anywhere near the love it should. Never has on this board.