BACKSPACER Makes me Appreciate Avocado

cannotstaylong

After listening to BACKSPACER 3 times now, I absolutely love it. This album is so different and the positive feel really does come "crashing like a fist to the jaw." Awesome.

It really has made me appreciate Avocado more however. Not that I didn't like Avocado in the first place, but it has been pushed to the back of my PJ listening for a while recently. I think it will come back out now though. It seems like the grittier version of this new Pearl Jam sound. Imagine if Brendan could have produced Avocado. More importantly, imagine if Ed's voice sounded as good then as it does now....

After a few weeks I will be able to better see how the two stack up. I think BACKSPACER will edge out Avocado for me, mainly due to how smooth it is and how effortless it feels. A similar thing happened to me with Radiohead after hearing In Rainbows. I never was able to get into Hail to the Thief until I had heard In Rainbows. And with Avocado, I really liked it in the first place, so I think that it will really start to shine for me.

Anyone else feel this way after hearing BACKSPACER? Note, I absolutely love BACKSPACER, not at all disappointed.

Get_Right

no question
I agree
after listening to BS, I realize how much more I like self titled

dustinpardue

Couldn't have said it better. O'Brien really was missing from Self Titled

morgie2

No bullshit, I swear to God after I heard a couple songs from Backspacer (The Fixer and Got Some) probably 2 months ago I wrote on this forum this very thing. I believe my exact words were "this new album will make me appreciate Avocado more". That being said, I love this new one too!! I think the "happier, gentler Eddie" will take some getting used to for the younger, hard core fans. I'm a fop @ 44! Give this one a chance. I think the OP nailed it.

Mr. Pink

I think Self-Titled is one of their better albums. The first five songs on that album and the way it moves are amazing. Army Reserve and Inside Job round the album out. I like Backspacer because it's a different sound and it's new PJ, but I enjoy Pearl Jam's sound when it's urgent and EV sings like he's in a box filling up with water.

T-Bone 82

Yeah, the two albums really are stark contrasts but each are very, very good.

To me, Backspacer is more listener-friendly. Maybe that's just the length of it. I found it very easy to make the time and give it a straight through listen last night. That's not easy to do with Avocado. I think Brendan gave the new songs a lot of warmth and made the perfect little tweaks (i.e. piano, strings, or harmonies) that Avocado didn't have.

I also think Backspacer is almost perfectly sequenced. With Avocado I felt like I got pulled in and out too easily. The first 5 songs fit well together but then the rest just didn't keep me locked in. I always skip around with that album.

cannotstaylong

T-Bone 82 wrote:

Yeah, the two albums really are stark contrasts but each are very, very good.

To me, Backspacer is more listener-friendly. Maybe that's just the length of it. I found it very easy to make the time and give it a straight through listen last night. That's not easy to do with Avocado. I think Brendan gave the new songs a lot of warmth and made the perfect little tweaks (i.e. piano, strings, or harmonies) that Avocado didn't have.

I also think Backspacer is almost perfectly sequenced. With Avocado I felt like I got pulled in and out too easily. The first 5 songs fit well together but then the rest just didn't keep me locked in. I always skip around with that album.

I agree with you about the sequencing. After listening to BACKSPACER all the way through 3 times, I can tell it just flows better than Avocado did. I find myself already knowing what's coming next, and I don't see myself skipping around much, if at all. There are some songs that I typically skip in Avocado when I listen through, even if I like the song on its own. Worldwide Suicide is one that comes to mind, along with Comatose.

I also agree that it might have to do with the length of the album. Although I wish the album were longer, I do like the flow as it stands now. I guess there would have been the danger that added songs could have detracted from that.

DeLukin

Mr. Pink wrote:

I think Self-Titled is one of their better albums. The first five songs on that album and the way it moves are amazing.

I agree with this. I think Avocado had a couple of songs that killed the momentum for me, which is probably why I don't listen to it as much as I should. Overall, though, a very good album. Seems like with Backspacer they trimmed the fat and it just rocks front-to-back.

Flagg

To me, Avocado was the re-awakening of Pearl Jam. And I think that is why they self-titled it. Their way of saying "we are trying to get back on track". I love it now as much as I did when I first got it. I think it flows great. I think it tells a story well. And I found it so refreshing after the dreary Riot Act and Binaural (although I love Binaural).

I think Backspacer is the logical next step. It has the energy of S/T without the anger and politics and preaching, which I don't necessarily mind, but a third album in a row would have been tiresome and trying.

I can't wait to hear these songs live. I can't wait to sing along with Amongst the Waves and Unthought Known. I've already pumped my fist and sang along to The Fixer and didn't think I liked that song. I do now.

This is the album Pearl Jam needed to make at this point in their careers and they knocked it out of the fucking ballpark.

Gmoney

I hear and appreciate what you're saying, but im the exact opposite. i feel like avocado was a mistake after hearing backspacer. this was what they were trying to do on that record....

cannotstaylong

Flagg wrote:

To me, Avocado was the re-awakening of Pearl Jam. And I think that is why they self-titled it. Their way of saying "we are trying to get back on track". I love it now as much as I did when I first got it. I think it flows great. I think it tells a story well. And I found it so refreshing after the dreary Riot Act and Binaural (although I love Binaural).

I think Backspacer is the logical next step. It has the energy of S/T without the anger and politics and preaching, which I don't necessarily mind, but a third album in a row would have been tiresome and trying.

I can't wait to hear these songs live. I can't wait to sing along with Amongst the Waves and Unthought Known. I've already pumped my fist and sang along to The Fixer and didn't think I liked that song. I do now.

This is the album Pearl Jam needed to make at this point in their careers and they knocked it out of the fucking ballpark.

Yeah, I like what you said about this being the album they needed to make. Emphasis on this being for them. I never minded the political/activist bent on the past albums (I only got annoyed at some of Ed's political rants during concerts, but you know that is going to happen), and actually appreciated it even if I often disagreed with the political stance. At first I was a bit disappointed that they were stepping away from that for this album, as I have always felt that the activist approach gave the music a sort of edge. However it is refreshing to have something different, and I really feel it has rejuvenated the band.

You referenced Avocado as a reawakening, and I completely agree with this. I think it is evident in their live shows. They have been tighter and have been playing with more energy on their tours since releasing Avocado than they have in years. They sound incredible. Not only do I really like this album musically, but I think I will find myself listening to it more because it offers something (a feeling, an experience?) that no other album does. And the fact that I believe it is pumping new energy into the band makes me love it even more. We've got enough of the politically angst-charged music to tide us over for a while. For now it will be fun to listen to this "new" re-energized Pearl Jam. And by the way, I don't think we've heard the last of Pearl Jam's politically/activist charged music.

Flagg

cannotstaylong wrote:

Flagg wrote:

To me, Avocado was the re-awakening of Pearl Jam. And I think that is why they self-titled it. Their way of saying "we are trying to get back on track". I love it now as much as I did when I first got it. I think it flows great. I think it tells a story well. And I found it so refreshing after the dreary Riot Act and Binaural (although I love Binaural).

I think Backspacer is the logical next step. It has the energy of S/T without the anger and politics and preaching, which I don't necessarily mind, but a third album in a row would have been tiresome and trying.

I can't wait to hear these songs live. I can't wait to sing along with Amongst the Waves and Unthought Known. I've already pumped my fist and sang along to The Fixer and didn't think I liked that song. I do now.

This is the album Pearl Jam needed to make at this point in their careers and they knocked it out of the fucking ballpark.

Yeah, I like what you said about this being the album they needed to make. Emphasis on this being for them. I never minded the political/activist bent on the past albums (I only got annoyed at some of Ed's political rants during concerts, but you know that is going to happen), and actually appreciated it even if I often disagreed with the political stance. At first I was a bit disappointed that they were stepping away from that for this album, as I have always felt that the activist approach gave the music a sort of edge. However it is refreshing to have something different, and I really feel it has rejuvenated the band.

You referenced Avocado as a reawakening, and I completely agree with this. I think it is evident in their live shows. They have been tighter and have been playing with more energy on their tours since releasing Avocado than they have in years. They sound incredible. Not only do I really like this album musically, but I think I will find myself listening to it more because it offers something (a feeling, an experience?) that no other album does. And the fact that I believe it is pumping new energy into the band makes me love it even more. We've got enough of the politically angst-charged music to tide us over for a while. For now it will be fun to listen to this "new" re-energized Pearl Jam. And by the way, I don't think we've heard the last of Pearl Jam's politically/activist charged music.

Yep, exactly. Stone himselft said it was nice to put that away for awhile and cut loose and they can always go ack to it if they need/want to.

cannotstaylong

Gmoney wrote:

I hear and appreciate what you're saying, but im the exact opposite. i feel like avocado was a mistake after hearing backspacer. this was what they were trying to do on that record....

I'm torn. I sort of felt that way when I first heard Backspacer. Although I wouldn't say a mistake... more of a failed attempt. But now I don't know. I really do feel like Backspacer is a progression that resulted from Avocado. I find that different than saying that Backspacer (the sound, feel, approach, etc. of the album) was goal back in 2006 and that Avocado failed to accomplish that. I feel like Avocado was the necessary stepping stone.