Backspacers Up and Downs, and I hope I get it one day:
JonnyPistachio
Florida Posts: 10,219
I have been very reluctant to state how I feel about Backspacer because I wanted to let in sink in for awhile. But while I was listening to it on my drive to work this morning, something occurred to me. I was recalling about I was slightly disappointed with Riot Act when it came out, and how it grew on me after awhile. But then I thought about how much I liked Avocado from the get-go. This made me feel better because it seems like every other album has a different effect on me when they first come out, and I like them all in some way or another.
But then I suddenly realized my fear with Backspacer. Some of you might remember when Avocado came out, there was a lot of comparison of how the new songs would all be played live with intensity and energy as opposed to the Riot act songs. And it was at this point that I realized that PJ had an album (Avocado) that contained songs that will all get their fair share of concert time.
I do think Backspacer has its moments, and I’m probably jumping the gun on this one, but when album number 10 comes out (hopefully sooner than later), I have a feeling the band will half abandon many of the songs off Backspacer. Johnny Guitar Watson will die with Bushleageur. Supersonic will die with Mankind, oh wait, it already did…Speed of Sound will die with Crocket and Tubbs, and Force of Nature might as well go home with Get Right. The End is flat and will never see the light of day after this current tour. I doubt these songs will be seen much after this tour.
The other thing I’ve been wondering is whose idea it was to have so much piano all over Backspacer. Bo’B? Come on, man…It makes me feel like they put so little thought into the songs that they needed to round them out with some crappy piano to throw us off. I love Unthought Known, but that piano does nothing for me – it almost kills it. Speed of Sound – listen to that piano and think about crocket and Tubbs speeding along in their cigarette boat, I dare you. It kinda works on the Fixer, but that’s it.
I love, love, love Got Some, Just Breathe, Amongst the Waves, and Unthought Known, but the rest have me scratching my head for the first time since 1991. I just PRAY that I’m missing something and it will hit me one day…
But then I suddenly realized my fear with Backspacer. Some of you might remember when Avocado came out, there was a lot of comparison of how the new songs would all be played live with intensity and energy as opposed to the Riot act songs. And it was at this point that I realized that PJ had an album (Avocado) that contained songs that will all get their fair share of concert time.
I do think Backspacer has its moments, and I’m probably jumping the gun on this one, but when album number 10 comes out (hopefully sooner than later), I have a feeling the band will half abandon many of the songs off Backspacer. Johnny Guitar Watson will die with Bushleageur. Supersonic will die with Mankind, oh wait, it already did…Speed of Sound will die with Crocket and Tubbs, and Force of Nature might as well go home with Get Right. The End is flat and will never see the light of day after this current tour. I doubt these songs will be seen much after this tour.
The other thing I’ve been wondering is whose idea it was to have so much piano all over Backspacer. Bo’B? Come on, man…It makes me feel like they put so little thought into the songs that they needed to round them out with some crappy piano to throw us off. I love Unthought Known, but that piano does nothing for me – it almost kills it. Speed of Sound – listen to that piano and think about crocket and Tubbs speeding along in their cigarette boat, I dare you. It kinda works on the Fixer, but that’s it.
I love, love, love Got Some, Just Breathe, Amongst the Waves, and Unthought Known, but the rest have me scratching my head for the first time since 1991. I just PRAY that I’m missing something and it will hit me one day…
Pick up my debut novel here on amazon: Jonny Bails Floatin (in paperback) (also available on Kindle for $2.99)
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
i too have very uneven feelings about backspacer, very similar thoughts/reactions as yours. it did surprise me! i don't really fall in love with much music right off, not even pearl jam....but i usually have stronger/more positive reactions. it's funny, the songs you list as really diggin', i do too! i'd also add in gonna see my friend, has totally grown on me, and i do like the end.....but the rest is very.....meh....for me. i find a lot of familiarity, a lot of homage to other music, which can be great....like gonna see my friend.....but it isn't always. and yes, i hear some recycling of other pj tunes before, which again, can be cool....understandable. however, bottomline.....it's their NINTH album. that in and of itself is AMAZING. the fact that they can even have a handful of songs that have 'staying power' off each album, is epic. they ARE an amazing band. they are growing, changing...i like a lot of what i am hearing, and i accept the other changes that may not 'connect' with me to the same extent...and, given their vast catalogue, there will never be a shortage of pj, so it's alll good. but i am with ya man, maybe it'll hit me someday too. and if it doesn't, as i always say, there's still SO much pearl jam music to utterly LOVE.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
My only problem with the album is Just Breathe and The End. They are Ed solo songs and don't belong on a Pearl Jam album.
I love the instruments on this album. It works and I think it was time Pearl Jam mixed it up a bit. These songs are great.
I really feel some of the songs (well 1 or 2 of them) will stick around well after this tour and be MAINSTAYS. As for which ones, I think when the tour is done they'll know whixhones got the best response and they'll keep those who knows maybe I'm wrong?
MTL 9/15/05
HRTFD 5/13/06
BOS 5/24/06, 5/25/06
VEGAS 7/6/06
CHI 8/5/07
NJ 6/19/08
NYC 6/25/08
HRTFD 6/27/08
MANSFLD 6/28/08, 6/30/08
E.V. BOS 8/1/08
CHI 8/23/09, 8/24/09
PHILLY 10/30/09, 10/31/09
BOS 5/17/10
CHI 7/19/13
WOOSTA 10/15/13, 10/16/13
HRTFD 10/25/13
BOS 8/5/16, 8/7/16
BOS 9/2/18, 9/4/18
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
It takes me awhile to full appreciate a Pearl Jam album, "Pearl Jam" took 7 or 8 listens. Riot Act took about 12, and it never did much for me.
So far, I am hearing some great things on this album...Really great! Got Some & The Fixer are their best songs this decade without fail. Amongst the Waves & Unthought Known sounds like future classics (though they are still to fully sink in with me) I also love the wah wah in Force of Nature.
Only slight criticism. Just Breathe is so Into The Wild sounding..It's a fine, fine song but it feels like it's on the wrong album. I guess people who didn't buy ITW will be ok with it though
It's the most melodic album they've made since Yield. No doubt about that. I found Riot Act to be uninspired and Self Titled to be a little forced at times (Comatose, Marker in The Sand, Gone) so I'm real happy so far...Now onto listen number 5
I cant stand the piano in unthought known, the fixer is very so so, another song with "waves", and a song that has the same name as a coldplay song-combine that with the lack of McCready presence-and I was not loving this record
but after letting it sink in for awhile (basically on repeat for the last week or so), I like most of the record.
The fixer, amongst the waves and unthought known are the only songs I really dont care for-and thats mostly due to the production. My opinion of these three may change after hearing them played live without the studio effects-certainly the piano in unthought was much more low key at the key last night (based on the vids).
Its a decent record, I enjoy putting it on and I love Johnny Guitar and Just Breathe. There will never be another yieldbinauralnocodevitalogyvsten. Im just glad they keep making new music and touring.
Ed solo songs?
Well shit. Let's get rid of Betterman, Gone, Not For You, Corduroy, etc etc etc. Ed solo songs, all of 'em.
for the least they could possibly do
I hear Soundgarden all over this record. Which means I might be hearing whoever it was who influenced Soundgarden. Or maybe I'm just hearing Matt Cameron, the common thread.
I heard some Soundgarden on S/T, too (think the verses to Marker).
for the least they could possibly do
Good points. I was goint to mention Gonna See My Friend. I do like that song a lot, but only for a loud 'pump-me-up'. probably not much staying power in that tune either, unfortunately.
You do bring an excellent point too -- I cant think of ANY other rockband that has put out 9 consistent studio albums in recent history. Pearl Jam stands alone on that totem pole. What other bands have even put out more than 5 consistent records in the past 10-12 years...I cant think of many.
And I really do appreciate that they have once again tried something new with Backspacer. They always surprise me, that's for sure.
Sorry I wasn't clear. I don't mean that songs written by Ed don't belong on the album. I meant that the band isn't really involved in those songs. Jeff stands out on Just Breathe but I really feel they are songs that could have been on ITW. Again, I'm not saying I don't like those songs, I'm just saying they don't seem to involve the band too much.
Same with Speed of Sound. I didn't like the demo and am loving the album version because the whole band is involved.
I hope I am clear. Thanks.
Pretty sure those songs all have the rest of the band playing on them, not just Ed, a guitar, and a few session musicians. Although you may be right about Gone... it's a bad song that is just an Ed song and they shoehorned the whole band onto it just to make it seems like a group effort. Still, I suppose it's better to have just an Ed solo song than it is to have an Ed solo song amped into some half assed anthem (Gone) for the sake of parity. But he's right, 5 songs on this album are Ed's and Ed's alone, and 3 of them are basically ITW b-sides. There is a lot of Ed solo stuff on here... and that's after they made a concerted effort not to let such songs dominate the album.
Pistachio,
You'll get it. It might take a few listens and maybe even seeing a live version of songs, but I think you will get it. The more you listen, the more you will hear how much they PUT INTO IT. This might be the most interesting musical album they have put out since No Code. Matt finally fits perfectly with the band and the songs are incredibly interesting. Keep listening!
Eh? So what? A good song's a good song is a good song. Obviously, you and I have divergent opinions about what constitutes a good song. It's a breach we'll never cross. It is what it is.
for the least they could possibly do
I wouldn't call the last 3 albums THAT consistent
To an extent, but context matters. Ed just released an 11 song, 35 minute album where every song sounds exactly like The End and Just Breathe. Now the band releases an 11 song, 35 minute album with 2-3 more songs that sound exactly the same. In the context of ITW, they sound good because it fits the mood. In the context of this album, they just sound boring... like the band was looking for something to fill space and tossed a few leftovers onto an EP to get an album. You're telling me that after ITW, it made sense to shelve who knows what gems from Stone, Mike, and Jeff so that Ed could get a full FIVE songs on this album to himself, 3 of which sound almost identical to material he released before on a project much more suitable to those kinds of songs? I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. I'm convinced they buried a few great songs so that Ed could play up the wandering folkster image he seemed to enjoy so much over the last 2 years.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/art ... le1290301/
Sitting on a couch with all his road companions – pack of American Spirit cigarettes, song-catalogue binder, travel-size acoustic guitar, retro suitcase – within arm's length, Vedder gives a track-by-track lowdown of a lean rock record that clocks in at just 36 minutes. “None of these songs became homework,” he explains. “The ones that did, they didn't make the record.”
And if the material came quickly, there's nothing fleeting about the album, says the man who writes the lyrics and the set lists. “I think it's going to be a batch of songs we're going to like playing for quite a long time.” Herewith, Vedder gives the back story on songs you'll be hearing for a while.
As for Backspacer, I do see the same thing happening, which is too bad. In all honesty, this is the first and to date ONLY PJ album that caused some doubts for me out of the gate... This never happens with PJ, so initially I was concerned. As it turns out, other bands' records have left an initially bad impression with me but have later grown to be absolute favorites. For instance, I hated much of OK Computer the first pass through. I am thinking that Backspacer will grow into a top album for me, and believe it or not, there's a cool finding in social psychology, such that we tend to like things a lot more when we initially dislike them, relative to something we like right away ... The latter things have no shelf life. In all honesty, Avocado was my favorite thing when it first came out, I liked it better than my wife (she doesn't read this message board .... Love you, honey!!!) ... Now, its ranking in the PJ catalogue has dropped quite a bit ... I still love those tunes live, but as a song collection, its behind Binaural and Yield and No Code for me, by a long shot. I liked it a little too much. Backspacer is a real different approach for PJ, and this makes me optimistic that the album will continue to grow on me. Just Breathe is an amazing beautiful composition from a band not known for beauty, per se. I really did dig Johnny Guitar right out of the gate, like I do all of Matt's PJ tunes. Maybe it'll lose its lustre, then (although Matt's songs always stick around as personal favorites for me ... Must be my Matt mancrush ... Love you, honey!). A bit of a downer is that the OP is right, and the band will probably ditch half these tunes next tour.
exactly.
they still try and challenge themselves and take chances.....and they still have a LOT to share musically! just b/c i am not head-over-heels in love with this labum does not mean i dismiss it entirely, or degrade their efforts, etc. some music will speak to you, some won't....even with your fave band, and so it goes. sure, i would love to absolutely love it start to finish, who wouldn't? but the fact that i don't...it is what it is. there's a lot going on, i may not agree with all their choices....but i still love and respect this band, and there are some real gems, so you know.....they are AWESOME, as ever...
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Yeah live might be a different story too, trust me, I'll keep listening...
The only problem with this logic is that as every album comes out, they say it's their best work to date.