Finally listened to Backspacer (not that anyone cares)
HailHailVitalogy
Posts: 5,574
Alright so after being on this board since 2003 and loving this band, i've seen all the comments before and after Backspacer was released.
I must say I was not pumped at all for this album after hearing The Fixer. After hearing the album for the first time, I thought "god damnit". Then you listen again...and again...and again like any album. I still have that "god damnit" feeling every time I hear any song though because it's NOT PEARL JAM. Where's the grit? Where's the angst? Where's the darkness and heaviness?
That aside, this album does kick ass but not to the extension that some of you are putting it at.
Gonna See My Friend is one of the best album openers of theirs. Ed's voice sounds incredible, but way to repetitive. Got Some is my second favorite song on this album, repetitive as well but the 2nd half of the song from where the matts drums are just banging to the end with the screaming guitar is brilliant. The Fixer...ehhhh. Johnny Guitar is a great song because of the lyrics and because of the way Ed delivers the words "Now Johnny be having lots of womennnn"
The first 4 songs are great because of the uptempo...but NOT PEARL JAM. I understand they change their sound every album but this is a slap in the face, but a good slap.
Just Breathe is awful...I'm sorry I know its meaningful and all that crap but I cannot STAND that song
AMONGST THE WAVES, yes!! THIS IS PEARL JAM AT THEIR BEST. The lyrics, the chorus, the solo, the heaviness at the end...this is Pearl Jam and their experience shows in this song as well as Unthought Known...but if Eddie said "nothing left" one more time I was going to punch my car cd player.
Supersonic, love the breakdown...sounds like Stone took some of his own riffs out of his Mother Love Bone 80s days and just threw that in...again way to repetitive though.
Speed of Sound and Force of Nature are just filler songs in my opinion. And THE END is fuckin brilliant.
Overall good album, 7/10...but this album won't bring me back into Pearl Jam. I've been fading out of the obsession but I still love this band. Eds voice sounds its best since 2000, and the band seems to be enjoying themselves and that's all we can ask.
But god damnit...next album I want some grit. Heck Binaural and Riot Act get shit on but they hold their own with the grit and edge.
Yield
Vs.
Vitalogy
Ten
Binaural
BACKSPACER
No Code
Avocado
Riot Act
I must say I was not pumped at all for this album after hearing The Fixer. After hearing the album for the first time, I thought "god damnit". Then you listen again...and again...and again like any album. I still have that "god damnit" feeling every time I hear any song though because it's NOT PEARL JAM. Where's the grit? Where's the angst? Where's the darkness and heaviness?
That aside, this album does kick ass but not to the extension that some of you are putting it at.
Gonna See My Friend is one of the best album openers of theirs. Ed's voice sounds incredible, but way to repetitive. Got Some is my second favorite song on this album, repetitive as well but the 2nd half of the song from where the matts drums are just banging to the end with the screaming guitar is brilliant. The Fixer...ehhhh. Johnny Guitar is a great song because of the lyrics and because of the way Ed delivers the words "Now Johnny be having lots of womennnn"
The first 4 songs are great because of the uptempo...but NOT PEARL JAM. I understand they change their sound every album but this is a slap in the face, but a good slap.
Just Breathe is awful...I'm sorry I know its meaningful and all that crap but I cannot STAND that song
AMONGST THE WAVES, yes!! THIS IS PEARL JAM AT THEIR BEST. The lyrics, the chorus, the solo, the heaviness at the end...this is Pearl Jam and their experience shows in this song as well as Unthought Known...but if Eddie said "nothing left" one more time I was going to punch my car cd player.
Supersonic, love the breakdown...sounds like Stone took some of his own riffs out of his Mother Love Bone 80s days and just threw that in...again way to repetitive though.
Speed of Sound and Force of Nature are just filler songs in my opinion. And THE END is fuckin brilliant.
Overall good album, 7/10...but this album won't bring me back into Pearl Jam. I've been fading out of the obsession but I still love this band. Eds voice sounds its best since 2000, and the band seems to be enjoying themselves and that's all we can ask.
But god damnit...next album I want some grit. Heck Binaural and Riot Act get shit on but they hold their own with the grit and edge.
Yield
Vs.
Vitalogy
Ten
Binaural
BACKSPACER
No Code
Avocado
Riot Act
2003: Uniondale, MSG x2 | 2004: Reading | 2005: Gorge, Vancouver, Philly | 2006: East Rutherford x2, Gorge x2, Camden 1, Hartford | 2008: MSG x2, VA Beach | 2009: Philly x3 | 2010: MSG x2, Bristow | 2011: Alpine Valley x2 | 2012: MIA Philly | 2013: Wrigley, Charlottesville, Brooklyn 2 | 2014: Milan, Amsterdam 1 | 2016: MSG x2, Fenway x2, Wrigley 2 | 2018: Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Wrigley 2 | 2021: Sea Hear Now | 2022: San Diego, LA x2, MSG, Camden, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver | 2023: St. Paul 1, Chicago x2, Fort Worth x2, Austin 2 | 2024: Las Vegas 1, Seattle x2, Indy, MSG x2, Philly x2, Baltimore, Ohana 2
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Plus I cant trust anyone who puts No Code as Pearl Jams 3rd worse album behind Riot Act and Avocado
Madrid '07 Munich '07 London '07
Camden '08 MSG I '08 MSG II '08 Hartford '08 Mansfield '08
Philly II '09 Philly III '09 Philly IV '09
Hartford '10 MSG I '10 MSG II '10
Made in America Fest Philly '12
Greenville 98
Knoxville 98
West Palm 00
Atlanta 03
MSG 03
Asheville 04
Camden 06
Bonnaroo 08
Columbia 08
Atlanta 09 (EV Solo)
Seattle 09
Seattle 09
MSG 10
MSG 10
Pensacola 12
Wrigley 13
Individually each song on No Code is fuckin great but I can't listen to it all straight.
I'm just saying comparing this album to other albums...there's no song that's just hard and badass. Ten and Vs and Vialogy speak for themselves with songs that are hard. No Code has Hail Hail and Habit, Yield has Brain of J and DTE, Binaural has Breakerfall and Grievance, Riot Act has Save You, Avocado has Comatose....
That's not all I look into Pearl Jam, what brought me to them was the angst, grit, and edge but their collaboration with the music is unbeatable..but this album has some of the best lyrics and melodys I have ever heard from the band.
PJ 2009, its kicking too much ass!
It's a solid album, but it's not outstanding. Simply put, there are too many forgettable songs on it. Too many "piss break" songs, if you will. The album just feels fairly disjointed to me.
Avocado was an incredible album, really. Three years later, it stands up as much as ever. Backspacer is definitely not in its league. That's okay. Pearl Jam is allowed to make different types of albums, and I guess they wanted to do something softer with this one. However, it definitely feels too generic and not particularly memorable. More than anything, I just hope they will keep writing lots of new material and not wait three or four years to put their next album out.
I kind of take offense to people who come on here and say that just because most of us on here like this album a lot, we must just be blindly following pearl jam. The truth is, its a real good album. How can you say that Avocado stands up as much as ever, but Backspacer is "softer" "too generic" and "not particularly memorable"?? I also dont see how there are too many "forgettable piss break songs" Which ones are forgettable? Gonna See My Friend? Got Some? Unthought Known? Amongst The Waves? Force of Nature? Because they all sound pretty damn good to me
Madrid '07 Munich '07 London '07
Camden '08 MSG I '08 MSG II '08 Hartford '08 Mansfield '08
Philly II '09 Philly III '09 Philly IV '09
Hartford '10 MSG I '10 MSG II '10
Made in America Fest Philly '12
I get that disjointed feeling too - but I just attribute that to all the members doing some solo stuff, coming back together and bringing their unique and different sounds into the mix - I hear a mix of five excellent musicians and their own styles and growth (ITW, Tone, MCage, etc...), and that makes this album exceptional, albeit quite different from their prior efforts. As a fan since MLB days, I love the fact that every album is different, unique, and timeless - makes them all memorable to me. Hope this one is no different
38+6 shows at the age of 27 and counting...but still no Undone
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I think that's pretty silly.
for the least they could possibly do
And also, this.
for the least they could possibly do
What gets me is people that say crap like "I still have that "god damnit" feeling every time I hear any song though because it's NOT PEARL JAM. Where's the grit? Where's the angst? Where's the darkness and heaviness?
It's not Pearl Jam? What rock have you been hiding under? They've been diversifying their music for 20 years. If someone wants to hear the same type of music album after album, there are plenty of suck ass bands to choose from. I know it's might be hard to comprehend, but maybe the band has grown up over the years...I think some of you should too!
Keep up the rocking work, guys!!
You state, with regards to every song, that "it's NOT PEARL JAM."
Then you write that Amongst The Waves is "PEARL JAM AT THEIR BEST."
So which is it dude? Maybe you should listen to it for a few days before you bother reviewing it. I hated No Code when it was released but now it's my joint favorite alongside Yield.
Sit back, relax and digest...
www.screenplaymechanic.com
I know i'm in the minority, but ATW is not PJ at their best. listen to Yield or Ten again then tell me that song is in the same league. no way!
The album is not them, but the song is incredible.
The album was targeted to the mainstream a little too much for this band.
Every album that has come out by them, I can see it coming from this band...this album is completely different. The only other album that I can say that I would fall in this category is No Code.
Why should I grow up? Because I like the album but I don't think its "them"? What part of that has to do with growing up? I would like to understand that.
I have no problem with them changing their sound. This is the first time PJ has even marketed their album this much since Vs. was released. That's not what they "usually" do, as a result the album became a "target" to the mainstream and the music is completely different. When I hear Avocado I can say that this band made Ten. When I hear Backspacer, I cannot say that. It's not a bad thing, it's just different.
I really don't understand what this whole argument is.
I mean I'm sure if I hear it live, I'll go home and play it. But I tried for Just Breathe...I really really did. Can't do it. Force of Nature is a good song, just not a stand out song...for me at least.
Ten
Vs-Vitalogy
No Code-Yield
Binaural-Riot Act-Avocado
Backspacer
to me Backspacer isn't that different than any of their other big changes. Backspacer probably has less of a change from Ten than Riot Act or No Code, or even Vs. (an album with practically nothing in common with Ten IMO). it fits in pretty well. I dont buy the 'targetted for mainstream" thing, its just simpler and streamlined. i like that.
Name a song or album as "pop" or "punk" as this one of theirs? I'll name it...Last Kiss...Last Kiss was marketed and was one of the biggest songs in America for a long long time. STBC is a punk song, but it's completely different, theres grit...Comatose as well...Brain of J...Save You. Nothing on this album compares to those "punk" songs. And yes I'm going to say it, this album has some pop in it's songs.
I'm not saying that the album sucks. I just really don't understand all the hype by the 10c fans. Same thing happened last album. Avocado was a new light for this band, and now when you read on the board it's in the Riot Act league.
Its not like radio is playing this type of stuff. its just a 80s inspired album. there are too many obvious 80s influences (Ramones, Dire Straights, Ramones, Devo, Ramones, U2, oh and the Ramones) to say they are really making radio songs. I hate the Fixer, but still, it doesn;t sound like a radio hit to me.
I would love a few more Brain of J's too, and IMO the mid tempo rockers have been devoid of grit and edge since Binaural, but we might not see any more anger until a republican is back in the White House.
Not just 10c fans. This album is getting great reviews.
I personally loved ITTW and the fact that there is some influence from that period of Eddie's creativity suits me fine.
I think Force of Nature is the best song on the album. Love it more than I could ever express on a message board.
We all have our own opinions. Yours is fine, but don't be surprised cause others have different opinions. Going on and on about how you can't believe people actually love this album makes you sound like a space cadet, babbling incoherently, about losing your marbles. IMO.
Haha!
Songs might not be on the radio but PJ is. There's defiantly been more Alive, Corduroy, etc on the radio. But I can't turn on the TV each night without hearing one of their songs from a network. I'm not saying they changed their sound in order to market it to the mainstream, I just find it ironic.
Avocado got great reviews as well, and as I said now it's turned into Riot Act according to many on this board.
People are aloud to love this album it's all based on opinion and I'm expressing mine.
To me each album has similar themes and similar songs. Always a few fast punky songs, a few bluesy rock songs, a couple of Eddie's love's lost laments, maybe 1 or 2 soft acoustic songs or a poppy sounding rock song, and a few of the hard rock/building to a crescendo songs AND maybe one or 2 weird goofy songs. To me every Pearl Jam album has these elements it's just a matter of which kind of Pearl Jam songs you prefer and how much that kinda song is represented on the latest album. That's the only way I can figure out why some of you really dislike Backspacer and some people like me love it. I can see wanting more "grit" But to me the Avocado and Riot Act have plenty of grit, others don't think so. I love Comatose as much as I love say Save You or EvenFlow or Go or Spin the Black Circle or Lukin or Breakerfall or Do the Evolution or Got Some, I don't see where they changed in any dramatic way. Each album has all those different kinds of PJ songs we've come to know and love, but each time it's a little different, music and art thrive on change, like it or not.
Honestly I don't know why we argue so much about it, we're all here because we love Pearl Jam. Maybe it's just we all love our DIFFERENT ideas of who Pearl Jam is? I don't know, I love'em all
Ooooh. Whoooa, much more than this. Woooh see the world. Much more than... Oooh, much more than.. Why?
I know... it is clearly the best one