One thing I don't like about the last 2 albums...

12345AGNST1

The first few songs are all heavy and the rest aren't with the exception of one. I think they should mix thhe songs up better. It's not the songs themselves but the order. I'm sure I'm not the only one here thinking this right?

PJ Fan est. 1990

it seems like they have a good amount of each type of paced song, but they plan their record like a live concert...start out with punchy tunes to get the crowd going, then tone it down a bit with a soft song, then maybe a mid-tempo after that...

it seems like they have their first slow/mid-tempo paced song somewhere towards the middle of the album and from then on, they weave the fast songs and slow songs and mid-tempo songs together,

back to my first paragraph though, i like the idea of setting up an album like a concert set list, but i agree with you in that it just doesn't work the way i'd like it to

12345AGNST1

PJ Fan est. 1990 wrote:

it seems like they have a good amount of each type of paced song, but they plan their record like a live concert...start out with punchy tunes to get the crowd going, then tone it down a bit with a soft song, then maybe a mid-tempo after that...

it seems like they have their first slow/mid-tempo paced song somewhere towards the middle of the album and from then on, they weave the fast songs and slow songs and mid-tempo songs together,

back to my first paragraph though, i like the idea of setting up an album like a concert set list, but i agree with you in that it just doesn't work the way i'd like it to

I never looked at it that way but you could be right. Either way it doesn't work on an album. They are good songs but I don't like the "punch you in the face then dull it down" song order.

markin ball

Okay, Mr. 12345AGNST1...re-order the albums for us.

Ledbetterman10

12345AGNST1 wrote:

I don't like the "punch you in the face then dull it down" song order.

But almost every PJ album does this. The first three definitely do. Yield sort of does. And Binarual tries to.

12345AGNST1

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

12345AGNST1 wrote:

I don't like the "punch you in the face then dull it down" song order.

But almost every PJ album does this. The first three definitely do. Yield sort of does. And Binarual tries to.

binaural does it, I'll admit to that. But yield definitely doesn't. There are only 2 straight up heavy song on Yield. There's DTE and brain of J, and there spread apart fine.

Ledbetterman10

12345AGNST1 wrote:

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

12345AGNST1 wrote:

I don't like the "punch you in the face then dull it down" song order.

But almost every PJ album does this. The first three definitely do. Yield sort of does. And Binarual tries to.

binaural does it, I'll admit to that. But yield definitely doesn't. There are only 2 straight up heavy song on Yield. There's DTE and brain of J, and there spread apart fine.

well maybe Yield doesn't but the first song definitely gets the show started. The real thing that needs to be addressed is why does every single album end with a slow song? Inside Job goes uptempo at times, but other than that it's usually somber stuff.

dcfaithful

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

well maybe Yield doesn't but the first song definitely gets the show started. The real thing that needs to be addressed is why does every single album end with a slow song? Inside Job goes uptempo at times, but other than that it's usually somber stuff.

Because it's the best way that Pearl Jam can conclude what message they've just sent to you...

Break The Sky

One of the very first things I thought about Backspacer when I initially heard it all the way through is that it was very top-heavy. Great songs, however the only songs off the album that made it to my running mix were Gonna See my Friend, Got Some, and the Fixer. . . #1, 2, and 3. I did find it a bit odd.

wolfamongwolves

Big Drop wrote:

One of the very first things I thought about Backspacer when I initially heard it all the way through is that it was very top-heavy.

Totally agree. It feels like it starts off so energetically that it starts to run out of steam towards the end.
Like a boxer using up all his energy going for an early knockout, but ending up going the distance. Which is odd for such a short album.

i disagree with the OP that Avocado was like that too. I think Avocado is possibly their most coherent album. I think it flows beautifully from start to finish

wolfamongwolves

markin ball wrote:

Okay, Mr. 12345AGNST1...re-order the albums for us.

Just off the top of my head, how about this for Backspacer? Swap Force of Nature and Amongst the Waves, and move Got Some to between Unthought Known and Supersonic.

So...
Gonna See My Friend
The Fixer
Johnny Guitar
Just Breathe
Force of Nature
Unthought Known
Got Some
Supersonic
Speed of Sound
Amongst the Waves
The End

I remember somewhere seeing an alternative sequence for Yield that was semi-official, I think, and it was much more effective, and flowed much more smoothly. does anyone else remember this?