Riot Act-What are the positives?

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

with the exception of Cant Keep, it gets off to a brutal start for me (the LBC-Cropduster-Ghost stretch is horrible and i actually removed them from my personal riot act). but the second half (or a bit more) is so much better and i didnt realize it for a few years.

its a flawed album, but there is still a lot to like.

DangDang

electron blue wrote:

DangDang wrote:

electron blue wrote:

:shock: where are the hypnotic jungle book snake eyes? ~ WELL HERE'S ONE

At the beginning of your frickin question.

sorry..
i meant the actual little moving swirly things ~ AND RIGHT THERE IS THE OTHER
HEY!

BEAT IT MR. WINKY FACE!





OMG! I MADE MR. WINKY FACE CRY!! I'M SORRY MR. WINKY FACE!!

Claireack

I really like it, not my favourite, but the drums setting off when I put the cd on I get a little butterfly of excitement.

FrankY59

I absolutely LOVE Riot Act. It is so compact; Ive spent months straight listening to that album, just like I am doing with Backspacer. Unfortunately, it has two of their worst songs of all time in BushLeaguer and 1/2 Full. Oh and Thumbing My Way sucks too. I have never seen a more misplaced song on any album. Nonetheless, Ill defend that album forever!

diamond_marmalade

Riot Act was the first new release from PJ after I became a fan and for that reason I will probably always cherish it. I suppose looking back it could have turned me off them but it didn't. There was just something I liked about it almost immediately. Great mood and great songs.

Personal favourites Save You(live version from Sate College 03 gets me everytime 'LET'S PICK UP YOUR SOULLLLLLL') You Are, LBC, Green Disease. Cropduster and Help, Help maybe aren't their greatest tracks but they work well on this album if that makes sense.

I think I will blast this tommorow. Great thread.

Abe Froman

hopethatuchoke wrote:

Back_Pedal wrote:

I dislike it because it sounds so phoned in. Eddie doesn't sound somber, he just sounds like he doesn't even want to be in the studio because he has something better to do. There's a few decent songs, like Save You, You Are, etc but it's PJ's most uninspired sounding album, in my opinion.

Bingo. I think LBC and Help, Help are two of their absolute worst and cheesiest songs and Green Disease has become uber hypocritical with the way they are conducting their business these days. Bushleaguer is terrible from a song perspective but a funny subject matter. I love You Are and I dig 1/2 Full. Save You is a great tune but I would like to see it retired from selists for a tour or two. Cropduster sucked the life out of the Spectrum Night 3.

Overall BP said it best....it does sound rather phoned in.

I couldn't disagree more. I think it's one of their most inspired/emotional sounding records. I actually love LBC, Green Disease, and Bushleaguer. Not to mention Arc and Save You two of my favorite pieces they've ever put out. I still spin this record the most right behind "No Code and Yield."

12345AGNST1

Abe Froman wrote:

hopethatuchoke wrote:

Back_Pedal wrote:

I dislike it because it sounds so phoned in. Eddie doesn't sound somber, he just sounds like he doesn't even want to be in the studio because he has something better to do. There's a few decent songs, like Save You, You Are, etc but it's PJ's most uninspired sounding album, in my opinion.

Bingo. I think LBC and Help, Help are two of their absolute worst and cheesiest songs and Green Disease has become uber hypocritical with the way they are conducting their business these days. Bushleaguer is terrible from a song perspective but a funny subject matter. I love You Are and I dig 1/2 Full. Save You is a great tune but I would like to see it retired from selists for a tour or two. Cropduster sucked the life out of the Spectrum Night 3.

Overall BP said it best....it does sound rather phoned in.

I couldn't disagree more. I think it's one of their most inspired/emotional sounding records. I actually love LBC, Green Disease, and Bushleaguer. Not to mention Arc and Save You two of my favorite pieces they've ever put out. I still spin this record the most right behind "No Code and Yield."

I agree. I don't think riot act sounds phoned in at all. There's alot of emotion on it. You don't have to wail it all the time to sound emotional.

TheVan218

Everytime I listen to the Cropduster/Ghost 1-2 combo, I close to fall asleep. Those two songs are so... bland, plain, vanilla. It kind of just sinks into everything around you and you just kind of forget you're listening to music.

TB Rival

Ed's voice wasn't so much a lack of emotion...he just sang like his jaw was wired shut. Drove me crazy on that album.

Thank God for Avocado and Backspacer....Eddie got his groove back.

TroubledSoul

1/2 full is a diamond in the rough.

FrankieG

Positives of Riot Act =
Can't Keep
Save You
Love Boat Captain
Cropduster
Ghost
I Am Mine
Thumbing My Way
You Are
Get Right
Green Disease
Help Help
Bu$hleaguer
1/2 Full
Arc
All Or None



I love every song on this album.

i_lov_it

DangDang wrote:

Bushleaguer to me was extremely boring the first 10 times then it started growing, now its reached awesomeness.

.

Bu$hleaguer is probably at the "Moment" in my TOP 10 songs...:)

rival.

much better than backspacer & s/t. still not my fav, but i will say can't keep, ghost, all or none are bitching tunes!

phungi

CrookedTom wrote:

I don’t think this was a particularly good period for Pearl Jam, coming after Roskilde and 9/11, the band seemed somber and Riot Act has a feel of them just bashing out a few mid tempo songs...

In the context of the past, maturity, mortality, and dealing with reality, this album is one to be cherished... having "grown up" with the band, and having had two kids by the time RA came out, I found myself dealing with many of the issues explored in the songs... I think it is as strong as any of their discs... for me, there is a strong emotional and experiential connection...

wolkenlos

I always didn't understood why so many people said this album is their worst. I really like it... I think at the moment it's the PJ album I most listen to (from the studio albums). I think they sound really good together on this one. You Are is amazing, I also really love Green Disease, Save You is an awesome rock song, Arc, I am Mine...they're all very good. No song that I'd like to skip (yeah..maybe Bu$hleager).
Haha... I'm tired as hell and can't write proper sentences... but, yeah - I like this record

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

the songs on it are so much better live than on the album. i dont like Ed's voice on most of them and the music is so sedated. but live, PJ plays them the way they should have been played on the album.

Flagg

OK, I dislike Riot Act tremendously. I think it is by far their weakest effort. Too long, bloated, and tired, it sounds like Ed slept through his vocal recordings. There are songs that make no sense at all lyrically, others that should have never been included, and b-sides that outshine almost anything on the album. Seems like the band agrees as they have done a complete 180 from Riot Act with Pearl Jam and Backspacer and rarely play anything from it other than Save You and 1/2 Full every once in awhile.

However, it does have its positives and to answer the OP, here are mine:

I Am Mine is an outstanding song. Lyrically relevant to this day, understated but perfectly fitting solo, this song is one of the things PJ does best.

All or None is similarly great. I wish they would play it more. Love the dark tone to this one.

Save You is a decent little rocker that is 100 times better live than it is on the record.

Good Mike moments on 1/2 full and Get Right.

pandora

when this cd came out it was as though PJ was reading my mind, the lyrics of my life, speaking the lessons of my soul, 2002, the time of turbulent years with our teens, just after the passing of my mother
Can't Keep.... was the battle to really want to leave this world but at this time now 10 years later for an entirely different reason. More of an "I can't wait to see the other side" a joy not despair and a strong curiosity.

Save You..... strong commitment to love that I had found in my life and needed for my teens

Love Boat Captain..... Love is God, God is love. Some of the most meaningful lyrics for me.

I Am Mine...."I only own my own mind" this song I found conviction and a sense of inner peace

Thumbing My Way....hope no matter how dark

You Are....I love this song, and always picture the romantic whenever I hear it. A tower and a prince and the strength of love to save his princess, I always think of JB and our commitment of love.

Get Right........I never learned all the lyrics just loved the melody and the way Ed sings it

Help Help.....I view this as political songs one of the few I do like.

Arc....I always loved it but a totally new appreciation after EV solo tour, the sound of heaven itself.

All Or None...."To myself I... surrender
To the one I'll never please" this a wonderful lyric that I can relate to, once you are ok with yourself you can be with others

So for me Riot Act is full of positives messages to take with you and get you through life. I love the album and cherish the memories of the live concerts I saw.

markymark550

This record took me a while to get into. I was very excited when it came out because it had been about 3 years since Binaural; however, I was pretty disappointed on the first listen. Just didn't seem to be as strong as the others and I thought they might have just phoned it in to get out of the record contract quicker.

I like the album just fine now (especially Save You and I Am Mine), but I don't listen to it as often as its predecessors.

corduroykelly

I like riot act a lot. I think it get's some negatives because of the fact pearl jam put out 2 darker albums in a row you know Binaural and Riot Act.

I love,

Can't Keep
Save You
Love Boat Captain
Cropduster
I Am MIne
Thumbing My Way
Get Right
You Are
Green Disease

I hate the song Help Help though. It's a waste of space on the cd.