How do you think Avocado has aged?

evenflow82

I was listening to Avocado/Self Titled today and must I had to cringe at some of the lyrics. It seems like a concept album about the Iraq War more than a PJ album. Just my two cents. :-) How do you feel about this album seven years on?

cp3iverson

far and away my least favorite but to each their own.

moses562

Better than Backspacer...but maybe I will be saying that when the new album comes out...hope not...and it may be that I have not given Backspacer much attention as the others.

evenflow82

Army reserve is pretty bad.

foodboy

don't agree with you people . this album to me is a classic. just because it is not ten doesn't mean it is bad. all their albums so far are great. i have said before that i don't know of any other bands with this much quality material. even if it is not your favorite album you can still listen to any of their albums from side to side, even if you don't like all the songs. these guys will stand the test of time. i thought that album was at their peak. that was the last great tour in my opinion vocally. just saying

2-feign-reluctance

Great protest record. Holds up just fine IMO.

Empty Glass

I'm not a big fan. Life Wasted is a classic, but not much else. The album is ok, but in my mind it doesn't hold up well as a whole.

cmm6734

I actually have revisited this album recently and I love it more than when it first came out. I used to cringe at Parachutes (not anymore). Life Wasted is amazing. I actually like Army Reserve, it was a stand-out song for me when the album first came out.

RiotZact

My favorite.

october22

Wow, pretty amazing to see this thread because I was on a long car ride today, put in S/T which I haven't listened to in years and had some similar thoughts. Although, I don't think that it's aged badly necessarily. I respect the lyrics for what they were at the time and it was important to express that in popular music (as it still is, in fact). Lyrics like "four dead in Ohio" can act as an opportunity to reflect, learn and teach years after they were sung by Young Neil and I don't see why Pearl Jam lyrics can't be viewed the same.

I followed my listen of S/T with Backspacer, an album which I pretty much hate, and after listening all the way through, I decided that topical and political lyrics no matter how dated will almost always outshine nonsensical, clumsy and vacuous lyrics of any kind.

And another thing to remember is that these lyrics only "feel" dated but in actuality they shouldn't. We are still at war. Sadly, I believe we will always be at war from this point on and while we are losing soldiers at a slower rate than in years past, our government is killing people both guilty and innocent in our name around the world every day.

Unfortunately, it seems now that the band has their guy in office they've gone soft politically. I think that's a terrible mistake on their part both socially and musically. There is just as much to be angry about or contemplative about now as there was in 2006. Just my two cents.

Jammalambo

foodboy wrote:

don't agree with you people . this album to me is a classic. just because it is not ten doesn't mean it is bad. all their albums so far are great. i have said before that i don't know of any other bands with this much quality material. even if it is not your favorite album you can still listen to any of their albums from side to side, even if you don't like all the songs. these guys will stand the test of time. i thought that album was at their peak. that was the last great tour in my opinion vocally. just saying

And who mentioned Ten in this thread (apart from you)?
Anyway, always thought Self-Titled is really an average album.. I was pretty disappointed at the time, because from Ten to Riot Act to me they never failed.. their first seven studio albums are masterpieces in my eyes, not a single bad song (and I know I probably am the only one who think so).. but that Avocado broke the perfection, unfortunately.. Backspacer a little better, but still I hope the next record will not have nothing to do with its two predecessors
That been said, the 06 tour is the greates tour they ever did.. amazing setlists, long powerful shows, eddie's voice at its peak.. even the avocado songs live were better..

Jamminonthe1

Never liked the album. But I love all of the songs live. Only album I feel like that about.

PU38569

I heard the next album takes the phoning it in approach a step further and it's just Ed on the beach drumming on his surfboard while his accountant reads off the latest merchandise sales figures.

And the tour posters and t-shirts have already all sold out online, and the official bootlegs, which is weird, because no shows have actually occurred yet.

What's the ecological footprint on 37 tons of redundant physical objects with a band's name printed on it?

No time for that, gotta start hitting refresh for the exclusive PJ doorstop collection pre-sale.

I really have problems with doors not staying open in my house.

Punk rock dude

:?

Kimmiebyrom

It took more than a few listens to "get" the ST album. There is definitely something special in each song, but every song is not great. That's realistic for any album, though. I like the fact that Mike got his song on there (easily my favorite on the whole album), and "Severed Hand" doesn't leave me empty. I imagine, too, that the extreme loss Ed was going through during this recording, coupled with his anger at the war (and president), led the guys through emotional territory and a direction not even fans could grasp as a whole. But, in the end, it works beautifully. With the exception of "Unemployable", "Army Reserve" and "Marker in the Sand", the songs have aged well, and I enjoy listening to them quite often.

mookeywrench

This is the album where Pearl Jam's song writing became less imaginative and too straightforward.

vant0037

mookeywrench wrote:

This is the album where Pearl Jam's song writing became less imaginative and too straightforward.

Sometimes political songs should be straightforward.

I think this album has aged just fine.

my2hands

PU38569 wrote:

I heard the next album takes the phoning it in approach a step further and it's just Ed on the beach drumming on his surfboard while his accountant reads off the latest merchandise sales figures.

And the tour posters and t-shirts have already all sold out online, and the official bootlegs, which is weird, because no shows have actually occurred yet.

What's the ecological footprint on 37 tons of redundant physical objects with a band's name printed on it?

No time for that, gotta start hitting refresh for the exclusive PJ doorstop collection pre-sale.

I really have problems with doors not staying open in my house.

Punk rock dude

:?

I love the band... I love Ed...

But this is awesome

my2hands

And as far as avocado... I think it is a great record and always will be... It also lead to the biggest touring year since 1992

fisherman

I still love the album. The first 4 tracks hit you and just keep on running. Life Wasted, WWS, Comatose, and Severed Hand all rock when they first came out, and still do today. They were upfront, angry, full of emotion and energy. I equally like the last 4 songs for their softer qualities, more contemplative. Come back has brought tears to my eyes with the emotion they brought out at the Chicago show.
Still love hearing it, still play it on nearly every road trip I take.

primussucks

Life Wasted, Comatose, Severed Hand, Unemployable, Marker all great songs! Take off Big Wave and Comeback and replace them with Of The Earth then this would be my favorite album!!

dwhite76

The Best work the band has EVER done !!!!


Im not saying its far and away the best but its tops in my book. Seems like they poured a bunch of heart and soul into it. I just wish they didnt do the video for Life Wasted. I dont like the video at all. It seems to have cheapen the feel of the song.

dwhite76

Life Wasted
World Wide Suicide
Comatose
Severed Hand
Marker In The Sand
Parachutes
Unemployable
Big Wave
Gone
Wasted Reprise
Army Reserve
Come Back
Inside Job

There is not a weak song on this album. NOT ONE!

If you dont like this album, You need to relisten and read the lyrics while your doing it. Parachutes may be the weakest song but its a cleverly written love song.

AzWicker

I really like Avocado. I would have liked it more without the brickwalled compression, had been more dynamic...


My favs are

Life Wasted
Severed Hand
Marker in the Sand
Unemployable
Gone
Come Back
Inside Job

Musically a very good album, as a guitar player for 30 years, I gravitate more towards the riffs and melodies rather than the lyrics

CTD10

One of my favorites. Listen to it all the time. Also love the art work...real different for PJ.

dwhite76

AzWicker wrote:

I really like Avocado. I would have liked it more without the brickwalled compression, had been more dynamic...


My favs are

Life Wasted
Severed Hand
Marker in the Sand
Unemployable
Gone
Come Back
Inside Job

Musically a very good album, as a guitar player for 30 years, I gravitate more towards the riffs and melodies rather than the lyrics

Nicely said

ckravitz

AzWicker wrote:

I really like Avocado. I would have liked it more without the brickwalled compression, had been more dynamic...


My favs are

Life Wasted
Severed Hand
Marker in the Sand
Unemployable
Gone
Come Back
Inside Job

Musically a very good album, as a guitar player for 30 years, I gravitate more towards the riffs and melodies rather than the lyrics

I agree with pretty much this entire post.

Question for those that know about this sort of thing.... Would remastering fix the compression or is the problem already baked in to the actual recordings? (I know less than nothing about audio production).

Spiritual_Chaos

ckravitz wrote:

Question for those that know about this sort of thing.... Would remastering fix the compression or is the problem already baked in to the actual recordings? (I know less than nothing about audio production).

Think that could be either way. With Death Magnetic the guy who mastered the album said that the brickwalling was done before he got the songs. So...

The biggest problem to me with S/T (beside the awful art) is Eddies voice. It doesn't lift up any of the songs and together with the production everything just feels tired and I get tired listening to it.

I think Eddies new rough "studio voice" doesn't work on either S/T or Backspacer.

dimitrispearljam

love it..

top moment of it..


Life Wasted
Severed Hand
Marker In The Sand
Gone
Army Reserve
Come Back
Inside Job

ckravitz

Spiritual_Chaos wrote:

ckravitz wrote:

Question for those that know about this sort of thing.... Would remastering fix the compression or is the problem already baked in to the actual recordings? (I know less than nothing about audio production).

Think that could be either way. With Death Magnetic the guy who mastered the album said that the brickwalling was done before he got the songs.

Interesting, thanks. Here's to hoping a remaster cleans some of it up. I still like the record but it really is bizarre how when songs from that album come on, it sounds like they are in a box of sorts. Perhaps the vinyl doesn't do this, but I wouldn't know

danny

parachutes is wicked

-Emma-

It's a better album than Backspacer...

Life Wasted :thumbup:
World Wide Suicide :eh: Sometimes I can sing along to this one...at other times I have to skip it.
Comatose :thumbup:
Severed Hand :thumbdown:
Marker In The Sand :thumbdown:
Parachutes :eh:
Unemployable :thumbdown:
Big Wave :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:
Gone :eh: - I prefer Ed's solo version
Wasted Reprise :thumbup:
Army Reserve :thumbup:
Come Back :thumbup:
Inside Job :eh: