Lightning Bolt first reviews

jtr101

PJ_Soul wrote:

jtr101 wrote:

Seattle1974 wrote:

Absolutely loving this album!! I've listened to it non-stop since it was streamning last week (at work, at home, at the gym). Now that I have the disc, I've added to car listening to the list. Love having the lyrics and have throughly enjoyed sitting down at home with the headphones on absorbed in the new music with liner notes in hand.

For me the only weak link on this album is LTRP. If I had to pic favorites, I am loving Getway, Lighting Bolt and I love the Infalable, Pendulum, Swallowed Whole trifecta.

As for mixed reviews - who cares. It's all subjective anyway. If the music hits you, that's all that matters.

And I don't get all the hate for Future Days. This is a beautiful song.

I think the hate for Future Days comes from the fact that it essentially Ed And BoB on his casio keyboard and not a whole band effort. I think the song would have been better if it was just a solo acoustic guitar, the keys make it extra cheesy.

They just should have used a real piano. If they had, it would be a WAY better song.

I can agree with that to an extent, i personally don't find the lyrics all that great either to be honest but thats just me.... Just feels like a Just Breathe 2.0 ....

PJ_Soul

jtr101 wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

jtr101 wrote:

I think the hate for Future Days comes from the fact that it essentially Ed And BoB on his casio keyboard and not a whole band effort. I think the song would have been better if it was just a solo acoustic guitar, the keys make it extra cheesy.

They just should have used a real piano. If they had, it would be a WAY better song.

I can agree with that to an extent, i personally don't find the lyrics all that great either to be honest but thats just me.... Just feels like a Just Breathe 2.0 ....

Well, that's true... the lyrics don't really grab me either, although there is nothing wrong with them. I can appreciate a simple love song... this one isn't a stellar one, but it's not that bad either. Anyway, at least with a real piano we wouldn't cringe at the end.

jtr101

PJ_Soul wrote:

Well, that's true... the lyrics don't really grab me either, although there is nothing wrong with them. I can appreciate a simple love song... this one isn't a stellar one, but it's not that bad either. Anyway, at least with a real piano we wouldn't cringe at the end.

Fair enough...haha...

JonnyPistachio

Well, I definitely need more listens...I've only listened to it twice. But now I kinda understand the BoB arguments. I figured the intro/outro in Future Days would be important to the entire song. Its like the song is just sandwiched in between and that that piano is the bookends...it makes no sense to me.

I'd rank the albums like this:
Yield
No Code
Ten
Vs
Vitalogy
Binaural
riot act
Avocado
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer

There are no stand-outs to me yet, but as I said, I need more listens.

Getaway....great opener. I dig it.
Mind Your Manners... fun and energetic.
Father's Son... Kinda mish-moshy... Not sure yet..
Sirens... Its Ok.
Lightning Bolt...pretty good.
Infallible... Cool tune, but I dont get the hype ( I hope I change my mind)
Pendulum... Awesome. The drums are fantastic.
Swallowed Whole... I honestly dont remember much of the song after two listens. Not very memorable..
Let the Records Play... MAN! I thought this was Led Zeppelin for a second. Cool tune.
Sleeping by Myself...face palm, face palm, face palm. ugh groan. I've never done this before, but I may reburn the disc without SBM. It was painful to sit through.
Yellow Moon...I'm also not getting the hype. Lyrics are vanilla. "Round we go, where we stop, noone knows?" :fp:
Future Days... Piano is atrocious. Feels like Just Breathe 2.

Again, I need more listens. I hope it grows on me. :problem:

CranMalReign

OK here's where I stand.

After the first listen last night, I gave it 7/10 (9/10 for first half, 5/10 for last).

After more listens last night and today, it's trending downward.

Quite honestly, I don't see this CD taking out a mortgage for my car stereo like, say, the latest QOTSA record did. I could not get enough of that disk and spun it dozens of times for months. But Lightning Bolt... idunno... I see a short honeymoon period while I'm still excited for new PJ music, then it ends up being stuck in my giant CD case to be plucked out for nostalgia every now and again. I do enjoy many of the lyrics, but I don't listen to PJ just for lyrics.

• Getaway - Had me grooving on first listen, but not a true standout
• Mind Your Manners - Loved it at first, but now it's wearing on me
• My Father's Son - Lyrically trying to squeeze in between Alive and Once. Musically, reminds me of Johnny Guitar or something, which to me just sounds weird.
• Sirens - Don't hate it as much as I did when it was released, but still not in love with adult contemporary radio.
• Lightning Bolt - Unthought Known 2.0. I enjoy it more on the album than I do live.
• Infallible - Tremor Christ with a touch of Burden in My Hand in the chorus. I dig the groove, and loved it in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, but the more I listen to it, the more the sheen wears off.
• Pendulum - Best track on the record. This is beautiful and I truly love this song.
• Swallowed Whole - I've listened to the album 6 times, and I still can't remember how this one goes. That's got to say something.
• Let the Records Play - Stone: "Hey guys, let's do a bluesy song! Whaddya say? Think we can shoehorn something together?"
• Sleeping by Myself - Ugh. Fan Club Holiday Single snuck its way onto the album!
• Yellow Moon - Growing on me, but overall, it's a "nice" song. Into the Wild tune.
• Future Days - [ insert gripe about cheesy piano ] - Made-to-Order wedding song for 10 Club members.

jumbojet

dustinpardue wrote:

I wrote a review for Examiner, more geared toward the casual reader, but some of you folks may enjoy it

http://www.examiner.com/review/review-p ... ht?cid=rss

I loved your style, man. Review started with a very proper writing style and then comes the phrase: "you hipster-doofus Pitchfork reading folks".

:thumbup: for putting the album at 2013 best, but QoTSA album also deserves some mentioning in 2013 best albums talk.

jumbojet

I dig the album and it literally raised my overall mood significantly in the last week or so. I cannot stop smiling. FOr sure, some of that positive vibe comes from seeing my baby's smiles but PJ effect is there.

I'm already thinking how great it will be next time to see PJ live, with these new songs. Hoping for Euro-14 announcement, already.

ponner1us

I do not like this album, not one bit
It is quite boring, kind of sh!t
I have listened in my car,
I have listened at the bar,
I have listened, near and far.
4 years I waited, waited for this,
LB songs at live shows=time to piss.
Really really quite ho-hum
Except for one great one, Pendulum

Oh well, they can't all be great.

CranMalReign

jumbojet wrote:

:thumbup: for putting the album at 2013 best, but when you said since Gaslight Anthem 2012, wasnt it somewhat unfair to QoTSA album of this year?

That QOTSA album is a masterpiece, imho.

I don't buy nearly as much music as I used to, so I can't speculate on "best of the year" or anything like that... but at the end of the day, Lightning Bolt doesn't hold a candle to Like Clockwork. I barely stopped listening to the Queens album since the day it leaked [and yes, I had already preordered it when I got the leaked version... shame on me, but I paid the artist so nyah!]. It took up permanent residence in my car stereo since May. I took it out for Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Bolt won't be staying there long.

jmuscatello

ofthegirl99 wrote:

Half this album is fucking outstanding. Territory the band has not ventured to in some time. The other half sucks and would fit nicely as backspacer b-sides. Seriously, sleeping by myself is a joke, yellow moon is sirens broke cousin....never heard an album be so good and so shitty at the same time.

Keep listening to Yellow Moon, seriously. It wasn't in my top few initially, but after listening more it's become, to me, a pretty brilliant song. Nothing in common with Sirens, not a bit of sentimentality. Others sort of dismissed it as "nice". This song seems to be about gun violence with a heavy sense of weariness and hopelessness - nothing happy or nice here. Much more NAIS or Parting Ways in tone. Again, you might just not like it, and that's okay, but for some reason I feel compelled to defend this one. I think it's outstanding songwriting.

keyser

The Juggler wrote:

ltrp 1.5/5...shania twain meets bugs bunny meets zz top meets jeepers creepers and was supposed to meet up with DoTheEvoloution for beers but got lost on the way and then just eventually gave up looking. yuck. this one is a mess.

slightofjeff

jmuscatello wrote:

ofthegirl99 wrote:

Half this album is fucking outstanding. Territory the band has not ventured to in some time. The other half sucks and would fit nicely as backspacer b-sides. Seriously, sleeping by myself is a joke, yellow moon is sirens broke cousin....never heard an album be so good and so shitty at the same time.

Keep listening to Yellow Moon, seriously. It wasn't in my top few initially, but after listening more it's become, to me, a pretty brilliant song. Nothing in common with Sirens, not a bit of sentimentality. Others sort of dismissed it as "nice". This song seems to be about gun violence with a heavy sense of weariness and hopelessness - nothing happy or nice here. Much more NAIS or Parting Ways in tone. Again, you might just not like it, and that's okay, but for some reason I feel compelled to defend this one. I think it's outstanding songwriting.

I agree. Ed is doing this thing lately ... on this album and others ... where a lyric that seems simple on the surface actually becomes quite profound once you marinate on it a while.

Yellow Moon is one of those.

I feel a little sorry for those who dismiss "simple" lyric off hand and never listen to certain songs again. They are missing out.

CTD10

I feel sorry for those people who do not like this record. 100 times better then backspacer and imho LB is up there with anything else this band has ever done....its a great record.

iamica

Just listened to it the second time. Better than Backspacer...

Getaway - Like the music, don't like the lyrics. Sorry, Ed.
Mind Your Manners - Same as Getaway. Also I think it sounds a lot like most of the stuff they've done recently.
My Father's Son - Sounded meh to me at first, but I liked it better the second time. Powerful.
Sirens - Can't stop listening to this song, easily one of my favorites. The music and the message are fantastic.
Lightning Bolt - For some reason, I just can't get into this song. Not sure why.
Infallible - YES YES YES! This is pure gold. I absolutely love it.
Pendulum - Love this one too, very dark and creepy and brooding.
Swallowed Whole - Didn't think much of this one at first, but it's growing on me.
Let The Records Play - You know what, I like it when they experiment. This is an interesting one.
Sleeping By Myself - I'm trying to like this one, I really am.
Yellow Moon - Thought it was OK the first time, listened to it again and am really digging it.
Future Days - Didn't like it when I first heard it. Second time around, I think I could like it eventually.

Interesting mix of songs...only one f word, surprisingly...and for those who said it sounds "adult contemporary", I'm afraid I have to agree with you there. :fp: But on the whole, I think this one is pretty good.

crober72

I do begrudgingly agree with the "adult contemporary" comment. And if they one came out 10 years ago, that fact would probably have me hating this....But, as it is, I'm 41 and my tastes have firmly drifted into "dad rock" the last few years, so I guess it plays better with my sensibilities than it might have a few years ago. But, saying that, I have to say that after two days and probably 10 listens, I really like LB. When I heard the title track at Wrigley, I somehow got the idea that this album was going to be closer to "Yield" than what it turned out to be. To me, Ten through Yield is the era that really defines Pearl Jam, so it is almost impossible for anything they do to stand up to that. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate this for what it is. At times the production is a little too slick for my tastes, but you know...if my tastes have mellowed somewhat over the last 22 years, then it's only natural that a band like PJ might mellow over time.

Anyway, song by song.....
Getaway - Love it. Can't get it out of my head (in a good way). IMO, best opening track to a PJ album since Brain of J.
MYM - As the most familiar one on here, also one I really like as much as anything on the album.
My Father's Son - One that's growing on me the more I listen to it.
Sirens - I think it is a cheesy 80s power ballad, and I kinda want to hate it. But the more I listen to it, the more the opposite is true.
Lightning Bolt - If it weren't for some of the "sonic flourishes" that were added, this song would have been at home on Yield. Liked it better live when they played it at Wrigley, but still a pretty good song.
Infallible - The first time I listened to it, the opening made me think "Maroon 5" (not good). I think the song is better than that, but having trouble getting past that first impression.
Pedulum - Another one that is taking me a while to get into.
Swallowed Whole - I've seen others describe this as REM meets the Who and also something that would have been at home on Into the Wild. I like REM and the Who a lot...and also really like Setting Forth. So, as you can guess, I like this one, too.
Let the Records Play - The bluesy thing just doesn't seem like PJ to me. Don't hate it, but not a standout for me.
Sleeping By Myself - I do agree with others that it feels a little out of place, and I kinda feel like I *should* hate this one. But I find it's another one that's been consistently stuck in my head the last two days.
Yellow Moon - Another one that minus some of the "production sheen" would have fit on one of their older albums. Growing on me.
Future Days - A pretty song. When they played it at Wrigley, I thought it sounded like Just Breathe. Like Maroon 5 and Infallible, that impression is proving hard to shake. I think I'd like this one better if the album were one or two songs shorter.

We'll see how I feel about it after a couple of weeks. For now, I think 7/10 is a pretty good score. This band has never made what I would call a bad album, and LB doesn't change that for me.

Ty

Killer album with good flow. Reminds me of Yield, maybe No Code. Love it, more than I thought I would! And as most albums... "Sleeping By Myself" is the one that should never have made it. It's corny, and the solo version was great. And they should have started "Sirens" without the drum beats, just the guitar.

OutOfBreath

Listened to it back to back 4-5 times now. And although I think it may be a little better than Backspacer (which is hands-down their worst album), it's sadly not by much. I think pitchfork nailed my feelings for the later years' direction of the band in their review:

pitchfork wrote:

The Pearl Jam mythos as it exists today is undeniably wrapped up in their notoriously epic live shows, wherein the band is famous for loosening up and stretching out, but for whatever reason, that adventurous ethos rarely translates to their increasingly mannered albums. Pearl Jam on record have essentially been reduced to the rock ‘n’ roll version of wearing sweatpants: they’ve given up trying to impress anyone, so they may as well be comfortable.

They seem a bit too content these days and make too straight-forward arrangements that fail to captivate me. They used to have a sincerity, intensity and immediacy that now just fails to translate through. As for Lightning Bolt, it isn't all bad. There are elements and moments here and there that are good, but sadly, they rarely are consistent for a whole song. Only 3-4 of the songs make me perk my ears, while several leave me completely indifferent.

And no, I'm not one of those who think they strayed after Ten. I love to bits the entire stretch from Ten to and including Binaural (which I am rediscovering these days, and upping my valuation of). That's when they still tried complex arrangements, experimented with sounds and threw surprise balls at you. Riot Act was saved for me by I am mine, which is such a great song, and the political activism inherent in it. The self-titled album was half good, half not, and sadly, the half-not is the direction they've taken since. The two last albums are the least good, and the ones that leave me indifferent. Which none of their first 7-8 albums did.

Anywho. I'm holding out for them trying to be difficult again. They may still come back with great things, but they have to get out of their current comfort zone.

Peace
Dan

Marcus Maximus

CTD10 wrote:

I feel sorry for those people who do not like this record. 100 times better then backspacer and imho LB is up there with anything else this band has ever done....its a great record.

That's kinda twisted, you feel sorry because people don't like the same thing as you? musical taste differs hugely from one person to next your taste isn't any better than mine or the next person.

Save Me

I think this is half a great album and half average to bad.

Awesome:
Getaway
MYM
My Fathers Son
LB
Pendulum

Average
Swallowed Whole
Yellow Moon
Future Days (ending piano is awful)
Infallible

Take me out to the back and shoot me:
Sirens
Sleeping By Myself
Let The Records Play

JonnyPistachio

Marcus Maximus wrote:

CTD10 wrote:

I feel sorry for those people who do not like this record. 100 times better then backspacer and imho LB is up there with anything else this band has ever done....its a great record.

That's kinda twisted, you feel sorry because people don't like the same thing as you? musical taste differs hugely from one person to next your taste isn't any better than mine or the next person.

I agree with ya..
But I feel sorry for myself. I wish I liked LB more.

Has anyone else had the impression that this album is lyrically, or rather vocal heavy... For instance, I kinda like Sirens, but its SO wordy. I was reading the lyrics to some fof the songs and Im amazed that Ed might be able to remember all the words to these songs because they're so wordy (with the exception of Yellow Moon). Sirens is like 5+ minutes and it seems like its ALL vocals, like there's no break for you to enjoy the instruments. Same with Fathers Son, LB, and Future days.