Lightning Bolt first reviews

Vedd Hedd

This is the album I have waiting for since Yield.

buck502000

buck502000 wrote:

Are you the same as you were in 91'?

I'll say it again.

Vedd Hedd

stickfig13 wrote:

This album sounds like it was made by 40 something men...

It was. Lol.

stickfig13 wrote:

I love Pearl Jam because I always got the feel that the music was deep and meaningful. These songs all seem like forced emotion. I think the whole band is in good spots in their lives. This doesn't help the music.

Really kinda depends on your perspective. I hear a lot of "I'm scared" in this album. Every song talks about impending death, the world is scary, I don't want to lose you. I disagree with both of your statements here...I think its the opposite of forced emotion...I think its their most true album in a while.

TJ25487

stickfig13 wrote:

This album sounds like it was made by 40 something men...

On the first listen and I just can't get with any of the album after Sirens. It's just kinda.....boring.

I love Pearl Jam because I always got the feel that the music was deep and meaningful. These songs all seem like forced emotion. I think the whole band is in good spots in their lives. This doesn't help the music.

I'll keep spinning it. I'm sure it will hit me at some point

Ha! They got you right where they want you after your first listen: Doubting them. Your mind will change.

Dr. Delight

Holy Shit with some of these comments.... godamn

Marcus Maximus

TJ25487 wrote:

stickfig13 wrote:

This album sounds like it was made by 40 something men...

On the first listen and I just can't get with any of the album after Sirens. It's just kinda.....boring.

I love Pearl Jam because I always got the feel that the music was deep and meaningful. These songs all seem like forced emotion. I think the whole band is in good spots in their lives. This doesn't help the music.

I'll keep spinning it. I'm sure it will hit me at some point

Ha! They got you right where they want you after your first listen: Doubting them. Your mind will change.

This is pure nonsense, there isn't a part of me that ever wants to listen to this album again, I don't like or listen to this type of music. Here's waiting to the next one.

PJ_Soul

buck502000 wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

Are you the same as you were in 91'?

I'll say it again.

Ugh. This is a such an annoying point. Maybe that's why no one answered you. Just because they don't like the album (that's not me - I love it!) doesn't mean in any way that they want them to sound like they did in '91. The two have nothing to do with each other.

CranMalReign

PJ_Soul wrote:

I don't mind Sirens and don't agree with your take on it, but you're dead on about people jumping to conclusions around here. If you don't like something PJ does they automatically assume that you want the band to sound like they did 20 years ago or that you can't deal with the band maturing. I find that incredibly annoying.

Thanks. Gets my dander up. I'm not against the band maturing; it can be a good thing. Look at the latest QOTSA album. Masterpiece, imho, and a record from a band that is far matured from their first albums.

stickfig13 wrote:

I think the whole band is in good spots in their lives. This doesn't help the music.

Still haven't listened to it (hoping to tonight with the old lady), so what I'm about to say is not a critique of the album as a whole.

However, the quote there sums up my feelings completely. While I'm not against a band maturing, nor do I want the same album from 1993 to be churned out for 20 years, I do personally find songs born out of anguish, frustration, etc to generally be much better than those born out of contentedness, happiness, and squishy feelings.

I don't know how many of the songs on this album fall into that category yet. Lyrically, Sirens is kind of a mix of both ends, while musically, it sounds like it's the saccharine blah of the happy side.

A long time ago, I was miserable in my life. It was ugly. I wrote tons of poetry (or what I call poetry, at least) as catharsis. And I really really like a lot of what I wrote.

When I snapped out of it and found myself in a much better place, while I was healthier and happier and better off, I found that I wrote what sounded to me like garbage, regardless of how much I tried to make it not garbage. So I stopped writing.

I'm not saying PJ should stop writing now that they have wives and kids and like birthday parties and soccer games, and I'm not saying I wish they all hated the world and their lives. I am saying that I don't like the musical product that is a result of the overall contextual change as much as the angsty crap (be it head bangy or ballady or jammy or whatever).

Sure, some will say that's proof I wish they were still in the 90s, but since there are plenty of later-era songs I'm really into, I think that's an oversimplification of how I feel about their music. See my point about QOTSA above.

TJ25487

Marcus Maximus wrote:

TJ25487 wrote:

stickfig13 wrote:

This album sounds like it was made by 40 something men...

On the first listen and I just can't get with any of the album after Sirens. It's just kinda.....boring.

I love Pearl Jam because I always got the feel that the music was deep and meaningful. These songs all seem like forced emotion. I think the whole band is in good spots in their lives. This doesn't help the music.

I'll keep spinning it. I'm sure it will hit me at some point

Ha! They got you right where they want you after your first listen: Doubting them. Your mind will change.

This is pure nonsense, there isn't a part of me that ever wants to listen to this album again, I don't like or listen to this type of music. Here's waiting to the next one.

I didn't mean you. I was referring to the guy that still had hope. You are too far gone.

CranMalReign

PJ_Soul wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

Are you the same as you were in 91'?

I'll say it again.

Ugh. This is a such an annoying point. Maybe that's why no one answered you. Just because they don't like the album (that's not me - I love it!) doesn't mean in any way that they want them to sound like they did in '91. The two have nothing to do with each other.

ditto.

buck502000

PJ_Soul wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

Are you the same as you were in 91'?

I'll say it again.

Ugh. This is a such an annoying point. Maybe that's why no one answered you. Just because they don't like the album (that's not me - I love it!) doesn't mean in any way that they want them to sound like they did in '91. The two have nothing to do with each other.

I think some people are saying they want the band to sound like they did during the recording of the first few albums. I really enjoy reading the comments on these boards. It makes for quite entertaining reading. The new album is good. The band is getting older and they have families, love, etc.etc. I do as well, and I find the band has evolved and grew up just like me.

PJ212

I can't get enough of the transition between the songs Lightning Bolt and Infallible. I just love the turn the album takes leading into Infallible and Pendulum.

PJ_Soul

buck502000 wrote:

PJ_Soul wrote:

buck502000 wrote:

I'll say it again.

Ugh. This is a such an annoying point. Maybe that's why no one answered you. Just because they don't like the album (that's not me - I love it!) doesn't mean in any way that they want them to sound like they did in '91. The two have nothing to do with each other.

I think some people are saying they want the band to sound like they did during the recording of the first few albums. I really enjoy reading the comments on these boards. It makes for quite entertaining reading. The new album is good. The band is getting older and they have families, love, etc.etc. I do as well, and I find the band has evolved and grew up just like me.

Who is saying that?? I haven't seen anyone say that. I never see anyone say that. I might see people use past albums to hold up as some good shit that they did in the past, but never do they say that they should sound the same - only that they expect the same kind of quality, which is a perfectly reasonable expectation (and one I think they've met). That is not the same as saying that they want them to stay the same as they were in 1991 (and again, I love the new album, and I actually consider Ten and Vs. to be at the bottom of the pack in front of Backspacer as far as my favorite albums go... I just don't think that anyone actually ever suggests that they expect the band to be the same as they were before they were 30).

buck502000

I guess the message I am really trying to convey is there are people on the street who like to pigeonhole PJ as a band from the 90's and think PJ was only relevant during this time. I have discussed this topic with various people on multiple occasions. As we 10 club members know, the band is ever-changing, growing and going in different directions. That, for me, is part of the intrigue and allure that is Pearl Jam. My apologies for not being more concise in my previous statements.

ponner1us

I like it, I don't love it, better than Backspacer so far for me, hope it grows on me. Let the Records Play sounded Happy Days(ish) to me, loved Pendulum. But lyrics mean a lot to me, so to read and listen might change my mind. Hope to love it one day, time will tell.

southernmanfan

Only on second listen and sounds just awesome! I need to digest it fully and then give an informed view. But there seems to be a sort of 'polish' to the overall sound...tight, mature

Vedd Hedd

ponner1us wrote:

I like it, I don't love it, better than Backspacer so far for me, hope it grows on me. Let the Records Play sounded Happy Days(ish) to me, loved Pendulum. But lyrics mean a lot to me, so to read and listen might change my mind. Hope to love it one day, time will tell.

It might help to know that Let the Records Play is about the Apocalypse.

Alfonz

Thinking in a vinyl sense, I think they could make a very solid first side to an LP with Getaway, Mind Your Manners, My Father's Son, Infallible, Pendulum and one of Lightning Bolt/Swallowed Whole. But these days I'm not sure the band is capable of writing an entire album which is all quality. That's normal, the creativity of most artists diminishes with time.

I'm glad they have written a couple of great songs like Infallible and Pendulum, but there are truly some terrible songs like Sirens, Yellow Moon and Future Days. All just my opinion.

Overall, I'd give it about a 5 out of 10. Probably slot it in above Backspacer, but think all their other albums are stronger.

I wonder what the outtakes are like. Based on past history they leave plenty of good stuff on the cutting room floor. I'd have thought they would have surely been able to come up with something better than the last 4-5 songs, or they truly have run out of steam.

Your Camaro's hood

cp3iverson wrote:

As a semi-audiophile I cant bring myself to listen to the stream.

My turntable is waiting for Oct. 15

Couldn't agree more. If these reviews are coming from an online stream of digital files, they don't hold much validity for me.

PJ_Soul

buck502000 wrote:

I guess the message I am really trying to convey is there are people on the street who like to pigeonhole PJ as a band from the 90's and think PJ was only relevant during this time. I have discussed this topic with various people on multiple occasions. As we 10 club members know, the band is ever-changing, growing and going in different directions. That, for me, is part of the intrigue and allure that is Pearl Jam. My apologies for not being more concise in my previous statements.

Well THAT'S true.... are we talking about people on the street? God, most of them don't even know PJ ever even made any albums after maybe Vitalogy. :roll: I thought we were talking about actual fans here!