Backspacer turns 15 years old

morello

I know a lot of folks don't like Backspacer that much buttttttt it got me back into PJ after not listening to them since the mid 90s & 20 shows, 14 cities, 9 countries in the ensuing 5 years, yeah not too bad of an album!! Happy birthday Backspacer!

Bob Mayo on the keyboards Bob

cp3iverson said:

My favorite 21st century PJ album. Very accessible. Easy listen. For whatever reason i grab this off the shelf than any other of their albums post-Yield

Me too. Love this album. Don't understand any opinion otherwise

ledvedderman

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

october22

I still can't get into it. It does, however, make me happy that others love it because it keeps me positive about the band in general.

I'm just sort of baffled by the direction they've taken as they're getting older. It's like they're going backwards. I wish we were getting more Off He Goes or Binaural-type stuff now (remember the days when Evacuation was considered their worst song?? I listen to that song now and it sounds brilliant).

The new "introspective" songs feel more like Eddie solo songs and lack the mystery of earlier work. That's the key word for me: mystery. Pearl Jam always had an element of mystery and it's what really separated them from other bands. I feel like their more recent efforts, in an attempt at straight-forward rock with more simplistic lyrics and themes, are a step back for them. All that said, I really don't mean to come off like I'm bashing them. It's just my opinion as of late, and I still can't wait for what still lies ahead.

buck502000

ledvedderman said:

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

I will used to be like you, until I witnessed this -
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMR5mOELe1s

EB218946

that was badass. Ed is a stud.

drewski_662

I've said this before on another thread, but the demo of Speed of Sound is (in my mind) 100 times greater than the full band version. It's so personal. You can hear the longing in his singing and in the message he is putting out there.

2-feign-reluctance

Great record - will always remind me of when I met @mfc2006 & we started writing songs together. Love how PJ records are like their own time capsules.

broloco

ledvedderman said:

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

My favorite moment on Backspacer! Interesting to know your different perspective though.

vant0037

ledvedderman said:

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

Not half as bad as "I wanna live my life with the volume full." Yuck. Sounds like a Doritos slogan.

The album has its moments (GSMF, Got Some, Johnny Guitar), but it ultimately feels very tired. The fact that the album is so short and tight, with little built in space for experimenting live or drawing songs out with solos etc, always seemed to be the perfect cover (a "fun" or "quick" garage rock album) for a band that was out of ideas. They seem to recognize how tightly built the songs are too, when you consider how little they do live with the songs that do have a little space built in (e.g. Supersonic is played straight to the point virtually every time).

I don't hate the album, but I'll always think of it as the album from the period when they were at a career crossroads. Keep going? Become a one-off festival band? Reinvent themselves? To put it in perspective: how different have the Lightning Bolt tour years felt than the Backspacer tour years? It seems as though they recognized in the post-Backspacer years the potential for the legacy they could build. In 2009, they weren't sure what to do next but release a short, uninspired album that hasn't matched their intense live persona (3 songs somewhat regularly played, at most). In 2016, they've recognized where their future as a band lies. Hopefully, that will be reflected in whatever their next step is.

Spags

Was their attempt at a pop album tbh, glad it wasn't a commercial success or they may well have carried on in that vein...

Guilty pleasure album for me.

weddingparade

still IN LOVE with many of the songs. especially the fixer and just breathe and amongst the waves and um and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow-Cx9IX4So

Wma31394

ledvedderman said:

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

Probably

Wma31394

2-feign-reluctance said:

Great record - will always remind me of when I met @mfc2006 & we started writing songs together. Love how PJ records are like their own time capsules.

Anything come out of the "backspacer writing sessions"?

cp3iverson

drewski_662 said:

I've said this before on another thread, but the demo of Speed of Sound is (in my mind) 100 times greater than the full band version. It's so personal. You can hear the longing in his singing and in the message he is putting out there.

Agree. Its amazing and shouldve been on the album.

I think BS as a whole is a Brendan Obrien/Pearl Jam experiment to write a few really accessible tunes and theres never anything wrong with that. It was a welcome surprise to my ears. The Fixer is a great song from Matt. Just Breathe hits me hard. Unthought, Amongst, The End, all great tunes.

I know a lot of people who love Avocado to death and i just cant get into it, even after 10 yrs. Thats why i can understand if someone doesnt like Backspacer. A wide range of LPs to pick from. Give us more!

PJ_Soul

ledvedderman said:

Am I the only person who cringes completely with the "gems and rhinestones" line in Unthought Known. One of Ed's worst lyric lines.

No you're not the only one. I think that is my least favorite PJ lyric of all time, and the whole song makes me uncomfortable. Every time I hear it I still can't believe that Eddie wrote it.

HesCalledDyer

Don't care what anyone says, I fucking love Backspacer!

CROJAM95

Force of Nature is so damn good

Needs more Live Love

cp3iverson

That one moment where he goes "makes me ache Makes me shake!" is vintage Eddie. Love that part

northerndragon

I love me some Backspacer, we'll except for Just Breathe. Could do without that one but other than that some really good tunes on there. A few have become very significant in my life.