Put to the question

PJ_Soul

Interesting, but I have to disagree with you, since the band has been growing ever since Vs., and continually changing throughout their career. Their albums are vastly different, from Vitalogy all the way until today. Your theory would exclude a fan from loving Vitalogy, No Code, Yeild, Binaural, Riot Act, and Self-titled. But i love those albums. A lot.
I think the explanation might be a lot simpler: Backspacer just isn't as good an album as the fans had been used to.

TalonTedd

I would say that you have grown right alongside the band, but in your own way. I don't think anyone who has been a fan since Ten didn't need to get used to just how different each release has been. Its hard to explain. For me Backspacer has plenty of merit in its own way. I fricken love Got Some and Gonna see my friend, Supersonic.....I'm all about crankin that up that cut. I made a short video from footage of a Cuban vacation of my wife and I frolicking "Amongst the wave" with it as the song. Speed of sound is just so mature and tasteful. The End, makes me want to quit smoking and get in shape, fucking great portraight of a dying mans feelings. Hell all the rest are great and for me its because they are less agressive and more mature, like the boys...and myself for that matter. From my perspective, its just isn't realistic or even possible for the band to recreate the magic of Ten and Vs. And you were right to start at Viology, thats were the growth and exploration is evident. Its hard to share there perspective having gone through such a unique and mind boggling ride....damn, legends of rock look to these guys like.............

I just hope there is more left in them. I would love to here more songs like Gone, Unemployable, and pretty much anything along the lines of the last four releases (Black, Alive, better man, all anthems of rock, never to be duplicated). I love the themes of politics, family, redemption, nature, demise and how they seem to be determined to leave no emotions or feelings left unexplored or unexplained.

In joyous part.

FoxyRedLa

Abe Froman wrote: »

I like Backspacer. It's at the bottom for me but mostly just because all the other records are so fucking good! Maybe a little do to the length of it too but I still think it's a good record. Unthought Known, Got Some, Amongst The Waves, Force Of Nature...some great songs. I don't love Speed of Sound and the Fixer but enjoy the rest quite a bit. Live I like pretty much everything BTW.

I do look @ each album individually - I don't compare BS to any other album tho. When LB came out there were all kinds of posts about how songs were starting to grow on people after they listened to it more or seeing live changed their dislike. I just don't see any posts like that for BS - it just appears the comments are the album is disliked. And that's fine too. I was just curious. However, I was not a member here when BS was released.

I'm starting to understand that BS is a "liked" album but it's just rated @ the bottom for some because they rank others higher and that's just fine. Thanks Abe.

oftenreading

Every time I see this thread name it makes me smile. I keep wondering when the torture will start. I haven't answered yet, so maybe I should be worried.

FoxyRedLa

corduroykelly wrote: »

I love Backspacer! It's my favorite album since Yield.

Thanks for posting, I almost fully agree! Lol lol lol

FoxyRedLa

ceska wrote: »

Backspacer was a breath of rockin' fresh air after three overly dark, depressing albums. Good tunes on all of them, for sure, but the overall mood was depressing. Tell me you didn't go "alright!" when you put the CD on for the first time and it kicked right into Gonna See My Friend. I sure did.

Excellent point! Thanks for posting!

FoxyRedLa

mfc2006 wrote: »

I think it's ok. Not my favorite by a long shot, but there are some good songs. The End is hauntingly beautiful & I really love Force of Nature.

Thanks for posting mfc - I love music too!

FoxyRedLa

mcgruff10 wrote: »

I also thought backspacer was there best since yield. I absolutely love Pearl jam but they lost me on binaural, riot act and self titled. Those three albums imo are their weakest to date, both studio and live.

Very interesting - PJ'S assortment is brilliant!

FoxyRedLa

oftenreading wrote: »

Every time I see this thread name it makes me smile. I keep wondering when the torture will start. I haven't answered yet, so maybe I should be worried.

I have no idea what this means lol - no pressure to answer :-))

FoxyRedLa

PJForceofNature wrote: »

I really love Backspacer, Force of Nature being my favorite, of course!

:-bd

jerparker20 wrote: »

I've never understood all the hate for Backspacer. It's a solid record.

Agreed!

whispering hands wrote: »

I love Backspacer, it's its own thing.. True to form, they came out with a record that I needed, right when I needed it.

It's it's own thing - exactly!

oftenreading

FoxyRedLa wrote: »

oftenreading wrote: »

Every time I see this thread name it makes me smile. I keep wondering when the torture will start. I haven't answered yet, so maybe I should be worried.

I have no idea what this means lol - no pressure to answer :-))

"Put to the question" is an old English term that refers to torturing people to try to get them to confess to crimes. However, you seem to have done fairly well with answers even without torture.

FoxyRedLa

23scidoo wrote: »

The less favorite lp from me..i hate the Fixer and i love Force of nature and Speed of sound..the rest are just ok..

I got Speed of Sound in Pitts - so beautiful live!

samjam wrote: »

Abe Froman wrote: »

I like Backspacer. It's at the bottom for me but mostly just because all the other records are so fucking good!

Pretty much this! I don't mind Backspacer, but when put against the other studio albums, it just doesn't measure up. I think staying power has a lot to do with it, too. I still find myself wanting to listen to Lightning Bolt and most other albums cover to cover, but haven't sat down and listening to Backspacer front to back in a very long time.

I'm starting to understand that this album isn't a fan fav for a lot of the same reasons. Thanks for posting.

PJ_Soul wrote: »

I find listening to Backspacer a little like sitting there while someone bangs pots for my listening enjoyment. I just find it kind of harsh sounding and annoying. :-?? Some of that has to do with the mastering on the record, but some is certainly about the song compositions too. And the ballads are.indeed cheesy, and nothing like earlier PJ ballads. But i am honestly always pleased to know someone else does like it. I love Pearl Jam, so I don't want them to have an album that is universally disliked. That would be depressing.

Mastering of the record, I never thought about that - but I don't think I would know any better.

PJfanwillneverleave1 wrote: »

PJ_Soul wrote: »

I love Pearl Jam, so I don't want them to have an album that is universally disliked. That would be depressing.

The absolute dislike of BS spread on this forum by fans seems to advocate BS as "the worst album and if you don't agree then you are not a fan".

Let's face it. There is a relatively small amount of people that actually post in this forum but the general consensus from these people are that BS is to be discarded as an album.

I like BS. I have it on vinyl too. There are some songs I play more than others. As for the mastering of the recording I don't give a fuck.

It's like wine, you like it or you don't.

I get that feeling a lot - if you don't agree you're not a fan - it's a shame.....

Leezestarr313 wrote: »

I'm ok with it too, just don't love it as much as the other ones. I used to love the ballads the most in the beginning, but that was when I juuuust came back to PJ and had to catch up on a lot of songs that I had missed in my fan "hiatus". They do have a slightly sappier feel to them, and I could not listen to them every day now. Maybe I overdid it when the album came out lol I can never get enough of the older "ballads" though.
I love when they experiment with the melodies, when the voice is wandering on a different path than the music, like in Footsteps or Sleight of Hand. This to me is PJ perfection and it is something that I kind of missed on BS. A lot of the newer sounds sound too streamlined to me, if that makes any sense. Music and singing all in the same "path".

And oh my! I'm so on board with derbydave on Big Wave!

Thanks for the post. The experimenting and live improv are two of my favorite perks I look forward to!

FoxyRedLa

northerndragon wrote: »

I like BS, but I think most of the issues with that album are that it is just a rock album, no great PJ depth so to speak...that being said I have fun listening to it, there are no great standouts but it's a fun record. It does however live in the bottom three with Self Titled(my least favorite album of PJs) and No Code for me.

For those in your same boat appear to have the same general consensus - and now I better understand even if I don't agree lol.

TalonTedd wrote: »

FoxyRedLa wrote: »

I read comments that some fans omit Backspacer.....why?? Is it the length of the songs? The lyrics? The music? Solos? It's been mentioned in another thread that the band now tries to write really simple songs - does this play a factor?

I also read comments about sappy love songs - The End, Sleeping By Myself, and Just Breath. What makes these particular songs any different from Oceans, Release, Long Road, and Black??? The lyrics? How are songs like Gone, Smile, Let Me Sleep, and Footsteps not sappy??

I'm not trying to cause a big wave here just curious why some songs are passed up..... First impression? Live experience? Hype?

I think a big reason for it is the fans "taste" vs. the bands "growth". A fan becomes a fan due to the feelings they have for the music and that is why most people refer to the music as "there's". When a band continually releases albums that rekindle that spark in a fan, by producing the same sound and message; it fortifies the feelings associated to the music. Fans love this because it remains constant and they can count on it. Where the fan starts losing there interest is when the band "grows". EV of thirty years ago is not the same man of today; neither are the rest of the players. They have left their youth on the streets of Seattle, found love, married, travelled the world, became parents, activism, pilanthrapy, etc. They have grown into, I would say very different people; yet they know and respect where they come from. Ev isn't about to write songs like Deep, in my tree and others like them because he doesn't fight to survive on the streets any longer. Now, I believe, his feelings are more reflected in tunes like gone (for the state of america) lightning bolt ( his marriage) and future days (his childeren) because these thing make up his "all encompassing trip" now. Where the continuity is found, is in the music. That said, there is a hell of a lot of growth in that respect. These guys are real masters now. They can produce any kind of rock sound done and they have very distictive riffs and assemblies that, well they have me blown away and hooked for life.
When lightning bolt was being released, I literally prepared myself to not judge on past performance, these are different men now. I remember feeling like I wanted to toss Riot Act out of the player when I first heard it. Now some of my favs are found there...who am I kidding, I love all of it....well maybe I could do without "mankind".....Stone WTF!

In joyous part

I get what you're saying and I'm hook for life too! And this band has some pretty f'in amazing fans too - such good people!

FoxyRedLa

oftenreading wrote: »

FoxyRedLa wrote: »

oftenreading wrote: »

Every time I see this thread name it makes me smile. I keep wondering when the torture will start. I haven't answered yet, so maybe I should be worried.

I have no idea what this means lol - no pressure to answer :-))

"Put to the question" is an old English term that refers to torturing people to try to get them to confess to crimes. However, you seem to have done fairly well with answers even without torture.

Lmao! I had no idea! I'm fairly open minded and I just wanted to understand and now I do about BS anyway.

oftenreading

FoxyRedLa wrote: »

oftenreading wrote: »

FoxyRedLa wrote: »

oftenreading wrote: »

Every time I see this thread name it makes me smile. I keep wondering when the torture will start. I haven't answered yet, so maybe I should be worried.

I have no idea what this means lol - no pressure to answer :-))

"Put to the question" is an old English term that refers to torturing people to try to get them to confess to crimes. However, you seem to have done fairly well with answers even without torture.

Lmao! I had no idea! I'm fairly open minded and I just wanted to understand and now I do about BS anyway.

I wonder what torture you would have used if we hadn't answered? "Here, listen to this Nickleback album...". "Stop, I'll talk!"

FoxyRedLa

:-)) ) :-))

whispering hands

Hahahaha!!

pdalowsky

Really enjoy BS still, don't for a minute think its a crap album. Its fun, and to the point. Another interesting road travelled for the band.

But no one is right or wrong on this, and the suggestion that this isn't an album as good as the fans are used to, is ok coming from a subjective position, but please don't try and put it out there that that is a fact

TalonTedd

its just an opinion. I'm not saying its as good, worse or better. I just think fans got rocked hard on the first three (fell in love) and any deviation from the path may take some getting used to.; thats all.....kind of like my marriage. While still essentially the same, my wife has re-invented herself, twice. I still love her, but I have had to make.....adjustments.

rtwilli4

I think a lot of it depends on where the record lands in YOUR life. Pearl Jam records always seem to hit me at the right time. What I mean to say is that the general theme and feeling of the band always seems to be relevant in my life.

When Riot Act came out I was in college, developing my world view. I remember listening to that record and wondering how many people out there felt this way about our society. How many people understand that this capitalist, wartime economy is hurting most of the world? How many people realise that religious dogma is contributing to the downfall of humanity?

When Avacado came out I was volunteering in New Orleans, watching a city disappear before my eyes, while the federal government looked the other way. I was at a crossroads in my life... do I stay in the US and buy into the bullshit American Dream? Do I hang around to find out if there is light at the end of the tunnel?

For many people, those records probably seemed "dark" and "depressing" but I was in a dark and depressing place and many of the songs really hit me hard. In fact, ALL of them did.

A few years later I had made my decision. I had committed to the woman that I love, and we had decided to move out of the US. Even though it was a tough time, we felt free... emancipated. There are many powerful and uplifting songs on Backspacer and when that record came out I really needed those songs... they gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams. They also made me realise that life is actually pretty good when you have someone to share it with.

I really connected with Unthought Known, Amongst the Waves, Just Breathe, Force of Nature and The End. They were (still are) very relevant to my life and my relationship with my wife.

I do miss the days when Pearl Jam all got together to write songs from scratch. It is obvious with Backspacer and Lightening Bolt that the recording process was different. The songs were already written and the band just came together to record them, polish them up and decide what to put on the record.

I like the idea of listening to an entire record so BS and LB are not my favourites, but there are more than several songs on both records that are as good as anything the band has ever done. Different, but still quality.