very interesting how the record was made. A lot of copy and paste so to speak. Or two people at a time one day. Another person the next. I pictured the opposite but hey everything ive heard sounds killer and most importantly they made a new record!!
Lol the sound is so bad on that hotline. Holding judgement
7/19/13 - Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
10/11/13 - Pittsburgh, PA
10/12/13 - Buffalo, NY
10/16/2014 - Detroit, MI 5/10/2016 - Toronto, ON 3/24/2020 - Hamilton, ON 9/7/2023 - Chicago, IL
Lol the sound is so bad on that hotline. Holding judgement
I think I was better off before I called the number rather than later, after
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
The return of Pearl Jam with "Gigaton": "Songs to overcome this crisis"
On Friday 27th the new album comes out: the long gestation, the death of Chris Cornell, the dynamics between the members, a fresh sound and songs that speak to us of a present that nobody imagined. The band's new man, producer Josh Evans, speaks
“In Seattle everything is closed, apart from food. My family is fine, the band is fine, we are in constant contact. Let's hold on and try to stay positive. " The voice comes clear from the state of Washington to Milan, through one of the video conferencing apps that these days are a daily tool for many people, not just for meetings and interviews. It is noon, here are eight in the evening, but the situation does not change: Lombardy and Seattle are two of the epicenters of this crisis. All plans are blown up, including music. But "Gigaton", fortunately, comes out the same on March 27: music is a good corroborant for these difficult days.
To speak is Josh Evans, 41, the new man of Pearl Jam: he has taken the place of Brendan O’Brien, who has been working with the band since the days of "Vs." and who had edited the last two albums. The band trusts Evans so much that he has entrusted him with the task of telling the album to the press, with few and targeted interviews. For the rest, as usual in Pearl Jam, the music speaks.
"Gigaton" is a record full of anger but above all of desire to react: several songs have lyrics that seem made for a present that no one expected, much less the band when he wrote them: from "It's alright to be alone, to listen for a heartbeat, it's your own "from" Alright "to" Firstly do not harm, then put your seatbelt on / Buckle up "from" Buckle up ", or" Stars align they say when things are better than right now / Feel the retrograde spin us round ”, from" Retrograde ", to cite some examples. It's not all experimental like the first single "Dance of the clairvoyants" but it sounds decidedly fresh and direct - we will tell you in detail in the review we will publish on Wednesday 25 March, in which we tell the album song by song with details so far unpublished.
In the meantime, here's the conversation with Josh Evans: 41, from Seattle, has been with the band since 2006: he works at Studio X where Pearl Jam is at home, followed them on tour, and has become their man for a few years of trust also for solo projects. Co recounted how Pearl Jam works today and how it helped the band experiment with maintaining the classic energy of the concerts: "We were rehearsing the 'Gigaton' songs live before putting off the American tour: they sound great. The time will come when we will take them to the stage, "he promises.
(Gianni Sibilla)
This situation has changed many things, even in music. Several artists have also chosen to postpone the release of the albums. The thing we are most concerned with right now is not so much the promotion of the album, but the impact of all this on people. On the one hand there is health, then there are the effects of the situation on life, affections, and work.
The lyrics of the album speak of resistance to the distortions of this time, of a world that seems to have gone mad. Thinking that they were written long ago, they seem almost prophetic compared to the days we are living ... Each member of the band contributes to the lyrics, but there is a sort of pact based on common respect: they do not explicitly question the themes of the songs. Nobody says, "We want or have to talk about this or that." But the magic of bands like Pearl Jam is to know how to write things that remain relevant, indeed in this case they become even more important than when they were originally composed. I think they caught the air that pulled and I think these songs will help someone get through this phase.
This album had a very long gestation. Why? They have been on tour a lot in recent years. But in reality they never stopped working and throwing down ideas. They are not the types to post everything they do on Instagram, on the contrary ... They began to think seriously about the album in 2017, then there was the death of Chris Cornell, whom they were very close to, and which had a big impact both creative and obviously emotional. There have been intense periods of work, and equally intense periods of life. These pauses have allowed the band to switch back to the songs every time with a new perspective, and it has happened at least two or three times, in this period. In 2019 the songs were there, and the last part of the year was hard work.
One of the big changes on this album was the choice of a new producer. You took over from Brendan O’Brien, who is only present as a keyboard player in a couple of tracks. How did this decision come about? The band was ready to experiment with something different, to do things they wanted to try for some time without having had the opportunity. I contributed to this process, but the credit is theirs. I was just in the right place at the right time. After being on tour with them for the past two years, I basically became their reference sound engineer for every project, even solo. So when they started working on the demos on the record, I took care of it. They sounded good and we went on.
Before, you were talking about a new perspective. "Gigaton" is a recognizable disc, but with several new features. What was the goal of the band? I think the band was more open. "Dance of clairvoyants", for example, was assembled piece by piece by the band, not with everyone together in one room. This method allowed more freedom: Jeff arrived one day and tried a keyboard tour, and he took the time he needed, without making the rest of the band wait. Then Stone came, and thought of other parts, keeping the ones he liked. And so on.
So "Gigaton" can be considered a "study" record in every sense, right? Yes, in general. But we didn't want a sound that was cold and perfect, we wanted an organic sound. They are always Pearl Jam… The basis of several songs was recorded live in the studio, then perhaps sounds or parts of previous or later versions were added. It is a record that assembles several elements, but maintaining the underlying energy of Pearl Jam: they remain a crazy band live.
From this point of view, I was struck by the sound of the guitars: very dry and clean. I don't think it was one of the things that the band explicitly looked for, but it is my fixation: I am a guitarist, I spend a little more time on this aspect. I spent a lot of time with them, I saw hundreds of their concerts, I know how they sound and I consciously and unconsciously tried to capture that energy.
From this point of view, I was struck by the sound of the guitars: very dry and clean. I don't think it was one of the things that the band explicitly looked for, but it is my fixation: I am a guitarist, I spend a little more time on this aspect. I spent a lot of time with them, I saw hundreds of their concerts, I know how they sound and I consciously and unconsciously tried to capture that energy.
On the disc there are some more or less explicit references: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Who, Talking Heads. I've known them for years, and they introduced me to great music: the first Pink Floyd, the first Genesis. Each of them has very eclectic tastes and brings them to the studio. But this time they were also determined not to set limits. When I heard "Dance of the clairvoyants" I said: great! But I asked: is it okay for a Pearl Jam record? But they didn't care if it sounds too much or too little Pearl Jam or something else. It just had to sound real and honest. And that's why it works: they don't try to follow a fashion or replicate themselves, but play something they believe in.
What is the song that has come better, in your opinion? It's like choosing your favorite child, but if I speak from the point of view of the producer and sound engineer, I think "Alright", because in the end it's exactly how I imagined it and it sounds like I wanted it to sound. When you start you have a vision of how you would like every single instrument and detail to come. And then "Clairvoyants", which is totally out. In general, however, I could not indicate Pearl Jam my favorite song. I am 41 years old and "Ten" is obviously a life changing album.
How will these songs play live? We were rehearsing it live before postponing the American tour: the songs sound great too. The time will come when we will play them live, hopefully soon.
From this point of view, I was struck by the sound of the guitars: very dry and clean.
I
don't think it was one of the things that the band explicitly looked
for, but it is my fixation: I am a guitarist, I spend a little more time
on this aspect. I spent a lot of time with them, I saw hundreds of
their concerts, I know how they sound and I consciously and
unconsciously tried to capture that energy.
The sound is so good, Matt's drums and guitar tone are so snappy.
Best sounding Albums since Yield and perhaps one of the (the?) best ever.
We really should feel lucky we follow a band that doesn't care as much about sales or publicity or whatever. So many major artists, Lady Gaga being the biggest one, are postponing album releases because they know it might hurt sales or attention right now. Pearl Jam is just ramping up their release instead. Feel very lucky we are getting this at this time
I'm not surprised after hearing Amazon is pushing back delivering non essential items, but mine and my girlfriend's vinyl order got pushed back. New estimated delivery date is Wednesday April 1st.
6/29/98 Chicago-United Center
6/18/03 Chicago-United Center
5/17/06 Chicago-United Center
7/19/13 Chicago-Wrigley Field
10/11/13 Pittsburgh-Consol Energy Center
10/17/14 Moline-IWireless Center (No Code)
10/20/14 Milwaukee-Bradley center (Yield)
4/26/16 Lexington-Rupp Arena
8/20/16 Chicago-Wrigley Field
8/22/16 Chicago-Wrigley Field 8/18/18 Chicago-Wrigley Field 8/20/18 Chicago-Wrigley Field 9/5/23 Chicago-United Center 9/7/23 Chicago-United Center 8/29/23 Chicago-Wrigley Field 8/31/23 Chicago-Wrigley Field
Comments
Yep! Tempted to call but what would the long distance charge be?
10/11/13 - Pittsburgh, PA
10/12/13 - Buffalo, NY
10/16/2014 - Detroit, MI
5/10/2016 - Toronto, ON
3/24/2020 - Hamilton, ON
9/7/2023 - Chicago, IL
(Gianni Sibilla)
This situation has changed many things, even in music. Several artists have also chosen to postpone the release of the albums.
The thing we are most concerned with right now is not so much the promotion of the album, but the impact of all this on people. On the one hand there is health, then there are the effects of the situation on life, affections, and work.
The lyrics of the album speak of resistance to the distortions of this time, of a world that seems to have gone mad. Thinking that they were written long ago, they seem almost prophetic compared to the days we are living ...
Each member of the band contributes to the lyrics, but there is a sort of pact based on common respect: they do not explicitly question the themes of the songs. Nobody says, "We want or have to talk about this or that."
But the magic of bands like Pearl Jam is to know how to write things that remain relevant, indeed in this case they become even more important than when they were originally composed. I think they caught the air that pulled and I think these songs will help someone get through this phase.
This album had a very long gestation. Why?
They have been on tour a lot in recent years. But in reality they never stopped working and throwing down ideas. They are not the types to post everything they do on Instagram, on the contrary ... They began to think seriously about the album in 2017, then there was the death of Chris Cornell, whom they were very close to, and which had a big impact both creative and obviously emotional.
There have been intense periods of work, and equally intense periods of life. These pauses have allowed the band to switch back to the songs every time with a new perspective, and it has happened at least two or three times, in this period. In 2019 the songs were there, and the last part of the year was hard work.
The band was ready to experiment with something different, to do things they wanted to try for some time without having had the opportunity. I contributed to this process, but the credit is theirs. I was just in the right place at the right time.
After being on tour with them for the past two years, I basically became their reference sound engineer for every project, even solo. So when they started working on the demos on the record, I took care of it. They sounded good and we went on.
Before, you were talking about a new perspective. "Gigaton" is a recognizable disc, but with several new features. What was the goal of the band?
I think the band was more open. "Dance of clairvoyants", for example, was assembled piece by piece by the band, not with everyone together in one room. This method allowed more freedom: Jeff arrived one day and tried a keyboard tour, and he took the time he needed, without making the rest of the band wait. Then Stone came, and thought of other parts, keeping the ones he liked. And so on.
So "Gigaton" can be considered a "study" record in every sense, right?
Yes, in general. But we didn't want a sound that was cold and perfect, we wanted an organic sound. They are always Pearl Jam… The basis of several songs was recorded live in the studio, then perhaps sounds or parts of previous or later versions were added.
It is a record that assembles several elements, but maintaining the underlying energy of Pearl Jam: they remain a crazy band live.
From this point of view, I was struck by the sound of the guitars: very dry and clean.
I don't think it was one of the things that the band explicitly looked for, but it is my fixation: I am a guitarist, I spend a little more time on this aspect. I spent a lot of time with them, I saw hundreds of their concerts, I know how they sound and I consciously and unconsciously tried to capture that energy.
From this point of view, I was struck by the sound of the guitars: very dry and clean.
I don't think it was one of the things that the band explicitly looked for, but it is my fixation: I am a guitarist, I spend a little more time on this aspect. I spent a lot of time with them, I saw hundreds of their concerts, I know how they sound and I consciously and unconsciously tried to capture that energy.
On the disc there are some more or less explicit references: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Who, Talking Heads.
I've known them for years, and they introduced me to great music: the first Pink Floyd, the first Genesis. Each of them has very eclectic tastes and brings them to the studio. But this time they were also determined not to set limits. When I heard "Dance of the clairvoyants" I said: great! But I asked: is it okay for a Pearl Jam record?
But they didn't care if it sounds too much or too little Pearl Jam or something else. It just had to sound real and honest. And that's why it works: they don't try to follow a fashion or replicate themselves, but play something they believe in.
What is the song that has come better, in your opinion?
It's like choosing your favorite child, but if I speak from the point of view of the producer and sound engineer, I think "Alright", because in the end it's exactly how I imagined it and it sounds like I wanted it to sound. When you start you have a vision of how you would like every single instrument and detail to come. And then "Clairvoyants", which is totally out.
In general, however, I could not indicate Pearl Jam my favorite song. I am 41 years old and "Ten" is obviously a life changing album.
How will these songs play live?
We were rehearsing it live before postponing the American tour: the songs sound great too. The time will come when we will play them live, hopefully soon.
6/18/03 Chicago-United Center
5/17/06 Chicago-United Center
7/19/13 Chicago-Wrigley Field
10/11/13 Pittsburgh-Consol Energy Center
10/17/14 Moline-IWireless Center (No Code)
10/20/14 Milwaukee-Bradley center (Yield)
4/26/16 Lexington-Rupp Arena
8/20/16 Chicago-Wrigley Field
8/22/16 Chicago-Wrigley Field
8/18/18 Chicago-Wrigley Field
8/20/18 Chicago-Wrigley Field
9/5/23 Chicago-United Center
9/7/23 Chicago-United Center
8/29/23 Chicago-Wrigley Field
8/31/23 Chicago-Wrigley Field
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