It's got maybe 4 songs that I would care to hear live during the next tour cycle. And that's probably the lowest number from all the albums. So no, I can't give LB the love it deserves.
Brendan is a great producer, particularly for this band, he has been instrumental in a lot of their decisions and output.
Is there really any real proof of this?
Would Michael Beinhorn have made Yield worse?
I think it is plainly evident that the amount of work they have done together shows that as a unit they all work well together. Bands rarely work with such frequency with a single producer, often hunting for a producer to "change" or "evolve" their sound.
Considering the bands head space when they first met O'Brien in 1992, it seems unlikely that they would have had him produce 60% of their catalog and come in to help mix and piece together part of another record.
So mostly I am defaulting to the output and the band themselves in how they have expressed their working with him over the years.
I think it's pretty evident they stick with people that they are comfortable with, and masterpiece-quality-making not always being the main reason for it.
So they might work "well together" as in it being comfortable, but the output might have lost some edge in the process. Like bringing back Sean Connery for Diamonds Are Forever. Or like a post 2003 Ames poster.
I wouldn't risk the 90's albums on a what if twilight zone alternative reality, where they went with Michael Beinhorn, Dave Jerden and Rick Rubin instead.
But I don't think it have to have been particularly them keeping with Brendan O'Brien that made those albums as good as they are.
Also, some songs could have been GIGANTIC Ten-era hits (like e.g. Given To Fly) with the help of another producer pushing creatively on some other buttons. (together obviously with luck, the PR strategy etc). And Sleeping by Myself (band version with Matts upbeat drums) and Speed of Sound (band version) could have been better.
What I'm saying is, I'm not slagging off BoB - but at the same time I'm not a fatalist and PJ sticking with someone is not "evidence" that, that yields the best "objective" results.
I mean, Metallica sticks with Lars Ulrich.
And Riot Act is their best sounding album, produced by Adam Kasper.
Hard to define it as the output edge being correlated to the producer band relationship as opposed to a band just getting older and their personalities changing and evolving. I like the audio vibes on Binaural and Riot Act much more but the direction of those records is a bit scrambled at times.
Yield and Given to Fly could not have been bigger, the industry pendulum already swung all the way back it was a sea change in market dynamics, hard core fans and early stage nostalgia fans allowed that record and its corresponding back to normal touring tour survive a time when the world was pushing different strains of garbage music. Jack Nitzche, George Martin and Prince could have collectively produced the record and it would not have changed that it was 1998. I definitely think Yield could have had a markedly different sound and vibe considering where Binaural and Riot Act went.
There's definitely things we could all find that would be better or more appealing to our personal preferences and ears, all I am saying is that collectively they get each other as a unit.
Self Titled is the second worst sounding album, also produced by Adam Kasper. And it seems like they had a ton of material for that record, the beginning half is remarkable but the sequencing of the record as a whole is puzzling.
I am not saying he is objectively the best, just that for their needs for their multi headed animal, he is a pretty good fit to their puzzle.
I love how the "hard core" fans here are clamoring for a new album, new music, new stuff, new, new, new....but they dislike everything that is put out.
First Five will never be topped by this band. The rest? Some is amazing, some good, a few stinkers.
It is what it is.
Their 6th and 7th albums were masterpieces, just like the five before.The others contain some great and excellent material, but to me it feels like they were tryin to appeal to a wider audience with later albums, trading the creativity, moodiness and quirkiness of No Code, Binaural and Riot Act for many radio-friendly songs.
1 No Code 2 Vs - Ten - Vitalogy 3 Binaural - Yield - Pearl Jam - Riot Act 4 Lightning Bolt 5 Backspacer 2 - 3 too hard to place as they do move around. Can’t even make up my mind posting this
Half of Binaural is not as good as Lightning Bolt.
Whoooosh! The sound of your credibility going out the window. To each his own, but Binaural was the last great PJ record from start to finish. Since then, each record has a couple great songs, a few good ones, and a few bad ones. Sirens, yellow moon, future days are like nails on the chalkboard to me.
Binaural? The first 3 songs are ehhhh. Couple of fillers. Nothing as it seems. Good but overrated. Is it a good album. Yes. But like what was said above. Pearl Jam doesn’t have a bad album. Bad songs. Yes. But their albums are more good songs than bad.
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
"the cool fans". I love binaural and riot act. am I a cool fan?
I don't worry too much about public opinion when it comes to music, so I'm not sure what the proves.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
"the cool fans". I love binaural and riot act. am I a cool fan?
I don't worry too much about public opinion when it comes to music, so I'm not sure what the proves.
You are definitely not a cool fan. toronto 2 was epic because they played binaural! (Outside the 10c section everyone was bored as hell lol.). People would just leave if they played riot act.
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
"the cool fans". I love binaural and riot act. am I a cool fan?
I don't worry too much about public opinion when it comes to music, so I'm not sure what the proves.
You are definitely not a cool fan. toronto 2 was epic because they played binaural! (Outside the 10c section everyone was bored as hell lol.). People would just leave if they played riot act.
for sure. playing a full record as a surprise to 20,000 people is a massive gamble. most of the crowd wants the hits, not a full album and not The Whale Song.
I'd be fucking ecstatic if I got a full record. I pulled the shit card in 2014 by going to one show (St Paul), and it was the only one sandwiched between two album shows.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
Thank you for the compliment! I always wanted to be cool. I definitely do think it's pretty cool not to judge music based on mass appeal. It's only uncool to not like music based on mass appeal.
BTW, Jeff said that Binaural is his favorite PJ album. He's pretty cool too, lol.
Post edited by PJ_Soul on
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Binaural is waaaaaaay overrated. The cool fans seem to put this one and riot act on some sort of pedestal for some reason. Even mike admitted in pj20 that fans started to not like them as much when binaural came out. Riot act was an even bigger flop, so many unsold tickets that tour (outside the northeast). Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
Thank you for the compliment! I always wanted to be cool. I definitely do think it's pretty cool not to judge music based on mass appeal. It's only uncool to not like music based on mass appeal.
BTW, Jeff said that Binaural is his favorite PJ album. He's pretty cool too, lol.
Ally you are the coolest 42 year old I know from Vancouver.
I think albums should have 8-9 songs tops. All my favs seem to be in that zone. The cd age had artists writing to put out what used to be double album sized content with every release. That’s a lot to ask. Sabbath, zeppelin, Halen, Hendrix and so on, shorter track lists but more solid offerings than a lot of released material from the cd age.
8-28-92 Harriet Island
6-16-93 University Theatre, UM
2-8-95 Adams Field House
6-20-98 Washington-Grizzly Stadium
5-28-03 Adams Field House
8-29-05 Adams Field House
7-22-06 Gorge Amphitheater
9-3-11 Alpine Valley
9-30-12 Adams Field House
10-31-12 The Pearl - Eddie Vedder
11-01-12 The Pearl - Eddie Vedder
9-6-13 Key Arena
6-20-14 Milan
6-22-14 Trieste
11-28-15 Mexico City
Comments
Its very great..
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
2. VS
3. Riot Act
4. Vitalogy
5. Yield
6. Binaural
7. No Code
8. Pearl Jam
9. Lightning Bolt
10. Backspacer.
FIGHT ME
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
1) I like two or three of the songs on it.
2) It got the band to go on tour.
That's all I ask for at this point: a song or two that I like, and a tour.
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
Yield and Given to Fly could not have been bigger, the industry pendulum already swung all the way back it was a sea change in market dynamics, hard core fans and early stage nostalgia fans allowed that record and its corresponding back to normal touring tour survive a time when the world was pushing different strains of garbage music. Jack Nitzche, George Martin and Prince could have collectively produced the record and it would not have changed that it was 1998. I definitely think Yield could have had a markedly different sound and vibe considering where Binaural and Riot Act went.
There's definitely things we could all find that would be better or more appealing to our personal preferences and ears, all I am saying is that collectively they get each other as a unit.
Self Titled is the second worst sounding album, also produced by Adam Kasper. And it seems like they had a ton of material for that record, the beginning half is remarkable but the sequencing of the record as a whole is puzzling.
I am not saying he is objectively the best, just that for their needs for their multi headed animal, he is a pretty good fit to their puzzle.
http://www.hi5sports.org/ (Sports Program for Kids with Disabilities)
http://www.livefootsteps.org/user/?usr=3652
2. Vitalogy
3. Yield
4. Ten
5. Binaural
6. Vs
7. Lightning Bolt
8. Riot Act
9. Pearl Jam
10. Backspacer
http://www.hi5sports.org/ (Sports Program for Kids with Disabilities)
http://www.livefootsteps.org/user/?usr=3652
yield
vs
ten
vitalogy
self titled
binaural
backspacer
lb
riot act
No Code- would be #1 if not for Mankind
Yield
Vitalogy
Lightning Bolt
Ten- probably just burn out. Its how I feel today.
Binaural
Self Titled
⬇️
This list probably changes daily except Backspacer is always at the very bottom.
2 Vs - Ten - Vitalogy
3 Binaural - Yield - Pearl Jam - Riot Act
4 Lightning Bolt
5 Backspacer
2 - 3 too hard to place as they do move around. Can’t even make up my mind posting this
-EV 8/14/93
Since then, each record has a couple great songs, a few good ones, and a few bad ones. Sirens, yellow moon, future days are like nails on the chalkboard to me.
Self titled was a nice comeback (no pun intended) and a very fun tour.
I don't worry too much about public opinion when it comes to music, so I'm not sure what the proves.
-EV 8/14/93
toronto 2 was epic because they played binaural! (Outside the 10c section everyone was bored as hell lol.).
People would just leave if they played riot act.
I'd be fucking ecstatic if I got a full record. I pulled the shit card in 2014 by going to one show (St Paul), and it was the only one sandwiched between two album shows.
-EV 8/14/93
6-16-93 University Theatre, UM
2-8-95 Adams Field House
6-20-98 Washington-Grizzly Stadium
5-28-03 Adams Field House
8-29-05 Adams Field House
7-22-06 Gorge Amphitheater
9-3-11 Alpine Valley
9-30-12 Adams Field House
10-31-12 The Pearl - Eddie Vedder
11-01-12 The Pearl - Eddie Vedder
9-6-13 Key Arena
6-20-14 Milan
6-22-14 Trieste
11-28-15 Mexico City
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -