1. Streaming over Sonos Friday morning. Only got through the first four tracks (three of which were previously released) before the kids got up and started bothering me, so the bulk of my listening was on background while I was making breakfasts etc. As a side note, I actually have come to prefer approaching albums this way - listening on background the first time through to get a general feel, the later listening more intently (got that tip from a music critic friend of mine a few years back).
1.5. Put it on while riding my bike around town on a beautiful afternoon yesterday, dropping off bottles of wine on my friends’ porches. For better or worse, I didn’t make it past the midway point on the album, because “Seven O’Clock” was such a perfect soundtrack for what I was doing that I just repeated it over and over again.
2.5. Headphones again, while grocery shopping this morning.
3.5. Got some time after lunch to sit down and really get into it, spun the vinyl (2M Blue -> Fluance RT85 -> Mofi Ultraphono -> Sennheiser HD6XX) and followed along through the book.
Here’s what I’ll say about this album: when it comes to new records from artists that I have a long relationship with, I always try to imagine how I’d react if it was by an artist I wasn’t familiar with. If this was an album by a new (or new to me) band, would I say “yeah this is fine” and never listen to it again, or would I put it on my “best of the year” list, start suggesting it to friends, look up when the band is coming to NYC, etc? If I’m being honest with myself, most new albums by bands I already love fall into the former category (which isn’t to say that I don’t come to love those albums anyway - the fact that I already am committed to the band usually means I’ll give it enough time to sink in). Gigaton is the rare album that I think passes this test for me - if it wasn’t Pearl Jam, I think I’d be penciling this in right at the top of the list for the year, and texting my friends that they need to check this out. It doesn’t hurt that, as a lot of other people here have already noted, the themes of the album are amazingly even more timely and topical today than they were when the album was recorded.
I said this in another thread but my only quibble with the album is that side C (Buckle Up, Comes Then Goes, Retrograde, River Cross) drags a bit. I think if they’d just flipped Take The Long Way (my least favorite tracks so far) with Buckle Up and/or Comes Then Goes) it would have helped the pacing of the back half just a little bit.
Also, as noted by several others, the record sounds great on vinyl through a solid set of headphones. This is a very busy record from a production standpoint, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Like my favorite albums of the last five years (Teens of Denial, Go Farther In Lightness), it’s layered without being distracting, so there is a lot to chew on and discover on repeat listenings. I have to say, I think the BoB version of this album wouldn’t be nearly as successful. That’s not a slam on him, but they made a good choice going in another direction for this one.
1. Streaming over Sonos Friday morning. Only got through the first four tracks (three of which were previously released) before the kids got up and started bothering me, so the bulk of my listening was on background while I was making breakfasts etc. As a side note, I actually have come to prefer approaching albums this way - listening on background the first time through to get a general feel, the later listening more intently (got that tip from a music critic friend of mine a few years back).
1.5. Put it on while riding my bike around town on a beautiful afternoon yesterday, dropping off bottles of wine on my friends’ porches. For better or worse, I didn’t make it past the midway point on the album, because “Seven O’Clock” was such a perfect soundtrack for what I was doing that I just repeated it over and over again.
2.5. Headphones again, while grocery shopping this morning.
3.5. Got some time after lunch to sit down and really get into it, spun the vinyl (2M Blue -> Fluance RT85 -> Mofi Ultraphono -> Sennheiser HD6XX) and followed along through the book.
Here’s what I’ll say about this album: when it comes to new records from artists that I have a long relationship with, I always try to imagine how I’d react if it was by an artist I wasn’t familiar with. If this was an album by a new (or new to me) band, would I say “yeah this is fine” and never listen to it again, or would I put it on my “best of the year” list, start suggesting it to friends, look up when the band is coming to NYC, etc? If I’m being honest with myself, most new albums by bands I already love fall into the former category (which isn’t to say that I don’t come to love those albums anyway - the fact that I already am committed to the band usually means I’ll give it enough time to sink in). Gigaton is the rare album that I think passes this test for me - if it wasn’t Pearl Jam, I think I’d be penciling this in right at the top of the list for the year, and texting my friends that they need to check this out. It doesn’t hurt that, as a lot of other people here have already noted, the themes of the album are amazingly even more timely and topical today than they were when the album was recorded.
I said this in another thread but my only quibble with the album is that side C (Buckle Up, Comes Then Goes, Retrograde, River Cross) drags a bit. I think if they’d just flipped Take The Long Way (my least favorite tracks so far) with Buckle Up and/or Comes Then Goes) it would have helped the pacing of the back half just a little bit.
Also, as noted by several others, the record sounds great on vinyl through a solid set of headphones. This is a very busy record from a production standpoint, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Like my favorite albums of the last five years (Teens of Denial, Go Farther In Lightness), it’s layered without being distracting, so there is a lot to chew on and discover on repeat listenings. I have to say, I think the BoB version of this album wouldn’t be nearly as successful. That’s not a slam on him, but they made a good choice going in another direction for this one.
Tier 1: Who Ever Said, SBWM, Quick Escape, Never Destination, Take The Long Way, River Cross Tier Two, Albright, Dance, 7 O Clock Tier 3: Buckley Up, Comes then Goes, Retrograde.
To get 6 solid songs at this point in their career is amazing.
Yep, I love certain songs off those albums but they just lacked as a cohesive album. This album has its weak tracks but holds together well as strong album start to finish.
Sounds great in the car. My headphones are meh. In the car, blasting with full range of sound is much better. No bass on headphones, made the harder songs sound sparse. A whole new album in the car.
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
Yep, I love certain songs off those albums but they just lacked as a cohesive album. This album has its weak tracks but holds together well as strong album start to finish.
So true. This is why Josh Evans is the man. Nothing against Brendan (he's a legend), but the band just needed a new force in the room for the machine to start pumping again.
"Red Rover, Red Rover, Mike McCready – Take Over!!" - E.V.
Ten Club "Ambassador" (recap-writer) - DEEP.pearljam.com Contributor & Patron - liveon4legs.com 2018: Chicago 2 (Wrigley Field) 8/20 | 20(20)22: St Louis 9/18 | 2023: Chicago 2 (United Center) 9/7, Indianapolis (Deer Creek) 9/10 | 2024: Vegas 5/16-&-18, Indy? Wrigley 2?
EV: 2018: CURE Benefit Show (Chicago - Navy Pier) 10/15
Yep, I love certain songs off those albums but they just lacked as a cohesive album. This album has its weak tracks but holds together well as strong album start to finish.
So true. This is why Josh Evans is the man. Nothing against Brendan (he's a legend), but the band just needed a new force in the room for the machine to start pumping again.
I'd like them to give the raw recording tapes for Binaural and Riot Act and see if Josh could do some good with them. Binaural sounded so sterile and Riot Act so slushy. For example, a Josh remaster of Save you, Ghost or Breakerfall would be great.
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
Sounds great in the car. My headphones are meh. In the car, blasting with full range of sound is much better. No bass on headphones, made the harder songs sound sparse. A whole new album in the car.
I'm really digging Alright. Love the interplay and Jeff's lyrics sung by Eddie. Alright seems to me to be a good show opener much like Pendulum. Comes Then Goes will be great to open Encore 1. Love these 2 songs the most of the slower tempo songs. I could see 7OC dropping like song 7 of first set. Would be a tempo killer much like Sirens was, but a good song that needs to be played.
I'm really digging Alright. Love the interplay and Jeff's lyrics sung by Eddie. Alright seems to me to be a good show opener much like Pendulum. Comes Then Goes will be great to open Encore 1. Love these 2 songs the most of the slower tempo songs. I could see 7OC dropping like song 7 of first set. Would be a tempo killer much like Sirens was, but a good song that needs to be played.
Alright would be an excellent opener! They could put 7 o’clock very early or in the first encore so it doesn’t kill tempo
I'm really digging Alright. Love the interplay and Jeff's lyrics sung by Eddie. Alright seems to me to be a good show opener much like Pendulum. Comes Then Goes will be great to open Encore 1. Love these 2 songs the most of the slower tempo songs. I could see 7OC dropping like song 7 of first set. Would be a tempo killer much like Sirens was, but a good song that needs to be played.
Alright would be an excellent opener! They could put 7 o’clock very early or in the first encore so it doesn’t kill tempo
True, they could place it in Encore 1 like they used to do with Just Breath and The End. River Cross could show up in Encore 2.
I'm really digging Alright. Love the interplay and Jeff's lyrics sung by Eddie. Alright seems to me to be a good show opener much like Pendulum. Comes Then Goes will be great to open Encore 1. Love these 2 songs the most of the slower tempo songs. I could see 7OC dropping like song 7 of first set. Would be a tempo killer much like Sirens was, but a good song that needs to be played.
Alright would be an excellent opener! They could put 7 o’clock very early or in the first encore so it doesn’t kill tempo
True, they could place it in Encore 1 like they used to do with Just Breath and The End. River Cross could show up in Encore 2.
The one song that I can't get into is Buckle Up. Just not feeling it. I've heard people mention it's the Parachutes of this album, but I find that a dig on Parachutes. I really like that song and thought it fit that album well. It may grow on me yet though, we'll see.
I have a feeling people are dissing a bit extra on Lightning Bolt these days.
It's an easy comparison. The last album they released and not near as collaborative or original compared to most of their other releases. It really showed a band that was either out of gas or just coasting.
Sounds great in the car. My headphones are meh. In the car, blasting with full range of sound is much better. No bass on headphones, made the harder songs sound sparse. A whole new album in the car.
so earbuds? those aren't headphones.
I have this Jabra headset which is really for video conferences. Has a big microphone coming around the front. Not the best.
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
I have a feeling people are dissing a bit extra on Lightning Bolt these days.
I noticed that, too! I really like LB, some beautiful songs on there
I like Backspacer and LB a lot. People diss the previous album a lot. I remember when Riot Act came out, there was such venom towards Binaural. I mean, caustic, acid venom. Then, there was all this heated debate about keyboards and Boom. A lot of haters, locked threads, etc. When Avocado came out, the venom spewed on Riot Act and all these posts praising Binaural and Avocado. It's a cycle I guess. I love Backspacer and LB, probably LB more. Some great songs from both. Unthought Known and Infallible. So when I see all the venom towards BS and LB, debates about the current release, Gigaton, I'm glad to see that in these strange times, some things haven't changed. Long live the donut.
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
I have a feeling people are dissing a bit extra on Lightning Bolt these days.
It's an easy comparison. The last album they released and not near as collaborative or original compared to most of their other releases. It really showed a band that was either out of gas or just coasting.
Okey. I think Lightning Bolt is them looking for what was left after Backspacer and found stuff they were to lost to include on that album. A bit scattered, sounds like a B-side collection of various songs not really fitting together.
But a step up from Backspacer så det skriker om det. (so much it screams)
"Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
After taking the new album in for 3 days now for me I would rank the albums this way. No Code VItalogy VS Ten Yield Gigaton Binaural Riot Act S/T Backspacer LB
ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 1992 SUMMERFEST MILWAUKEE 1995 ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 1998 UNITED CENTER CHICAGO1998 THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA KNOXVILLE 1998 ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 2000 ALLSTATE ARENA ROSEMONT 2000 ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 2003 HERSHEYPARK STADIUM 2003 TOLEDO SPORTS ARENA 2004 AIR CANADA CENTRE TORONTO 2005 UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2006 UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2006 VERIZON CENTER DC 2008 UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2009 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS 2010 PJ20 NIGHT 1 Alpine Valley Music Theatre 2011 PJ20 NIGHT 2 Alpine Valley Music Theatre 2011 1ST MARINER ARENA BALTIMORE 2013 IWIRELESS CENTER MOLINE 2014 XCEL ENERGY CENTER ST. PAUL 2014 CHICAGO 1 Wrigley Field 2016 CHICAGO 2 Wrigley Field 2016 CHICAGO 1 Wrigley Field 2018 CHICAGO 2 Wrigley Field 2018 BOSTON 2 Fenway Park 2018 ENTERPRISE CENTER SAINT LOUIS 2022 Eddie Vedder Auditorium Theatre CHICAGO 2008
A few other things to note; I really wish that jam at the end of Who Ever Said carried on for at least 30 seconds longer. That song ends and you're like, damn! Also, the end of Alright has me really confused. It seems like it all of a sudden ends mid verse. I checked the lyrics page in the CD and it seems it doesn't list that last line by Eddie. The last lyrics it shows seemed to be a more logical end. Love the song, but I feel like it got cut off and then you roll in to 7OC which at first sounds like a continuation.
A few other things to note; I really wish that jam at the end of Who Ever Said carried on for at least 30 seconds longer. That song ends and you're like, damn! Also, the end of Alright has me really confused. It seems like it all of a sudden ends mid verse. I checked the lyrics page in the CD and it seems it doesn't list that last line by Eddie. The last lyrics it shows seemed to be a more logical end. Love the song, but I feel like it got cut off and then you roll in to 7OC which at first sounds like a continuation.
I thought the exact same thing about Alright!! The end sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it?
Call me biased or whatever but there’s basically 1 song id put as Tier 2. —- Never Destination. And even that one is better than the usual fun, fast rockers like SuperSonic, Johnny Guitar, Let the Records Play.
Comments
1. Streaming over Sonos Friday morning. Only got through the first four tracks (three of which were previously released) before the kids got up and started bothering me, so the bulk of my listening was on background while I was making breakfasts etc. As a side note, I actually have come to prefer approaching albums this way - listening on background the first time through to get a general feel, the later listening more intently (got that tip from a music critic friend of mine a few years back).
2.5. Headphones again, while grocery shopping this morning.
Absolutely stunning.
Thanks to the band for all the music and for still going strong.
Tier Two, Albright, Dance, 7 O Clock
Tier 3: Buckley Up, Comes then Goes, Retrograde.
To get 6 solid songs at this point in their career is amazing.
Ten Club "Ambassador" (recap-writer) - DEEP.pearljam.com
Contributor & Patron - liveon4legs.com
2018: Chicago 2 (Wrigley Field) 8/20 | 20(20)22: St Louis 9/18 | 2023: Chicago 2 (United Center) 9/7, Indianapolis (Deer Creek) 9/10 | 2024: Vegas 5/16-&-18, Indy? Wrigley 2?
EV:
2018: CURE Benefit Show (Chicago - Navy Pier) 10/15
RIP: Andy, Kurt, Chris
so earbuds? those aren't headphones.
Quick Escape
Super blood
alright
the least:
never destination
comes then goes
retrograde
Overall id day I love 10.5/12. Retrograde I’m not feeling. Comes then goes I enjoy 1 every 3 times I listen. These are so far becoming the skip songs.
And while many disagree, I Love buckle up. To each their own.
But a step up from Backspacer så det skriker om det. (so much it screams)
No Code
VItalogy
VS
Ten
Yield
Gigaton
Binaural
Riot Act
S/T
Backspacer
LB
SUMMERFEST MILWAUKEE 1995
ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 1998
UNITED CENTER CHICAGO1998
THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA KNOXVILLE 1998
ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 2000
ALLSTATE ARENA ROSEMONT 2000
ALPINE VALLEY MUSIC THEATRE 2003
HERSHEYPARK STADIUM 2003
TOLEDO SPORTS ARENA 2004
AIR CANADA CENTRE TORONTO 2005
UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2006
UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2006
VERIZON CENTER DC 2008
UNITED CENTER CHICAGO 2009
NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS 2010
PJ20 NIGHT 1 Alpine Valley Music Theatre 2011
PJ20 NIGHT 2 Alpine Valley Music Theatre 2011
1ST MARINER ARENA BALTIMORE 2013
IWIRELESS CENTER MOLINE 2014
XCEL ENERGY CENTER ST. PAUL 2014
CHICAGO 1 Wrigley Field 2016
CHICAGO 2 Wrigley Field 2016
CHICAGO 1 Wrigley Field 2018
CHICAGO 2 Wrigley Field 2018
BOSTON 2 Fenway Park 2018
ENTERPRISE CENTER SAINT LOUIS 2022
Eddie Vedder Auditorium Theatre CHICAGO 2008