Fanviews / reviews

slightofjeff

KN219077 said:

Comes then Goes is way better than I expected based on the reviews. Fantastic, classic Ed acoustic song

He has a way of taking very specific, personal subject matter and turning into some sort of universal truth. 

RedMosquitoSmile28

slightofjeff said:

neddie vedder said:

I know it’s all opinions in the end but I can’t get the negativity towards ‘7 o’clock’.. I think it’s probably my favourite along with DOTC, just gutted that it’s going to be a long while before we hear them live by the looks of it 

Every attempt I make to re-listen to the album from the top inevitably stalls out when I hit repeat on  "Seven O'clock" about nine times in a row.

My favorite two on the album so far too. 

Abe Froman

After a first listen of the vinyl...this record is GREAT!  

Listen to Retrograde again if you’re on the fence. Holy shit the last minute or so of it is INCREDIBLE 

Abe Froman

Gigaton is MUCH better than Backspacer and LB (which I liked but didn’t love from top to bottom). Hard to say where it will fall for me in the overall catalogue. Gonna take some time to digest before I can even begin to determine 

Ledbetterman10

nicknyr15 said:

After 1 complete listen

Tier 1
Who ever said
Superblood
DOTC
Quick Escape
Never Destination 

Tier 2
Seven O'clock
Take the Long Way
Retrograde
River Cross

Tier3
Buckle Up
Comes then Goes (2.5 min too long)
Alright  

That might be exactly how I’d rank it. Maybe throw seven o clock in tier one for me. Those would be my top 6. Didn’t really care for the tunes where Eddie didn’t write the lyrics actually

KN219077

Seven O Clock and Retrograde are bottom two for me right now. I’ll see how these song shake out over the next couple of months in my rankings. I feel like this is slightly above LB and Backspacer and certainly has more depth than anything since Riot Act

slightofjeff

Abe Froman said:

Gigaton is MUCH better than Backspacer and LB (which I liked but didn’t love from top to bottom). Hard to say where it will fall for me in the overall catalogue. Gonna take some time to digest before I can even begin to determine 

Both those albums were fine and I was excited when they came out. There are a handful of songs on each I think are really good/close to indispensable in the catalog, and could and should still be played for years to come. This album is different in that it feels like it was written precisely for these times. Obviously, nobody could have predicted it would drop in the middle of a global pandemic with all of us basically locked in our houses and scared shitless about the future ... but the album hits home through that lens. Like whatever the intent was of the album when it was conceived, it landed as that on steroids based on the conditions of the country and the world at right this minute. I guess that's a rambling way of saying, though previous albums have some songs I hold dear to me, this one feels like almost like a historical document of our time. It's become a chronicle of this thing we're all in together.

nicknyr15

Ledbetterman10 said:

nicknyr15 said:

After 1 complete listen

Tier 1
Who ever said
Superblood
DOTC
Quick Escape
Never Destination 

Tier 2
Seven O'clock
Take the Long Way
Retrograde
River Cross

Tier3
Buckle Up
Comes then Goes (2.5 min too long)
Alright  

That might be exactly how I’d rank it. Maybe throw seven o clock in tier one for me. Those would be my top 6. Didn’t really care for the tunes where Eddie didn’t write the lyrics actually

That could happen with me too. 7:00 is a lot of song to digest and one listen is definitely not enough. 

Ledbetterman10

nicknyr15 said:

Ledbetterman10 said:

nicknyr15 said:

After 1 complete listen

Tier 1
Who ever said
Superblood
DOTC
Quick Escape
Never Destination 

Tier 2
Seven O'clock
Take the Long Way
Retrograde
River Cross

Tier3
Buckle Up
Comes then Goes (2.5 min too long)
Alright  

That might be exactly how I’d rank it. Maybe throw seven o clock in tier one for me. Those would be my top 6. Didn’t really care for the tunes where Eddie didn’t write the lyrics actually

That could happen with me too. 7:00 is a lot of song to digest and one listen is definitely not enough. 

Yeah I like it more and more with each listen. 

Abe Froman

slightofjeff said:

Abe Froman said:

Gigaton is MUCH better than Backspacer and LB (which I liked but didn’t love from top to bottom). Hard to say where it will fall for me in the overall catalogue. Gonna take some time to digest before I can even begin to determine 

Both those albums were fine and I was excited when they came out. There are a handful of songs on each I think are really good/close to indispensable in the catalog, and could and should still be played for years to come. This album is different in that it feels like it was written precisely for these times. Obviously, nobody could have predicted it would drop in the middle of a global pandemic with all of us basically locked in our houses and scared shitless about the future ... but the album hits home through that lens. Like whatever the intent was of the album when it was conceived, it landed as that on steroids based on the conditions of the country of the world at right this minute. I guess that's a rambling way of saying, though previous albums have some songs I hold dear to me, this one feels like almost like a historical document of our time. It's become a chronicle of this thing we're all in together.

Yes @slightofjeff
I love this post. Well said. Pretty much exactly how I feel

JV267526

slightofjeff said:

Abe Froman said:

Gigaton is MUCH better than Backspacer and LB (which I liked but didn’t love from top to bottom). Hard to say where it will fall for me in the overall catalogue. Gonna take some time to digest before I can even begin to determine 

Both those albums were fine and I was excited when they came out. There are a handful of songs on each I think are really good/close to indispensable in the catalog, and could and should still be played for years to come. This album is different in that it feels like it was written precisely for these times. Obviously, nobody could have predicted it would drop in the middle of a global pandemic with all of us basically locked in our houses and scared shitless about the future ... but the album hits home through that lens. Like whatever the intent was of the album when it was conceived, it landed as that on steroids based on the conditions of the country of the world at right this minute. I guess that's a rambling way of saying, though previous albums have some songs I hold dear to me, this one feels like almost like a historical document of our time. It's become a chronicle of this thing we're all in together.

Great post, you nailed it. Feel the same way.

slightofjeff

I also I sort of enjoy how since the last album we've gone from Sirens, which is basically a treatise on how love guides us through even the worst of life's existential crises, to now it's "love notwithstanding we are each of us fucked."
 

JA86457

My wife and I just finished our first spin.  I have to admit neither of us were very impressed with the last two albums.  We had pretty much fallen off the train..........but this album has has us fully back on board.  A few minutes into listening my wife said "Now this is Pearl Jam!!".  The band sounds truly inspired on this album, and there are so many songs that demand an immediate re-listen.  I loved Quick Escape and got an immediate Zeppelin vibe from it.

I must also say that the timing of this album couldn't have been more perfect.  These last couple of weeks have been super heavy and listening to this album on vinyl, sitting in the floor with my wife, drinking a cold beer was just what we needed to release some anxiety.  I met my wife back in '98 as teenagers and one of the first things we connected on was our love for Pearl Jam.  Twenty-two years later we are married with 2 kids and listening to this album together brought us back to those early days of careless teenage love.

Stay well everyone and I look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming tour! 

pjpjpaul

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pearl-jam-gigaton/

Well, on the bright side they did give it the highest rating of any album from the band that they reviewed this century.

Miiike

JA86457 said:

I must also say that the timing of this album couldn't have been more perfect.  These last couple of weeks have been super heavy and listening to this album on vinyl, sitting in the floor with my wife, drinking a cold beer was just what we needed to release some anxiety.  I met my wife back in '98 as teenagers and one of the first things we connected on was our love for Pearl Jam.  Twenty-two years later we are married with 2 kids and listening to this album together brought us back to those early days of careless teenage love.

""

ceska

Overall I like the album. three listens in. Has echoes of Into the Wild.  Not sure I hear a truly singular standout/favorite song just yet. I'm still listening to the album all the way through and am not at the point of hitting repeat on anything just yet. It is a fairly even, consistent record. If there is an emotional anchor to this album I'd say it is the last 2-3 songs. But even those songs don't hit as hard as Release or Parting Ways. I think River Cross falls a bit short of what it feels like it could/should be. They are, however, a notch above Future Days and The End.

I often agree with Eddie's politics/stage rants, but working them into the songs can sometimes feel a bit forced.  Thankfully I don't notice the Trump references so easily.  I might've missed them entirely if I hadn't read the reviews beforehand.

Song-By-Song notes:
Who Ever Said - Strong rocker to open the album. Townshend-eqsue song. Harkens back to No Code. I like it.

Wolfmoon & Dance - I guess I don't dislike them entirely as much as I dislike parts of them. I'm glad the band got them out of the way early in the album, so it doesn't feel like they're the heart of the album. The God's Dice and Evacuation of this record.
Quick Escape - OK rocker, somewhat generic/formulaic.
Alright - It's alright. The album really kind of begins here - this sets up what is coming the rest of the way.
Seven O Clock - The Unthought Known/Amongst the Waves of Gigaton, the mid-record heart-of-the-album emotional peak, but not quite there. Very Bruce Springsteen-sounding song. Early candidate to be my favorite of the record.
Never Destination - OK rocker, seems to be a mad favorite here.
Take The Long Way - The most/only forgettable song on the album.
Buckle Up - I rather like it. Seems to not be a favorite here on the forum. Reminds me of something (not necessarily PJ)  but I don't know what - it may be one of those things that is so original that it feels like it has been around forever.
Comes Then  Goes - The other candidate for my favorite song.
Retrograde - Actually, no, this may be the best song on the album. I'm surprised this song is only five minutes long. It feels like it could have another verse, and some more jamming. Maybe gets extended live.
River Cross - I like the Into the Wild feel of this one. It feels like this song also ends abruptly. It could be very intense live. Where do they play it? End of Set? Beginning of Encore? Or does it get relegated to being an Indifference/Parting Ways-style rarity?

At this point there is no point in ranking PJ albums. There is everything up to and including Yield, then Binaural and Riot Act which are really good but not Top-Five great, and then everything after that.  Backspacer is my favorite of the post-RA albums. (2009 was a good year for me personally, so there is that association too.). I was prepared to not like Gigaton, based on the first two singles, but I am happy to find out that it is a pleasure to listen to all the way through and on repeat.

JABK

Nothing will touch the BIG 5, which are the first five albums. But Gigaton lands on a solid 6th place. This album is REALLY good. The punkrock vibes on Superblood Wolfmoon gets me going in the morning 🤘😎

maximumlawman

For those of you who read German this is a thoughtfully written review 

https://www.zeit.de/kultur/musik/2020-03/pearl-jam-album-gigaton-comeback

ceska

pjpjpaul said:

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pearl-jam-gigaton/

Well, on the bright side they did give it the highest rating of any album from the band that they reviewed this century.

I think it's a pretty accurate review of the album..

vito

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/gigaton/pearl-jam&ved=2ahUKEwjG3v7mqLzoAhUKQ60KHbzNCBsQFjABegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw1oJYYXXBzPh3G17if42tRO

Guess the critics have spoken around the globe and it's Universal Acclaim, as have the fans! Sad, that the very tiny minority on here don't hear what the rest of us do? Maybe you never will again cause if you don't hear that this blows away pretty much everything since Binaural and maybe that also then I don't know what to tell you but, your entitled to your opinion. As for Pitchfork PJ could've released the next Revolver, Who's Next or OK Computer and because it says Pearl Jam on the cover their going to dismiss it, they simply don't fall into Pitchforks rolodex!