Listening to Backspacer now. I don't know how Brendan O'Brien is recording/producing vocals... but he is doing it wrong.
What's the verdict? You can't break my heart with this ranking/review, because it is my least favorite.
Ha, same
BACKSPACER (2009). Fans use to talk about the brickwalled production of the album released before this one - but I find Backspacer to be even more harsch sounding. And Eddie sounds like he has an even worse cold. Especially on Just Breathe. Why does every string being plucked on that song have to attack my ears? It should have sounded like it belonged on Neil Young’s warm and pleasant Harvest Moon - not Metallica’s Death Magnetic. Other songs sound overproduced - I have never noticed or been irked by added piano parts like on this album. And the doubling of Eddies vocals on Speed of Sound just sounds off. No need to overproduce the song when the demo sounded great. Backspacer was and is to me a disappointing album, mostly due to the production but also in how uninspired some of the songs come off. Sure - some of them really grow live (Got Some, Just Breathe and Unthought Known) but yeah...
The End, Just Breathe and Unthought Known are 4 star songs for me. Don’t care about the rest.
Listening to Backspacer now. I don't know how Brendan O'Brien is recording/producing vocals... but he is doing it wrong.
What's the verdict? You can't break my heart with this ranking/review, because it is my least favorite.
Ha, same
BACKSPACER (2009). Fans use to talk about the brickwalled production of the album released before this one - but I find Backspacer to be even more harsch sounding. And Eddie sounds like he has an even worse cold. Especially on Just Breathe. Why does every string being plucked on that song have to attack my ears? It should have sounded like it belonged on Neil Young’s warm and pleasant Harvest Moon - not Metallica’s Death Magnetic. Other songs sound overproduced - I have never noticed or been irked by added piano parts like on this album. And the doubling of Eddies vocals on Speed of Sound just sounds off. No need to overproduce the song when the demo sounded great. Backspacer was and is to me a disappointing album, mostly due to the production but also in how uninspired some of the songs come off. Sure - some of them really grow live (Got Some, Just Breathe and Unthought Known) but yeah...
The End, Just Breathe and Unthought Known are 4 star songs for me. Don’t care about the rest.
The End I always found to be "generic" and "manipulative" in it's easiness. Even more so by the theatrics going on in how Eddie sings the song that feels too played up for me. Makes it hard to listen to. It sounds like he sings it in character in a musical.
When the album came out I loved Unthought Known, Got Some (so glad that one came out early to balance out The Fixer) and Just Breathe. This time around, returning to the album I felt like Got Some is a great song but it sounds like the lyrics are temporary "scat vocals" at places and Unthought Known is less explosive than I thought. I think with both Got Some and Unthought Known it has to do with me being so used to the live versions. And missing that omph and "life" in the studio versions.
With Just Breathe - just compare the quality of the live version (that they pushed as the music video) and the studio version. A lot less Death Magnetic-harshness, random loudly mixed instruments sounding like synth samples (the organ) or "NOW YOU WILL FEEL THINGS"-forced like the violins and less "lead singer being forced to sing with influenza" on the live version. But the song is great. Obviously now one of their classics. And to think, people back then wrote it off as a lazy Into the Wild re-write.
Tbh I don’t just go by the studio version when it comes to ranking or rating songs. If I did that I‘d find Given to fly or Light Years a bit boring. But knowing live versions they are two of my favorites.
Yeah, it was the award for beating that scavenger hunt before the album came out (if I remember it correctly). You hear how it doesn't have those unnecessary drums making the song sort of robotically "upbeat" and the plink-plonky piano?. No weird double vocals with two Eddies either. Good stuff. At the time I think I felt it sounded a bit to In to the wildy. After the first listen.
And guess what, the same thing was to happen on the follow up too.
Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
"Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
On the album star rating, click on the right arrow to see the song ratings
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goldrush
everybody knows this is nowhere Posts: 7,288
I think both sides start out promisingly - Gonna See My Friend, Got Some and Amongst The Waves, Unthought Known are strong enough songs. The demo of Speed of Sound was much better as everyone has already said, and I enjoyed Supersonic and The End live. The Fixer and Johnny Guitar are just ok (but The Fixer definitely loses points for the video!)
But I will never see the appeal of Force Of Nature.
“Do not postpone happiness”
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
LIGHTNING BOLT (2013). A return to form. Eddie hasn’t sounded this good since Riot Act - and neither has the production. The trend of ending the album with a generic sap song and ruining a great Eddie solo song (Speed of Sound on Backspacer, Sleeping By Myself here) with out-of-place drums and overproduction continues. Why did they decide to make a song about having to sleep alone weirdly uptempo? Why even include an already released Eddie song? There are some future Pearl Jam classics on here. My big gripe with the album though is that it sounds like a patchwork of different identities, atmospheres and production. It reminds me of a B-side collection or a soundtrack. It comes off less like an album with one identity and more like a collection of songs thrown together to get an album out.
Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
"Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
Yeah it’s probably sunk to my least favorite. At least a couple of tracks on Backspacer make it in my top 50 (Unthought Known, Got Some), I can’t say the same for LB. Sirens is great in the studio, but I have trouble with it performed live.
I wish I was a sacrifice, but somehow still lived on.
Yeah it’s probably sunk to my least favorite. At least a couple of tracks on Backspacer make it in my top 50 (Unthought Known, Got Some), I can’t say the same for LB. Sirens is great in the studio, but I have trouble with it performed live.
Lightning Bolt live has turned into a real positive in the show. I think they've done a great job with it, especially the closing solo.
I think Getaway is the best studio song on the record, but the few times they have played it live has felt lifeless.
I think both sides start out promisingly - Gonna See My Friend, Got Some and Amongst The Waves, Unthought Known are strong enough songs. The demo of Speed of Sound was much better as everyone has already said, and I enjoyed Supersonic and The End live. The Fixer and Johnny Guitar are just ok (but The Fixer definitely loses points for the video!)
But I will never see the appeal of Force Of Nature.
Agreed on FON...I've never seen the appeal. Not a bad song...but average in my opinion
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
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F Me In The Brain
this knows everybody from other commets Posts: 30,625
Yellow Moon - least liked song since Avacado (Parachutes)
Last three songs could all get a single star.
Always interesting to see where people land on Sirens and Yellow Moon as they rate this record.
Comments
When the album came out I loved Unthought Known, Got Some (so glad that one came out early to balance out The Fixer) and Just Breathe. This time around, returning to the album I felt like Got Some is a great song but it sounds like the lyrics are temporary "scat vocals" at places and Unthought Known is less explosive than I thought. I think with both Got Some and Unthought Known it has to do with me being so used to the live versions. And missing that omph and "life" in the studio versions.
With Just Breathe - just compare the quality of the live version (that they pushed as the music video) and the studio version. A lot less Death Magnetic-harshness, random loudly mixed instruments sounding like synth samples (the organ) or "NOW YOU WILL FEEL THINGS"-forced like the violins and less "lead singer being forced to sing with influenza" on the live version. But the song is great. Obviously now one of their classics. And to think, people back then wrote it off as a lazy Into the Wild re-write.
And guess what, the same thing was to happen on the follow up too.
The demo of Speed of Sound was much better as everyone has already said, and I enjoyed Supersonic and The End live.
The Fixer and Johnny Guitar are just ok (but The Fixer definitely loses points for the video!)
But I will never see the appeal of Force Of Nature.
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
“Put yer good money on the sunrise”
(Tim Rogers)
LIGHTNING BOLT (2013).
A return to form. Eddie hasn’t sounded this good since Riot Act - and neither has the production. The trend of ending the album with a generic sap song and ruining a great Eddie solo song (Speed of Sound on Backspacer, Sleeping By Myself here) with out-of-place drums and overproduction continues. Why did they decide to make a song about having to sleep alone weirdly uptempo? Why even include an already released Eddie song? There are some future Pearl Jam classics on here. My big gripe with the album though is that it sounds like a patchwork of different identities, atmospheres and production. It reminds me of a B-side collection or a soundtrack. It comes off less like an album with one identity and more like a collection of songs thrown together to get an album out.
(Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)
“Put yer good money on the sunrise”
(Tim Rogers)
I think Getaway is the best studio song on the record, but the few times they have played it live has felt lifeless.
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
Last three songs could all get a single star.
Always interesting to see where people land on Sirens and Yellow Moon as they rate this record.
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Chicago; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana