Redoing the lead singles from each album
My personal criteria (would love to hear others' criteria as well): First and foremost, how well does the song represent the album as a whole? The heaviness and overall tone should be in line with the average song on the album. Also how much the song appeals to hardcore fans and casual fans alike, as well as the likelihood of drawing in completely new fans.
Disclaimer: I'm not saying they SHOULD have chose these songs. What they did was perfect because it's exactly what they thought they should have done at the time. These are just the songs that I would have chose based on the above criteria.
Ten - Alive - They nailed this one. Jeremy may have been more popular in the long run, but the lead single of Ten had to be a Stone riff and a killer Mike solo.
Vs. - Rearviewmirror - Go kicks major ass (and I personally prefer it over RVM by quite a bit) but it doesn't seem overly representative of the album as a whole to me. RVM is one of the best examples of songs that are loved by both casual and more dedicated PJ fans.
Vitalogy - Corduroy - Almost the exact same reasoning as RVM.
No Code - Present Tense - This was a tough one. Who You Are does a great job representing No Code, but I think it's just a little too "out there" to be the lead single (which I understand was probably VERY intentional). It's hard to find a song that would seem like a big radio hit from No Code, but Present Tense has a pretty nice legacy. It's probably the biggest fan favorite at concerts from the album, and it had a little mainstream resurgence when it was played in the finale of The Last Dance. I think it would have done pretty well as a lead single.
Yield - Given to Fly - This one is just a no-brainer. I highly prefer DTE but GTF is the obvious choice here.
Binaural - Insignificance - This was another tough one. NAIS was certainly not a bad choice, but again just a little too "out there" as a lead single. Breakerfall, Insignificance, and Grievance are all songs solely written by Ed and they all have a very similar tone in my opinion. Of the 3 I think Insignificance has the catchiest ear-worm with the repeating "Bombs dropping down" line, so it gets my pick.
Riot Act - I Am Mine - Another obvious one. The only song from this album that had any kind of chance of becoming a hit.
Pearl Jam - Severed Hand - This one baffles me. The main riff is so catchy and you could have easily shortened the intro for the radio if that was the hold up. This album is often considered to be the closest thing that PJ has had to a "return to form" album and SH is the song that I think would most fit in on a mid-90s PJ album. WWS was likely chosen because of the topical lyrics, but I think SH would have done better.
Backspacer - Got Some - This is another tough one. Just Breathe is their biggest hit of the millennium, but it's basically an Ed solo song, so choosing it as the lead single on a PJ album seems wrong. Unthought Known has prevailed as the longest lasting live song from the album, and the crowd still responds very well to it. But I think Got Some sounds a lot more like the average song on BS. "I got some if you need it!" is extremely easy to get stuck in your head as well.
Lightning Bolt - Lightning Bolt - First of all, fuck MYM. I don't particularly like LB the song either, but it was definitely a hit at live shows and feels more representative of the album than Sirens, despite the latter enjoying some legitimate mainstream success.
Gigaton - Quick Escape - DOTC is legitimately one of my favorite songs ever. I'm still in awe that they could write a song that I love so much at this stage of their career. But with that being said it didn't end up sounding like any of the other songs on the album. Jeff is the MVP of Gigaton, and QE is his finest work on the album (and like DOTC it's way too good of a song to come 30 years into a band's existence).
Dark Matter - We shall see! But I have a pretty good feeling that the title track was a great choice. The music and the chorus are very catchy.
Disclaimer: I'm not saying they SHOULD have chose these songs. What they did was perfect because it's exactly what they thought they should have done at the time. These are just the songs that I would have chose based on the above criteria.
Ten - Alive - They nailed this one. Jeremy may have been more popular in the long run, but the lead single of Ten had to be a Stone riff and a killer Mike solo.
Vs. - Rearviewmirror - Go kicks major ass (and I personally prefer it over RVM by quite a bit) but it doesn't seem overly representative of the album as a whole to me. RVM is one of the best examples of songs that are loved by both casual and more dedicated PJ fans.
Vitalogy - Corduroy - Almost the exact same reasoning as RVM.
No Code - Present Tense - This was a tough one. Who You Are does a great job representing No Code, but I think it's just a little too "out there" to be the lead single (which I understand was probably VERY intentional). It's hard to find a song that would seem like a big radio hit from No Code, but Present Tense has a pretty nice legacy. It's probably the biggest fan favorite at concerts from the album, and it had a little mainstream resurgence when it was played in the finale of The Last Dance. I think it would have done pretty well as a lead single.
Yield - Given to Fly - This one is just a no-brainer. I highly prefer DTE but GTF is the obvious choice here.
Binaural - Insignificance - This was another tough one. NAIS was certainly not a bad choice, but again just a little too "out there" as a lead single. Breakerfall, Insignificance, and Grievance are all songs solely written by Ed and they all have a very similar tone in my opinion. Of the 3 I think Insignificance has the catchiest ear-worm with the repeating "Bombs dropping down" line, so it gets my pick.
Riot Act - I Am Mine - Another obvious one. The only song from this album that had any kind of chance of becoming a hit.
Pearl Jam - Severed Hand - This one baffles me. The main riff is so catchy and you could have easily shortened the intro for the radio if that was the hold up. This album is often considered to be the closest thing that PJ has had to a "return to form" album and SH is the song that I think would most fit in on a mid-90s PJ album. WWS was likely chosen because of the topical lyrics, but I think SH would have done better.
Backspacer - Got Some - This is another tough one. Just Breathe is their biggest hit of the millennium, but it's basically an Ed solo song, so choosing it as the lead single on a PJ album seems wrong. Unthought Known has prevailed as the longest lasting live song from the album, and the crowd still responds very well to it. But I think Got Some sounds a lot more like the average song on BS. "I got some if you need it!" is extremely easy to get stuck in your head as well.
Lightning Bolt - Lightning Bolt - First of all, fuck MYM. I don't particularly like LB the song either, but it was definitely a hit at live shows and feels more representative of the album than Sirens, despite the latter enjoying some legitimate mainstream success.
Gigaton - Quick Escape - DOTC is legitimately one of my favorite songs ever. I'm still in awe that they could write a song that I love so much at this stage of their career. But with that being said it didn't end up sounding like any of the other songs on the album. Jeff is the MVP of Gigaton, and QE is his finest work on the album (and like DOTC it's way too good of a song to come 30 years into a band's existence).
Dark Matter - We shall see! But I have a pretty good feeling that the title track was a great choice. The music and the chorus are very catchy.
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Comments
Ten - Alive. Agreed 100%
Vs - Agreed on RVM. Maybe Dissident. Daughter and Elderly woman if they were really going for mass appeal.
Vitalogy - Corduroy - Definitely. I actually think this is the most definitive Pearl Jam song in their catalog.
No Code - In My Tree, Smile, or Red Mosquito. Although I very much LOVE Who You Are and that was a great way to tell everyone to "expect the unexpected with this one." Great melody on it too.
Yield - GTF or DTE
Binaural - I think Light Years would have been a great lead single. NAIS fits the mood of the album pretty well though.
Riot Act - Save You.
Avocado - Life Wasted or Severed Hand
Backspacer - Just Breathe. This is their pop album, and this is the poppiest one on there.
Lightning Bolt - Sirens. I feel like this album took a slight "adult contemporary" turn (for lack of any better term), and this song is quintessential. The first few times I heard it, I almost threw up (HA!), now I kind of like it.
Gigaton - Quick Escape. I really love this album, but this is easily my favorite part of it, and I hope that Dark Matter as an album took a lot of cues from this song. Quick Escape, to me, is their best song in 20 ish years.