SMC Special: Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

barcoach

Hi to the whole gang!!
Right now I'm enjoying a much needed pleasure trip in the beautiful Mexican city of Guanajuato, if you ever have the chance, you should try coming here... and I have a great friend who can provide you with some Spanish lessons...
Anyway, that wouldn't matter if it wasn't for the fact I got the album barely 2 days before doing this trip, and I decided to not bring the album with me, because I like to listen new albums with lots of attention and I know all the party and the friends wouldn't allow me the time I'd like to give this album.
So, I think I just listened to the album 2 or 3 times, and this was while doing some stuff I had to finish before coming here. I still don't know songs in detail, I'm still unable to relate a song title and its music. But what I can say so far is that I think the album has some great songs, but I'm having problem diggin the production on it. Don't wanna sound like a moron but it sounds too crispy for PJ standards, too close to sound perfection for what I expect from a PJ album. I guess not a song grabbed me instantly as happened with previous albums, but once again, I wasn't listening carefully. I think the performances are great, but I still feel there's something missing. For example, the same day I received the new Springsteen album, and that put my soul to spin... it immediatly made me want to write something about it, and I did, I hope I have the chance to publish it soon.
Take this just as a very light appreciation. As soon as I get back home I'm planning to give this record the proper listening it deserves. I'll come back to you then.
Cheers!!!

p.s: by the way, the night i arrived to this beautiful city, I was warmly welcomed at a bar with Black (unplugged) and Yellow Ledbetter, that felt like a fine detail...

burnin-candle

Oh man, I haven't really been able to listen to the new PJ (yeah, shoot me, I know), but you know, 20 times isn't really enough for me!lol

I'm certainly liking it, though I have to let each song sink in a bit more before I can right anything. One impression I had early on was that I thought Eddie really sounds "busy" on some tracks. He has so much to sing! There could have been more instrumentation in some, but what the hell, it's more of a protest album so the wordy element can't be avoided I guess.

I'll post how I got into PJ and everything later on.

Cheers.

transplant

the PJ show is coming up this Sunday so I broke the disc back out and thought I'd post about it.

This disc IMO is still better than Binaural and Riot Act however like most of their CD's, I listen to them a ton for a couple months and then purchase a bunch of bootlegs and never go back to the studio releases.

I like Big Wave and am surprised by the level of hate. I love Gone however the chorus reminds me of In Hiding a little too much. I don't care for Parachutes, Army Reserve. Life Wasted and World Wide Suicide are good songs, instantly recognizable however I feel like they would write a hundred of songs like this, kind of like Save You.

I still love Inside Job but I can't help but feel EXACTLY the way AndySlash feels about it. Well done on that critique.

My favorite tune now is Marker in the Sand. I hope to hear it Sunday.

viggs20

I missed out on this thread in the time I was away, transplant thanks for bumping it back up. I wish PJ was coming to Texas this tour...its been 3 years since I last saw them.

I got introduced to PJ like others through Alive, Evenflow and Black in early 2001 because that is when I moved away from Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Def Leppard to umm better music. Needless to say they became one of my favourite bands and though like you guys I don't listen to PJ nearly as often as I used to....No Code & Binaural are still very special to me.

Getting to the self-titled album...
Life Wasted - just doesn't do anything for me...lyrically I think Eddie has fallen off since Binaural.
World Wide Suicide - I like it...the riff and chorus are catchy as hell and no wonder its a hit.
Comatose - I can hear the comparisons to Vitalogy on this song...the gruffy vocals and a nice rocking solo from mike.
Severed Hand - first time I heard it was when they played it on SNL and instantly loved it and I must admit it made me more hopeful about the album than I was earlier.
Marker in the Sand - again great riff and chorus that makes me sing along.
Parachutes - ah, reminds me of Thin Air. Another song I instantly fell in love with.
Unemployable - could have easily been on Riot Act...not a bad song at all but I'll probably get bored of it in a few months.
Big Wave - see above...another Riot Act throw-away.
Gone - at first I didn't think much about this song but it has grown on me big time....reminds me of Dead Man a little bit especially the solo live version.
Wasted (reprise) - its ok.
Army Reserve - guitars are under-stated but give a lovely Yield-like vibe...good song.
Come Back - another song that doesn't do anything for me and i usually skip it.
Inside Job - fucking brilliant...part of the reason why I skip Come Back is because I can't wait to listen to this. Everything about this is vintage Pearl Jam...one of their best songs ever. This song must be absolutely killer live.

alobar

hmmmm, this is a great post idea!

Well, I would say I was a casual fan of PJ up until Vitalogy came out, and obviously got way into vs and Ten at around the same time. Then No Code came out.......that album just killed me it was that good. Still is my favorite album of theirs. Got to see them on their opening show of the '96 tour in Seattle and that still is my favorite concert I've been to.

I've seen PJ in '96, '98, two times in '00, once in '01, and once in '03. The Binaural tour was when I really got into PJ, constantly checking 5H for setlist updates and what-not. anyways, I think PJ have suffered a bit since Binaural, Riot Act being their lowest point.

And now there is Pearl Jam, self-titled. I've got to admit I was immediately turned off by it. It bugs me that it is self-titled and has an avocado on the front, which tells me nothing about where PJ was going with this record and has NO theme, which pretty much every other album of theirs does. And upon the first few spins, I really thought it was a bland ablum all the way through. But I revisited it like a loyal fan and have now come around to respect this album much more. It blows Riot Act out of the water. Comatose is so punk and so awesome. I LOVE Parachutes- it's my favorite on the record, as I find myself singing it in my head all the time. And I'm a big fan of Big Wave too. I'm not too fond of Life Wasted, but WWS is great. Gone, Marker In the Sand, and Comeback are not very good, imo. Inside Job is a great closer.

All in all, it's afun record with a good bunch of songs, but I would've liked to see a more cohesive album with a theme.