Home› The Porch

What do people think of "Avocado"

Boston LouBoston Lou Posts: 280
edited August 2013 in The Porch
knowing that i frequent this place

My friend asked me last night what PJ fans thought of "Avocado" almost 3 years later

and I really couldn't answer him...

so

What is your opinion of Pearl Jam/Avocado?

Thanks!!
Post edited by Unknown User on
«1345678

Comments

  • pjsteelerfanpjsteelerfan Maryland Posts: 9,904
    I still think it was their best albulm since Yield.
    ...got a mind full of questions and a teacher in my soul...
  • TheDecline13TheDecline13 Posts: 990
    70% of that record is gold...
    Tour with fucking NOFX
  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    I think it was a breath of fresh air. While I love many songs on Riot Act and Binaural, they never felt like "albums" to me. I wouldn't just play the album all the way thru. Avocado was the first in a long time that was cohesive as an album.
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
    *NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
    *MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
    *Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
    *Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
    *Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
    *VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
    *EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
    *Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 26,222
    I was so "FIRED UP" when Pearl Jam released this album(after the Riot Act disaster).....

    but i was soon disappointed.....a few good songs but nothing spectacular....
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • QuarterToTenQuarterToTen Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 3,648
    not a fan. although i tried my damnedest to love it,
    it just doesn't do it for me.
    Nice shirt.
  • LoveBoatAdmiralLoveBoatAdmiral Posts: 1,191
    I guess I'll be the first to say I was a little dissapointed (guess Speedy beat me to it. I type slow). I love Come Back, Inside Job and Army Reserve, but songs like WWS and Unemployable still don't feel like "PJ songs" to me.
    2006- Boston I
    2008- Boston I+II
    2009- Toronto, Philly III+IV
    2010- Bristow, Hartford, Boston, Newark
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:
    I was so "FIRED UP" when Pearl Jam released this album(after the Riot Act disaster).....

    but i was soon disappointed.....a few good songs but nothing spectacular....

    That about sums it up for me. It was a definite step up from Riot Act, and when it first came out I thought it was awesome. Now it's just pretty good. There are some real great songs on it (I think WWS is the best song they've done since Yield), but also some songs that wore thin pretty quick. As an album, it doesn't flow well for me either.
  • WobbieWobbie Posts: 30,891
    LoveBoatAdmiral wrote:
    I guess I'll be the first to say I was a little dissapointed. I love Come Back, Inside Job and Army Reserve, but songs like WWS and Unemployable still don't feel like "PJ songs" to me.

    I absolutely LOVE Unemployable (if he can't sleep, how will he ever dream?). For me, it's one of the most "visualizable" songs they've ever written.

    I like the whole album, with only one exception......Parachutes is absolute dreck! :(
    If I had known then what I know now...

    Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
    VIC 07
    EV LA1 08
    Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
    Columbus 10
    EV LA 11
    Vancouver 11
    Missoula 12
    Portland 13, Spokane 13
    St. Paul 14, Denver 14
    Philly I & II, 16
    Denver 22
  • Ryan_WFCRyan_WFC Posts: 1,353
    soulsinging wrote:
    SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:
    I was so "FIRED UP" when Pearl Jam released this album(after the Riot Act disaster).....

    but i was soon disappointed.....a few good songs but nothing spectacular....

    That about sums it up for me. It was a definite step up from Riot Act, and when it first came out I thought it was awesome. Now it's just pretty good. There are some real great songs on it (I think WWS is the best song they've done since Yield), but also some songs that wore thin pretty quick. As an album, it doesn't flow well for me either.

    Agreed. I also don't think the sound production is good; it sounds like a dubbed cassette.
    "They said ... timing was everything
    made him ... want to be everywhere
    there's a ... lot to be said for nowhere."
  • MFC9289MFC9289 Posts: 144
    I think it's absolutely phenomenal and I love every song. People may criticize it for not being "experimental" enough, or some of the songs, (i.e. Big Wave, Comatose) might not have the "significance" people think they want. But it's a kickass, straight-forward rock record, which is what they intended, and, in my opinion, one of their best. :D
    Boston II 9/29/04, Bonnaroo 6/14/08, Mansfield II 6/30/08

    "Ransom paid the devil
    He whispers pleasing words
    Triumphant are the angels if they can get there first..."
  • prytocorduroyprytocorduroy Posts: 4,355
    Will not stand the test of time. It sounds dated already. I do like a handful of tracks though.
  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,202
    Ryan_WFC wrote:
    soulsinging wrote:
    SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:
    I was so "FIRED UP" when Pearl Jam released this album(after the Riot Act disaster).....

    but i was soon disappointed.....a few good songs but nothing spectacular....

    That about sums it up for me. It was a definite step up from Riot Act, and when it first came out I thought it was awesome. Now it's just pretty good. There are some real great songs on it (I think WWS is the best song they've done since Yield), but also some songs that wore thin pretty quick. As an album, it doesn't flow well for me either.

    Agreed. I also don't think the sound production is good; it sounds like a dubbed cassette.

    Very true... I feel like that's been a problem with a lot of their releases as of late. It's like what Metallica did to 'and justice for all...' There is NO bass in their recordings anymore, no muscle. It's all thin guitars and clicking drums. It's like they've sworn off rhythm, despite the fact that they used to be one of the grooviest big rock bands around. I have the same problem with the Gorge set... thin guitars, Ed's voice high and quavering, no bassline to speak of...
  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    * Life Wasted - Like it a lot!
    * World Wide Suicide - mmm... it's ok.
    * Comatose - Love it! (so does my little niece!)
    * Severed Hand - Like it a lot!
    * Marker In The Sand - Like it a lot!
    * Parachutes - I can take it or leave it, but a cool song. (I know some of you like it)
    * Unemployable - Not so much, but I can dig it live.
    * Big Wave - Not so much.
    * Gone - I like this song a lot, but not with drums
    * Wasted Reprise - I like it.
    * Army Reserve - Love it!
    * Come Back - Not so much.
    * Inside Job - Love it!

    So... in my own Rotten Tomatoes way, I'd give it about an 80%.
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
    *NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
    *MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
    *Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
    *Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
    *Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
    *VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
    *EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
    *Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
  • CraneCrane Posts: 192
    It's my least favourite album. First four tracks all sound alike to me and that's the production fault. Melodies are sparse as well.

    I do love Come Back and Inside Job though. Come Back gives me that goosebumps feeling everytime, one of my favourites ever so Im grateful to the album in that respect. Just a very samey kind of album and again I think it's down to the production
    "The mind is a wonderfull thing to be altered"

    The Point, Dublin 2006
    Bercy, Paris September 11, 2006
    ISS Dome, Dusseldorf, 2007
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,415
    I like to listen to it in the car. 8-)
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • jamminpearlsjamminpearls Posts: 7,078
    Great album took some time to get into the feel of the direction but now it's amazing to me. Inside job is a masterpiece and should be played much more live.
    Go Birds!!!!
  • decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,977
    one of my husband's biggest complaints with pearl jam recordings - and he IS a big fan - is how nearly non-existent in the mix the bassline seems. always has been a complaint, but he's mentioned it more with newer recordings. i like avocado. i never loved it, just liked it. my husband actually really likes it a lot more than a lot of their newer stuff, but he really appreciates that straight-forward, hard driving rock. granted, the whole album doesn't deliver that, but enough so that he likes it a lot more than the past few albums. i do still enjoy it, but no code is the pinnacle for me. so yea...it's a good album, but not nearly as great as other pearl jam albums.



    justam - it IS a good car album! 8-)
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    ...but I do have to add, while I think their sound on Avocado is better than a number of previous albums, I wish they would go for an ultra-stripped sound. Like, record it all in one-take in one room and leave minor mistakes in.
    ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you. :)
    *NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
    *MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
    *Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
    *Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
    *Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
    *VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
    *EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
    *Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,415
    decides2dream wrote:



    justam - it IS a good car album! 8-)
    :)
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • arqarq Posts: 8,049
    I love it, a couple of songs became instant classics for me, others sound like bsides or rarities, as a whole it's a solid album.
    "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it"
    Neil deGrasse Tyson

    Why not (V) (°,,,,°) (V) ?
  • SPEEDY MCCREADYSPEEDY MCCREADY Posts: 26,222
    imalive wrote:
    LoveBoatAdmiral wrote:
    I guess I'll be the first to say I was a little dissapointed. I love Come Back, Inside Job and Army Reserve, but songs like WWS and Unemployable still don't feel like "PJ songs" to me.

    I absolutely LOVE Unemployable (if he can't sleep, how will he ever dream?). For me, it's one of the most "visualizable" songs they've ever written.

    I like the whole album, with only one exception......Parachutes is absolute dreck! :(
    unenjoyable
    unlistenable
    unbearable
    unacceptable

    one of the worst songs written by any band at any time.....and that goes for parachutes too....

    just my humble opinion....
    Take me piece by piece.....
    Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
  • goldrushgoldrush everybody knows this is nowhere Posts: 7,700
    For me it's right in the middle of the PJ catalogue. I'd place it around 4th or 5th - I definitely prefer it more than Binaural, Riot Act or Vs but it's not up there with Vitalogy, Yield or No Code

    (yes that does mean that I think it's level with Ten - sorry)

    I also happen to think that it would be a better album if it didn't have Parachutes on it, and if Wasted Reprise was the last song (like an actual reprise)...
    “Do not postpone happiness”
    (Jeff Tweedy, Sydney 2007)

    “Put yer good money on the sunrise”
    (Tim Rogers)
  • JammalamboJammalambo Posts: 1,321
    Crane wrote:
    It's my least favourite album. First four tracks all sound alike to me and that's the production fault. Melodies are sparse as well.

    I do love Come Back and Inside Job though. Come Back gives me that goosebumps feeling everytime, one of my favourites ever so Im grateful to the album in that respect. Just a very samey kind of album and again I think it's down to the production

    That's what I think, too..
    Binaural and Riot Act are far superior album than Avocado in my book.. And the production is just "cold".. The first 4 songs display some of the most bland and generic riffs ever written by Pearl Jam (and I hate to say this, but that's what I think).. But I do love the last 3 songs, and Marker in the sand is great..
    I hope the next album will be better than this one, at least good like Binaural..
    ..oh, and without any fuckin' exotic fruit on the cover, please.
  • patrickredeyespatrickredeyes Posts: 8,834
    It's ok but I have my reasons to just blank it out of my mind. :mrgreen:
  • Given to...Given to... Wyoming Posts: 5,006
    I cant say its my favorite but it is in my top three. I remember the first few times I listened that the only bits I thought were jewels were Inside Job and WWS, and the more I listened the more pleased I was with the entire album, but some songs took alot of spins before I appreciated them fully. I am the worse at remembering lyrics, and its kinda sad that the first lines that actually stuck in my head were about some dumb ass crustacean in an underwater nation...
    "...would you like some forks?" EV 12-02-06
  • CrookedTomCrookedTom Posts: 252
    Like a previous poster said, I loved it first, just because I was so disappointed with Riot Act. However it lost most of its shine after a few months. I think its probably on a par with Binaural.

    The production is horrible - Good thing they are ditching Adam Kasper. Riot Act sounded flat, and Pearl Jam sounds horribly overproduced. Like they have overdubbed it to death. It did take a long time to record, and I remember band members saying it was a "difficult birth" so I think they just tinkered with it too much.

    Still Severed Hand & WWS were the best rock songs they'd written since 1998. Army Reserve & Inside Job had some interesting things going on. Not much else held my attention.
  • bigeye21bigeye21 Posts: 981
    pjsteelerfan wrote:
    I still think it was their best albulm since Yield.

    Agreed. While it's got its gems, Binaural was really uneven in my opinion. Wasn't a fan of Blake's production either. Riot Act was better but felt rushed and unfinished -- almost like they were just going through the motions at times. Avocado felt more polished and complete. I can listen to it from start to finish without the impulse to skip a track. Having said that, Big Wave feels totally out of place on the album and would have been better as a b-side.
    <!-- Facebook Fan Badge START --><div style="width: 100%;"><div style="background: #3B5998;padding: 5px;"><img src="http://www.facebook.com/images/fb_logo_small.png&quot; alt="Facebook"/><img src="http://badge.facebook.com/badge/147713062953.614141056.2133926001.png&quot; alt="" width="0" height="0"/></div><div style="background: #EDEFF4;display: block;border-right: 1px solid #D8DFEA;border-bottom: 1px solid #D8DFEA;border-left: 1px solid #D8DFEA;margin: 0px;padding: 0px 0px 5px 0px;"><div style="background: #EDEFF4;display: block;padding: 5px;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td valign="top"><img src="http://www.facebook.com/images/icons/fbpage.gif&quot; alt=""/></td><td valign="top"><p style="color: #808080;font-family: verdana;font-size: 11px;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;padding: 0px 8px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/donny.anderson3&quot; title="Donny Anderson" target="_TOP" style="color: #3B5998;font-family: verdana;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;margin: 0px;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;text-decoration: none;">Donny Anderson</a> is a fan of</p></td></tr></table></div><div style="background: #FFFFFF;clear: both;display: block;margin: 0px;overflow: hidden;padding: 5px;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td valign="middle"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/All-Thats-Sacred/147713062953&quot; title="All That's Sacred" target="_TOP" style="border: 0px;color: #3B5998;font-family: verdana;font-size: 12px;font-weight: bold;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://www.facebook.com/profile/pic.php?oid=AAAAAwAgACAAAAAMe57NWURaItSTAkndkF9yqc7YLeudXUlRbmI8Zlgt-969scmCqdU_G75K8TUPm74XnrGy4aB9ajQkobWBvlZyhgM-q2b4ag6Rsz_-7m8GsQaFt3vc_HiYJNPN_5g-HvB-&size=square&quot; style="border: 0px;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;" alt="All That's Sacred"/></a></td><td valign="middle" style="padding: 0px 8px 0px 8px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/All-Thats-Sacred/147713062953&quot; title="All That's Sacred" target="_TOP" style="border: 0px;color: #3B5998;font-family: verdana;font-size: 12px;font-weight: bold;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;text-decoration: none;">All That's Sacred</a></td></tr></table></div></div><div style="display: block;float: right;margin: 0px;padding: 4px 0px 0px 0px;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets/fanbadges.php&quot; title="Create your Fan Badge" target="_TOP" style="color: #3B5998;font-family: verdana;font-size: 11px;font-weight: none;margin: 0px;padding: 0px;text-decoration: none;">Create your Fan Badge</a></div></div><!-- Facebook Fan Badge END -->
  • funnygirlfunnygirl Posts: 529
    Love every song on that album!!! I was actually listening to it all day yesterday! :D
  • OffHeGoes132OffHeGoes132 Posts: 594
    Overall I felt it was a very solid album and I still enjoy it 3 years later. However, I agree with many on here about the sound production, which is horrible IMO. It really took away from the album; it just sounds so flat and distorted. But yea overall I like just about every song on it. Severed Hand kicks fuckin ass live.
  • pjpitt89pjpitt89 Posts: 1,866
    funny you should ask. i just gave it a listen last night for the first time in a few months. i was floored all over again. i cranked it up waaay louder than usual. i think it is a record that is meant to be played loud. the majority of the record is a punch in the face. the music plays really well and there are strongly worded vocals, and eddie put them down just how they should be. plus, marker in the sand is an underrated song in my opinion. very underrated
    9/1/00, 4/28/03, 7/5/03, 7/6/03, 7/12/03, 10/1/04, 9/28/05, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 6/1/06, 6/27/08, 6/30/08, 8/7/08 (EV), 6/12/09 (EV), 10/27/09, 10/28/09,10/30/09, 10/31/09, 5/21/10, 6/15/11 (EV), 9/2/12, 7/19/13, 10/21/13, 10/22/13, 10/27/13, 4/28/16, 4/29/16, 8/7/16, 11/4/16 (TOTD), 8/18/18, 8/20/18, 9/24/21 (EV&Earthlings), 9/26/21, 9/11/2022, 9/14/2022, 9/7/2024, 9/9/2024, 9/12/2024
Sign In or Register to comment.