What do people think of "Avocado"

SPEEDY MCCREADY

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....

goldrush

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)...

Jammalambo

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.

patrickredeyes

It's ok but I have my reasons to just blank it out of my mind.

Given to...

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...

CrookedTom

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.

bigeye21

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.

funnygirl

Love every song on that album!!! I was actually listening to it all day yesterday!

OffHeGoes132

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.

pjpitt89

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

DroppinTheLeash

i think the songs are good live but i'm not a huge fan of the album. i like come back, wasted reprise, army reserve, and comatose, but the other ones are just dece

DeLukin

Better than Riot Act, not as good as Binaural IMO.

12345AGNST1

Its my favorite album. about half of the reason is just because it came out right when I was really getting into PJ.

I think Life Wasted and WWS are two of the best songs they ever made. Marker, Severed Hand, Comatose, Parachutes, Unemployable and Army Reserve are also great. Gone, Come Back and Inside job are great, but not as great. I guess I'm more into the heavier stuff.

deadmosquito

i think it's just so uneven. the production is abysmal and it's hard to listen to sometimes because it's so bad. that said, there are some excellent songs on it: life wasted/reprise, severed hand, unemployable, parachutes, marker in the sand, come back, army reserve. i love all of those songs. gone, WWS and comatose are ok, but very skippable. inside job has it's moments, but is a bit overwrought to me... it reminds me of a late 80s aerosmith song. and i agree with many of you who say that big wave should never have been on a record. overall i felt like it was a huge step down from binaural and riot act. probably somewhere near the bottom of the list as far as ranking the albums goes.

LiteTheMatch

i Love Avocados. They're healthy too!

Flagg

pjsteelerfan wrote:

I still think it was their best albulm since Yield.

Ditto. I've written about my love for Self Titled many times.

Such a 180 from Riot Act thank God.


I agree about the produciton thing though. More of the 'loudness' problem that has plagued recordings over the past few years. I can take Vs. or YIELD out to the car or wherever and crank it up all the way and still hear every note clearly. Try that on CDs now and it becomes a big wall of mush. Death Magnetic was the worst offender by far, but Avocado suffers from it too.

Also, every PJ record has at least one clunker for me and this one is no different. Looking at you Parachutes.

Good Onya

Its a great record. It was a total 360 from Riot Act. Its a nice Up tempo record with some great rock tracks, life wasted, WWS, comatose, severed hand. I think marker in the sand and inside job might be the two best songs on the record. I can listed to the whole record from start to finish and NOT get bored. They sound great Live and still sound great today...3 years later. Out of 4 stars, I would give this record 3 years later...3 1/2 stars. But then again some of the bitches on this board will dissect every F'in thing in a pearl jam song and have a complaint because they are all musical experts and get upset when they dont get the meaning of life from every PJ song. Just enjoy the music.

Sludge Factory

The highly overcompressed mashed sound comletely ruins the incredible songs that they wrote for this album. This album could've rocked so much harder.

megatron

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! :(

spot on..i tried hard to love it..its just alright
unemployable grew on me..."scared alive" yea!
the rest are killer

aNiMaL

pjsteelerfan wrote:

I still think it was their best albulm since Yield.

I agree, with YIELD just edging it out, but Pearl Jam is an amazing album.