Pearl Jam Ten Legacy Review on HuffPost
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Pearl Jam - Ten - Legacy Edition
Though most folks credit Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind as being the role model for grungy Seattle-scene alt-rock, Pearl Jam's twelve-times-platinum-selling Ten is every bit as seminal. Beyond Ten's monster radio staples (like "Even Flow," "Alive" and "Jeremy"), many tracks from this landmark album have had extensive college and FM airplay for the almost two decades post its release. The combination of Eddie Vedder's growling, angst-drenched vocals backed by bassist Jeff Ament, and guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready created a sound that immediately was original, successful and often imitated by pikers who couldn't mimic a tenth of what this band expressed in one verse. Getting a two-disc celebration of their now classic album is a pretty special event, and Sony's various configurations allow fans to experience their memories of Ten in various ways.
Ten's Legacy Edition uses the double disc format a bit differently. Of course, its first disc is the re-mastered, original '91 vision of the group. But the second disc advances the story a little, offering a remixed version of the album by Brendan O'Brien who was involved with the group's next few projects. At first, he was hesitant to touch the classic, but the band eventually convinced him to take a swing at re-engineering it. "The band liked the original mix of Ten," O'Brien recently stated, adding, "but also was interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it." Following O'Brien's album remixes come six era-centric revisited recordings: "Breath And A Scream," "State Of Love And Trust," "Brother" (with vocals), "Evil Little Goat," "Just A Girl," and the Stevie Ray Vaughn-ish jam, "2,000 Mile Blues." The "Deluxe" Edition's additional DVD features the whole album, once again, but this time in 5.1, plus the band's previously unreleased (at least commercially) MTV Unplugged performance from 1992 that includes the rare "Oceans." Those who can afford the ultimate Ten experience can grab the "Super Deluxe" Edition (with a super deluxe price tag) that includes all of the above plus vinyl records, more musical rarities on a cassette, associated memorabilia, and a Vedder notebook of photos and musings from the period.
For most great bands, an expanded or two-disc exploration of its seminal albums can be an immensely revealing revisit of roots, influences, raw talent, and charm. And in this case, it also can mean a flash-forward, a "what if" that spotlights a project in a new light. No matter how one feels about Pearl Jam these many years after Ten's release, you've got to give the devil its due for helping to pioneer a sound that took charge of rock for over a decade, and credit for allowing such a culturally important album to be showcased in such a deconstructed, reconstructed and respectful way.
Pearl Jam - Ten - Legacy Edition
Though most folks credit Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind as being the role model for grungy Seattle-scene alt-rock, Pearl Jam's twelve-times-platinum-selling Ten is every bit as seminal. Beyond Ten's monster radio staples (like "Even Flow," "Alive" and "Jeremy"), many tracks from this landmark album have had extensive college and FM airplay for the almost two decades post its release. The combination of Eddie Vedder's growling, angst-drenched vocals backed by bassist Jeff Ament, and guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready created a sound that immediately was original, successful and often imitated by pikers who couldn't mimic a tenth of what this band expressed in one verse. Getting a two-disc celebration of their now classic album is a pretty special event, and Sony's various configurations allow fans to experience their memories of Ten in various ways.
Ten's Legacy Edition uses the double disc format a bit differently. Of course, its first disc is the re-mastered, original '91 vision of the group. But the second disc advances the story a little, offering a remixed version of the album by Brendan O'Brien who was involved with the group's next few projects. At first, he was hesitant to touch the classic, but the band eventually convinced him to take a swing at re-engineering it. "The band liked the original mix of Ten," O'Brien recently stated, adding, "but also was interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it." Following O'Brien's album remixes come six era-centric revisited recordings: "Breath And A Scream," "State Of Love And Trust," "Brother" (with vocals), "Evil Little Goat," "Just A Girl," and the Stevie Ray Vaughn-ish jam, "2,000 Mile Blues." The "Deluxe" Edition's additional DVD features the whole album, once again, but this time in 5.1, plus the band's previously unreleased (at least commercially) MTV Unplugged performance from 1992 that includes the rare "Oceans." Those who can afford the ultimate Ten experience can grab the "Super Deluxe" Edition (with a super deluxe price tag) that includes all of the above plus vinyl records, more musical rarities on a cassette, associated memorabilia, and a Vedder notebook of photos and musings from the period.
For most great bands, an expanded or two-disc exploration of its seminal albums can be an immensely revealing revisit of roots, influences, raw talent, and charm. And in this case, it also can mean a flash-forward, a "what if" that spotlights a project in a new light. No matter how one feels about Pearl Jam these many years after Ten's release, you've got to give the devil its due for helping to pioneer a sound that took charge of rock for over a decade, and credit for allowing such a culturally important album to be showcased in such a deconstructed, reconstructed and respectful way.
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