Why "Yield" is the best PJ album

twojawas

I gave the self-titled album a really good listen today and have to say that it is a great album whereas I hadn't thought so before. I still think Riot Act is awful

Yield is great but Ten will always be special for me followed by No Code tied with Vitalogy.

pleatherman

As Eddie put it, "It's less challenging. It's a good, mainstream record." Yield certainly leans towards a riff heavy sound reminiscent of Ten and Vs. However, I find the album on a whole is much too mid-tempo for it to be considered raw and aggressive, with a few notable exceptions. Sidenote, Do the Evolution was quickly written at the end to compensate for the perceived lack of aggression on the album. My guess is it may also explain why 'Brain of J.F.K' made it onto the tracklist despite it being written in 1995. You see, it may be true partially written songs, like 'parting ways' and 'severed hand', can take years to show up but I can't think of another completed song that didn't make it onto a record after a year or so. Anyways, the quiet verse followed by distortion laden chorus was the dynamic with several songs on Yield but when I think of hard rock, I lean towards stuff like 'Go' or 'Comatose', not 'No Way' or 'Faithfull'. I also think the classic rock sound and slick production prevents it from being associated with anything remotely like garage rock. And while Yield is more straightforward, it does still capitalize on the creative growth from No Code. For example, 'wishlist' is very much related to 'sometimes' and 'given to fly' does make for a worthy succesor to 'in my tree'. In terms of performance, the songs never truly take off. For one thing, having Jack Irons on drums for No Code and Mirrorball was great, but his playing on a straight ahead pearl jam rock album seemed a bit basic and subdued. The pulse-pounding Matt Cameron brought later on makes a world of difference. The bootlegs from the U.S. '98 shows can attest to that. The lack of touring during that era added with the need to cut out what was considered the "fat"(-Stone's word, not mine) dominant on No Code also could have contributed to a more sterile quality in the music.
So that is why "Yield" isn't their best. Let it be said it is still one of my favorite summer albums. Oh, quick little pieces of trivia. Jeff doesn't play on two of the tracks. That is Stone cranking out the bass on 'No Way' and 'Evolution'. Also, Yield is one of the first albums to be notoriously leaked on the internet prior to its release.

broloco

Murderers wrote:

broloco wrote:

why it's not:

1. It doesn't have better packaging then Vitalogy.

2. It contains throwaway songs such as Red Dot and Hummus.

3. There aren't any quiet, soulful ballads quite like on No Code.

4. Compared to Vs. it cannot pack a more agressive punch.


(I'm just messin' with you. come on now...there is no "Best" PJ album...they're all great. )

1. Doesn't change the music. weak. there is a reason people talk about St. Peppers after all these years.

2. Those songs fitted the style and flow of the album, and hummus is only a bonus track. weak. They do NOT fit the style and flow of the album. they drag down a nice clean, rockin' record.
3. Given To Fly, Wishlist, Low Light. weak. Given to Fly is not a ballad.

4. Debateable. weak

you got nothing fool.

dimitrispearljam

EASY ONE...THERE WILL NEVER BE BETTER ALBUM THAN TEN..

LikeAnOcean

My first impression of Yield was that it sounded NOTHING like their previous albums, but to each their own.

....Shackles31....

BC18033 wrote:

Jack Irons

Enough said.

davidtrios

Yield is No Code's leftovers. BOW DOW!