Avocado: oh how I wish you were better.

harmless_little_f***

I like this album, I do... But it has very little depth compared to the others; none of the aggression; it's mixed in a totally lacklustre, conservative way; Matt hardly ever rocks hard (WWS is a major exercise in boredom-drumming - closed hi hats all the way, COME ON MAN this isn't jazz).

Where is the intelligence in the songs, compared to songs like 'No Way' and 'Faithful' and 'Last Exit' and 'Grievance' and 'Long Road'.... you name it....

Sorry everyone. I wish I felt differently.

lennybenny

That's exactly the way I feel about it. There's more aggression in 10 seconds of Blood than there is on the whole of Avocado.

flyinwhole313

Sure, there are individual songs that don't blow me away on every album by every band, but when you get 5 or more GREAT songs on one album, it qualifies as a winner. Army Reserve, Comatose, Marker In The Sand, Inside Job, Come Back, Gone, Unemployable...I think it is one of the better and more diverse albums they have put out in a while.

harmless_little_f***

flyinwhole313 wrote:

Sure, there are individual songs that don't blow me away on every album by every band, but when you get 5 or more GREAT songs on one album, it qualifies as a winner. Army Reserve, Comatose, Marker In The Sand, Inside Job, Come Back, Gone, Unemployable...I think it is one of the better and more diverse albums they have put out in a while.

I don't think any of those are 'great' songs, unfortunately. I wish I did.

restlesssoul

lennybenny wrote:

That's exactly the way I feel about it. There's more aggression in 10 seconds of Blood than there is on the whole of Avocado.

theres also 13 years between those two songs....maturing and less to be "agressive" about...


i like avocado, but i agree with the mixing.

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I don't think any of those are 'great' songs, unfortunately. I wish I did.

army reserve is definitely great for me.

SuzieM

I wasn't fond of it when it first came out, but after going through boatloads of bootlegs, I think Severed Hand totally kicks ass!

LikeAnOcean

This thread is just a sad opinion. Avocado rocks harder than the last 3 albums combined. Songs like Marker in the Sand, Army Reserve, Parachutes have more depth than you know. Your opinion officially sucks!

Dedvw

I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT.

It doesnt matter what album you talk about, there are always people that don't like it.

Mohab

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Avocado rocks harder than the last 3 albums combined. Songs like Marker in the Sand, Army Reserve, Parachutes have more depth than you know.

although binaural was equally good in my mind, id say avocado is as good if not better than any pearl jam album before it. I often wonder where some people are coming form who like the band and diss thier newer material, it rocks.

MichaelMcKevin

LIFE WASTED- Awesome, rocking tune
WWS-Decent/Pretty Good
COMATOSE-Awesome
SEVERED HAND- A Fucking 12.4 outta 10
MITS- (see Severed Hand's rating)
PARACHUTES- So good
UMEMPLOYABLE-Decent Song
Big Wave-Not Bad/Not A Standout
GONE-Not crazy about it, but audible
WASTED REPRISE- a very enjoyable 54 seconds
ARMY RESERVE- Good song, powerful lyrics
COME BACK- Very beautiful song: guitar chords, drums, vocals, lyrics
INSIDE JOB- Like i read on here earlier, it makes you not want to end the album. Great song to finish it off with as the song itself is like the album, a journey that starts one place and ends another)

Not good enough for you?

Ledbetterman10

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I like this album, I do... But it has very little depth compared to the others; none of the aggression; it's mixed in a totally lacklustre, conservative way; Matt hardly ever rocks hard (WWS is a major exercise in boredom-drumming - closed hi hats all the way, COME ON MAN this isn't jazz).

Where is the intelligence in the songs, compared to songs like 'No Way' and 'Faithful' and 'Last Exit' and 'Grievance' and 'Long Road'.... you name it....

Sorry everyone. I wish I felt differently.

this thread would have more relevance if you posted it about a year and a half ago

harmless_little_f***

Ledbetterman10 wrote:

this thread would have more relevance if you posted it about a year and a half ago

I'm not really concerned with 'relevance'.. Pearl Jam are my favourite band.

Davanita

LikeAnOcean wrote:

This thread is just a sad opinion.

news flash: *opinions* are what forums are for.... you wouldn't give it thumbs down if you agreed, because disagreeing in this case is your opinion.

so what.

i don't like Avocado either! does that make me a lesser fan? hell no.
for me, personally, this album just lacks spirit... it doesn't have the light of Yield, doesn't have the darkness of Binaural and Riot Act, it just lingers somewhere in between and it feels awefully safe and mainstream to me.
i don't necessarily want the new album to be No Code II, but i do hope they'll bring that... "fuck it - we're gonna do this OUR way" attitude back. experiment, please!

but hey, this is just MY opinion. :rolleyes:

restlesssoul

Mohab wrote:

I often wonder where some people are coming form who like the band and diss thier newer material, it rocks.

me too

Ricsard

I do like Avocado.
I have listenned to it a couple hundred times and still sounds fresh to me. I mean it's still not a classic one for me (unlike the others)...I guess I need 1 or 2 more years to come...

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

songs are great live...but the album is pretty dull. like Riot Act.

hopefully Brendan O'brien will change all that.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

ohohoh! because you demanded it!
My review

LIFE WASTED- pretty good
WWS-great live, but this version is bland.
COMATOSE-Awesome
SEVERED HAND- Greatest PJ rocker in a decade or more.
MITS- average
PARACHUTES- below average
UMEMPLOYABLE- hated it
Big Wave- forgettable. should be a B-side
GONE-worst song on the album and a huge dissappointment after hearing the great demo. what a fuck up decision.
WASTED REPRISE- a very enjoyable 54 seconds
ARMY RESERVE- crap. sorry.
COME BACK- pretty bland. the last ten seconds are good
INSIDE JOB- incredible opening minute (and probably ripped straight off of a 311 song) but after that kinda loses steam. Dont like the way Ed sings the lyrics either.

So i give it a C-. Starts off pretty good but the second half offers me nothing. I like sad/experimental stuff too, but this album couldnt handle that.

in its defense though, i really do think this album is about as experimental as most of their albums. the first 4 songs can be lumped together, but the rest are all over the place. I know PJ still likes to do whatever they want but sometimes it doesnt work out.

FinsburyParkCarrots

I listened to it a lot, in the first couple of weeks, but I haven't played it for two years.

prince119

I tend to listen to this and Riot Act about the same amount. Very little.

For me it does seem a bit uninspired. I like about 4 songs very much and have a few other that are audible, but I find myself skipping a larger number of tracks than the others.

The real problem for me is the "datable" nature of the album. Most of their other stuff is laced with political or social commentary and still does not feel as "dated"

I think that when I listen to this album 20 years from now, the themes and the content will be less relevant and that will make the album feel dated to me.

Just my 2 cents.

Rhinocerous Surprise

prince119 wrote:

I tend to listen to this and Riot Act about the same amount. Very little.

For me it does seem a bit uninspired. I like about 4 songs very much and have a few other that are audible, but I find myself skipping a larger number of tracks than the others.

The real problem for me is the "datable" nature of the album. Most of their other stuff is laced with political or social commentary and still does not feel as "dated"

I think that when I listen to this album 20 years from now, the themes and the content will be less relevant and that will make the album feel dated to me.

Just my 2 cents.

Um... You like 4 songs, and have a few others that are audible? Call me crazy... but you should be able to at least hear the rest of the album, even if you don't like it.:p

MKTerp

harmless_little_f*** wrote:

I like this album, I do... But it has very little depth compared to the others; none of the aggression; it's mixed in a totally lacklustre, conservative way; Matt hardly ever rocks hard (WWS is a major exercise in boredom-drumming - closed hi hats all the way, COME ON MAN this isn't jazz).

Where is the intelligence in the songs, compared to songs like 'No Way' and 'Faithful' and 'Last Exit' and 'Grievance' and 'Long Road'.... you name it....

Sorry everyone. I wish I felt differently.

I like the album, but I agree about the drumming - it really pisses me off. I don't know who's call it is, but it seems like Matt's drumming just blends into the background. Listen to the drums on Avocado, and then go listen to Vs. No comparison...

I still like that it's a much more upbeat, aggressive album than Riot Act. But I'd like them to go more experimental with the next one. Ed's strength now lies in songs like Hard Sun, not screamers like Comatose.