Riot Act > Backspacer

I got in trouble.

slightofjeff wrote:

Come Back in Black wrote:

I got in trouble.

What'd you do?

Just kidding around. Read back a page or two.

cannotstaylong wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

inmytree3684 wrote:

Riot Act was OKAY but it was clearly their worst.

Well I clearly disagree.

Thumbing My Way's in my top 10, it's such a beautiful song. Nothing on Backspacer holds a candle with it.

I think Thumbing My Way is one of the most beautiful songs they have written, but I think Just Breathe is right up there. I'm not saying you're wrong in your opinion of Thumbing My Way, but I personally feel that there is definitely one, if not two, songs on Backspacer that rival Thumbing My Way in terms of beauty and emotional impact. My opinion though, it's clear we don't see eye to eye on Backspacer, but that works.

I am with all who say Thumbing My Way is among the most beautiful songs they have recorded. In fact, it's been pretty much my favorite PJ song since the day I first heard it (I realize this is not a popular sentiment, but it is what it is.). The problem, for me, is that there isn't a single song on Riot Act that even comes close to it, although there are some others that I like, of course.

Backspacer, on the other hand, honestly has at least 3 songs that I could see overtaking Thumbing My Way in my estimation, not just in the beauty departent, but in downright goodness. I am not saying any of them are there yet -- I have to live with this record for a while -- But the fact that there's even more than *one* song on this album that I deem possibly worthy of unseating a favorite indicates it's pretty special.

Frankly, I say more power to those who prefer Riot Act to Backspacer. I don't think I do, but what makes us all fans is that we agree about Pearl Jam, but about individual albums.

Why does almost every thread connected to the new album start...

"There I said it...'

?

SweetAndLow wrote:

So I'm a diehard PJ fan, have nearly 100 PJ cds, all the dvds, yada, yada. ... And I rarely listen to Binaural. THere are just 4 songs on it I like. It is my least favorite album.

Just saying (as opposed to, there, I said it. ).

Also, I can't stop thinking it when I listen to Unthought Known: I wish the band would include Vedder's Bad Radio beauty "Believe You Me" on a future project. He did it with Better Man. Do it with Believe You Me. Please!

I love Believe You Me, but I think the song may be too similar to Better Man for Pearl Jam to consider releasing it. Not to mention that the lyrics are not exactly on par with the stuff they've turned out for most of their career.

Would be cool to hear it live sometime, but not on an album.

SweetAndLow wrote:

It's not 'too similar' to Better Man. Not lyrically, not musically.

Okay. Well, I think it just might be. not lyrically, but musically it is very reminiscent.

yosi wrote:

Spiritual_Chaos wrote:

Riot Act is a one of a kind masterpiece.

Backspacer is a "filler album", it's a throw away album with some nice pop/punkrockers and a great Just breathe.

Would like to write more but at work. Boss will kill me.

But actually listened to Backspacer and directly after that put on Riot Act a few days ago. It is a giant difference in quality to me. Riot act is honest, bold, has a lot of nice unique songs and Eddie sings in a thoughtful and mature way. To me that is how PJ should sound when they are 40+ years old. It's like every word that leaves his mouth he thinks about.

Backspacer has some fun songs on it, Got Some and The Fixer was great to hear live but it still "nothing special". Easy to listen to, but doesn't stay with me. I respect what PJ is doing this album and with Avocado (which I'm not a super fan of either), but I wish that Rioc Act would have sold more so they would have understood that is the way to go.

You can't beat the atmosphere on that record.

Exactly. I totally agree with this post. I think the music on Riot Act is incredible. The lyrics are, in my opinion, probably the most thoughtful, and to be perfectly honest, I LOVE how Ed sounds on that album. I know many people say "it sounds like he just phoned it in" on that album, but I actually think that the album works better without all the screaming (not that I don't love when Ed screams). To me it sounds intentional, like he could get more emotion, more meaning out of just singing; I can really feel the pain and honesty in his voice on that album as much, if not more, than any other album they've done.

Its not that I don't appreciate what the guys are trying to do on Avocado or BS, but I just don't think that the intelligence, honesty and beauty that they captured Riot Act has even remotely been replicated on either of the proceeding albums.

what these guys said.

yosi wrote:

The Champ wrote:

I know it's cool to like the unpopular album, but let's get real here..there is no way anyone would willingly sit through Riot Act without skipping..Help Help, Bushleaguer, Cropduster, You Are, Get Right, Ghost...the others I can almost understand, but there is no way in hell anyone could consistently listen to every song..thus, why the record as a whole is widely referred to as their weakest..which it clearly is..

This post is clearly nonsense. Riot Act is by far the Pearl Jam album I listen to most, and I honestly listen to EVERY track on the album EVERY time. And for the record, I absolutely love all the songs you named. I would go as far to say that Help, Help, and Ghost are in my top four favorite tracks on the album (along with 1/2 Full and All or None). And I would easily take anyone of the songs you named over every track on Backspacer and not because "its cool to like the unpopular album". I don't care what anyone else thinks. I truly love Riot Act.

What do you think about that?

I'll take it easy on you being that you are a fellow long time suffering Met fan..and because our Jets have eased the pain for just a bit ....but clearly you are not thinking straight..lol..Help Help is better than Got Some? That's some hard core Riot Act love right there..I give you credit..

FWIW,

Metacritic composite ratings (out of 100 for critics; out of 10.0 for fans/listeners):

I assume Backspacer numbers will drop as more and more fans chime in. Most telling is how well it's holding up compared to the number of voters vs., say, Binaural. (law of averages says that the more voters there are, the likelier the number is to drop, and given that Binaural received 21 total votes and just 7.9 speaks volumes).

Backspacer 85 (15 critics) / 9.4 (73 votes)

Pearl Jam (Avocado) 74 (28 critics) / 8.8 (271 votes)

Riot Act - 73 (20 critics) / 8.4 (80 votes)

Binaural 69 (16 critics) / 7.9 (21 votes)

I know there'll be wide variance on the lists, but what would your Pearl Jam album rankings look like today? I understand your rankings might change a week, month, year from now.

Here's mine. Quick background on my fandom: I never liked Ten until a few years ago. I was drawn in by band's SNL 94 effort for Vitalogy. I consider Yield the best start-to-finish rock album of the last 20 years:

1 - Yield
2 - Vitalogy
3 - No Code
4 - Backspacer
5 - Ten
6 - Pearl Jam (avocado)
7 - Vs.
8 - Riot Act
9 - Binaural

yosi wrote:

Haha, thanks. At least being a Mets fan has finally come in handy...

And I don't know what it is about that album, it just speaks to me. Maybe I'm crazy, I certainly wouldn't count that possibility out.

But just so you know, I'm actually a NYG fan

Shit, even better for you..in fact, your team just won a Super Bowl the other year, so you should be set for a while..I've gotten nothing but ulcers as a Met/Jet fan for 21 years and counting.....anyway, getting back on topic..yes, you may be crazy with this Riot Act obsession..If you only had one album to listen to for the rest of your life, you'd actually pick Riot Act over Yield or Vs? That is crazy ..