WHY!? dont people like riot act?

Staceb10 · October 2011

I like Riot Act.

I am Mine is one of my favorites..

hate Bushleaguer though

mini_tb · October 2011

Can't Keep does not get enough love. Absolutely amazing song. The lyrics are sooooooo powerful.

And from reading through people's replies, Cropduster could use a little more lovin', too. Great song.

cheesy_shredder · October 2011

SatansFuton

You love it apparently, that should be enough. I personally don't hate it, but it's one of my least favorite PJ albums, but even my least favorite PJ album gets playtime and I like more than 80% of music out there.

This man makes speaks a lot of sense!

I do love Riot Act and it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks! It's all horses for courses and all that malarky!

This thread did get me thinking though what it is that bugs me about Backspacer, and I finally figured it out. I do love 2/3 of that album the problem is that the bit i don't like so much is the first 3rd which is maybe why I find it hard to get into every-time I try. In saying that, and in keeping with what SatansFuton said, the third I don't like is still better than 80% of the other crap out there!!

abhijeet · October 2011

tremors wrote:

I always join this same discussion with a fresh optimism that it will turn out better than the last time - that Riot Act will get some love, there won't be too many posts that go "....because it sucks!", and people won't start abusing each other during the debate. Oh well! Until the next time!

The most positive album threads to join in with always seem to be Vs. Nobody hates Vs!

I do think it's time that Riot Act got some more respect around here - I believe it's worthy, so do many level headed PJ fans, and so do AllMusic and other credible music sites, just not this one! So, I'm gonna step out of this discussion and leave you with that little review to ponder.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/riot-act-r611292/review

In some ways, Riot Act is the album that Pearl Jam has been wanting to make since Vitalogy -- a muscular art rock record, one that still hits hard but that is filled with ragged edges and odd detours. Vitalogy found the band sketching out their ideas for their brand of artsy rock, separating bracing hard rock and experimentalism throughout that fascinating album, and since then they bounced between those two extremes: indulging themselves on No Code, over-compensating with the streamlined Yield. Here, they manage to seamlessly blend the two impulses together in a restless, passionate record that delivers musically and emotionally. If it doesn't announce itself as a comeback or a great step forward, it's because the changes are subtle -- it's a process of their post-Vitalogy sound finally gelling, not making an artistic breakthrough. Given the appealing but haphazard nature of their late-'90s work, it's quite satisfying to have a Pearl Jam album play as strongly as Riot Act, and again some credit must be given to drummer Matt Cameron. He enlivened 2000's Binaural, but his forceful drumming gives the weirder songs and ambitions support and urgency. Also, the production is the best in nearly a decade -- a warm, burnished sound filled with details that enhance the basic song instead of overwhelming them (in other words, it's not No Code, nor is it the Spartan Yield). Again, these are subtle shifts in sound, but they are notable and, given several plays, this does indeed seem like the richest record Pearl Jam has made in a long time.

I think this guy has the right sentiment for the most part. I always thought Riot Act feels like a natural successor to Vitalogy (rather than the complete stylistic break on No Code) and it's pitched somewhere between Vitalogy and No Code, which is a good place to be, rocking hard in places and playing like a EV's solo work in places. I don't however get his total slating of Yield, which has some of Pearl Jam's best written songs.

Nittany1bn · October 2011

i really like riot act it"s just a little too long, they could have trimmed it down to 45-50min and made a truly great album. funny story...my friend hated riot act when it came out, so whenever we'd hang out at my place i would sneak some riot act into the mix, and (after a few beverages) he would always get into it and ask "what is this, where is this song from" etc. i would tell him riot act and he would say "ugh, riot act sucks" and i told him how he gets into it every time i play it, and finally he realized that he didn't give it a chance, almost as if he hated the idea of riot act more than the actual album. i used to tell him that he only liked it when he was listening to it (or drunk).

JV130312 · October 2011

I like it. :?

i_lov_it · October 2011

I like Riot Act it's the BEST Album since Yield...I listen to the Album on a Weekly Basis.....*Highlights* for me are "Save You"..."You Are"..."Bu$hleaguer"...and "Green Disease".....

AzWicker · October 2011

I love Riot Act...

SOLAT319 · October 2011

SatansFuton wrote:

One thing I've noticed on the internet though with a lot of bands is that the latest album is always their worst. Then when the next album comes out those same people will say it is the worst, and over time have a nostalgic love for the album they once hated.

Never thought that for any of the records until Backspacer.

Better Dan · October 2011

SOLAT319 wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

One thing I've noticed on the internet though with a lot of bands is that the latest album is always their worst. Then when the next album comes out those same people will say it is the worst, and over time have a nostalgic love for the album they once hated.

Never thought that for any of the records until Backspacer.

I've noticed it for every album since Binaural (when I first stared visiting PJ boards). I'm always surprised that when the next album comes out, the majority of people seem to love the album they originally hated and start disliking the new album

Even in 2000 when I was a new fan and asked what PJ albums I should check out, people were saying not to listen to No Code and Yield because they weren't as good.

Glad I didn't listen!!

SOLAT319 · October 2011

SOLAT319 wrote:

Never thought that for any of the records until Backspacer.

Just to make it clear, Backspacer didn't get any better :P

It does however have one of the best openers of the discography.

uninnocent- · October 2011

I love Riot Act. Cropduster, Save You and Can't Keep are among my all-time favourites by the band. I remember being in college, waking up early, waiting outside a record store on the day it came out and popping it immediately into my discman. When I heard a fully fleshed-out Can't Keep (it had been performed by Ed solo once or twice at that point), I knew it was something special. I listened to it straight through before my first class, and many more times thereafter. Riot Act was probably the last PJ album that didn't need time to grow on me; I loved it right away, and still do to this day.

pearljamdude420 · October 2011

i have been to 37 shows including msg night 2 in 2010, and newark 2010, i think state college pa 2003 was my favorite show ever and that was on riot act tour. it was really awesome show, eddie was super drunk, and it seems like the longest set i ever saw of pj nearly 3 hours

pearljamdude420 · October 2011

i think maybe it was longer like 3h 15min? it was awesome show i have the cd they release for it too, satans bed was a good one

-Buru- · October 2011

I am not one of the haters, I actually like Riot Act a lot.
It happens to have one of my favorite songs... All or none! It also has some great songs that I feel have been grossly under appreciated, such as Cropduster, Ghost, Help Help.

And how can you not love the simple beauty of Thumbing my way or Can't Keep. And Arc?
I always loved Bushleaguer, although I can understand why many do not.

It is probably more of a darker album... kind of like Vitalogy was, although more socially/politically charged. And I also feel Vitalogy was a lot more personal, and Riot Act was dealing with broader issues, from a personal perspective.

-Buru- · October 2011

Oh... and 1/2 full is brilliant too.

Tom Wilbur · October 2011

I've been listening to "Riot Act" a lot lately and I really like it. "You Are" is one of the best PJ songs in my opinion that guitar riff is heavy!

erocshifty · October 2011

they're crazy, thats why...binaural and riot act are pjs 2 most underrated albums....some of their best (in my opinion) matt was bringing fresh quality into the mix, as well as songs...1/2 full is my favorite song...it scorches!!!(especially live)..the b-sides from that era are also some of their best...i had a love/hate relationship with avacado, cos it was called a "comeback"(no pun intended,tho funny) and i was like,"where'd they go?" lost dogs was full of overdubs...i guess to freshen up some things us die hards already had...i could go on & on about how i love the 99-03 era, but the songs & shows were spectacular & speak for themselves..i love all their records,though. each has its own mood, vibe & place in the cannon...cant wait fo #10...

javis el errante · October 2011

I would like to start by saying that I had a really good time reading all the 16 pages of comments while listening to the Santa Barbara show (Oct 28, 2003) on PJ Radio.

But you will have to go here in order to continue...

http://forums.pearljam.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=174521&p=4016008#p4016008

redkeeth · October 2011

Love it!!!!

WHY!? dont people like riot act?

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