Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
0
En La Clandestinidad
Telford, PA by way of Kansas City, MO and Milwaukee, WI, Phoenix, AZ and East Greenbush, NY Posts: 3,692
Thanks Veddernarian you are doing great work, now I gotta find time to read some of these!
Formerly Brew Crew Tix “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
Copyright 2013. The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
“All the demons used to come round,” Eddie Vedder sings in “Future Days,” the ballad that closes “Lightning Bolt,” Pearl Jam’s 10th studio album. “I’m grateful now they’ve left.” Well, not entirely: Pearl Jam still needs something to brood about.
“Lightning Bolt” (Monkeywrench) is Pearl Jam’s current answer to the open question of how to create honest rock as a grown-up. The music that has made Pearl Jam an arena headliner for two decades, with a huge and loyal following, is based on churning and seething, on Mr. Vedder’s mournfully forthright voice and on tensions that often explode into choruses of desperate affirmation. With songs about self-doubt, loss, abusive relationships and political fury, Pearl Jam nevertheless turned out to be the one stable band (give or take a drummer) among the major pioneers of grunge; its members have prospered and settled down.
But complacency would undermine Pearl Jam’s music. So Mr. Vedder continues to ponder and agonize: this time, often, over mortality and faith. “Go to Heaven, that’s swell/ How you like your living in Hell?,” he taunts in the punky “Mind Your Manners.” He warns humanity against arrogance and shortsightedness in “Infallible,” as the music hints at the Beatles’s “Magical Mystery Tour.” The eerie, gorgeous “Pendulum” suspends Mr. Vedder’s voice amid echoing keyboards and guitar as he sings about looming despair. But he also finds euphoria, a oneness with Nature and spirit, as major chords peal all around him in “Swallowed Whole.”
“Lightning Bolt” is not as raw or reckless as the music Pearl Jam made in the 1990s; it also trades away the rough-and-ready sound of Pearl Jam’s previous album, “Backspacer” from 2009. With the producer Brendan O’Brien, Pearl Jam now offers some of the most unrepentantly pretty arrangements in the band’s entire catalog; “Sirens,” an apologetic love song that also warns, “We live our lives with death over our shoulders,” has the sheen of “Hotel California.”
Whether he’s singing a ballad or a rocker, Mr. Vedder carefully outlines the melodies, no matter how worked up he gets (and he does). Even when the music goes hurtling forward in hard-riffing songs like “Getaway,” “My Father’s Son” and the album’s peak, “Lightning Bolt” itself, what comes across is the teamwork of musicians who have been working in tandem for decades. They’re grown-ups with fewer demons and more polish, but they’re still pushing themselves.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Copyright 2013 Märkische Allgemeine – Brandenburgs beste Seiten. All rights reserved. For further information see http://www.MaerkischeAllgemeine.de
Von Lars Grote
POTSDAM Wenn Eddie Vedder vor die Menge tritt, dann tut er das im Karohemd, mit dem man Bäume fällt und sagt: Ich bin ein Arbeiter, ich bin kein Prominenter. Vedder, Sänger von Pearl Jam, spielt Konzerte an die drei Stunden, und immer liegt ein Weinen in der Stimme. Als trauere er weiter um Kurt Cobain, den Frontman von Nirvana – Bruder im Geiste, mit dem Vedder den Grunge in Seattle definierte. Grunge, dieses ungewaschene Wechselbalg aus Punk und Heavy Metal. Vedder und Cobain haben grundverschiedene Wege gewählt. Cobain hat sich erschossen und wurde zum Märtyrer. Vedder kauft Biokost und gilt nun als Sozialarbeiter. Neulich hat er in einem Interview geheult. Vedder kümmert sich nach Kräften um sein Publikum. Kriegt jeder Luft, hat jeder freie Sicht, fragt er, die Katastrophe vom 30. Juni 2000 vor Augen, als neun Pearl-Jam-Fans beim Roskilde-Festival zu Tode gequetscht wurden.
Erstaunlich, wie hart der Mann bei aller Anteilnahme musiziert. Das letzte Album von Pearl Jam, „Backspacer“ von 2009, war ein tadelloses Brett, wie man in Fankreisen sagt: zielstrebig, nicht mehr so versponnen und aufgeschlossen wie „Vitalogy“, dieses so rabiat nach neuen Klängen grabende Album aus dem Jahr 1994.
„Backspacer“ war homogen, das ist „Lightning Bolt“, die neue, zehnte Studioplatte, ganz sicher nicht. „Getaway“ eröffnet mit Druck, ein unkompliziertes Stück, das dennoch mit Synkopen arbeitet, raffiniertes Dehnen der Notenwerte. „Mind Your Manners“ pflegt den Punk, als schreibe man die frühen 80er. „Sleeping By Myself“ ist eine der gut gelaunten Harmlosigkeiten, die Pearl Jam immer schon wie ein Erweckungserlebnis inszenierten. In dieser Liga spielt auch „Future Days“, ein rührender Rausschmeißer.
Das Album ist stark, wach und motiviert. Es ist ausgewogen, manche sagen: kakuliert. Doch so lange Vedder Karohemd trägt, steht fest: Er meint es ehrlich.
info Pearl Jam: Lightning Bolt. Republic/
Universal.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Review: Pearl Jam's 'Lightning Bolt' — it's only rock 'n' roll
chris barton
By Chris Barton
From the Los Angeles Times
931 words
15 October 2013
latimes.com
LATCOM
English
Copyright 2013. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
The long-awaited album is a solid reflection of the band, but breaks little new ground."Everyone's a critic," Eddie Vedder sings to open Pearl Jam's new album, "Lightning Bolt," the group's first since 2009.
It's an interesting introduction for the band, which after more than 20 years together (a Cameron Crowe-directed documentary marked the anniversary in 2011) have reached the level of being beyond anyone's opinion outside of their large and loyal fan base.
Much like road-tested fellow travelers the Dave Matthews Band, the Foo Fighters and even Phish, Pearl Jam need only to drop an album every few years to spur a national tour, and arenas quickly fill to catch a band whose strongest statements are best delivered in front of thousands of people.
PHOTOS: Iconic rock guitars and their owners
In a promo clip that artfully flexed the band's Q Rating with cameos by Judd Apatow, Sleater-Kinney (and "Portlandia") co-creator Carrie Brownstein, along with a pro surfer and an ALS-afflicted NFL player, bassist Jeff Ament explained Pearl Jam's lag between albums — the group's longest since between 2002's "Riot Act" and the self-titled record of 2006 — as waiting "until we have something to say."
After so many years, it's a fair concern. In the best case scenario, Pearl Jam could deliver something akin to the Rolling Stones' "Tattoo You," which yielded a true classic 17 years into that band's run with "Start Me Up."
Chronologically — and somewhat shockingly — Pearl Jam has already passed that window. While 2009's "Backspacer" received some strong notice, it found the band leaning back in its comfort zone with a blend of would-be anthems ("The Fixer"), soft-focused ballads ("Just Breathe") and a strong position on how nice it is to go surfing ("Amongst the Waves"). Nothing sounded terrible, and certainly not insincere, but nothing was surprising, either — unless you count Vedder's 2011 ukulele album, a collection laid back enough to make Jack Johnson sound like Skrillex.
PHOTOS: Daughters of rock stars
But after surviving a career forged during vertigo-inducing fame, Pearl Jam seemed content with sounding like Pearl Jam; an efficient machine of solid but safely nostalgic rock.
Still, for a band that once dominated pop culture, a question prompts asking from fans of the group's peak period: Did Pearl Jam become less vital because they got old? Or because their fans did?
With that in mind, it's hard to say what the ideal Pearl Jam album could sound like 2013. Rock 'n' roll isn't often kind to adulthood, and to be fair, Pearl Jam is no more capable of sounding as fiery as they were at 27 than its fans are. Still, while nothing on "Lightning Bolt" is half as immediate as "Alive," "Corduroy" or even "Wishlist," there are flashes on "Lightning Bolt" that show Pearl Jam still capable of delivering statements.
RELATED: Best albums of 2013 so far | Randall Roberts
Built around a glossy acoustic guitar, "Sirens" sags under some treacly heavy-handed production, but finds the 48-year-old Vedder confronting the frailty of life as emergency vehicles pass his window. "The sound echoing closer, will they come for me next time?" he asks, holding a loved one closer in a flash of vulnerability that no twentysomething rock star could consider.
In maybe the album's most striking moment, the atmospheric "Pendulum" is framed by ghostly guitar and echoey percussion as Vedder ventures into another dark night of the soul: "We are here and then we go," he murmurs. "My shadow left me long ago." The song never finds a way out of despair, and it's that much stronger for it.
After a herky-jerky start that recalls drummer Matt Cameron's roots in Soundgarden, "My Father's Son" finds the band again delivering strong material in the parent–and-child relationship, except in this case perhaps involving a reluctant messiah. "Can I get a reprieve? This gene pool don't hurt me," Vedder sings amid a loping low end that hurtles to a raw-throated finish that's a reminder of one of most powerful voices in rock. "Mind Your Manners" also ventures into question of faith with a vintage punk drive that Pearl Jam typically offers once an album or so.
PHOTOS: Concerts by The Times
Other trips into familiar territory are more mixed. The album sags in its second half, with "Infallible" wearing out its welcome with a feel-good Beatlesque churn, and the Neil Young-leaning guitar stomp of "Let the Records Play" restates Pearl Jam's well-established fondness for listening to albums. A country-tinged holdover from Vedder's solo album, "Sleeping By Myself" carries an incongruously jaunty air, and although the lush "Yellow Moon" builds to graceful heights, the similarly paced "Future Days" drifts into the middle of the road with a lovelorn sweep that will sound great at a Santa Barbara wedding.
Ultimately, "Lightning Bolt" may not be "Tattoo You," but it's not "Steel Wheels" either. For better or worse, Pearl Jam sound just like who they are right now, but after more than 20 years, that's not so bad.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Copyright 2013, Orlando Sentinel Communications. All Rights Reserved.
On Pearl Jam's first studio album since 2009, complacency is the enemy. Now into its third decade, the Seattle quintet could easily slip into a heritage-band midlife with a backlog of hits that could sustain them for decades on lucrative tours. But Pearl Jam still wants to make vital music, and about half the time on its 10th studio album, "Lightning Bolt" (Monkeywrench/Republic), it succeeds.
Three brisk, blood-pumping rockers pick up where the band's previous album, "Backspacer," left off. "Getaway" and "Mind Your Manners" scrap and howl. "My Father's Son" could have fit alongside the domestic psychodramas on the band's debut, "Ten."
Things falter when the band's love of '70s classic rock turns musty. On the melodramatic power ballad "Sirens," Eddie Vedder pushes his voice into its upper range and Mike McCready's guitar solo channels Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. The blues stomp "Let the Records Play" evokes a bar band staggering toward last call. And "Sleeping by Myself" is a bittersweet but lightweight tune recycled from Vedder's solo ukulele record.
Inspiration returns on the title track, which rides Matt Cameron's roller-coaster drumming and richly layered guitars and keyboards. Longtime producer Brendan O'Brien adds subtle touches that enhance "Infallible," which blends keyboards and guitars into sonic accent marks that give the song unexpected bounce. Similarly, "Pendulum" swings on a percussive, wordless vocal that turns into an unexpected hook while complementing the ghostly atmosphere. Nearly as successful is the haunted "Yellow Moon," and guitars tumble and tangle on the propulsive "Swallowed Whole."
Vedder sets the tone, even when his earnestness spills over into greeting-card mysticism: "Whispered songs inside the wind ... feel the planet humming." Mostly, he comes across as a concerned citizen fretting over the planet's ecological decline, a skeptic grappling with a loss of faith, a middle-aged father confronting mortality.
These are big subjects, and Pearl Jam's natural tendency is to turn them into larger-than-life songs that inevitably will be compared to its superior '90s work. "Pendulum" suggests a subtler, more promising way forward. A few more tunes like that, and the golden-oldies circuit won't swallow the band anytime soon.\
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
LIGHTNING STRIKES; Pearl Jam starts out in Pittsburgh
Scott Tady
SCOTT TADY;
720 words
10 October 2013
Beaver County Times
BEAVER
C2
English
Copyright 2013. Calkins Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by NewsBank Inc.
PITTSBURGH
Pearl Jam launches its 24-date North American tour Friday in Pittsburgh.
A sold-out Consol Energy Center crowd will be some of the first fans to get a live jolt from "Lightning Bolt," the Seattle rockers' 10th studio album that streamed this week on iTunes in advance of Tuesday's formal release.
Fear not, Pittsburgh fans, if Eddie Vedder and his Pearl Jam mates decide to load their set with lots of "Lightning Bolt" tracks.
It's a strong and accessible album netting largely favorable reviews including a B+ from Entertainment Weekly and four-stars from the New York Daily News.
"Everyone's a critic looking back up the river," is Vedder's opening salvo from lead-off track, "Getaway," delivered more with a "what-ev" defiance than sorrowed resignation.
Most of the album's dozen songs are quicktempo, including the first single, "Mind Your Manners," which lead guitarist Mike McCready said in a web video is "my attempt to try to make a really hard edge-type Dead Kennedys-sounding song," aided by bassist Jeff Ament adding a few punk flourishes.
Punk urgency meshes with arena-rock hooks throughout the album. "Swallowed Hole" has a blistering guitar solo, while the bridges to "Let the Records Play" stomp along a bit like a Black Keys number.
Moody guitars from McCready and Stone Gossard are leveled by jaunty drum slaps from Matt Cameron on the slow-ish "Infallible."
Vedder, 48, sings spiritedly, prudently picking moments to let his dramatically quivery voice sound either fired up or sensitive.
He broaches faith, or lack thereof, with "Sometimes you have to find yourself putting all your faith in no faith," on "Getaway"; and "I caught myself believing that I needed God" on "Mind Your Manners."
Mortality is on his mind on songs like "Sirens," a ballad where Vedder ruminates on the fragility of life and his gratefulness for at least a temporary feeling of safety in the presence of a love one. "Sirens" and "Yellow Moon" both offer a few tasteful guitar moments suggesting the Pink Floyd vibe that McCready also alluded to earlier when discussing the band's first new album since "Backstarter" in 2009.
This sixth Pearl Jam album to be produced by Brendan O'Brien also reprises the gentlestarting, straight-forward "Sleeping By Myself" from Vedder's 2011 solo album.
The "Lightning Bolt" lyrical themes are serious, but the album isn't a downer; not with the ground-level grunge-rockers sounding so zestful and inspired.
At their lone U.S. summer show at Chicago's Wrigley Field, the band debuted the "Lightning Bolt" title track and "Mind Your Manners." Pittsburgh fans could be the first to hear other new songs live. Pearl Jam hasn't played Pittsburgh since June 2006. Fans at that Mellon Arena show will remember the encore, where people in the luxury boxes began flicking their lights on and off in rhythm, prompting Vedder to wisecrack "You have some drunk talented rich people in Pittsburgh."
Moments later, he began a seemingly harmless speech about Pearl Jam traveling all over the world, before commenting "Pittsburgh isn't exactly our favorite place." Fans didn't wait to see if that was a flub of the tongue, a punchline setup, or the start of a poorly constructed sentence, as they immediately showered Vedder with boos and a "Here we go, Steelers" chant. Then someone threw a joint on stage. Vedder caught it and joked "Maybe I should insult you more often," which sparked much laughter. More laughter followed, when he asked for a lighter, and then Bics and Zippos rained down on the stage.
Once calm ensued, Vedder assured fans what he was trying to say is that band has always enjoyed the times it has played Pittsburgh, referencing Pearl Jam's prior visit nearly nine months earlier at PNC Park when they opened for the Rolling Stones.
Pearl Jam won't have an opening act Friday at Consol Energy Center. The show is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start, meaning the band might play for three hours - plenty of time to feature radio hits like "Alive," "Black," Even Flow," "Jeremy," "Better Man," "Daughter" and "Corduroy."
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Copyright 2013 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
''All the demons used to come round,'' Eddie Vedder sings in ''Future Days,'' the ballad that closes ''Lightning Bolt,'' Pearl Jam's 10th studio album. ''I'm grateful now they've left.'' Well, not entirely: Pearl Jam still needs something to brood about.
''Lightning Bolt'' (Monkeywrench) is Pearl Jam's current answer to the open question of how to create honest rock as a grown-up. The music that has made Pearl Jam an arena headliner for two decades, with a huge and loyal following, is based on churning and seething, on Mr. Vedder's mournfully forthright voice and on tensions that often explode into choruses of desperate affirmation. With songs about self-doubt, loss, abusive relationships and political fury, Pearl Jam nevertheless turned out to be the one stable band (give or take a drummer) among the major pioneers of grunge; its members have prospered and settled down.
But complacency would undermine Pearl Jam's music. So Mr. Vedder continues to ponder and agonize: this time, often, over mortality and faith. ''Go to Heaven, that's swell/ How you like your living in Hell?,'' he taunts in the punky ''Mind Your Manners.'' He warns humanity against arrogance and shortsightedness in ''Infallible,'' as the music hints at the Beatles's ''Magical Mystery Tour.'' The eerie, gorgeous ''Pendulum'' suspends Mr. Vedder's voice amid echoing keyboards and guitar as he sings about looming despair. But he also finds euphoria, a oneness with Nature and spirit, as major chords peal all around him in ''Swallowed Whole.''
''Lightning Bolt'' is not as raw or reckless as the music Pearl Jam made in the 1990s; it also trades away the rough-and-ready sound of Pearl Jam's previous album, ''Backspacer'' from 2009. With the producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam now offers some of the most unrepentantly pretty arrangements in the band's entire catalog; ''Sirens,'' an apologetic love song that also warns, ''We live our lives with death over our shoulders,'' has the sheen of ''Hotel California.''
Whether he's singing a ballad or a rocker, Mr. Vedder carefully outlines the melodies, no matter how worked up he gets (and he does). Even when the music goes hurtling forward in hard-riffing songs like ''Getaway,'' ''My Father's Son'' and the album's peak, ''Lightning Bolt'' itself, what comes across is the teamwork of musicians who have been working in tandem for decades. They're grown-ups with fewer demons and more polish, but they're still pushing themselves.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Pearl Jam Lightning Bolt Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records The landscape of early '90s grungerock bands that have survived the fickle tides of pop music is remarkably sparse. That is, save for Pearl Jam, which enters its third decade with a new album built on its foundation of gritty rock 'n' roll by a mature group of musicians confident but not complacent in their legacy.
"Lightning Bolt," the band's 10th studio release, ignites in the grinding riffs and Eddie Vedder's brooding wail on "Getaway," "Mind Your Manners" and "My Father's Son." "Sirens" is a big sweeping ballad with layers of sliding electric guitar, piano and jangly acoustic undertones; altogether classic Pearl Jam and altogether good.
Yet when they start to stretch, building from that foundation to explore new sounds, "Lightning Bolt" moves from the band's classic sound to its energetic and experimental spirit. "Pendulum" starts pensively, with Vedder pondering his life and mortality over a lilting gypsy swing. "Let the Records Play" is a crunchy blues shuffle, while the closing "Future Days" finds Vedder looking forward joyfully on a tender, uplifting melody.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
At: DCU Center, Worcester, Tuesday; repeats Wednesday
WORCESTER -- Toward the end of an epic show Tuesday night at the DCU Center, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, trusty wine bottle in hand, mused that "for some reason whenever we come to this area we play really long shows."
Indeed, at the time of this writing the Seattle rockers had just finished a scorching version of "Crazy Mary" and had lit into "Alive" and were nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes into a performance that had at least three more songs on the set list.
Perhaps a big part of the reason the band always gives its best effort here is because of the rapturous response of the soldout crowd. Tuesday they numbered 13,286 and sounded like twice as many as they sang along to more than 30 songs, old and new, from anthemic opener "Release," to fevered takes of "Spin the Black Circle" and "Do the Evolution," to the lilting "Better Man," to the jaunty "Last Kiss."
The quintet was also buoyed by the fact that its new album "Lightning Bolt" was released Tuesday and, as Vedder announced, it had already gone to number one on the iTunes charts in 54 countries. The band also happened to score tickets to Sunday's Red Sox game and Vedder joked that its miraculous end had him believing in God, "and his name is David Ortiz."
Whatever the reason, it was another in a long line of top-notch shows that was not only lengthy but infused with a kinetic energy both onstage and off, powered by the mighty groove of Matt Cameron, Mike McCready's stinging leads, and Vedder's full-throated howls.
Vedder and his cohorts bounded around the stage traversing their entire catalog from early hits like the breathless gallop of "Even Flow" to the brand new brooder "Yellow Moon," which was performed during a seated encore, before the band cranked the volume back up.
Throughout the show Vedder -- who was in great spirits and even swung from one of the light fixtures at one point -- made several toasts and gave thanks to the band's faithful community.
The band returns to Worcester Wednesday and tickets remain available.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Rating: 4/5
P earl Jam released their 10th studio album on Monday. Recorded with longtime producer Brendan O'Brien, it is a strange mix of musical styles that seems to encompass the different musical tastes of the band's members.
They have a history of being unconventional, especially in terms of what are considered standard music industry practices. In the mid-1990s their music videos won several high-profile awards, and then, much to their record company's consternation, they refused to make any music videos. They rarely do interviews and they insist on releasing their singles on vinyl. This and other similarly unorthodox behaviour led Rolling Stone journalist Brian Hlatt to remark that the band had "spent the last decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame".
Despite going against the grain, they have sold more than 60 million albums globally and have remained one of the world's biggest touring acts.
After 23 years together, Pearl Jam seem more relaxed and open to experiment when writing and recording music. Several songs particularly epitomise this adventurous attitude. Let the Records Play starts off with a Stevie Ray Vaughn-esque riff, then the band joins in, playing an electric blues boogie. They sound more like a well-rehearsed bar room blues rock band than a stadium gigging alt- rock band. The other eye-opener is the song Sleeping by Myself, which has a chord progression and melody that is more what you would associate with Burt Bacharach than Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
The first single that was released from the album, Mind your Manners, starts off with a drum and guitar riff, similar to latter Foo Fighters material, before the song goes punk rock, Vedder shouting the song title between the sporadic pauses of distorted guitars and cut-time drums. The lyrics and vocals hold the song together and also show why Vedder is both revered by some and reviled by others for his lyric writing, with lines like "Self-realised and metaphysically redeemed", where the multisyllabic word is unnaturally squeezed into a verse, and then in the same song emotive and vivid lines like, 'They're taking your innocents, and then they throw them on a burning pile, and all they say is, Mind your Manners".
Lightning Bolt is a solid album from Pearl Jam, despite several tracks of lesser quality and some strange lyrical moments. The album shows a band that is able to consistently write material that continues to be interesting, even after more than 20 years together.
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Future Days-3 1/2
Yellow Moon-3 3/4
Sleeping By Myself-2 1/2
Let The Records Play-4 1/2
Swallowed Whole-4
Pendulum-5
Infallible-5
Lightning Bolt-4 1/4
Sirens-5
My Father's Son- 3 3/4
Mind Your Manners-4 1/2
Getaway-4 1/2
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
'Lightning Bolt' shows the two faces of Pearl Jam; The band's 10th album could've been a lot better, and that's its main problem.
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett; for the News Tribune
1203 words
17 October 2013
Duluth News-Tribune
DNTR
English
Copyright 2013, NewsBank. All Rights Reserved.
Twenty years ago this Saturday, Pearl Jam released their second album, “Vs.,” a tightly coiled burst of rock music that sold more copies in its first week than any other album had in seven days, up to that point. During the same period, singer Eddie Vedder appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
This week, Pearl Jam released “Lightning Bolt,” the band's 10th album and their first since 2009's “Backspacer.” It probably won't sell in total what “Vs.” sold in its opening frame. The band will not appear on the cover of Time. (They'll be lucky if they get Guitar World this time out.)
Brace yourself for a personal admission. This writer once was a Pearl Jam fanatic. I still recall the trip up from Denfeld High School to Best Buy to get the “Vs.” cassette on my lunch break. I remember driving through Piedmont Heights, comparing the album version of “Animal” to the one the band recently had played on the MTV VMAs, which I already had watched on VHS countless times. I remember thinking “Blood” was demented and hardly was related to the band that made “Ten,” their first album. I, too, remember becoming enamored of “Blood” in the days and months that followed as I listened to the album on a daily basis. I remember figuring out the entirety of “rearviewmirror” on guitar, and how it felt like a major accomplishment. I remember learning that song with my band in high school, and how that also felt so empowering.
This is a group I've seen live 12 times. (I went to fricking Toledo, Ohio, to see them once.) I got caught shoplifting a poster of Eddie Vedder from Carlson Book. I joined their fan club so long ago that seniority dictated I got front-row-center seats for many of those shows. Eddie Vedder has handed me his guitar pick on three separate occasions. Should I just straight-up ask you to make fun of me?
Having said all this, I can admit the band's past decade or so has seen the group's power diminish greatly. This really isn't their fault; it happens. Youthful righteous anger cannot sustain itself into one's 40s and 50s. Age, creaky bones, friendships with movie stars, houses in Hawaii, kids. These things dull edges. Such is life. But it used to be that Pearl Jam was best at intensity, and when things become less about intensity and principle and more about playing corporate functions for Target and sound-tracking “Grey's Anatomy,” things get diminished.
The duality of Pearl Jam — their 1990s existence as a great rock band who turned their backs on mega-fame, only to embrace commercialism and lose their mojo in the 2000s — is starkly presented on the dopily named “Lightning Bolt.” Here we have some of the best songs the band has recorded in a decade or more on the same LP with some of the most maudlin, flaccid, overproduced radio rock they've ever done.
“Getaway” comes out of the gate sounding a little generic but also a bit slinky and energetic. Vedder's voice sounds good and crisp, a far cry from the damaged croak he used on the band's self-titled 2006 album. When the chorus hits, it's a revelation. This is the band that has been missing for so long. It recalls the propulsive insistence of “rearviewmirror” or “Insignificance” in such a way that it's almost shocking. Turns out, this band was not gone forever, replaced by the balladeers who made the insipid “Just Breathe.”
“Mind Your Manners” and “My Father's Son” are two more near-classic PJ tunes. The first is a Bad Religion-aping punk song, the fastest the band has ever played; the second is a dark number that gives Vedder a chance to wail and scream and swear about his dead dad just like old times over a heavy bass riff. Listening to these first three tunes, it's almost like years are being erased.
And then “Sirens” comes in. Idiotically slotted as the fourth track following three barnburners, it's the closest thing to a loathsome power ballad the group ever has created, and would be that very thing were it not for Vedder's thoughtful lyrics, which paint a picture of a man lying in bed while his wife sleeps, the sound of sirens wailing in the night outside his window. It's a song about the awareness of mortality and the fragility of life. The snapshot is powerful and true, but the music is “The Flame” by Cheap Trick. Producer Brendan O'Brien fails the band miserably by pushing this song into radio-schlock territory, and they fail themselves by going along with it.
Side two of the album starts off nicely with some moody atmosphere (“Pendulum”) and earth-papa acoustic rock (“Swallowed Whole”) and then crash-lands into the insipid generic bar-blues-meets-sitcom-theme “Let the Records Play,” which is like watching your formerly cool greaser uncle develop a taste for sandals with socks and jam shorts. Every song doesn't need to be “Leash” or “Do the Evolution,” guys, but writing friendly sports-bar rock like this and then producing it like Aerosmith is a sin.
“Sleeping by Myself” is a Vedder ukulele tune turned into a decent roots-pop song, and “Yellow Moon” is a passable B-side that boarded the album without a ticket. But it's “Future Days” that really seals the album's fate. The band that once played thoughtful, reserved acoustic songs like “Around the Bend” now is closing albums with lovey-dovey schmaltz like this, and it's a real shame. It's not a bad composition, but it's cut from the same cloth as “Just Breathe,” and that cloth should've been burned and buried after that abomination.
“Lightning Bolt” could've been a lot better, and that's its main problem. Some of the tracks on the first side are stronger than much of the by-numbers rock they've been churning out for the past few records, and several rescue Vedder from his recent-years transmogrification into The Dude from “The Big Lebowski.” But others reveal him as having developed even worse tendencies — pat rhymes, reliance on clichés, bald-faced sentimentalism.
Perhaps next time Pearl Jam can make something that recalls more accurately the power of “Vs.” while also allowing for the fact that they are men reaching the shore of their 50s. A handful of songs on this album show that they still have the ability to make music that contains the same emotional and lyrical resonance they had as young men, but they probably need a new sonic collaborator to help them do so. Hopefully it doesn't take another four years before they try again.
"Mind Your Manners" — Pearl Jam
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Up here so high I start to shake, Up here so high the sky I scrape, I've no fear but for falling down, So look out below I am falling now, Falling down,...not staying down, Could’ve held me up, rather tear me down, Drown in the river
Comments
http://www.informador.com.mx/entretenim ... o-cesa.htm
Thanks Veddernarian you are doing great work, now I gotta find time to read some of these!
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
Arts; Music
Angst Endures for a Pioneer of Grunge
By JON PARELES
1621 words
15 October 2013
NYTimes.com Feed
NYTFEED
English
Copyright 2013. The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
“All the demons used to come round,” Eddie Vedder sings in “Future Days,” the ballad that closes “Lightning Bolt,” Pearl Jam’s 10th studio album. “I’m grateful now they’ve left.” Well, not entirely: Pearl Jam still needs something to brood about.
“Lightning Bolt” (Monkeywrench) is Pearl Jam’s current answer to the open question of how to create honest rock as a grown-up. The music that has made Pearl Jam an arena headliner for two decades, with a huge and loyal following, is based on churning and seething, on Mr. Vedder’s mournfully forthright voice and on tensions that often explode into choruses of desperate affirmation. With songs about self-doubt, loss, abusive relationships and political fury, Pearl Jam nevertheless turned out to be the one stable band (give or take a drummer) among the major pioneers of grunge; its members have prospered and settled down.
But complacency would undermine Pearl Jam’s music. So Mr. Vedder continues to ponder and agonize: this time, often, over mortality and faith. “Go to Heaven, that’s swell/ How you like your living in Hell?,” he taunts in the punky “Mind Your Manners.” He warns humanity against arrogance and shortsightedness in “Infallible,” as the music hints at the Beatles’s “Magical Mystery Tour.” The eerie, gorgeous “Pendulum” suspends Mr. Vedder’s voice amid echoing keyboards and guitar as he sings about looming despair. But he also finds euphoria, a oneness with Nature and spirit, as major chords peal all around him in “Swallowed Whole.”
“Lightning Bolt” is not as raw or reckless as the music Pearl Jam made in the 1990s; it also trades away the rough-and-ready sound of Pearl Jam’s previous album, “Backspacer” from 2009. With the producer Brendan O’Brien, Pearl Jam now offers some of the most unrepentantly pretty arrangements in the band’s entire catalog; “Sirens,” an apologetic love song that also warns, “We live our lives with death over our shoulders,” has the sheen of “Hotel California.”
Whether he’s singing a ballad or a rocker, Mr. Vedder carefully outlines the melodies, no matter how worked up he gets (and he does). Even when the music goes hurtling forward in hard-riffing songs like “Getaway,” “My Father’s Son” and the album’s peak, “Lightning Bolt” itself, what comes across is the teamwork of musicians who have been working in tandem for decades. They’re grown-ups with fewer demons and more polish, but they’re still pushing themselves.
http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/pearljamre ... 52642.html
Stark und wach: Pearl Jams 10. Album
311 words
15 October 2013
Märkische Allgemeine
MARKAL
Mantel
German
Copyright 2013 Märkische Allgemeine – Brandenburgs beste Seiten. All rights reserved. For further information see http://www.MaerkischeAllgemeine.de
Von Lars Grote
POTSDAM Wenn Eddie Vedder vor die Menge tritt, dann tut er das im Karohemd, mit dem man Bäume fällt und sagt: Ich bin ein Arbeiter, ich bin kein Prominenter. Vedder, Sänger von Pearl Jam, spielt Konzerte an die drei Stunden, und immer liegt ein Weinen in der Stimme. Als trauere er weiter um Kurt Cobain, den Frontman von Nirvana – Bruder im Geiste, mit dem Vedder den Grunge in Seattle definierte. Grunge, dieses ungewaschene Wechselbalg aus Punk und Heavy Metal. Vedder und Cobain haben grundverschiedene Wege gewählt. Cobain hat sich erschossen und wurde zum Märtyrer. Vedder kauft Biokost und gilt nun als Sozialarbeiter. Neulich hat er in einem Interview geheult. Vedder kümmert sich nach Kräften um sein Publikum. Kriegt jeder Luft, hat jeder freie Sicht, fragt er, die Katastrophe vom 30. Juni 2000 vor Augen, als neun Pearl-Jam-Fans beim Roskilde-Festival zu Tode gequetscht wurden.
Erstaunlich, wie hart der Mann bei aller Anteilnahme musiziert. Das letzte Album von Pearl Jam, „Backspacer“ von 2009, war ein tadelloses Brett, wie man in Fankreisen sagt: zielstrebig, nicht mehr so versponnen und aufgeschlossen wie „Vitalogy“, dieses so rabiat nach neuen Klängen grabende Album aus dem Jahr 1994.
„Backspacer“ war homogen, das ist „Lightning Bolt“, die neue, zehnte Studioplatte, ganz sicher nicht. „Getaway“ eröffnet mit Druck, ein unkompliziertes Stück, das dennoch mit Synkopen arbeitet, raffiniertes Dehnen der Notenwerte. „Mind Your Manners“ pflegt den Punk, als schreibe man die frühen 80er. „Sleeping By Myself“ ist eine der gut gelaunten Harmlosigkeiten, die Pearl Jam immer schon wie ein Erweckungserlebnis inszenierten. In dieser Liga spielt auch „Future Days“, ein rührender Rausschmeißer.
Das Album ist stark, wach und motiviert. Es ist ausgewogen, manche sagen: kakuliert. Doch so lange Vedder Karohemd trägt, steht fest: Er meint es ehrlich.
info Pearl Jam: Lightning Bolt. Republic/
Universal.
http://www.ilvelino.it/it/article/pearl ... 1521cad4f/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/album ... t-20131015
Review: Pearl Jam's 'Lightning Bolt' — it's only rock 'n' roll
chris barton
By Chris Barton
From the Los Angeles Times
931 words
15 October 2013
latimes.com
LATCOM
English
Copyright 2013. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
The long-awaited album is a solid reflection of the band, but breaks little new ground."Everyone's a critic," Eddie Vedder sings to open Pearl Jam's new album, "Lightning Bolt," the group's first since 2009.
It's an interesting introduction for the band, which after more than 20 years together (a Cameron Crowe-directed documentary marked the anniversary in 2011) have reached the level of being beyond anyone's opinion outside of their large and loyal fan base.
Much like road-tested fellow travelers the Dave Matthews Band, the Foo Fighters and even Phish, Pearl Jam need only to drop an album every few years to spur a national tour, and arenas quickly fill to catch a band whose strongest statements are best delivered in front of thousands of people.
PHOTOS: Iconic rock guitars and their owners
In a promo clip that artfully flexed the band's Q Rating with cameos by Judd Apatow, Sleater-Kinney (and "Portlandia") co-creator Carrie Brownstein, along with a pro surfer and an ALS-afflicted NFL player, bassist Jeff Ament explained Pearl Jam's lag between albums — the group's longest since between 2002's "Riot Act" and the self-titled record of 2006 — as waiting "until we have something to say."
After so many years, it's a fair concern. In the best case scenario, Pearl Jam could deliver something akin to the Rolling Stones' "Tattoo You," which yielded a true classic 17 years into that band's run with "Start Me Up."
Chronologically — and somewhat shockingly — Pearl Jam has already passed that window. While 2009's "Backspacer" received some strong notice, it found the band leaning back in its comfort zone with a blend of would-be anthems ("The Fixer"), soft-focused ballads ("Just Breathe") and a strong position on how nice it is to go surfing ("Amongst the Waves"). Nothing sounded terrible, and certainly not insincere, but nothing was surprising, either — unless you count Vedder's 2011 ukulele album, a collection laid back enough to make Jack Johnson sound like Skrillex.
PHOTOS: Daughters of rock stars
But after surviving a career forged during vertigo-inducing fame, Pearl Jam seemed content with sounding like Pearl Jam; an efficient machine of solid but safely nostalgic rock.
Still, for a band that once dominated pop culture, a question prompts asking from fans of the group's peak period: Did Pearl Jam become less vital because they got old? Or because their fans did?
With that in mind, it's hard to say what the ideal Pearl Jam album could sound like 2013. Rock 'n' roll isn't often kind to adulthood, and to be fair, Pearl Jam is no more capable of sounding as fiery as they were at 27 than its fans are. Still, while nothing on "Lightning Bolt" is half as immediate as "Alive," "Corduroy" or even "Wishlist," there are flashes on "Lightning Bolt" that show Pearl Jam still capable of delivering statements.
RELATED: Best albums of 2013 so far | Randall Roberts
Built around a glossy acoustic guitar, "Sirens" sags under some treacly heavy-handed production, but finds the 48-year-old Vedder confronting the frailty of life as emergency vehicles pass his window. "The sound echoing closer, will they come for me next time?" he asks, holding a loved one closer in a flash of vulnerability that no twentysomething rock star could consider.
In maybe the album's most striking moment, the atmospheric "Pendulum" is framed by ghostly guitar and echoey percussion as Vedder ventures into another dark night of the soul: "We are here and then we go," he murmurs. "My shadow left me long ago." The song never finds a way out of despair, and it's that much stronger for it.
After a herky-jerky start that recalls drummer Matt Cameron's roots in Soundgarden, "My Father's Son" finds the band again delivering strong material in the parent–and-child relationship, except in this case perhaps involving a reluctant messiah. "Can I get a reprieve? This gene pool don't hurt me," Vedder sings amid a loping low end that hurtles to a raw-throated finish that's a reminder of one of most powerful voices in rock. "Mind Your Manners" also ventures into question of faith with a vintage punk drive that Pearl Jam typically offers once an album or so.
PHOTOS: Concerts by The Times
Other trips into familiar territory are more mixed. The album sags in its second half, with "Infallible" wearing out its welcome with a feel-good Beatlesque churn, and the Neil Young-leaning guitar stomp of "Let the Records Play" restates Pearl Jam's well-established fondness for listening to albums. A country-tinged holdover from Vedder's solo album, "Sleeping By Myself" carries an incongruously jaunty air, and although the lush "Yellow Moon" builds to graceful heights, the similarly paced "Future Days" drifts into the middle of the road with a lovelorn sweep that will sound great at a Santa Barbara wedding.
Ultimately, "Lightning Bolt" may not be "Tattoo You," but it's not "Steel Wheels" either. For better or worse, Pearl Jam sound just like who they are right now, but after more than 20 years, that's not so bad.
http://www.el-nacional.com/escenas/Pear ... 71762.html
HEALTH & FITNESS
Pearl Jam fights for relevance
Greg Kot
Greg Kot, Tribune Newspapers critic
420 words
15 October 2013
Orlando Sentinel
ORSE
FINAL
D5
English
Copyright 2013, Orlando Sentinel Communications. All Rights Reserved.
On Pearl Jam's first studio album since 2009, complacency is the enemy. Now into its third decade, the Seattle quintet could easily slip into a heritage-band midlife with a backlog of hits that could sustain them for decades on lucrative tours. But Pearl Jam still wants to make vital music, and about half the time on its 10th studio album, "Lightning Bolt" (Monkeywrench/Republic), it succeeds.
Three brisk, blood-pumping rockers pick up where the band's previous album, "Backspacer," left off. "Getaway" and "Mind Your Manners" scrap and howl. "My Father's Son" could have fit alongside the domestic psychodramas on the band's debut, "Ten."
Things falter when the band's love of '70s classic rock turns musty. On the melodramatic power ballad "Sirens," Eddie Vedder pushes his voice into its upper range and Mike McCready's guitar solo channels Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. The blues stomp "Let the Records Play" evokes a bar band staggering toward last call. And "Sleeping by Myself" is a bittersweet but lightweight tune recycled from Vedder's solo ukulele record.
Inspiration returns on the title track, which rides Matt Cameron's roller-coaster drumming and richly layered guitars and keyboards. Longtime producer Brendan O'Brien adds subtle touches that enhance "Infallible," which blends keyboards and guitars into sonic accent marks that give the song unexpected bounce. Similarly, "Pendulum" swings on a percussive, wordless vocal that turns into an unexpected hook while complementing the ghostly atmosphere. Nearly as successful is the haunted "Yellow Moon," and guitars tumble and tangle on the propulsive "Swallowed Whole."
Vedder sets the tone, even when his earnestness spills over into greeting-card mysticism: "Whispered songs inside the wind ... feel the planet humming." Mostly, he comes across as a concerned citizen fretting over the planet's ecological decline, a skeptic grappling with a loss of faith, a middle-aged father confronting mortality.
These are big subjects, and Pearl Jam's natural tendency is to turn them into larger-than-life songs that inevitably will be compared to its superior '90s work. "Pendulum" suggests a subtler, more promising way forward. A few more tunes like that, and the golden-oldies circuit won't swallow the band anytime soon.\
LIGHTNING STRIKES; Pearl Jam starts out in Pittsburgh
Scott Tady
SCOTT TADY;
720 words
10 October 2013
Beaver County Times
BEAVER
C2
English
Copyright 2013. Calkins Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by NewsBank Inc.
PITTSBURGH
Pearl Jam launches its 24-date North American tour Friday in Pittsburgh.
A sold-out Consol Energy Center crowd will be some of the first fans to get a live jolt from "Lightning Bolt," the Seattle rockers' 10th studio album that streamed this week on iTunes in advance of Tuesday's formal release.
Fear not, Pittsburgh fans, if Eddie Vedder and his Pearl Jam mates decide to load their set with lots of "Lightning Bolt" tracks.
It's a strong and accessible album netting largely favorable reviews including a B+ from Entertainment Weekly and four-stars from the New York Daily News.
"Everyone's a critic looking back up the river," is Vedder's opening salvo from lead-off track, "Getaway," delivered more with a "what-ev" defiance than sorrowed resignation.
Most of the album's dozen songs are quicktempo, including the first single, "Mind Your Manners," which lead guitarist Mike McCready said in a web video is "my attempt to try to make a really hard edge-type Dead Kennedys-sounding song," aided by bassist Jeff Ament adding a few punk flourishes.
Punk urgency meshes with arena-rock hooks throughout the album. "Swallowed Hole" has a blistering guitar solo, while the bridges to "Let the Records Play" stomp along a bit like a Black Keys number.
Moody guitars from McCready and Stone Gossard are leveled by jaunty drum slaps from Matt Cameron on the slow-ish "Infallible."
Vedder, 48, sings spiritedly, prudently picking moments to let his dramatically quivery voice sound either fired up or sensitive.
He broaches faith, or lack thereof, with "Sometimes you have to find yourself putting all your faith in no faith," on "Getaway"; and "I caught myself believing that I needed God" on "Mind Your Manners."
Mortality is on his mind on songs like "Sirens," a ballad where Vedder ruminates on the fragility of life and his gratefulness for at least a temporary feeling of safety in the presence of a love one. "Sirens" and "Yellow Moon" both offer a few tasteful guitar moments suggesting the Pink Floyd vibe that McCready also alluded to earlier when discussing the band's first new album since "Backstarter" in 2009.
This sixth Pearl Jam album to be produced by Brendan O'Brien also reprises the gentlestarting, straight-forward "Sleeping By Myself" from Vedder's 2011 solo album.
The "Lightning Bolt" lyrical themes are serious, but the album isn't a downer; not with the ground-level grunge-rockers sounding so zestful and inspired.
At their lone U.S. summer show at Chicago's Wrigley Field, the band debuted the "Lightning Bolt" title track and "Mind Your Manners." Pittsburgh fans could be the first to hear other new songs live. Pearl Jam hasn't played Pittsburgh since June 2006. Fans at that Mellon Arena show will remember the encore, where people in the luxury boxes began flicking their lights on and off in rhythm, prompting Vedder to wisecrack "You have some drunk talented rich people in Pittsburgh."
Moments later, he began a seemingly harmless speech about Pearl Jam traveling all over the world, before commenting "Pittsburgh isn't exactly our favorite place." Fans didn't wait to see if that was a flub of the tongue, a punchline setup, or the start of a poorly constructed sentence, as they immediately showered Vedder with boos and a "Here we go, Steelers" chant. Then someone threw a joint on stage. Vedder caught it and joked "Maybe I should insult you more often," which sparked much laughter. More laughter followed, when he asked for a lighter, and then Bics and Zippos rained down on the stage.
Once calm ensued, Vedder assured fans what he was trying to say is that band has always enjoyed the times it has played Pittsburgh, referencing Pearl Jam's prior visit nearly nine months earlier at PNC Park when they opened for the Rolling Stones.
Pearl Jam won't have an opening act Friday at Consol Energy Center. The show is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start, meaning the band might play for three hours - plenty of time to feature radio hits like "Alive," "Black," Even Flow," "Jeremy," "Better Man," "Daughter" and "Corduroy."
The Arts/Cultural Desk; SECTC
Angst Endures For a Pioneer Of Grunge
Ben Ratliff
By JON PARELES, NATE CHINEN and BEN RATLIFF
1623 words
15 October 2013
The New York Times
NYTF
Late Edition - Final
1
English
Copyright 2013 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
''All the demons used to come round,'' Eddie Vedder sings in ''Future Days,'' the ballad that closes ''Lightning Bolt,'' Pearl Jam's 10th studio album. ''I'm grateful now they've left.'' Well, not entirely: Pearl Jam still needs something to brood about.
''Lightning Bolt'' (Monkeywrench) is Pearl Jam's current answer to the open question of how to create honest rock as a grown-up. The music that has made Pearl Jam an arena headliner for two decades, with a huge and loyal following, is based on churning and seething, on Mr. Vedder's mournfully forthright voice and on tensions that often explode into choruses of desperate affirmation. With songs about self-doubt, loss, abusive relationships and political fury, Pearl Jam nevertheless turned out to be the one stable band (give or take a drummer) among the major pioneers of grunge; its members have prospered and settled down.
But complacency would undermine Pearl Jam's music. So Mr. Vedder continues to ponder and agonize: this time, often, over mortality and faith. ''Go to Heaven, that's swell/ How you like your living in Hell?,'' he taunts in the punky ''Mind Your Manners.'' He warns humanity against arrogance and shortsightedness in ''Infallible,'' as the music hints at the Beatles's ''Magical Mystery Tour.'' The eerie, gorgeous ''Pendulum'' suspends Mr. Vedder's voice amid echoing keyboards and guitar as he sings about looming despair. But he also finds euphoria, a oneness with Nature and spirit, as major chords peal all around him in ''Swallowed Whole.''
''Lightning Bolt'' is not as raw or reckless as the music Pearl Jam made in the 1990s; it also trades away the rough-and-ready sound of Pearl Jam's previous album, ''Backspacer'' from 2009. With the producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam now offers some of the most unrepentantly pretty arrangements in the band's entire catalog; ''Sirens,'' an apologetic love song that also warns, ''We live our lives with death over our shoulders,'' has the sheen of ''Hotel California.''
Whether he's singing a ballad or a rocker, Mr. Vedder carefully outlines the melodies, no matter how worked up he gets (and he does). Even when the music goes hurtling forward in hard-riffing songs like ''Getaway,'' ''My Father's Son'' and the album's peak, ''Lightning Bolt'' itself, what comes across is the teamwork of musicians who have been working in tandem for decades. They're grown-ups with fewer demons and more polish, but they're still pushing themselves.
http://www.hitfix.com/news/pearl-jams-1 ... -to-sirens
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Staff
1006 words
16 October 2013
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MLWK
Early
07
Pearl Jam Lightning Bolt Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records The landscape of early '90s grungerock bands that have survived the fickle tides of pop music is remarkably sparse. That is, save for Pearl Jam, which enters its third decade with a new album built on its foundation of gritty rock 'n' roll by a mature group of musicians confident but not complacent in their legacy.
"Lightning Bolt," the band's 10th studio release, ignites in the grinding riffs and Eddie Vedder's brooding wail on "Getaway," "Mind Your Manners" and "My Father's Son." "Sirens" is a big sweeping ballad with layers of sliding electric guitar, piano and jangly acoustic undertones; altogether classic Pearl Jam and altogether good.
Yet when they start to stretch, building from that foundation to explore new sounds, "Lightning Bolt" moves from the band's classic sound to its energetic and experimental spirit. "Pendulum" starts pensively, with Vedder pondering his life and mortality over a lilting gypsy swing. "Let the Records Play" is a crunchy blues shuffle, while the closing "Future Days" finds Vedder looking forward joyfully on a tender, uplifting melody.
Pearl Jam rocks well into the night in Worcester
Sarah Rodman
Sarah Rodman
By Sarah Rodman Globe Staff
399 words
16 October 2013
The Boston Globe
BSTNGB
B.16
English
© 2013 New York Times Company. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Music Review
PEARL JAM
At: DCU Center, Worcester, Tuesday; repeats Wednesday
WORCESTER -- Toward the end of an epic show Tuesday night at the DCU Center, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, trusty wine bottle in hand, mused that "for some reason whenever we come to this area we play really long shows."
Indeed, at the time of this writing the Seattle rockers had just finished a scorching version of "Crazy Mary" and had lit into "Alive" and were nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes into a performance that had at least three more songs on the set list.
Perhaps a big part of the reason the band always gives its best effort here is because of the rapturous response of the soldout crowd. Tuesday they numbered 13,286 and sounded like twice as many as they sang along to more than 30 songs, old and new, from anthemic opener "Release," to fevered takes of "Spin the Black Circle" and "Do the Evolution," to the lilting "Better Man," to the jaunty "Last Kiss."
The quintet was also buoyed by the fact that its new album "Lightning Bolt" was released Tuesday and, as Vedder announced, it had already gone to number one on the iTunes charts in 54 countries. The band also happened to score tickets to Sunday's Red Sox game and Vedder joked that its miraculous end had him believing in God, "and his name is David Ortiz."
Whatever the reason, it was another in a long line of top-notch shows that was not only lengthy but infused with a kinetic energy both onstage and off, powered by the mighty groove of Matt Cameron, Mike McCready's stinging leads, and Vedder's full-throated howls.
Vedder and his cohorts bounded around the stage traversing their entire catalog from early hits like the breathless gallop of "Even Flow" to the brand new brooder "Yellow Moon," which was performed during a seated encore, before the band cranked the volume back up.
Throughout the show Vedder -- who was in great spirits and even swung from one of the light fixtures at one point -- made several toasts and gave thanks to the band's faithful community.
The band returns to Worcester Wednesday and tickets remain available.
432 words
16 October 2013
Manawatu Standard
TEVEST
12
English
© 2013 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved.
ALBUM REVIEW Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Rating: 4/5
P earl Jam released their 10th studio album on Monday. Recorded with longtime producer Brendan O'Brien, it is a strange mix of musical styles that seems to encompass the different musical tastes of the band's members.
They have a history of being unconventional, especially in terms of what are considered standard music industry practices. In the mid-1990s their music videos won several high-profile awards, and then, much to their record company's consternation, they refused to make any music videos. They rarely do interviews and they insist on releasing their singles on vinyl. This and other similarly unorthodox behaviour led Rolling Stone journalist Brian Hlatt to remark that the band had "spent the last decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame".
Despite going against the grain, they have sold more than 60 million albums globally and have remained one of the world's biggest touring acts.
After 23 years together, Pearl Jam seem more relaxed and open to experiment when writing and recording music. Several songs particularly epitomise this adventurous attitude. Let the Records Play starts off with a Stevie Ray Vaughn-esque riff, then the band joins in, playing an electric blues boogie. They sound more like a well-rehearsed bar room blues rock band than a stadium gigging alt- rock band. The other eye-opener is the song Sleeping by Myself, which has a chord progression and melody that is more what you would associate with Burt Bacharach than Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
The first single that was released from the album, Mind your Manners, starts off with a drum and guitar riff, similar to latter Foo Fighters material, before the song goes punk rock, Vedder shouting the song title between the sporadic pauses of distorted guitars and cut-time drums. The lyrics and vocals hold the song together and also show why Vedder is both revered by some and reviled by others for his lyric writing, with lines like "Self-realised and metaphysically redeemed", where the multisyllabic word is unnaturally squeezed into a verse, and then in the same song emotive and vivid lines like, 'They're taking your innocents, and then they throw them on a burning pile, and all they say is, Mind your Manners".
Lightning Bolt is a solid album from Pearl Jam, despite several tracks of lesser quality and some strange lyrical moments. The album shows a band that is able to consistently write material that continues to be interesting, even after more than 20 years together.
Yellow Moon-3 3/4
Sleeping By Myself-2 1/2
Let The Records Play-4 1/2
Swallowed Whole-4
Pendulum-5
Infallible-5
Lightning Bolt-4 1/4
Sirens-5
My Father's Son- 3 3/4
Mind Your Manners-4 1/2
Getaway-4 1/2
• 2003-07-05• 2004-10-01
• 2005-10-03• 2006-05-27
• 2008-06-19• 2009-10-27 2009-10-28 •2009-10-30
• 2009-10-31
*Tres Mts 2011-03-23
*Eddie Vedder 2011-06-25
- 2013-10-21
- 2013=10-22
-2016 -04-28
-2016 -04-29
"Doo do do do doo do doo, Doo do do do doo do doo..."
'Lightning Bolt' shows the two faces of Pearl Jam; The band's 10th album could've been a lot better, and that's its main problem.
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett; for the News Tribune
1203 words
17 October 2013
Duluth News-Tribune
DNTR
English
Copyright 2013, NewsBank. All Rights Reserved.
Twenty years ago this Saturday, Pearl Jam released their second album, “Vs.,” a tightly coiled burst of rock music that sold more copies in its first week than any other album had in seven days, up to that point. During the same period, singer Eddie Vedder appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
This week, Pearl Jam released “Lightning Bolt,” the band's 10th album and their first since 2009's “Backspacer.” It probably won't sell in total what “Vs.” sold in its opening frame. The band will not appear on the cover of Time. (They'll be lucky if they get Guitar World this time out.)
Brace yourself for a personal admission. This writer once was a Pearl Jam fanatic. I still recall the trip up from Denfeld High School to Best Buy to get the “Vs.” cassette on my lunch break. I remember driving through Piedmont Heights, comparing the album version of “Animal” to the one the band recently had played on the MTV VMAs, which I already had watched on VHS countless times. I remember thinking “Blood” was demented and hardly was related to the band that made “Ten,” their first album. I, too, remember becoming enamored of “Blood” in the days and months that followed as I listened to the album on a daily basis. I remember figuring out the entirety of “rearviewmirror” on guitar, and how it felt like a major accomplishment. I remember learning that song with my band in high school, and how that also felt so empowering.
This is a group I've seen live 12 times. (I went to fricking Toledo, Ohio, to see them once.) I got caught shoplifting a poster of Eddie Vedder from Carlson Book. I joined their fan club so long ago that seniority dictated I got front-row-center seats for many of those shows. Eddie Vedder has handed me his guitar pick on three separate occasions. Should I just straight-up ask you to make fun of me?
Having said all this, I can admit the band's past decade or so has seen the group's power diminish greatly. This really isn't their fault; it happens. Youthful righteous anger cannot sustain itself into one's 40s and 50s. Age, creaky bones, friendships with movie stars, houses in Hawaii, kids. These things dull edges. Such is life. But it used to be that Pearl Jam was best at intensity, and when things become less about intensity and principle and more about playing corporate functions for Target and sound-tracking “Grey's Anatomy,” things get diminished.
The duality of Pearl Jam — their 1990s existence as a great rock band who turned their backs on mega-fame, only to embrace commercialism and lose their mojo in the 2000s — is starkly presented on the dopily named “Lightning Bolt.” Here we have some of the best songs the band has recorded in a decade or more on the same LP with some of the most maudlin, flaccid, overproduced radio rock they've ever done.
“Getaway” comes out of the gate sounding a little generic but also a bit slinky and energetic. Vedder's voice sounds good and crisp, a far cry from the damaged croak he used on the band's self-titled 2006 album. When the chorus hits, it's a revelation. This is the band that has been missing for so long. It recalls the propulsive insistence of “rearviewmirror” or “Insignificance” in such a way that it's almost shocking. Turns out, this band was not gone forever, replaced by the balladeers who made the insipid “Just Breathe.”
“Mind Your Manners” and “My Father's Son” are two more near-classic PJ tunes. The first is a Bad Religion-aping punk song, the fastest the band has ever played; the second is a dark number that gives Vedder a chance to wail and scream and swear about his dead dad just like old times over a heavy bass riff. Listening to these first three tunes, it's almost like years are being erased.
And then “Sirens” comes in. Idiotically slotted as the fourth track following three barnburners, it's the closest thing to a loathsome power ballad the group ever has created, and would be that very thing were it not for Vedder's thoughtful lyrics, which paint a picture of a man lying in bed while his wife sleeps, the sound of sirens wailing in the night outside his window. It's a song about the awareness of mortality and the fragility of life. The snapshot is powerful and true, but the music is “The Flame” by Cheap Trick. Producer Brendan O'Brien fails the band miserably by pushing this song into radio-schlock territory, and they fail themselves by going along with it.
Side two of the album starts off nicely with some moody atmosphere (“Pendulum”) and earth-papa acoustic rock (“Swallowed Whole”) and then crash-lands into the insipid generic bar-blues-meets-sitcom-theme “Let the Records Play,” which is like watching your formerly cool greaser uncle develop a taste for sandals with socks and jam shorts. Every song doesn't need to be “Leash” or “Do the Evolution,” guys, but writing friendly sports-bar rock like this and then producing it like Aerosmith is a sin.
“Sleeping by Myself” is a Vedder ukulele tune turned into a decent roots-pop song, and “Yellow Moon” is a passable B-side that boarded the album without a ticket. But it's “Future Days” that really seals the album's fate. The band that once played thoughtful, reserved acoustic songs like “Around the Bend” now is closing albums with lovey-dovey schmaltz like this, and it's a real shame. It's not a bad composition, but it's cut from the same cloth as “Just Breathe,” and that cloth should've been burned and buried after that abomination.
“Lightning Bolt” could've been a lot better, and that's its main problem. Some of the tracks on the first side are stronger than much of the by-numbers rock they've been churning out for the past few records, and several rescue Vedder from his recent-years transmogrification into The Dude from “The Big Lebowski.” But others reveal him as having developed even worse tendencies — pat rhymes, reliance on clichés, bald-faced sentimentalism.
Perhaps next time Pearl Jam can make something that recalls more accurately the power of “Vs.” while also allowing for the fact that they are men reaching the shore of their 50s. A handful of songs on this album show that they still have the ability to make music that contains the same emotional and lyrical resonance they had as young men, but they probably need a new sonic collaborator to help them do so. Hopefully it doesn't take another four years before they try again.
"Mind Your Manners" — Pearl Jam