I think it's by far the best album they have released since Yield. Lightning Bolt slipped into my top 3. Yield, Vitalogy, LB, No Code, then you can lump the rest after those 4.
I absolutely love Getaway, LB, Yellow Moon, and LTRP. I skip sirens, not because I don't like it, but because it's to long. And I skip sleeping by myself, because I don't like it.
Getaway Mind Your Manners My Fathers Son Sirens Lightning Bolt Infallible Pendulum Let it Ride Swallowed Whole Let The Records Play Cold Confession Yellow Moon
The Brendan O'Brien piano outro to end the album still pisses me off.
Me too.
God yes. I actually can't stand it.
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Not a masterpiece but it definitely made me feel like they are more focused, more dedicated, and quite simply, back. They provided a fully realized strong album. Easily better than anything since Riot Act.
It's only a part of a masterpiece career in music. I think it's so cool to just accept them and their artistry with little expectation, it flows thru me so much better. I feel so privileged that I have that with pearl jam. You know like a great friend, good times n bad, ups n downs, funky rock punk whatever they want to develop and produce and put out there that is representative of their artistry.
I love it all.
Amy The Great #74594
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Getaway Mind Your Manners My Fathers Son Sirens Lightning Bolt Infallible Pendulum Let it Ride Swallowed Whole Let The Records Play Cold Confession Yellow Moon
Pure Bliss!
That would've been a far stronger release! I'll have to see how that flows....
Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018
I can't believe some of these comments. It's a totally solid album. Best thing they've put out, IMO, since Binaural; maybe Yield.
I just don't get how some people can be disappointed with what they hear. I mean this album has Yellow Moon, Pendulum, Sirens, Infallible, My Father's Son, Getaway, Swallowed Whole, Mind Your Manners.....what's not to like?!
I know people have different tastes in music, but his is PJ we're talking about and it doesn't get much better than this. But hey, I've never been much of a Riot Act guy, and that makes someone out there lose their shit at me, so....lol. Ah well, it's all relative.
I'm going to go play LB, LOUD, while I get ready for work
Another habit says it's in love with you
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
I am on board with this assessment. I think it could have been a masterpiece but falls just short. Still, it's the best "complete" album since Riot Act, IMO.
Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
What sets Pearl Jam apart from the rest of the bands that have several albums under their belt is they never made a subpar album. Being a diehard fan, however, means the hundreds of times I've listened to each of their 10 records (plus Lost Dogs) allows me to be more nitpicky than I probably have any right. As an example, I'm really not into the vocal melody to the chorus of 'Let the Records Play'.
Okay, with that out of the way, I can probably say 'Lightning Bolt' is beyond amazing. I just can't get enough of it. I believe it's resembles Vs., not in mood or style, but rather performance-wise. The mid to uptempo songs have a lift to them that a lot of their previous work doesn't gain until after they've been road-tested on tour. Musically, it uses Backspacer as a starting point but stretches those components much further to great effect. To paraphrase Eddie, everyone is playing out of their mind on Lightning Bolt! It has that drive to it and as O' Brien describes it, Ed sings the shit out of this record! Speaking of, kudos to Brendan for helping make the songs reach full potential. PJ's great version of 'Sleeping by Myself' would never have been realized without his involvement.
The drawn-out process of making LB (although they probably only spent a grand total of a couple months recording it) almost allowed the band to choose the best from two albums worth of songs. Reason being, they twice underwent the usual cycle of individually bringing in a batch of song ideas, arranging them together, demoing, and recording. My point, best 15 bucks I ever spent!
If Let The Records Play didn't have such a great riff during the verse, I'm not sure I'd listen to it. The chorus doesn't seem to keep the drive going.
I love most of this album, but could absolutly do without Sleeping by Myself. It's like they had a bad nightmare about being stars in Nashville or something. The musicianship is good, but I probably can't get into it because I love the uke version so much. It's apples to oranges in a way, but if the band could've done for Sleeping by Myself what they do for Setting Forth live, they might've had a winner.
Overall, album is definitely in my top 4.
It's amazing what you hear when you take time to listen.
I can't believe some of these comments. It's a totally solid album. Best thing they've put out, IMO, since Binaural; maybe Yield.
I just don't get how some people can be disappointed with what they hear. I mean this album has Yellow Moon, Pendulum, Sirens, Infallible, My Father's Son, Getaway, Swallowed Whole, Mind Your Manners.....what's not to like?!
I know people have different tastes in music, but his is PJ we're talking about and it doesn't get much better than this. But hey, I've never been much of a Riot Act guy, and that makes someone out there lose their shit at me, so....lol. Ah well, it's all relative.
I'm going to go play LB, LOUD, while I get ready for work
Take it as a compliment, PJ set the bar high for themselves. I will never criticize a PJ album, I am happy for anything they put out!
Yep, I'm that guy, LB is my least favorite PJ album. I prefer Backspacer over it.
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I never got into Mind Your Manners or My Fathers Son. I like Sirens and Future Days more now than I did when the album came out. Yellow Moon and Pendulum are still my favorites. I really like Infallible and Getaway. Lighting Bolt is killer live. Swallowed Whole, LTRP, and SBM are all kinda meh. I could take them or leave them.
Question: why did they put this masterpiece on a crappy vinyl? give us the best...it is just basic
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After listening to most of the Pearl Jam cds on a 3 hour trip home today....I played the "Ten" cd...my roommate who was with me told me she wanted to listen to the "Lightning Bolt" album and that she loves the "Lightning Bolt" album and thinks that it should be up there next to the "Ten" album.....then, my brother who was driving asked if we would put the cd back in so he could keep listening to Pearl Jam which really WOW'd me!!
Post edited by electronblue on
******************************** "Forgive every being, the bad feelings it's just me"
Getaway Mind Your Manners My Fathers Son Sirens Lightning Bolt Infallible Pendulum Let it Ride Swallowed Whole Let The Records Play Cold Confession Yellow Moon
Pure Bliss!
Weren't those 2 supposed to be on the self-titled album?
Getaway Mind Your Manners My Fathers Son Sirens Lightning Bolt Infallible Pendulum Let it Ride Swallowed Whole Let The Records Play Cold Confession Yellow Moon
Pure Bliss!
Weren't those 2 supposed to be on the self-titled album?
Yes, that track listing makes no sense. Still better than the album listing tho.
And so you see, I have come to doubt All that I once held as true I stand alone without beliefs The only truth I know is you.
Getaway Mind Your Manners My Fathers Son Sirens Lightning Bolt Infallible Pendulum Let it Ride Swallowed Whole Let The Records Play Cold Confession Yellow Moon
Pure Bliss!
Weren't those 2 supposed to be on the self-titled album?
Yes, that track listing makes no sense. Still better than the album listing tho.
It makes sense because the two songs are better than the others.
As much as I wanted to love it... it's bottom 3 for me. Yield, Binaural, NC are tier one, and while some other albums have a claim to be included in that group, LB is not one of them...
Further back and forth a wave will break on me, today...
Getaway, Sirens and Lightning Bolt are in regular rotation in my car playlist. Sirens is just amazingly sing-along-able. I think Mind Your Manners is a beast live too. The crowds in Amsterdam and MK absolutely got into it.
Weak spots, in my opinion of course, are infallible and yellow moon. I'd love to love them but I'd be lying to myself.
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[London, 02 Arena 18.8.2009]
[London, Hyde Park 25.6.2010]
[Manchester, MEN 21.6.2012]
[Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome 16.6.2014]
[Milton Keynes, MK Bowl 11.7.2014]
Better than Backspacer without doubt. Everything previous I love.
Sirens, Sleeping By Myself and Future Days are the weak spots for me. Sirens I can cope with but SBM and FD are pure and simply terrible and cast a shadow on the album. Yellow Moon should have closed the album.
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Comments
I absolutely love Getaway, LB, Yellow Moon, and LTRP. I skip sirens, not because I don't like it, but because it's to long. And I skip sleeping by myself, because I don't like it.
Getaway
Mind Your Manners
My Fathers Son
Sirens
Lightning Bolt
Infallible
Pendulum
Let it Ride
Swallowed Whole
Let The Records Play
Cold Confession
Yellow Moon
Pure Bliss!
6/19/95 Red Rocks
9/11/98 MSG
11/19/12 EV solo Tulsa
7/19/13 Wrigley 10/19/13 Brooklyn 2 10/21/13 Philly 1 10/22/13 Philly 2 10/25/13 Hartford
10/08/14 Tulsa 10/09/14 Lincoln
9/26/15 New York City
4/16/16 Greenville 4/28/16 Philly 1 4/29/16 Philly 2 5/1/16 MSG 1 5/2/16 MSG 2 8/7/16 Fenway 2 8/20/16 Wrigley 1
4/7/17 RRHOF New York City
9/02/18 Fenway 1 9/04/2018 Fenway 2
9/18/21 Asbury Park
9/11/22 New York City
9/14/22 Camden
Better than BS...yes
I love it all.
New Orleans LA 7/4/95 reschedule 9/17/95
Chicago IL 1998, 10/9/00, 06/18/03, 05/16/06, 05/17/06
08/23/09, 08/24/09, Lolla 08/05/07
Champaign IL 4/23/03
Grand Rapids MI VFC 10/03/04
Grand Rapids MI 19May06
Noblesville IN 05/07/10 Cleveland OH 05/09/10
PJ 20 2011
Baltimore MD, Charlottesville VA, Seattle WA 2013
St. Louis MO, Milwaukee WI 2014
Tampa FL, Chicago IL, Lexington KY 2016
Missoula MT 2018
Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018
*BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
I just don't get how some people can be disappointed with what they hear. I mean this album has Yellow Moon, Pendulum, Sirens, Infallible, My Father's Son, Getaway, Swallowed Whole, Mind Your Manners.....what's not to like?!
I know people have different tastes in music, but his is PJ we're talking about and it doesn't get much better than this. But hey, I've never been much of a Riot Act guy, and that makes someone out there lose their shit at me, so....lol. Ah well, it's all relative.
I'm going to go play LB, LOUD, while I get ready for work
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
I am on board with this assessment. I think it could have been a masterpiece but falls just short. Still, it's the best "complete" album since Riot Act, IMO.
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
Okay, with that out of the way, I can probably say 'Lightning Bolt' is beyond amazing. I just can't get enough of it. I believe it's resembles Vs., not in mood or style, but rather performance-wise. The mid to uptempo songs have a lift to them that a lot of their previous work doesn't gain until after they've been road-tested on tour. Musically, it uses Backspacer as a starting point but stretches those components much further to great effect. To paraphrase Eddie, everyone is playing out of their mind on Lightning Bolt! It has that drive to it and as O' Brien describes it, Ed sings the shit out of this record! Speaking of, kudos to Brendan for helping make the songs reach full potential. PJ's great version of 'Sleeping by Myself' would never have been realized without his involvement.
The drawn-out process of making LB (although they probably only spent a grand total of a couple months recording it) almost allowed the band to choose the best from two albums worth of songs. Reason being, they twice underwent the usual cycle of individually bringing in a batch of song ideas, arranging them together, demoing, and recording. My point, best 15 bucks I ever spent!
I love most of this album, but could absolutly do without Sleeping by Myself. It's like they had a bad nightmare about being stars in Nashville or something. The musicianship is good, but I probably can't get into it because I love the uke version so much. It's apples to oranges in a way, but if the band could've done for Sleeping by Myself what they do for Setting Forth live, they might've had a winner.
Overall, album is definitely in my top 4.
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
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Berlin '02' 040712
98 - ATL; WPB I & II
00 - WPB I & II
03 - Boston I; Detroit I & II
04 - Boston VFC I & II
05 - Borgata II
08 - WPB; NY MSG I & II
10 - CLE
12 - Music Midtown; EV Jax II; EV Orlando I&II
13 - BWI; CVille; CLT
14 - Memphis
16 - Jax; Gville; Cola; Fenway II
"Forgive every being,
the bad feelings
it's just me"
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
Weak spots, in my opinion of course, are infallible and yellow moon. I'd love to love them but I'd be lying to myself.
[London, 02 Arena 18.8.2009]
[London, Hyde Park 25.6.2010]
[Manchester, MEN 21.6.2012]
[Amsterdam, Ziggo Dome 16.6.2014]
[Milton Keynes, MK Bowl 11.7.2014]
Sirens, Sleeping By Myself and Future Days are the weak spots for me. Sirens I can cope with but SBM and FD are pure and simply terrible and cast a shadow on the album. Yellow Moon should have closed the album.
2006: Dublin; Leeds; Arnhem
2007: London
2009: Manchester
2012: Manchester I & II : EV Manchester : Soundgarden Shepherds Bush
2013: Brad Manchester : Soundgarden Manchester
2014: Amsterdam I & II; Berlin; Leeds; Milton Keynes
2018: Berlin; London II; Boston II
Bootleg Reviews: http://pjbootlegreviews.blogspot.com/