Fanviews / reviews

The Juggler · March 2020

EarlWelsh said:

JW269453 said:

Does the chorus in 7 O'clock sound like the chorus in Ordinary World by Duran Duran to anyone else? I had a hard time concentrating on first listen because it has a very similar progression.

Yes. Definitely an Ordinary World meets Comfortably Numb vibe in the chorus.

Yep

edocon · March 2020

Comes Then Goes: I was waiting for the band to come in and join Ed similar to Just Breathe. So it being more of an Into the Wild solo song is kinda disappointing for me. Also I think the song would've benefited from softer guitar strumming and less abrupt chord changes. But I get that is Ed's signature playing style on acoustic.

The Juggler · March 2020

Okay if we have to have three tiers:

1 DOTC, Quick Escape, Who Ever Said, Seven O'Clock, Never Destination
2 Buckle Up, Retrograde, Alright, SBWM, River Cross
3 Comes Then Goes, Take the Long Way,

spaceman1374 · March 2020

Hey PJ fans share the light. This won’t hold us down

Abe Froman · March 2020

Initial reaction after just one listen...

1. Quick Escape, River Cross, SBWM, DotC, Never Destination, Alright

2. Comes Then Goes, Retrograde, Take The Long Way, Buckle Up

3. Who Ever Said, Seven o clock

Not one song I dislike so far. It’ll be interesting to see how this changes for everyone after more listens.

Gern Blansten · March 2020

pawlowski1097 said:

Edved82 said:

Into the second listen and there's an energy to the songs that didn't exist on Lightning Bolt. Josh Evans has done a fantastic job.
Really impressed with the album. Only track that I'm not really digging so far is "Never Destination".

Never destinations ending is kick ass, so is the rest of the song

Reminds me of Swallowed Whole.

ChrisChuck · March 2020

They hit one out the park with this one. What a great album! It was worth the wait.

PJALK · March 2020

CM189191 said:

Matt's drumming is top notch

His best work since joining Pearl Jam

mfcbmw · March 2020

Complaining about Ed singing too many lyrics has to be, by far, the funniest, most backwards complaint for not liking a song(s). Is it too hard to understand too much meaning? Or that it'll take time to digest? I'm assuming if you dislike Ed singing too many words, you must also dislike Sleight of Hand, Garden, Black, marker in the sand, army reserve, comeback. Too many lyrics for those songs it huuuurts my bwain.

The Juggler · March 2020

mfcbmw said:

Complaining about Ed singing too many lyrics has to be, by far, the funniest, most backwards complaint for not liking a song(s). Is it too hard to understand too much meaning? Or that it'll take time to digest? I'm assuming if you dislike Ed singing too many words, you must also dislike Sleight of Hand, Garden, Black, marker in the sand, army reserve, comeback. Too many lyrics for those songs it huuuurts my bwain.

This guy's got all the answers.

iOnlyownMymind · March 2020

mfcbmw said:

Complaining about Ed singing too many lyrics has to be, by far, the funniest, most backwards complaint for not liking a song(s). Is it too hard to understand too much meaning? Or that it'll take time to digest? I'm assuming if you dislike Ed singing too many words, you must also dislike Sleight of Hand, Garden, Black, marker in the sand, army reserve, comeback. Too many lyrics for those songs it huuuurts my bwain.

Really? The lyrics actually flow in those songs. Of late, a lot of Ed's lyrics are pretty jumbled and inaudible.

JimmyV · March 2020

JimmyV said:

This has already changed a few times and will no doubt continue to, but as of right now...
Tier 1:
Seven O'clock, Buckle Up, Comes Then Goes, Who Ever Said, Superblood Wolfmoon, Dance Of The Clairvoyants
Tier 2:
Never Destination, Retrograde, Quick Escape
Tier 3:
Alright, River Cross, Take The Long Way

BREAKING: Retrograde, Quick Escape and Alright have all moved up one tier.

Tier 1:

Seven O'clock, Buckle Up, Comes Then Goes, Who Ever Said, Superblood Wolfmoon, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Retrograde, Quick Escape

Tier 2:

Never Destination, Alright

Tier 3:

River Cross, Take The Long Way

blackhawks · March 2020

mfcbmw said:

Complaining about Ed singing too many lyrics has to be, by far, the funniest, most backwards complaint for not liking a song(s). Is it too hard to understand too much meaning? Or that it'll take time to digest? I'm assuming if you dislike Ed singing too many words, you must also dislike Sleight of Hand, Garden, Black, marker in the sand, army reserve, comeback. Too many lyrics for those songs it huuuurts my bwain.

I also think some songs are too wordy. Meaning is better left implied rather than being a Wester's dictionary in describing what/how. And they don't follow the music as much as the songs you mentioned. Like he is reciting something separate form the music. Less is more lyrically.

OlajuwonsFeet · March 2020

Review of the the first of the first 6 songs from my 9 year old:

1. Who Ever Said - "I like that one"
2. Dance of the Clairvoyants - "I had to hear it a bunch of times and now I really like it"
3. Superblood Wolfmoon - "Only needed to hear it a few times to like"
4. Quick Escape - "I liked this one right away"
5. Alright - "Not a good one"
6. Seven O'Clock - "Started singing Betterman when looking at the title 'It's 7:00, it's got to stop'"

- "Sounds like Daughter"

Then he finished with his ratings: "6/10 for Alright, 7/10 for Seven O'Clock and the rest 10s"

Dr.Teeth and the Electric Mayh · March 2020

Dr.Teeth and the Electric Mayh said:

Tier 1 - Who Ever Said, Dance, Quick Escape, Never Destination, Comes Then Goes, Buckle Up
Tier 2 - SBWM, Alright, Take The Long Way, Retrograde
Tier 3 - 7 O’Clock, River Cross

Moving Take the Long Way Up. That cymbal work

jwc6160 · March 2020

Mostly through one listen and I am in the “just OK” camp so far. There are def some tracks that I know will grow on me. I was hoping for something harder and when I saw DotC and Superblood towards the top, I figured I would be a bit disappointed. I like both of those songs but I had hoped they would be towards the back. Still going to play the shit out of it and I’m sure more will grow on me.

PJWGIII · March 2020

AIGHT SO HERE WE GO....

*PJWGIII FANVIEWS AFTER THREE FULL LISTENS (GOING ON FOUR AS WE SPEAK)*

(These are instant reactions, not my edited Journalism — though I may write a full review on our student newspaper The Forest Scout soon — so expect some over-excitement and VERY stream-of-consciousness bullet points)

- Here’s what is most likely my violently hot take: This album opener/closer pairing (Who Ever Said/River Cross) is up there as one of the band’s best EVER (Yes - this is the same band that went Once/Release on Ten or Go/Indifference on Vs.)

- Now that it’s all in front of us, I feel pretty safe backing the band on their single selections: DoTC was the classic outlier first choice (a la Nothing as it Seems/Who You Are as opposed to Grievance/Hail, Hail) but it was a fantastic signal to the diehard fans that they were staying weird and actively trying to do something with quality that makes it worth the longest wait they’ve ever made us sit through in their career. I just don’t know if I get as excited about this record if Superblood Wolfmoon is the first single! It was a great second choice though, as it finally gave us our first new ripping Mike McCready guitar solo in forever. This all leads to my next point...

-QUICK ESCAPE was the best single, and is quickly the best song on the record! Early PJ swag is back in the form of a Zep-like sound with some Queen and Trump references over a really cool vocal effect. The video game it came with will be a great quarantine pastime for me as well. And...

-MATT FUCKING CAMERON is the MVP of this album. While he has always been a powerful beast that saved the band, he has kind of fallen into the role of being simply a tight metronome more and more often. He finally brought his Soundgarden complexity to Pearl Jam!! I could be crazy wrong because song credits don’t show this, but maybe some of these were very early Soundgarden ideas for what would’ve been their next one? Some of these songs make it sound possible (especially Quick Escape.)

-While I think it will remain a nice dip into psychedelia for now, I mostly agree with the common take that Buckle Up is the Parachutes of this album. It is true for better and for worse...

-Comes Then Goes is exactly why I identify with Ed in a musical sense — he has a very percussive mind for guitar and this song is him at his Who-iest and Into The Wild-est and is a great addition (I guess I’m also just glad it was my selection for PJ Fantasy League lol)

-Lyrics are poignant and meet high expectations. It is a little creepy how well the chorus of DoTC resonates right now...

-LASTLY AND PERHAPS THE BIGGEST THING: We were 100% wrong on the notion that these guys were kinda done with writing music - they are more dedicated to their craft perhaps than ever, and it showed. This isn’t “Legacy Jam” and that’s what I fucking LOVE about Gigaton. It’s active and resonant, and is exactly what makes this band my favorite.

I don’t expect something this individually good from an all-time favorite band of mine that is this far into their career, let alone my favorite band of all time. Truly spoiled and can’t wait for some vinyl to show up on my doorstep!

Current Rating: 8.5/10

Where it falls in PERSONAL album rankings (could change up or down by the second - the biggest thing is they kept their “undefeated” streak — not one truly bad record):

1. Vitalogy
2. Yield
3. Ten
4. No Code
5. Riot Act
6. Vs.
7. GIGATON
8. Binaural
9. Avocado
10. Backspacer
11. Lightning Bolt

Keep on Rockin’ In The Free World everyone...

Habit4me · March 2020

First thoughts:
1. Who Ever Said - Solid song, maybe not the best song to choose as an album opener (see below). It starts to drag at the end.
2. SBWM - It's a catchy little song, but it feels jumbled and incomplete. Not sure why they chose this one as their second single "rocker song" (see below)
3. DOTC - I think we can all agree that this one is GREAT.
4. Quick Escape - This song is Pearl Jam. We get a taste of every single members musical talents in this song. Although I'm a little concerned that this one might wear out on me over time.
5. Alright - This would have been the perfect album opener or closer. I love this one.
6. Seven O' Clock - Kinda all over the place. Too long in my opinion. I'm going to need to spin this one a few more times.
7. Never Destination - Blah. Feels like a filler song.
8. Take the Long Way - Not sure why everyone has this as a bottom tier song. This is PJ exploring their inner QOTSA. Has a Riot Act feel to it as well. Should have been single #2.
9. Buckle Up - I love this one. Has a Yield sessions vibe to it. I can picture the boys jamming to this on Single Video Theory

10. Comes Then Goes - I might be the only one who thinks this song is a snoozer. Yeah Yeah, I get the lyrics hit home for some people, but this is another album filler to me. It's another Ed solo song and should have been on an Ed solo record. It's going to take a LONG time for me to come around to this one - if I ever do. Right now, its an instant skipper.
11. Retrograde - Another song that feels like an Ed solo song ala an Into The Wild B side. Great ending though.
12. River Cross - Blah. Need more time on this one.

Good album, not a classic. I'd give it a C+/B-

mschostok · March 2020

Dr.Teeth and the Electric Mayh said:

Dr.Teeth and the Electric Mayh said:

Tier 1 - Who Ever Said, Dance, Quick Escape, Never Destination, Comes Then Goes, Buckle Up
Tier 2 - SBWM, Alright, Take The Long Way, Retrograde
Tier 3 - 7 O’Clock, River Cross

Moving Take the Long Way Up. That cymbal work

Your tiers are legitimately what I would do, aside from putting Comes then Goes in the top, it's tier 2 or 3 for me. I just can't really get 7 o'clock, especially the ending.

PJWGIII · March 2020

JUST DID THESE:

Tier 1: Quick Escape, Who Ever Said, Comes Then Goes, River Cross, Dance of the Clairvoyants
Tier 2: Superblood Wolfmoon, Alright, Retrograde, Never Destination, Take the Long Way, Seven O'Clock
Tier 3: Buckle Up

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