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(More customer reviews)Sigh.
Every post grunge-era Pearl Jam album resurfaces these kind of talks. Why isn't X better than Y? Why couldn't they have done X like Y? Why isn't Ed/Mike/Stone/Jeff/Current Drummer better than they were on Y?
Honestly, I'm surprised people want to talk in circles about something like this.
I can remember when Vitalogy came out, listening the hell out of it, while many of my friends/contemporaries/whatever said that it stuck. "What's with all the punk stuff? Why did they put crap on there like "Bugs" and "Foxymop"? It ruined the album." At the time I can remember thinking that these once flannel-clad individuals, who just a few years prior had gobbled up any shred of music made available by the band, were now turning a deaf ear because there is a two minute musical/vocal track where Eddie repeats P-R-I-V-A-C-Y, and a couple great little experimental tracks (one of which, was placed conveniently at the end of the album for easy skip-over). This astounded me, because nearly all my friends hated Vitalogy, and I thought it was their strongest work to date. If you went in and cut out all of the experimental stuff, you still have one of the best 45 minutes or so of rock produced in the '90s. But no matter. This was the beginning.
No Code followed up a few years later. Barely a blip on the pop culture radar. "Who You Are" came and went as a first single, and nobody was left around for the following two radio releases "Hail Hail" and "Off He Goes," which rank (to me) as two of their best. No matter, thought I, their my band now. "Not For You" indeed.
Yield came and went, no biggie. No videos, no promotion. Maybe the best rock album to come out in the late '90s, totally ignored, except for some hardcore PJ fans & some great reviews.
Then came the tour, which I had the opportunity to see a couple of shows. People said things to me like "They're still together?" and "I sure wish Eddie would write something more like Yellow Ledbetter." Meanwhile, I was more than satisfied w/ performances of "Evolution" and "Given To Fly".
Between "Yield" and the next album was the "good intention paving the path to hell" single that was "Last Kiss". Sure the proceeds went to the Kosovo refuges, and it was kept from the #1 spot on Billboard only by "Livin' La Vida Loca", but the die was cast, and the band was reluctantly thrown back into the spotlight. Still, no video, no promotion.
Binaural came out in 2000. Good songs. Overproduced? Under-produced? Maybe. Still, "Grievance" and "Insignificance" alone made the album better than good. "Eddie's voice doesn't sound as strong," and "Why doesn't he belt something out like he did on Vs," and "Where's my Limp Bizkit album" were heard at the record stores. The 2000 tour that followed was one of the best to date, maybe the best. Unfortunately the tragedy in Europe occurred, and briefly brought the band back into the spotlight. "Pearl Jam was playing a festival in Europe? Must be the only place they can sell tickets anymore," I heard.
Now comes "Riot Act". Once again, same old story, same old song and dance. 15 songs, some funky, some experimental, some traditional, and still the same comments. "Well, 10 years ago, they'd have never done an album like this," and "Why can't Ed sing like he did on X, Y, or Z?" Well, there's your answer. 1991, by my last check, was nearly 12 years ago. In 1991 you had some great bands, like Nirvana and Faith No More, and Soundgarden, and PJ. You also had a ton of crap and pop on the radio (hair metal, NKOTB, etc). The more things change the more they stay the same. 2002 we get a new Nirvana single (not their best-effort, but I'll sure as hell take it), a new album w/ vocals by Chris Cornell (backed by RAGE...what a concept!), as well as a brilliant single by Pearl Jam, and a new album that (what a frickin' surprise) doesn't bow down or bend over for anyone. What brilliance! Pearl Jam doing something their own way? Whodathunkit? And still we hear..."Eddie, why can't you sing like you did on X? I miss those days."
Well, I wish the Beatles would put out another "White Album", but it's not going to happen.
Pearl Jam is here. They're still putting out damn good music. They didn't kill themselves, they didn't succumb to drugs, they didn't marry super models and fancy cars and run them both off cliffs. They haven't done commercials for soda, or for car companies, and they've yet to release a over-hyped, over-marketed greatest hits collection in order to pacify all those who should have been buying their albums all along.
To Quote a track from Riot Act: "I've seen it all before... bring it on, cause i'm no victim ...."
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