new (old) song: Cold Confession

[Strat]

Except that is has been, relatively, widely reported this is a song from the S/T sessions

[gardenparty]

Except that is has been, relatively, widely reported this is a song from the S/T sessions

That's right. The rhythm guitar part sounds a lot like stone anyhow

[Vic Cognac]

2 Reasons why this is a Stone song

1) The intro guitar riff (rhythmic things that butt up against each other)
2) The song doesn't suck

[Farmer John]

Pretty sure that's Ed's telecaster as the main guitar.

[gardenparty]

Pretty sure that's Ed's telecaster as the main guitar.

Hopefully we will find out soon enough.

[Strat]

Pretty sure that's Ed's telecaster as the main guitar.

Yea, that is definitely eds tele/fender combo...

[Farmer John]

Wasn't it said somewhere that this was based on a jam? Ed probably started playing those three chords and they started jamming.

[VinylGuy]

Weird to think they let this one out of the record. Gone should have been a cool b side.

[digster]

I like this song, don't love it yet, but it's certainly rewarding repeated listens. It's arrangement is really interesting in that it seems pretty much designed to draw attention to the lyrics, which is pretty rare for a PJ song.

[Norah]

this is easily the most popular song on RM in forever. Maybe one or two songs on Binaural come close. I'd have to look at old polls.

I seem to remember RM having a pretty big hard-on for Force of Nature.

Yeah, but that ended real quick.

[verb_to_trust]

this is easily the most popular song on RM in forever. Maybe one or two songs on Binaural come close. I'd have to look at old polls.

I seem to remember RM having a pretty big hard-on for Force of Nature.

Yeah, but that ended real quick.

I don't remember this at all. Hopefully that was part of my brain that was killed off....

[Norah]

this is easily the most popular song on RM in forever. Maybe one or two songs on Binaural come close. I'd have to look at old polls.

I seem to remember RM having a pretty big hard-on for Force of Nature.

Yeah, but that ended real quick.

I don't remember this at all. Hopefully that was part of my brain that was killed off....

It wasn't universal, but a lot of people liked that song, myself included. What the fuck was I thinking?

[Citizen Dick]

Well I’ve listened to this one quite few times and I’m really liking it, but I don’t think the band necessarily erred by not giving it a run on an album to date. Its a sweet, little gem that draws you in and in its incompleteness leaves you wanting more. But that’s what it is... incomplete.

I don’t see how the band could have put this on any of the albums they’ve released. The song is an enticing idea, but not a fully formed idea and that would only be jarring within the context of an album, surrounded by other completed songs. So why didn’t they make it a finished song? I don’t know but there is something about the tune that makes me feel it would be difficult to elevate or flesh out without also undermining the charm it has in this form. Maybe they tried and couldn’t get it to work – hence shelving it, if not permanently, at least for another attempt in a later recording session that possibly never materialised.

What having this leak did make me realise is how long it has been since these sort of left-field obscurities used to pop up regularly from pearl jam. Whether it was through B-sides, charity compilations or Xmas singles. With maybe only one or two exceptions it really has been a drought of about a decade for this stuff, when in the 90’s it was far from a rare occurrence. Personally I think this would have been absolutely perfect on a Sweet Relief style benefit album. Something that would allow the band to acknowledge its existence and probably see the sort of longing for its occasional setlist appearance by hardcore fans that songs such as Wash, Hard to Imagine or Hold On (or Crazy Mary for that matter) have experienced at various times in the past.

[dimejinky99]

I was in the 'this is just a sketch' camp but I've come around to this.
I like that its barely there. It's almost like an obscure soul track.
Wish the playing out on the end went on even a bit longer.

[WtOB?]

this is easily the most popular song on RM in forever. Maybe one or two songs on Binaural come close. I'd have to look at old polls.

I seem to remember RM having a pretty big hard-on for Force of Nature.

Yeah, but that ended real quick.

I don't remember this at all. Hopefully that was part of my brain that was killed off....

It wasn't universal, but a lot of people liked that song, myself included. What the fuck was I thinking?

I don't think I suffered from this syndrome, I think I was in the Unthought Known camp.

[Lounge Lizard]

I fully appreciate CC being a sketch in the form of which it exists now, buyt I like it so much that I want more. I'm ready to embrace it as a final product and to really love it. Let it develop into into a full fledged song properly played and sung. They haven't done nearly enough work on it to make it shine to its full potential. The bass line is beautiful, it needs to be more pronounced. The supersoft Floyd-ish solo is an ear boner but it needs more room, all we get now is but a hint of what it can be. The vocals must be brought down an octave and reduced to a mumbly melodic narrative a la 'Wash'. The outtro needs more space as well and someone really needs to tell Ed to shut up and forget his 'oooh-ooohs' and 'eeeeh-heeehs' for a while and let the band do their thing. Grab your caster and play some patterns instead, because the rithmic section of CC is so good you can add any little touches to it with no effort at all and they'll sound well. I know Mike cant complain about having little spotlight time in this band, but CC is one of those numbers that literally need him to stand out and finish strong. In short my body is ready!!! Do it PJ. Finish the thing and put it on LB.

[NancyBabich]

The whole is a song, is it a sketch, is it finished is a load of bollocks really. Does it sound good? Yes. Would adding more stuff make it better? No. Then its finished. Would it fit on a specific album is a slightly more real concern but unless you are making Tommy or Journey to the Centre of the Earth most albums would be improved by just putting better songs on even if they have slightly different drum tone.

[Birds in Hell]

I too am mystified by the frequent reference in this thread to this song being somehow unfinished in its present state; a draft, a sketch, etc.

This sounds like a fully-realised work to me - just one with a great deal more space and atmosphere than the rest of Pearl Jam's recent efforts. There's nothing unfinished about it.

[Lounge Lizard]

I too am mystified by the frequent reference in this thread to this song being somehow unfinished in its present state; a draft, a sketch, etc.

This sounds like a fully-realised work to me - just one with a great deal more space and atmosphere than the rest of Pearl Jam's recent efforts. There's nothing unfinished about it.

Quoting Floyd Mayweather Sr. "You don't know shit about music!"

(just kidding)

[Citizen Dick]

I too am mystified by the frequent reference in this thread to this song being somehow unfinished in its present state; a draft, a sketch, etc.

This sounds like a fully-realised work to me - just one with a great deal more space and atmosphere than the rest of Pearl Jam's recent efforts. There's nothing unfinished about it.

Really? You don't think as a song (so putting aside the lesser quality production/mixing for an outtake vs. an album track) that Cold Concession wouldn't have stood out like a sore thumb on S/T as not fully worked relative to the songs on either side of it?