Let's Talk About The 1995 Tour

[Kevin Davis]

Sitting here in my nearly empty house, all my CD's are in boxes except for the Case Logic binders that house my bootleg CD-R's, so I decided to rummage through the books and pick one to listen to while finishing packing. I picked San Jose 1995. I think this was a radio broadcast, but whatever it is it has a good mix of relatively clear audio and that spacious, bootleggy charm that really gives you the sense of what it must have been like to be at the show. It's a really solid show all around but there are a lot of cool moments in the second half, specifically that little chunk where they play "Red Mosquito" (one of the first ever versions, they really navigate it carefully) followed by that snippet of "So You Wanna Be a Rock N' Roll Star" (in the past, I think I missed the irony in 1995 Eddie sarcastically slurring his way through this), followed by that early version of "Brain of J." It's a mess compared to the final version, but the band sounds damn vital during that stretch of music (the middle section during "Brain of J" is beautifully airy, maybe the one part of the song that is superior for its looseness in the early version), especially looking back--a group that, in essence, hated itself, but was still forever poised on the brink of discovery. Is this the only show in PJ history where the band performed unreleased songs that would end up on two different albums?

Two more things: One, the way Eddie sings the second verse of "Black" here is just sublime. For all his bad tendencies as a singer, Eddie is Sinatra-like in his ability to phrase when he puts his heart in it. He's a smart melodist.


Two, this version of "Alive" is a good example of why Jack is my favorite drummer in the band's history--during the jam section, he really directs the band to some interesting places that are well outside the song's built-in infrastructure. I haven't heard Matt ever do anything like this in a song that didn't have a readymade jam section:


Eddie is in a pretty good mood, too. He makes some joke during the encore about how the venue turned off all the lights in the parking lot and no one is going to be able to find their way out. Great show, this.

[Lament]

I saw my first show (of any kind) ever on this tour, 7-11 at Soldier Field. There was such a mystique surrounding the band at this point. I figured every band with at least three albums put on 150+ minute long shows with upwards of 30 songs a night after seeing them. Needless to say I left the next few shows I went to a tad bit disappointed on that front.

[VinylGuy]

Soldier Field 95 is one of the best boots ever. The performance, the setlist, Mike, Ed...everything is on fire.
And it does sound better on vinyl.

[Aliveguy]

Red Rocks, Soldier Field and San Jose.... you guys.... EPIC PJ moments. Those shows were phenomenal, the boots were almost as good. I still remember paying 40-60 bucks a show and loving every second.

Good times. Angry and emotional. Still seemed like the music was the most important thing to them at that point in time. It impacted the strength of the performance

[MattA75]

those first week November 95 shows are pretty much all completely fucking awesome

[RussellManiac12]

Sitting here in my nearly empty house, all my CD's are in boxes except for the Case Logic binders that house my bootleg CD-R's, so I decided to rummage through the books and pick one to listen to while finishing packing. I picked San Jose 1995. I think this was a radio broadcast, but whatever it is it has a good mix of relatively clear audio and that spacious, bootleggy charm that really gives you the sense of what it must have been like to be at the show. It's a really solid show all around but there are a lot of cool moments in the second half, specifically that little chunk where they play "Red Mosquito" (one of the first ever versions, they really navigate it carefully) followed by that snippet of "So You Wanna Be a Rock N' Roll Star" (in the past, I think I missed the irony in 1995 Eddie sarcastically slurring his way through this), followed by that early version of "Brain of J." It's a mess compared to the final version, but the band sounds damn vital during that stretch of music (the middle section during "Brain of J" is beautifully airy, maybe the one part of the song that is superior for its looseness in the early version), especially looking back--a group that, in essence, hated itself, but was still forever poised on the brink of discovery. Is this the only show in PJ history where the band performed unreleased songs that would end up on two different albums?

Two more things: One, the way Eddie sings the second verse of "Black" here is just sublime. For all his bad tendencies as a singer, Eddie is Sinatra-like in his ability to phrase when he puts his heart in it. He's a smart melodist.


Two, this version of "Alive" is a good example of why Jack is my favorite drummer in the band's history--during the jam section, he really directs the band to some interesting places that are well outside the song's built-in infrastructure. I haven't heard Matt ever do anything like this in a song that didn't have a readymade jam section:


Eddie is in a pretty good mood, too. He makes some joke during the encore about how the venue turned off all the lights in the parking lot and no one is going to be able to find their way out. Great show, this.

Went to this - one of the longest days of my life. Woke up at 4:30, worked 5:00am to 1:30pm, then headed to the show. Thanks to the early start time went to Sharks/Blues afterwards, and out for beers after that.

There was a weird vibe at this show because of the start time, and because it was a makeup for the Golden Gate Park show. I had to have my friend who was a student at San Jose State get me tickets. Weird vibes aside, it was an amazing show and the band was at it's live peak during this era.

[super nintendo chalmers]

[LooseGroove927]

Soldier Field 95 is one of the best boots ever. The performance, the setlist, Mike, Ed...everything is on fire.
And it does sound better on vinyl.

When was this released on vinyl? I know there wasn't an official band release, but when / how was this released? I see a lot of people talking about it and I was always curious.

[Norah]

Soldier Field 95 is one of the best boots ever. The performance, the setlist, Mike, Ed...everything is on fire.
And it does sound better on vinyl.

When was this released on vinyl? I know there wasn't an official band release, but when / how was this released? I see a lot of people talking about it and I was always curious.

I think a radio station had it pressed.

[darth_vedder]

The above version of "Alive" is just phenomenal.

[VinylGuy]

Soldier Field 95 is one of the best boots ever. The performance, the setlist, Mike, Ed...everything is on fire.
And it does sound better on vinyl.

When was this released on vinyl? I know there wasn't an official band release, but when / how was this released? I see a lot of people talking about it and I was always curious.

I think a radio station had it pressed.

yeah, there is a nice story about this in TFT. I bought the vinyl this year in Chile, im sure its a pirate copy or something, but sounds awesome.

[super nintendo chalmers]

Good read.

http://www.twofeetthick.com/2004/02/liv ... ier-field/

[LooseGroove927]

Good read.

http://www.twofeetthick.com/2004/02/liv ... ier-field/

Thanks! That was a pretty cool story. This is for sale on Amazon. I doubt its the original pressing though if there were only 500 copies made.

[Angus]

Soldier Field is still pretty amazing. Glad I put it on again.

[matt reeder]

those first week November 95 shows are pretty much all completely fucking awesome

a

But man, they were miserable, confused and out of sync with one another at the same time. It's amazing those shows are as good as they are (and I love them all) - 1995 must have been a strange, frustrating year for them.

[VinylGuy]

those first week November 95 shows are pretty much all completely fucking awesome

a

But man, they were miserable, confused and out of sync with one another at the same time. It's amazing those shows are as good as they are (and I love them all) - 1995 must have been a strange, frustrating year for them.

yeah, it seems they werent talking at all. Seems Ed and Jack were in one band and the rest of the guys in another one.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I've never heard a version of Solider Field that isn't based on a B+ quality mono soundboard feed. You would think that Pearl Jam would provide a radio station with at least a stereo recording. My educated guess is that it was recorded from some kind of ALD system and bootlegged. And the stereo audience recording used to matrix the mono soundboard isn't that great either. It's an unpleasant mismatch and I can't stand listening to it.

[VinylGuy]

I've never heard a version of Solider Field that isn't based on a B+ quality mono soundboard feed. You would think that Pearl Jam would provide a radio station with at least a stereo recording. My educated guess is that it was recorded from some kind of ALD system and bootlegged. And the stereo audience recording used to matrix the mono soundboard isn't that great either. It's an unpleasant mismatch and I can't stand listening to it.

i have no idea where the vinyl version came, but it fucking rocks.

[Birds in Hell]

He's right, though, it sounds terrible.

[Lament]

He's right, though, it sounds terrible.

It does in comparison to thirteen years of official bootlegs, but in the mid/late 90's, Soldier Field was one of the best sounding bootlegs we had circulating. I don't think anyone who shelled out money for it back in the day (and I say this as a sucker who dropped probably $65 on the 3cd version) regretted it, at least not at the time. Everyone I knew who had it played it to death.