Lets Actually Listen to the Album: Riot Act

[Oh, Jimmy]

I wish they would/could get back to this level of creativity again.

I'd say it suffers from being rushed more than anything. In an effort to keep it loose, they let Ed off the hook with some pretty halfassed performances. I'm a studio album guy, but just about every one of these tunes comes off better live.

Think they nailed to opener and closer, but not sure about the rest of order. I think front loaded is a little strong, but I think it's clear which tunes they thought were strongest and I think they should've thrown that out the window or at least done a better job of mixing in the more unique stuff with the more basic stuff. It seemed to work for the previous 3.

[VinylGuy]

I wish they would/could get back to this level of creativity again.

I'd say it suffers from being rushed more than anything. In an effort to keep it loose, they let Ed off the hook with some pretty halfassed performances. I'm a studio album guy, but just about every one of these tunes comes off better live.

Think they nailed to opener and closer, but not sure about the rest of order. I think front loaded is a little strong, but I think it's clear which tunes they thought were strongest and I think they should've thrown that out the window or at least done a better job of mixing in the more unique stuff with the more basic stuff. It seemed to work for the previous 3.

yeah, its a shame Ed seemed to be in other place most of the songs...his vocals are just flat, he seems so bored with whats happening...
This could have been a better record, the songs should have been more polished and finished and i guess Adam Kasper had to do with this, even if the record sounds great, i dont think the guy pushed this band at all...i imagine him more like a friendly guy rather than a producer who is going to take you to a difficult but better place.

[Norah]

I fucking love how Ed sounds on this record.

[Norah]

This could have been a better record, the songs should have been more polished and finished and i guess Adam Kasper had to do with this, even if the record sounds great, i dont think the guy pushed this band at all...i imagine him more like a friendly guy rather than a producer who is going to take you to a difficult but better place.

Pearl Jam does whatever the fuck they want, producer be damned. It worked well in the 90s when they were telling O'Brien to fuck off when he was pushing them to be more poppy, but in the next decade when they probably should have listened to their producer more they didn't.

If Riot Act's sound was the band's doing then it was probably the only time in the last decade they disregarded the producer and it worked well. I'd love to hear Binaural as Tchad Blake fully intended, and Self Titled without it cranked to 11.

And the irony of it all is that by the time they decided to let the producer really have a strong say it was Brendan O'Brien again for Backspacer.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I fucking love how Ed sounds on this record.

I like it too, though i think i remember reading an interview with Ed or one of the other guys saying that he wanted it to sound less polished so he came in after all the music was done and recoded all of the vocals in 1 take. That might not have been totally true, but if so i could see it as a turn off. But for me the vocals really fit the music perfectly

[VinylGuy]

This could have been a better record, the songs should have been more polished and finished and i guess Adam Kasper had to do with this, even if the record sounds great, i dont think the guy pushed this band at all...i imagine him more like a friendly guy rather than a producer who is going to take you to a difficult but better place.

Pearl Jam does whatever the fuck they want, producer be damned. It worked well in the 90s when they were telling O'Brien to fuck off when he was pushing them to be more poppy, but in the next decade when they probably should have listened to their producer more they didn't.

If Riot Act's sound was the band's doing then it was probably the only time in the last decade they disregarded the producer and it worked well. I'd love to hear Binaural as Tchad Blake fully intended, and Self Titled without it cranked to 11.

And the irony of it all is that by the time they decided to let the producer really have a strong say it was Brendan O'Brien again for Backspacer.

Im sure O Brien pushed them and worked with a lot in records live Vs ( remember Dave telling how Brendan was pushing him to work better in a lot of songs ), No Code and Yield...and even Tchad Blake had a really strong imput in Binaural.
In RA, there is not a single thing that tells me they worked with a producer...nothing at all.
Backspacer, like it or not, has a strong hand of someone who want to take this band to a different place...i love BOB work with PJ in all of their records because that what he does best, to push the band to a different place, even if they still do whatever they want, like keeping Better Man out of a record ( still the inclusion of this song in Vitalogy is work of the good old Brendan)

[Blenheim Augustine]

I fucking love how Ed sounds on this record.

I like it too, though i think i remember reading an interview with Ed or one of the other guys saying that he wanted it to sound less polished so he came in after all the music was done and recoded all of the vocals in 1 take. That might not have been totally true, but if so i could see it as a turn off. But for me the vocals really fit the music perfectly

I've seen that somewhere about the "one take and leave it as is". He also mentioned the somewhat conscious toned down vocals in quite a few interviews.

Let's talk about the new album which is coming at a very interesting time in the history of this country. And I'm not unmindful of the subtext of a whole lot of the songs. It seems to me when I listen to this album -- and I consider it the most consistent Pearl Jam album I've heard -- one of the things I like is the mood has dropped.

I Am Mind for example doesn't shout at you. It seems there's a sense that this is not a time for shouting but a time for clarity, clear thought and being direct. Is that a fair observation?

I think that's probably why I got rid of the Mohawk. (laughs) That was my initial reaction [to September 11]. I felt after that I didn't want to look normal, I didn't feel normal and didn't want anyone to look at me think, "He looks okay with what's going on, he's a normal guy". I wanted even strangers on the street who didn't know who I was to have that reaction. I felt I wanted to act out on some kind of rebellion.

We have the chance as a band to communicate and get some issues across, even if it's just the kids reading some of our opinions and showing it to their dads. I don't want them [dads] to be able to say, "Yeah, but look at that wanker, you're gonna believe him?" So I'm really trying to clean up my act so I can impress on the parents, gain some trust and infiltrate from within. But there's one song that's shouting, but that one calls for it, Save You.

Full interview:
http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/absoluteelse ... -riot-act/

O: Riot Act seems a lot more invigorated than your last two albums—somewhere between optimism and disillusion.
EV: I think that perfectly represents my state of mind these days. [Laughs.] I'm optimistic yet disillusioned, hopeful yet frustrated.

[VinylGuy]

I fucking love how Ed sounds on this record.

I like it too, though i think i remember reading an interview with Ed or one of the other guys saying that he wanted it to sound less polished so he came in after all the music was done and recoded all of the vocals in 1 take. That might not have been totally true, but if so i could see it as a turn off. But for me the vocals really fit the music perfectly

I've seen that somewhere about the "one take and leave it as is". He also mentioned the somewhat conscious toned down vocals in quite a few interviews.

Let's talk about the new album which is coming at a very interesting time in the history of this country. And I'm not unmindful of the subtext of a whole lot of the songs. It seems to me when I listen to this album -- and I consider it the most consistent Pearl Jam album I've heard -- one of the things I like is the mood has dropped.

I Am Mind for example doesn't shout at you. It seems there's a sense that this is not a time for shouting but a time for clarity, clear thought and being direct. Is that a fair observation?

I think that's probably why I got rid of the Mohawk. (laughs) That was my initial reaction [to September 11]. I felt after that I didn't want to look normal, I didn't feel normal and didn't want anyone to look at me think, "He looks okay with what's going on, he's a normal guy". I wanted even strangers on the street who didn't know who I was to have that reaction. I felt I wanted to act out on some kind of rebellion.

We have the chance as a band to communicate and get some issues across, even if it's just the kids reading some of our opinions and showing it to their dads. I don't want them [dads] to be able to say, "Yeah, but look at that wanker, you're gonna believe him?" So I'm really trying to clean up my act so I can impress on the parents, gain some trust and infiltrate from within. But there's one song that's shouting, but that one calls for it, Save You.

Full interview:
http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/absoluteelse ... -riot-act/

O: Riot Act seems a lot more invigorated than your last two albums—somewhere between optimism and disillusion.
EV: I think that perfectly represents my state of mind these days. [Laughs.] I'm optimistic yet disillusioned, hopeful yet frustrated.

the mood of the record is exactly that one..optimistic yet disillusioned, hopeful yet frustrated.
Again, RA is great in mood terms, not that good in the finished results of the songs.

[Angus]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

[VinylGuy]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

Please no...i dont want them to become Bruce Springsteen in that way, i mean...writing music along they read the newspapers.

[Angus]

No no, I don't want them to go and copy Springsteen. But I rather meant it generally: I was disappointed they couldn't find transform their frustration & inspiration into a good record. I mean, even if I didn't like it all too much, at least Avocado had exactly that.

[VinylGuy]

No no, I don't want them to go and copy Springsteen. But I rather meant it generally: I was disappointed they couldn't find transform their frustration & inspiration into a good record. I mean, even if I didn't like it all too much, at least Avocado had exactly that.

Thats right...avocado had that focus, and eddie wrote better lyrics about it...even WWS lyrically is stronger than most of the political stuff in RA.

[tommymtcom]

yeah, its a shame Ed seemed to be in other place most of the songs...his vocals are just flat, he seems so bored with whats happening...

I love Eddies vocals on this album. He sounds so worn out and ragged, it fits the album (and the time) perfectly in my opinion.

[Sigerson]

I think Eddie was vocally at his peak on this record. There's that deep baritone voice but it comes off as somewhat more mature and detached than his Ten/Vs. era vocals. I love how smooth and seamlessly he shifts to a higher register on "All or None". It's a shame how bad his vocals have gotten since then.

[MadTIGERmaN]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

Maybe thats why they held off last year, and waited till after the election, knowing if Romney got elected theyd really be motivated to make a kick ass record

[VinylGuy]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

Maybe thats why they held off last year, and waited till after the election, knowing if Romney got elected theyd really be motivated to make a kick ass record

i would like them to write about something else than politics. Backspacer was fresh air after three political records.

[dkfan9]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

Maybe thats why they held off last year, and waited till after the election, knowing if Romney got elected theyd really be motivated to make a kick ass record

i would like them to write about something else than politics. Backspacer was fresh air after three political records.

for all the politics clouding that tour and that era, only three songs are really political on riot act.

[washing machine]

Overtly political, sure. Though I can't think of one song on Riot Act that doesn't express some sort of emotion that isn't a reaction to the political climate of that time. It's for that reason that it gets its reputation as one of the most politically charged Pearl Jam albums.

[dkfan9]

Overtly political, sure. Though I can't think of one song on Riot Act that doesn't express some sort of emotion that isn't a reaction to the political climate of that time. It's for that reason that it gets its reputation as one of the most politically charged Pearl Jam albums.

sure, but when you look at songs like ghost as political, a lot more of pearl jam's catalog becomes political. is can't keep really more political than faithfull? cropduster than given to fly? all or none than all those yesterdays?

[Angus]

The whole thing about “interesting time in the history of this country” is why I felt so disappointed they couldn’t get their act together last year to put an inspired album out. I really wish it was Pearl Jam that put out Wrecking Ball. Riot Act hit exactly that spot.

Maybe thats why they held off last year, and waited till after the election, knowing if Romney got elected theyd really be motivated to make a kick ass record

i would like them to write about something else than politics. Backspacer was fresh air after three political records.

for all the politics clouding that tour and that era, only three songs are really political on riot act.

Same and even more for Binaural. Don't really get the "three political records" comment. All those songs reflect a general mood which they felt dominated society. If you call that political, so be it. For me, it goes much wider than that. Depending on your definition of political of course.