Gigaton: Official album thread

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Tuolumne]

Finally listening to this on proper speakers. Everyone knows how much I adore Backspacer, and I thought Lightning Bolt was yet another strong album, but thanks goodness they didn't go with BoB this time. He wouldn't have allowed most of these songs to happen. The little detours in so many songs, outros, the change in tempos in the bridges, he would've nixed all of that as well as the entirely of DOTC. I've thought Ed put in great vocal efforts the last 2 records, but this is a great lyrical effort. Just lots of great incisive couplets and evocative imagery we haven't consistently heard in awhile. Also, this is may be the most 'Seattle sounding' of their records. I don't mean in an early 90s grunge sense, I mean the vibe of the Pacific Northwest just sort of translates here. I think recording in their home base, just being 5 Seattle dudes who like banging out some cool tunes and being socially conscious ... all of the comes through.

Who Ever Said - this one improved the most with proper audio. I remember Getaway really flooring me and I listened to it repeatedly. My first reaction on computer speakers was that it felt good but that I needed to grasp the lyrics and the song structure. The lyrics here really set up the album well. Good tone setter in that sense.

Superblood Wolfmoon - is growing on me. I think having the album and hearing how some of the songs are structured is making this a better compliment ... although I don't know why it was a single.

DOTC - banger, cool lyrics, great vocal delivery, inventive .... nuff said. A band classic, gonna be fun live.

Quick Escape -- fuuuck the outro jam is so tasty. Yeah, this really is the band improving in their game. It's like a early band era song but played by 5 guys with a wealth of experience rocking massive stages all over the world for 30 years. Jeff is doing shit on bass he wouldn't have thought to do and Matt is Matt. If your name is Pearl Jam and you've got this tune sitting around, you put it on the album.

Alright - the most critical song on the album. It is a spiritual soulmate to In My Tree. Not that it sounds the same, bit it's a n ode to solitude and introversion and it's healing powers. Settles this album down for the entire rest of the stretch.

7 O'clock - Liked this one initially, but I was wondering if it was too hackneyed in a Bruce Tunnel of Love kinda way to be great given Ed's vocal cadences. But, he knows what the fuck he's doing here. The vocal cadences a device he's using to carry the lyrics. If the lyrics weren't great, the song may have faltered bc of the Bruce thing. But the lyrics are good and some of the couplets are great and really what I've needed to hear in this fucked up Trump era. These are lost wilderness years and the devastation of what's going and how to react to it are laid bare. Definitely a central song on the record. Looking forward to more listens. Tunnel of Love and War on Drugs sorta stuff going on.

Never Destination - I can't explain, but this just fits coming off of 7 o'clock. Feels like it makes sense, flows well lyrically from the previous tunes, and brings up some necessary pace and tempo. Again, this isn't a stock song, it goes on those detours that BoB just wouldn't have allowed.

Take the Long Way - take a bow, Matt F'n Cameron. If you have that guy in your band, you gotta have a cool Cavedweller tune like this. So much tasty goodness here. Gonna play this one again and again.

Buckle Up - cool weirdo PJ tune, I'll come back to this more as I get into the album.

Comes Then Goes - what a GEM. This is as good as anything Pete Townshend can come up with. Just one good lyric after another. A healing tune for these times, a late period Ed/PJ masterwork. This can stand up with the greats. What a talent this guy is, Eddie Vedder.

Retrograde - Great stuff, love the sounds and more than earns it's place in a key album spot. I'll be coming back to this more too.

River Cross - classic closer and extremely fitting lyrically for this album. Can't wait to let this sink in me more as I absorb more of the lyrical elements of the album.

This is a lyrical album in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time with the guys. I loved Backspacer because of the visceral punchy energy and it's crackling melodic tightness. But now the band is pushing me to think and listen in terms of lyrics and song structure. This will make me want to go back and re-explore parts of Yield, Lost Dogs, and Riot Act and it has elements of those albums with the grown up perspective of Lightning Bolt. A completely necessary moment in the band's catalogue. Essential.

[Ms Harmless]

Finally listening to this on proper speakers. Everyone knows how much I adore Backspacer, and I thought Lightning Bolt was yet another strong album, but thanks goodness they didn't go with BoB this time. He wouldn't have allowed most of these songs to happen. The little detours in so many songs, outros, the change in tempos in the bridges, he would've nixed all of that as well as the entirely of DOTC. I've thought Ed put in great vocal efforts the last 2 records, but this is a great lyrical effort. Just lots of great incisive couplets and evocative imagery we haven't consistently heard in awhile. Also, this is may be the most 'Seattle sounding' of their records. I don't mean in an early 90s grunge sense, I mean the vibe of the Pacific Northwest just sort of translates here. I think recording in their home base, just being 5 Seattle dudes who like banging out some cool tunes and being socially conscious ... all of the comes through.

Who Ever Said - this one improved the most with proper audio. I remember Getaway really flooring me and I listened to it repeatedly. My first reaction on computer speakers was that it felt good but that I needed to grasp the lyrics and the song structure. The lyrics here really set up the album well. Good tone setter in that sense.

Superblood Wolfmoon - is growing on me. I think having the album and hearing how some of the songs are structured is making this a better compliment ... although I don't know why it was a single.

DOTC - banger, cool lyrics, great vocal delivery, inventive .... nuff said. A band classic, gonna be fun live.

Quick Escape -- fuuuck the outro jam is so tasty. Yeah, this really is the band improving in their game. It's like a early band era song but played by 5 guys with a wealth of experience rocking massive stages all over the world for 30 years. Jeff is doing shit on bass he wouldn't have thought to do and Matt is Matt. If your name is Pearl Jam and you've got this tune sitting around, you put it on the album.

Alright - the most critical song on the album. It is a spiritual soulmate to In My Tree. Not that it sounds the same, bit it's a n ode to solitude and introversion and it's healing powers. Settles this album down for the entire rest of the stretch.

7 O'clock - Liked this one initially, but I was wondering if it was too hackneyed in a Bruce Tunnel of Love kinda way to be great given Ed's vocal cadences. But, he knows what the fuck he's doing here. The vocal cadences a device he's using to carry the lyrics. If the lyrics weren't great, the song may have faltered bc of the Bruce thing. But the lyrics are good and some of the couplets are great and really what I've needed to hear in this fucked up Trump era. These are lost wilderness years and the devastation of what's going and how to react to it are laid bare. Definitely a central song on the record. Looking forward to more listens. Tunnel of Love and War on Drugs sorta stuff going on.

Never Destination - I can't explain, but this just fits coming off of 7 o'clock. Feels like it makes sense, flows well lyrically from the previous tunes, and brings up some necessary pace and tempo. Again, this isn't a stock song, it goes on those detours that BoB just wouldn't have allowed.

Take the Long Way - take a bow, Matt F'n Cameron. If you have that guy in your band, you gotta have a cool Cavedweller tune like this. So much tasty goodness here. Gonna play this one again and again.

Buckle Up - cool weirdo PJ tune, I'll come back to this more as I get into the album.

Comes Then Goes - what a GEM. This is as good as anything Pete Townshend can come up with. Just one good lyric after another. A healing tune for these times, a late period Ed/PJ masterwork. This can stand up with the greats. What a talent this guy is, Eddie Vedder.

Retrograde - Great stuff, love the sounds and more than earns it's place in a key album spot. I'll be coming back to this more too.

River Cross - classic closer and extremely fitting lyrically for this album. Can't wait to let this sink in me more as I absorb more of the lyrical elements of the album.

This is a lyrical album in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time with the guys. I loved Backspacer because of the visceral punchy energy and it's crackling melodic tightness. But now the band is pushing me to think and listen in terms of lyrics and song structure. This will make me want to go back and re-explore parts of Yield, Lost Dogs, and Riot Act and it has elements of those albums with the grown up perspective of Lightning Bolt. A completely necessary moment in the band's catalogue. Essential.

this was a great post

[Antelope]

This is a lyrical album in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time with the guys.

I agree. I'm really liking how certain words/phrases/themes show up throughout.

Some examples:
Knock it/me off the shelf
Spirit/ghost
Drowning
Selfish/Self-
Fading
Love
Sadness

And, of course: ocean(s), seas, undertow, etc.

[VinylGuy]

Loved that Josh interview. The process of this album was really different and it shows, and it also pays off...to know that these guys are in such good creative moment is also good to hear.

[Rob]

Finally listening to this on proper speakers. Everyone knows how much I adore Backspacer, and I thought Lightning Bolt was yet another strong album, but thanks goodness they didn't go with BoB this time. He wouldn't have allowed most of these songs to happen. The little detours in so many songs, outros, the change in tempos in the bridges, he would've nixed all of that as well as the entirely of DOTC. I've thought Ed put in great vocal efforts the last 2 records, but this is a great lyrical effort. Just lots of great incisive couplets and evocative imagery we haven't consistently heard in awhile. Also, this is may be the most 'Seattle sounding' of their records. I don't mean in an early 90s grunge sense, I mean the vibe of the Pacific Northwest just sort of translates here. I think recording in their home base, just being 5 Seattle dudes who like banging out some cool tunes and being socially conscious ... all of the comes through.

Who Ever Said - this one improved the most with proper audio. I remember Getaway really flooring me and I listened to it repeatedly. My first reaction on computer speakers was that it felt good but that I needed to grasp the lyrics and the song structure. The lyrics here really set up the album well. Good tone setter in that sense.

Superblood Wolfmoon - is growing on me. I think having the album and hearing how some of the songs are structured is making this a better compliment ... although I don't know why it was a single.

DOTC - banger, cool lyrics, great vocal delivery, inventive .... nuff said. A band classic, gonna be fun live.

Quick Escape -- fuuuck the outro jam is so tasty. Yeah, this really is the band improving in their game. It's like a early band era song but played by 5 guys with a wealth of experience rocking massive stages all over the world for 30 years. Jeff is doing shit on bass he wouldn't have thought to do and Matt is Matt. If your name is Pearl Jam and you've got this tune sitting around, you put it on the album.

Alright - the most critical song on the album. It is a spiritual soulmate to In My Tree. Not that it sounds the same, bit it's a n ode to solitude and introversion and it's healing powers. Settles this album down for the entire rest of the stretch.

7 O'clock - Liked this one initially, but I was wondering if it was too hackneyed in a Bruce Tunnel of Love kinda way to be great given Ed's vocal cadences. But, he knows what the fuck he's doing here. The vocal cadences a device he's using to carry the lyrics. If the lyrics weren't great, the song may have faltered bc of the Bruce thing. But the lyrics are good and some of the couplets are great and really what I've needed to hear in this fucked up Trump era. These are lost wilderness years and the devastation of what's going and how to react to it are laid bare. Definitely a central song on the record. Looking forward to more listens. Tunnel of Love and War on Drugs sorta stuff going on.

Never Destination - I can't explain, but this just fits coming off of 7 o'clock. Feels like it makes sense, flows well lyrically from the previous tunes, and brings up some necessary pace and tempo. Again, this isn't a stock song, it goes on those detours that BoB just wouldn't have allowed.

Take the Long Way - take a bow, Matt F'n Cameron. If you have that guy in your band, you gotta have a cool Cavedweller tune like this. So much tasty goodness here. Gonna play this one again and again.

Buckle Up - cool weirdo PJ tune, I'll come back to this more as I get into the album.

Comes Then Goes - what a GEM. This is as good as anything Pete Townshend can come up with. Just one good lyric after another. A healing tune for these times, a late period Ed/PJ masterwork. This can stand up with the greats. What a talent this guy is, Eddie Vedder.

Retrograde - Great stuff, love the sounds and more than earns it's place in a key album spot. I'll be coming back to this more too.

River Cross - classic closer and extremely fitting lyrically for this album. Can't wait to let this sink in me more as I absorb more of the lyrical elements of the album.

This is a lyrical album in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time with the guys. I loved Backspacer because of the visceral punchy energy and it's crackling melodic tightness. But now the band is pushing me to think and listen in terms of lyrics and song structure. This will make me want to go back and re-explore parts of Yield, Lost Dogs, and Riot Act and it has elements of those albums with the grown up perspective of Lightning Bolt. A completely necessary moment in the band's catalogue. Essential.

this was a great post

Agreed

[littlecomment]

This is a lyrical album in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time with the guys.

I agree. I'm really liking how certain words/phrases/themes show up throughout.

Some examples:
Knock it/me off the shelf
Spirit/ghost
Drowning
Selfish/Self-
Fading
Love
Sadness

And, of course: ocean(s), seas, undertow, etc.

The repeated use of "distance" could not be timed any better.

[VinylGuy]

I love this album, front to back. Retrograde is the only one i still think is behind the others.

[Tuolumne]

Of the Earth is over people. The defining Of the Earth is the one on Third Man Records Live with Jack White. End of story.

[Jaeti]

Apologies if this review was posted already, but I don't think I've seen it come through here:

https://variety.com/2020/music/album-re ... 203547136/

[McParadigm]

Along comes “Gigaton.” Sidling up to “Ten” like a wise-ass, grouchy older brother after having stolen his young sibling’s bag of weed, “Gigaton” is Pearl Jam’s brusque, experimental, not-so-graciously-aged doppelganger — more apt to stew soulfully and strangely, than just twist and shout. Its still-wet lyrics move from...

what now

[Ms Harmless]

he names Vitalogy and Backspacer the most consistent albums since Ten

[Kalevi]

On my 4th listen. Confident nothing on this album is worse than ATW
Future days
Semisonic
LTRP
Big wave
Comeback
Army reserve
The end
Speed of sound
Gonna see my friend
Sirens

Not sure if anything is better than got some, Johnny guitar, UK, SBM, getaway, SW

Definitely shaping up as the best among PRAMG

[bodysnatcher]

Apparently there are different versions of the LP with varying etchings on the 4th side.

source?

They're talking about it on Vinyl Collective.

Per Discogs, the etching on Side D says "In The Midst Of The 6th?" on the EU pressing: https://www.discogs.com/Pearl-Jam-Gigat ... e/15001230

And "Is This You?" on the US pressing: https://www.discogs.com/Pearl-Jam-Gigat ... e/14992999

"In the midst of the 6th" is referring to Earth's sixth mass extinction. Any ideas what "Is this you?" is referring to?

[EJ]

Of the Earth is over people. The defining Of the Earth is the one on Third Man Records Live with Jack White. End of story.

Agreed. And he stole the show at the end.

[dimejinky99]

This isn’t honeymoon talk but I can happily say this one sits comfortably amongst Pearl Jam’s greatest albums.

I’ve even come around on one of those two songs.

So fuckin proud of them right now.

[elliseamos]

Also glad to see local Bob Ludwig on this one. Can't remember them working with him previously. He's connected with a lot of greatness over the years.

He mastered Backspacer. Doesn't mean I'm not excited for this, because the best quality I've listened to so far is V0 MP3 and even that sounds nice.

Didn't remember. Thanks.

[bodysnatcher]

the etching in the the dead wax has 86-45-2020

[Sgt. Crackpot]

the etching in the the dead wax has 86-45-2020

August 6th or June 8th, part 2 will be a 45 EP.

[bodysnatcher]

the etching in the the dead wax has 86-45-2020

August 6th or June 8th, part 2 will be a 45 EP.

nope