Gigaton: Official album thread

[Jaeti]

Credit: former TwoFeetThick author, Kathy Davis.

My single that came with it says "brooding whales send me messages"

I hope mine says this whenever I get it. Makes me think of "The owls are not what they seem."

[evenslow]

did anybody listen to this thing?

[oneway23]

Ten club says cd booklet 40 pages. Retail sore is 32 pages. Anyone know if what the extra pages are?

a breakdown of shipping charges

[reconstruction_ seeds]

Regarding comparing the new album to my top 3 pearl jam albums, I think i might have to just say screw the baby steps back and forth on the board followed by the climb of shame and instead run and jump into it. Like the recent Golden State Warriors dynasty, this one just has too much firepower but once the newness wears off it could be close between this and Binaural. 7 O' Clock and Whoever Said are so good. I like those the best, 7 O Clock on 1st listen and Whoever Said on the 2nd. I can't think of a pj song clearly better than either of those.

*SBWM 5* Brain of J: 4
DOTC 5 = Faithful: 5
*Quick Escape 5* No Way: 4.5
*Who Ever Said 5* GTF: 5
*Seven O’Clock 5* Wishlist: 5
*Alright 4.5* Pilate: 2.5
Take The Long Way 4.5 *DTE: 4.5*
*Retrograde 5* MFC: 4.
*River Cross 5* Low Light: 4.5
*CTG* In Hiding: 4.5
*Never Destination 4.5* Push Me,Pull Me: 3
*Buckle Up 5* ATY: 4

Long Way 4.5. *Breakherfall: 4.5*
*N. Destination 4.5* God’s Dice: 4.5
*Who Ever Said 5* Evacuation: 5
DOTC 5 *Light Years: 5*
*Seven O’Clock 5* Nothing As It Seems: 5
*Buckle Up 5* Thin Air 4
Retrograde 5 *Insignificance 5*
CTG 5 = Of the Girl 5
*SBWM 5* Grievance: 4.5
*Quick Escape 5* Rival: 5
Alright = Sleight of Hand: 4.5
River Cross 5 = Parting Ways 5

Soon Forget: 3


*Alright 4.5* Can’t Keep 4
*SBWM 5* Save You 4
*7 O’Clock 5.* LBC 5
*Who Ever Said 5* Cropduster: 4.5
*Quick Escape 5* Ghost: 4
Buckle Up 5 *I Am Mine 5*
*CTG* 5 Thumbing My Way: 4
DOTC 5 = You Are 5
*TTLW 4.5* Get Right: 4
*Retrograde 5* Green Disease: 4
*River Cross 5* All or None: 4
*Never Destination 4.5* Help Help: 4

Bu$hleaguer: 1
1/2 Full: 4.


I'm limited to a stock car stereo but it sounds good and better than my phone speaker. More detail will pop out when I'm able to get organized with a better sound system. Others shined on their instruments, backing vocals and song writing but in my opinion Ed stole the show. As usual, I liked Mccready's solos but maybe these live sounding ones have run the course. I'd like to see him focus on composing and expand the ideas he had on Inside Job. That, the strange fade in one of the songs on the back half and the vocals in River Cross not always living up to the live version are my only complaints about the album.

'Who Ever Said’- 5. Great intro, plenty of riffs, full of turns, mysterious with the various directions of the song which will keep it interesting on repeated listens. Vedder is gold on the verses in the last half of the song. Could end up being tied for favorite song along with 7 O' Clock and a song (it changes) from Binaural.

‘Superblood Wolfmoon’- 5. Riffs, vocal hooks, the guitar solo, fun tune.

‘Dance of the Clairvoyants’- 5. Probably their all-time most experimental song/fresh sound. Very catchy throughout. The bass intro, the keys, funky riffs, layered vocals, a drums and bass thumping rock/pop masterpiece.

‘Quick Escape’- 5. I love the drum section mid song, main riff and heavy jam at the end though I wish they would have extended it. They were long overdue for a heavy grooving track.

‘Alright’- 4.5. Similar to Pendulum but a welcomed brightness in comparison.

‘Seven O’Clock’- 5. The lyrics..., verses are top notch, chorus is great, Ed in great form, a production highlight. Could be their best song bar none.


‘Never Destination’- 4.5. I like the bridge a lot which pushed it from 4 to 4.5. I appreciate Mike's solo.

‘Take The Long Way’- 4.5. The very light metal riff is an experiment for pearl jam. A sound garden-like matt creation. I like the bridge a lot which pushed it from 4 to 4.5. I appreciate Mike's solo.

‘Buckle Up’- 5. Catchy guitar. Another one Ed's vocals shine on.

‘Come Then Goes’- 5. Ed showing a lot of progress on acoustic guitar and his singing sounds great here. He pulls this one off with his unique vocal tone. Sub anyone in his place on it and I'm not sure it would work for me.

‘Retrograde’- 5. This one grew on me. Great chorus, great ending, great song.

‘River Cross’- 5. Again, the lyrics. I like the added instruments but I also like just Ed and the organ. Some of these lines work well, adding variety to the live version which Ed is overall more passionate on. The 2 versions can coexist and complement each other.

[96583UP]

I hear Ed trying to be Bruce in this one a few times

I can definitely hear it on 0700. Where else are you hearing it?

Ed's very first vocal delivery on the album has an affect to it that reminds me of Bruce... then later on the album in some other places

it's fine though - not hating it

love the dissonant intro into the Who Ever Said chords

[96583UP]

After my lukewarm reception to the SBWM release I decided to stop listening and wait for release day. Four listens in, most recently on headphones, I am so impressed with these guys. Hearing SBWM in between Who Ever Said (which blew me away) and DOTC brought it into focus immediately. There's so much to digest still. It's such a group effort, with Ed and Jeff doing most of the (apparent) heavy lifting. Ed's lyrics are thoughtful and focused; much of what he has written here reminds me of Yield. I'm still exploring why that is. The record has really brought back to the front of my mind why I loved this band in the mid-late '90s: The sense of adventure and exploration in their song structures and arrangements, combined with Ed's wit and enthusiastic drive to lift up anyone who cares to listen. When done right, Pearl Jam is a beautiful thing. The record is not perfect I'm sure, but I'm so glad it's here.

yes! I concur, great post

agree ... i appreciate SBWM more after hearing the whole album ...

[verb_to_trust]

I hear Ed trying to be Bruce in this one a few times

I can definitely hear it on 0700. Where else are you hearing it?

Ed's very first vocal delivery on the album has an affect to it that reminds me of Bruce... then later on the album in some other places

it's fine though - not hating it

love the dissonant intro into the Who Ever Said chords

Those chords sound really good. Evans is right, Eddie has a really powerful right hand.

[elliseamos]

I enjoyed a moment tonight, reminiscent of yesteryear, where I sat in the car and played this real loud 1-12. It's just nice to have these new songs that already feel familiar. Also, I realized a thread of Eddie getting beat up:
Indifference - I'll keep taking punches...
Save You - Come on hit me instead...
SBWM - and I'm hoping that I hurt you fist.

[96583UP]

Matt's drums are much more varied on this ... a nice change... he is capable of so much... and could do even more with them

[Hypnos]

Also, I realized a thread of Eddie getting beat up:
Indifference - I'll keep taking punches...
Save You - Come on hit me instead...
SBWM - and I'm hoping that I hurt you fist.

Rearviewmirror - I guess it was the beatings made me wise.
Whipping - We all got scars, they should have them too.

[elliseamos]

Also, I realized a thread of Eddie getting beat up:
Indifference - I'll keep taking punches...
Save You - Come on hit me instead...
SBWM - and I'm hoping that I hurt you fist.

Rearviewmirror - I guess it was the beatings made me wise.
Whipping - We all got scars, they should have them too.

Yup.

[96583UP]

this thing really peaks early and then tapers off

but it's more the fault of the first half being 'so good' than it is the 2nd half being 'so bad'

I could probably turn this album off after 'Buckle Up'

[96583UP]

But impressed overall

[verb_to_trust]

Do you like seven o'clock?

[96583UP]

Do you like seven o'clock?

it comes on and I think 'Bruce'

i like it more than i dislike it

but I am probably the wrong person to ask

round my parts Bruce is more important than the Pope

I was not a Bruce fan growing up but I have come to appreciate him

gives me a safe feeling at this point

no longer triggered by it

if I were a few drinks deep and looking to Bro-out, I might put it on. or let it come on and not say 'no'

[reconstruction_ seeds]

1./2. Seven O’Clock, Who Ever Said
3. Quick Escape
4. Retrograde
5. DOTC
6. Comes Then Goes
7. River Cross
8. Take The Long Way
9. Superblood Wolfmoon
10. Buckle up
11. Alright
12. Never Destination

[96583UP]

Glad this is an album that I want to listen to begin-to-end

there are some skippers late but I am not compelled to just seek out the 2 tracks that are good and kill the rest

mostly really appreciate the tracking

really nice to have a complete work here

[96583UP]

there are a lot of interesting details on this album

mike's comment way back about 'toiling' is not lost on me

[McParadigm]

This album is such a sad, loving and tender message of hope that it’s almost intended for a future audience. Ed’s writing was always about young people having the power to overcome, and since he was always young because that’s how it works he could channel the feeling*. Then, he wasn’t young, and that made it hard. All through 2006-2013, you can hear him wanting to find a way to write to that person. To help them. To tell their story like Bruce did, or to give them a fight song they can use, or to just...in some adult way...relate.

Interestingly, a lot of the writing he did for the people he loves most during 2002-6 focused on the feeling of righteousness betrayed. The often-vaguely insincere promises of victory came later. It’s only three albums, but it’s literally Bush/Obama years. He just can’t see these kids anymore, but his politics connect him to them and he’s clinging to that, so there’s no separation in his work.

This album doesn’t do any of that, because it knows what it is. This is an old fighter’s bequeathment, a grey hair who made it as far as wounded, expressing his love for and absolute faith in younger fighters who mostly don’t hear that kind of message from his generation. And, in addition to newfound inspiration, that mentality seems to have put him in a rare alignment with Stone and Jeff, whose offerings often fit the theme even better than his own.

It probably means there isn’t much of an audience for this....a gen x message in a bottle for a 2030 audience. But it’s amazing to me. And it makes for exceptionally well-written lyrics that also feel less calculated and self-judged than anything they’ve offered in decades (solo projects included).

The earnestness of warmth that this album has for its intended audience is so immense that, if I had to summarize how it’s different from other Pearl Jam albums, I’d say it’s somehow more...maternal.



*if your reaction is “he was 30, that’s not young,” then you’re either a grouchy old dad, or 30.

[Bammer]

Spun this about 4 times now and getting better each time. Mostly.