Gigaton: Official album thread

[stip]

Current rankings

Dance of the Clairvoyants
Who Ever Said
Superblood Wolfmoon
Comes then Goes
Seven Oclock
River Cross
Buckle Up
Alright
Take the Long Way
Never Destination
Retrograde

Quick Escape?

whoops - somewhere in the 4-6 range

[Ms Harmless]

remember when Ed and the boys were all like "things can be very simple and minimal and still be powerful, they don't all have to be complex and layered / laboured", but they said stuff like that around Backspacer?

I think they nailed that philosophy here, because there's simplicity (the lyrics to "Alright" and "Take the Long Way", the beauty of the "Seven O'Clock" verse chord structure) but always in service of depth and maturity, never sacrificing it

[Ms Harmless]

tl;dr: there isn't a "Supersonic" on this album, not because there is nothing as sonically simple, but because there's nothing outright trying to be dumb

[Strat]

The “jam” is back in pearl jam. Basically.

[Norah]

New ranking:

Buckle Up
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Take the Long Way
Quick Escape
Comes Then Goes
Never Destination
Whoever Said
River Cross
Superblood Wolfmoon
Alright
Seven O'Clock
Retrograde

Yeah still this.

[Rob]

The “jam” is back in pearl jam. Basically.

Yes, this is a jammy album. Love it.

[dadanotprada]

5*
Quick Escape
Alright
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Who Ever Said
4*
Seven O'Clock
Comes Then Goes
3*
Take The Long Way
River Cross
2*
Buckle Up
Superblood Wolfmoon
Retrograde
1*
Never Destination

[RockPusher]

5*
Quick Escape
Alright
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Who Ever Said
4*
Seven O'Clock
Comes Then Goes
3*
Take The Long Way
River Cross
2*
Buckle Up
Superblood Wolfmoon
Retrograde
1*
Never Destination

It's interesting to me that you put Who Ever Said at the top and Never Destination at the bottom, as they both feel kind of similar to me and of that The Who vein.

[Tuolumne]

Aight I gotta defend the boys on the last few albums *and* praise the new album - it's not an either/or proposition. I think Superblood and Who Ever Said are going for something very different than the rockers on the last few albums. Those 2 songs are wordy, jaunty, sloppy rockers that have multiple transitions and off the beaten path as far as verse/chorus bridge format. They are meant to introduce the rest of the album and set the context.

NOW ... songs like Life Wasted, Comatose, Got Some, Getaway, Mind Your Manners are full throttle ass kickers meant to tear your head off right away. For me, they sure has hell melted my face off. If you're Pearl Jam and you've got that majestic sky-cracking ability to rock off, you gotta do it. I always felt that, after albums like No Code, Binaural and most of Riot Act that they did the sorta sideways rockers and they knew they had to get back to business and just let it rip. And boy did they ever. I love those songs and would have always thought 'what if' if they didn't just go for it. I'm super thankful that they did and now I've been adjusting to their new rockers, which took a minute for me to find my way in.

[tree_]

I heard "Pearl jam" was a euphemism for semen

[Tuolumne]

the only thing Gigaton is missing for me are 1-2 really explosive, harder edge rockers. Your go, animal, last exit, brain of j, comatose, life wasted, wws, mym style song. It’s maybe my favorite pearl jam sub genre and it is missing. It pops up in moments of sbwm and the start of who ever said (the first verse), but thats it (quick escape is a different type of song and take the long way doesnt get all the way there for me). It may well have been out of place on the album, but I miss its inclusion.

Still great, though. Anticipate it being in the 4-6 range in the catalog. Upper mid-tier for pearl jam (and even lower tier stuff i like a lot) but who knows where this all ends

I really think this is because we are getting mature Pearl Jam as opposed to the twenty-somethings grunge guys from the early 90s.

I'm really enjoying having a Pearl Jam album, that keeps unpacking more and more with every listen. It wasn't until I was listening to it last night, that I realized the album didn't have a real true 'balls to the wall' rocker.... glimpses here and there...but not a full song.

I agree this might be a sign of pearl jam aging gracefully. By No Code they had phased out of the track one-two gut punch that they started their albums with, and may now be content not including a real explosive song on an album. While I may miss having a track like this (or do I, since it took 10+ listens to realize it doesn't exist on Gigaton?) it seems that they made a real, concentrated effort to work within their individual ranges at this point and time in their life/career, and gave us a really solid album by doing so.

I am one of those people who generally really goes in for those songs (WWS, Comatose, and MYM are all legit five star songs for me), and they've been album highlights in recent years. So I do miss it.

But again, not sure it would have fit on the album. What we have is still great

I'm with you , I've been making the same adjustment as you. I think Take the Long Way has the most Backspacer'y element and maybe that's why it brings that smile to my face. That said, it's not in the mission statement of this album to rawk. I'm not sure if adding rockers would have been good. In fact, I wonder if you look at the 7 non rockers you kinda have a potential Automatic For the People thing going. But, I think the rockers play their role in service of the true central elements of the album, which reside in songs like Alright, 7 oclock, Comes Then Goes, and Retgrograde. Omn the previous albums, the rockers were in service to no one or no thing except to tear your head off, and maaan they sure did for me.

[96583UP]

There is nothing wrong with Quick Escape

and as WWJED mentioned, there will probably be a 5-minute jam added to the end live

listening to the song on transcode 18 times and then another 14 times on album release, including on shuffle (sacrilege) - will ruin most songs for a person

i have listened to Gigaton 4 times the whole way through and am still not hating any songs

nor have i gorged on the sweet chocolatey nectar of Quick Escape without restraint rendering myself some fat drowning Augustus Gloop

the album is good

WES begins the ascent upward to Quick Escape, the Peak of the Mountain

what follows is a journey through the valley below

I will say good day to you, sirs

[96583UP]

*actually i might hate Retrograde

but not an active hate

[hailroad]

After several spins on this thing, here are some of the similarities/parallels I hear with the rest of the catalogue:

Who Ever Said - Breakerfall/Sad
Superblood Wolfmoon - Grievance (though not nearly as good)
Dance of the Clairvoyants - Who You Are (in spirit only)
Quick Escape - Half Full/No Way
Alright - Pendulum/Oceans
Seven O'clock - hardest one to find a comparison
Never Destination - Black Red Yellow/Supersonic
Take the Long Way - Get Right/Red Mosquito (RM because of the outro)
Buckle Up - I'm Open/Parachutes
Comes Then Goes - Far Behind
Retrograde - Sirens/Present Tense
River Cross - Long Road

7.00 - Inside Job/Unthought Known

There you go.

[darthvedder81]

It's like sex, guys. Who Ever Said is foreplay, SBWM is trying to get your pants off and rolling off the bed, DOTC is the climax, and Quick Escape is strutting around the bedroom post-coitus while helicoptering your dick. Alright is crying in the shower. The album is a journey.

Bwahahahaha!

I nominate this for RM post of the year.

[darthvedder81]

the only thing Gigaton is missing for me are 1-2 really explosive, harder edge rockers. Your go, animal, last exit, brain of j, comatose, life wasted, wws, mym style song. It’s maybe my favorite pearl jam sub genre and it is missing. It pops up in moments of sbwm and the start of who ever said (the first verse), but thats it (quick escape is a different type of song and take the long way doesnt get all the way there for me). It may well have been out of place on the album, but I miss its inclusion.

Still great, though. Anticipate it being in the 4-6 range in the catalog. Upper mid-tier for pearl jam (and even lower tier stuff i like a lot) but who knows where this all ends

I am where you are on Gigaton. It’s a really good, strong Pearl Jam album but not quite a perfect one. If there were a couple more riffy/groovy Stone barnburners (one towards the beginning and one more before the quiet ending) it would be a 5 star record.

If Gigaton was the return of Jeff I’m hoping number 12 is the return of Stone. The important thing is the band is obviously creatively rejuvenated so the future looks bright!

[digster]

the only thing Gigaton is missing for me are 1-2 really explosive, harder edge rockers. Your go, animal, last exit, brain of j, comatose, life wasted, wws, mym style song. It’s maybe my favorite pearl jam sub genre and it is missing. It pops up in moments of sbwm and the start of who ever said (the first verse), but thats it (quick escape is a different type of song and take the long way doesnt get all the way there for me). It may well have been out of place on the album, but I miss its inclusion.

Still great, though. Anticipate it being in the 4-6 range in the catalog. Upper mid-tier for pearl jam (and even lower tier stuff i like a lot) but who knows where this all ends

I really think this is because we are getting mature Pearl Jam as opposed to the twenty-somethings grunge guys from the early 90s.

I'm really enjoying having a Pearl Jam album, that keeps unpacking more and more with every listen. It wasn't until I was listening to it last night, that I realized the album didn't have a real true 'balls to the wall' rocker.... glimpses here and there...but not a full song.

I agree this might be a sign of pearl jam aging gracefully. By No Code they had phased out of the track one-two gut punch that they started their albums with, and may now be content not including a real explosive song on an album. While I may miss having a track like this (or do I, since it took 10+ listens to realize it doesn't exist on Gigaton?) it seems that they made a real, concentrated effort to work within their individual ranges at this point and time in their life/career, and gave us a really solid album by doing so.

I am one of those people who generally really goes in for those songs (WWS, Comatose, and MYM are all legit five star songs for me), and they've been album highlights in recent years. So I do miss it.

But again, not sure it would have fit on the album. What we have is still great

I do like a lot of those songs, but I do like that they were assured enough in their ambition that they didn't feel they needed to shoehorn one in. Sometimes PJ records can feel like they have songs that are fitting a "slot;" we've got our fast punk number (Manners, Comatose) our "fun" one (Big Wave, Supersonic, Records Play), etc. It seemed like they were a bit more direct in their intention here.

[digster]

the only thing Gigaton is missing for me are 1-2 really explosive, harder edge rockers. Your go, animal, last exit, brain of j, comatose, life wasted, wws, mym style song. It’s maybe my favorite pearl jam sub genre and it is missing. It pops up in moments of sbwm and the start of who ever said (the first verse), but thats it (quick escape is a different type of song and take the long way doesnt get all the way there for me). It may well have been out of place on the album, but I miss its inclusion.

Still great, though. Anticipate it being in the 4-6 range in the catalog. Upper mid-tier for pearl jam (and even lower tier stuff i like a lot) but who knows where this all ends

I am where you are on Gigaton. It’s a really good, strong Pearl Jam album but not quite a perfect one. If there were a couple more riffy/groovy Stone barnburners (one towards the beginning and one more before the quiet ending) it would be a 5 star record.

If Gigaton was the return of Jeff I’m hoping number 12 is the return of Stone. The important thing is the band is obviously creatively rejuvenated so the future looks bright!

I feel like ever since Yield or Binaural, Stone's seemed to be okay with acting as the wild card in the band; he'll bring in one or two things that while they often fit with the rest of the record, seem to exist as their own thing. From Rival to Parachutes to Buckle Up, it's hard to know what he's going to do, which is a far different role than when he started, but it fits well.

[warehouse]

i think the sequencing is great. it might drag a tiny bit at the end with 2 1/2 slow songs, but this is still the best thing they've done in a long time.

like stip pointed out, there's not a ton of early setlist songs, but i think take the long way, whoever said and SBWM will all fit nicely early in setlist along with go, hail, hail, severed hand, etc.

has anyone pointed out some of these songs have weird song structures? the longest part of who ever said is the bridge. DOTC has like 5 different sections. these guys went all over the place, its great.

[PHATJ]

i think the sequencing is great. it might drag a tiny bit at the end with 2 1/2 slow songs, but this is still the best thing they've done in a long time.

like stip pointed out, there's not a ton of early setlist songs, but i think take the long way, whoever said and SBWM will all fit nicely early in setlist along with go, hail, hail, severed hand, etc.

has anyone pointed out some of these songs have weird song structures? the longest part of who ever said is the bridge. DOTC has like 5 different sections. these guys went all over the place, its great.

It may have been mentioned a couple times.