Gigaton: Official album thread
-
digster
- Rank This Poster
- Posts: 3972
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 1:10 am
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
One thing about this record I like is how Eddie worked very hard at making his "weaknesses" work in context of the song, which as voices age and warp, is really important to figure out how to do. Something like Never Destination has a lot of the tics that can sometimes hiccup a great vocal performance from Eddie, but the melody and way he's singing bends those weaknesses to work as benefits to the song. I feel like that happens throughout the album.
- evenslow
- Stone's Bitch
- Posts: 9164
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:47 pm
- Location: unnamed mental hospital
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
yep almost every song he figures it out.digster wrote:One thing about this record I like is how Eddie worked very hard at making his "weaknesses" work in context of the song, which as voices age and warp, is really important to figure out how to do. Something like Never Destination has a lot of the tics that can sometimes hiccup a great vocal performance from Eddie, but the melody and way he's singing bends those weaknesses to work as benefits to the song. I feel like that happens throughout the album.
Strat wrote:Alas, we are RM
- Monkey_Driven
- The Master
- Posts: 28128
- Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 3:36 pm
- Location: Mushroom Kingdom
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
evenslow wrote:yep almost every song he figures it out.digster wrote:One thing about this record I like is how Eddie worked very hard at making his "weaknesses" work in context of the song, which as voices age and warp, is really important to figure out how to do. Something like Never Destination has a lot of the tics that can sometimes hiccup a great vocal performance from Eddie, but the melody and way he's singing bends those weaknesses to work as benefits to the song. I feel like that happens throughout the album.
Which is why the first two minutes of Retrograde sticks out like a sore thumb.
- evenslow
- Stone's Bitch
- Posts: 9164
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:47 pm
- Location: unnamed mental hospital
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
i blame miguel on that one. he's working with some treacly material there.Monkey_Driven wrote:evenslow wrote:yep almost every song he figures it out.digster wrote:One thing about this record I like is how Eddie worked very hard at making his "weaknesses" work in context of the song, which as voices age and warp, is really important to figure out how to do. Something like Never Destination has a lot of the tics that can sometimes hiccup a great vocal performance from Eddie, but the melody and way he's singing bends those weaknesses to work as benefits to the song. I feel like that happens throughout the album.
Which is why the first two minutes of Retrograde sticks out like a sore thumb.
Strat wrote:Alas, we are RM
- Birds in Hell
- 10Club Complaint Department
- Posts: 16298
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
But that's the best part of the song.Monkey_Driven wrote:evenslow wrote:yep almost every song he figures it out.digster wrote:One thing about this record I like is how Eddie worked very hard at making his "weaknesses" work in context of the song, which as voices age and warp, is really important to figure out how to do. Something like Never Destination has a lot of the tics that can sometimes hiccup a great vocal performance from Eddie, but the melody and way he's singing bends those weaknesses to work as benefits to the song. I feel like that happens throughout the album.
Which is why the first two minutes of Retrograde sticks out like a sore thumb.
I'm less keen on the last half where Ed bellows "FEEL THE SOUND!" over swooshing wind sound effects.
-
Release_Me
- AnalLog
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: Mon July 15, 2013 10:01 am
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
It's "hear the sound" and that part is one of the high points on the album for me.
Pearl Jam is the only band I'll spend money on.
- Birds in Hell
- 10Club Complaint Department
- Posts: 16298
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
Tomato, tomato.
Don't get me wrong, I like the song a lot, perhaps even more than most on the board.
I just think the outro is kind of a letdown after the first half of the song.
It's this nice, chiming, vaguely REM-ish song and then kind of flatlines into this bombastic nothingness.
Don't get me wrong, I like the song a lot, perhaps even more than most on the board.
I just think the outro is kind of a letdown after the first half of the song.
It's this nice, chiming, vaguely REM-ish song and then kind of flatlines into this bombastic nothingness.
-
digster
- Rank This Poster
- Posts: 3972
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 1:10 am
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
I kind of agree with this; I don't mind the first half of the song at all.Birds in Hell wrote:Tomato, tomato.
Don't get me wrong, I like the song a lot, perhaps even more than most on the board.
I just think the outro is kind of a letdown after the first half of the song.
It's this nice, chiming, vaguely REM-ish song and then kind of flatlines into this bombastic nothingness.
- Dr. Van Nostrand
- Mind Your Tanners
- Posts: 8898
- Joined: Tue December 18, 2012 8:33 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
I like the first half a lot, but as i said in the retrograde thread, the ending really hit me today, im really enjoying it now toodigster wrote:I kind of agree with this; I don't mind the first half of the song at all.Birds in Hell wrote:Tomato, tomato.
Don't get me wrong, I like the song a lot, perhaps even more than most on the board.
I just think the outro is kind of a letdown after the first half of the song.
It's this nice, chiming, vaguely REM-ish song and then kind of flatlines into this bombastic nothingness.
-
digster
- Rank This Poster
- Posts: 3972
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 1:10 am
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
I don't know why I didn't pick up on the R.E.M. feel that spenno brought up; that arpeggiated 12-string is a clear descendent.
-
Ms Harmless
- She / Her
- Posts: 13648
- Joined: Sun January 26, 2020 12:10 pm
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/
- Location: Warwickshire, UK
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
I feel like the big jam on the second half hits well because it's separated from the first half by that pause and "could be thunder or a crowd", which is a pretty clear signpost that some almighty sounds are gonna happen (and it'd be a let down if they didn't); without that pause to separate those two distinct parts, it might feel like the song just descends into discordant mush (which works for "River Cross", but wouldn't here I don't think)
-
Ms Harmless
- She / Her
- Posts: 13648
- Joined: Sun January 26, 2020 12:10 pm
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/
- Location: Warwickshire, UK
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
wow yeah I hear it now you mention the twelve string; I hear it in "Losing My Religion" and "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", but is there a good slower song comparison?digster wrote:I don't know why I didn't pick up on the R.E.M. feel that spenno brought up; that arpeggiated 12-string is a clear descendent.
- Birds in Hell
- 10Club Complaint Department
- Posts: 16298
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
Almost two weeks since I last did this, here's my approximate current ranking:
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Take the Long Way
Never Destination
Alright
---
Retrograde
Who Ever Said
Superblood Wolfmoon
Buckle Up
River Cross
---
Seven O'Clock
Comes Then Goes
Quick Escape
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Take the Long Way
Never Destination
Alright
---
Retrograde
Who Ever Said
Superblood Wolfmoon
Buckle Up
River Cross
---
Seven O'Clock
Comes Then Goes
Quick Escape
- tragabigzanda
- Production Police
- Posts: 51692
- Joined: Tue September 24, 2013 5:56 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Fri January 02, 2026 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
Release_Me
- AnalLog
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: Mon July 15, 2013 10:01 am
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
Ed singing clean, powerful upper 4th octave notes would be the high point of many Pearl Jam songs and it's the same for me on Retrograde. He's the main reason I even got into this band so it baffles me that anyone could ever prefer the rest of Retrograde to the outro. I guess different strokes for different folks. I would bet that most people even on RM would prefer the outro of this song to the rest of it. The rest is pretty but not memorable. The ending makes the song memorable. It is the release that the song needed.
Last edited by Release_Me on Sat April 04, 2020 12:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Pearl Jam is the only band I'll spend money on.
- Jaeti
- Future Drummer
- Posts: 2642
- Joined: Mon July 08, 2013 5:47 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
I wish I could hear it like you hear it, at least once, just to see.Birds in Hell wrote:I just think the outro is kind of a letdown after the first half of the song.
- RockPusher
- Future Drummer
- Posts: 2090
- Joined: Mon March 30, 2020 11:59 pm
- Location: This godforsaken town
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
5.0:
Quick Escape
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Alright
Buckle Up
4.5:
Seven O'Clock
Who Ever said
Retrograde
River Cross
Comes Then Goes
4.0:
Never Destination
Superblood Wolfmoon
3.5:
Take The Long Way
---
Man is this a hard album to rank! That second tier could basically be in any order, and I love them all.
Quick Escape
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Alright
Buckle Up
4.5:
Seven O'Clock
Who Ever said
Retrograde
River Cross
Comes Then Goes
4.0:
Never Destination
Superblood Wolfmoon
3.5:
Take The Long Way
---
Man is this a hard album to rank! That second tier could basically be in any order, and I love them all.
Last edited by RockPusher on Sat April 04, 2020 12:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Be mighty...Be humble...Be mighty humble...
- Birds in Hell
- 10Club Complaint Department
- Posts: 16298
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
Release_Me wrote:I would bet that most people even on RM would prefer the outro of this song to the rest of it.

-
Release_Me
- AnalLog
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: Mon July 15, 2013 10:01 am
- bodysnatcher
- NEVER STOP JAMMING!
- Posts: 22296
- Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 11:15 pm
- Location: the bathroom
Re: The Official GIGATON Thread
please no