Hatfield wrote:reconstruction_ seeds wrote:What are these weakest parts of their catalog from binaural which u speak of???
I love the intense reservation with which you delivered this line
Tuolumne we are waiting!
No Code feels like Zuma, Time Fades Away or On the Beach. I wouldn't put everysong up against Pearl Jam's best songs, but as a whole, I wouldn't take out one track. Would I want Sometimes on Yield, Gigaton or Backspacer....hell no, but I wouldn't want No Code to start any other way. Habit isn't as good as DTE, but it's perfect on No Code. They really captured something on No Code and I don't think what they captured was inconsistency.
I'd respond, but I'll get castrated. To preface, I *really like* Binaural. I'm a firm believer that the band has never put out a clunker. No weak albums. I've listened to alot of bands back catalogue, especially all of their contemporaries, and *man* there is some gawdawful stuff from some pretty great bands. PJ is a band that always has something good. Having said that:
Binaural - songs 1-5 - they're not essential PJ. I'm sorry to Binaural lovers - please see above - but Breakerfall just doesn't land for me, Gods Dice should be a b-side (a pretty decent one), Evacuation is cool but is not a good #3 song, and Light Years is heartfelt but doesn't achieve liftoff, Nothing As It Seems is a novel and worthy experiment that deserves attention but the #5 slot in an album is extremely critical in carrying a song cycle. The album doesn't really achieve that liftoff until Insignificance, which is missing that intangible factor that a Rearviewmirror had (maybe it's a production thing?). I think Insignficance - Of the Girl - Grievance is as strong of a stretch they've ever had. Rival is and Sleight of Hand are also good tangents in their catalogue. I like it, they're good, they're necessary and they open up new songwriting veins that yielded great returns later. But, they don't land as a group as well as other albums do.
No Code, as I said before, is top shelf for the first half and kind of a mess for the second half. Habit, Lukin, Red Mosquito, I'm Open, Mankind do not scream essential great PJ to me. They were good enough at the time. We had 18 months and we had Yield before we had message boards to really tear some of those songs apart. Sorry folks.
For me, they're great "alternate universe" PJ. Like, when you get sick of the earnest and heartfelt world conquering stadium rockers, this is some pretty damn good stuff. Take away the essential PJ, and look at some of this in a vacuum, and for me some of the weaknesses I mention above come through. My opinion, I hope it can be respected.
There you go, tear me apart, Toulumne is used to it round these parts. I **LOVE** Backspacer and I see it torn to shreds here, so, I hope everyone keeps that in mind before shooting me to outerspace.
