Gigaton is my favorite Pearl Jam Album

[Rob]

But Vitalogy is good for an album which has almost no instrumental value

Dude, what the hell are you on lately? This has got to be the wildest of your crazy thoughts that you've posted so far. Vitalogy is one of their most instrumentally impressive releases and it doesn't even veer far from the standard guitar/bass/drums setup. The little jam that opens "Last Exit," Jeff's bass work in "Not For You," especially the ending, pretty much every second of "Tremor Christ," the little touches of organ in "Nothingman," the guitar tones in "Satan's Bed," and elsewhere, too, just about all of "Immortality." I just can't wrap my head around your thought processes.

He doesn’t have a thought process. He has a forever boner for Jimmy Page and freaking Greta Van Fleet. And he can’t for the life of him understand why every musician isn’t Jimmy Page.

[Rob]

I've never found Ten to be a great record. It's more of a "lightning in a bottle" kind of thing....sometimes they catch it, and holy shit wow. But the rest of the time I'm just watching them not really get there.

A couple of the songs are not on the level of their later writing. The performances of the rest tend to lack the primal ferocity the band pulled from the same tunes on tour (with exceptions). Even Flow isn't even the best studio performance of the song.

The best moments on that record are absolutely incredible, but there just aren't enough of them. Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield are just miles beyond it.

I love 10, but the "lightning in a bottle" description makes sense. I've always thought it's one of the least "Pearl Jam" albums since it was half written before the band itself was together. Great songs but it doesn't necessarily represent them best. VS is the first true PJ-style album, and I think albums 3-5 are the creative peak.

[EJ]

I've never found Ten to be a great record. It's more of a "lightning in a bottle" kind of thing....sometimes they catch it, and holy shit wow. But the rest of the time I'm just watching them not really get there.

A couple of the songs are not on the level of their later writing. The performances of the rest tend to lack the primal ferocity the band pulled from the same tunes on tour (with exceptions). Even Flow isn't even the best studio performance of the song.

The best moments on that record are absolutely incredible, but there just aren't enough of them. Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield are just miles beyond it.

I love 10, but the "lightning in a bottle" description makes sense. I've always thought it's one of the least "Pearl Jam" albums since it was half written before the band itself was together. Great songs but it doesn't necessarily represent them best. VS is the first true PJ-style album, and I think albums 3-5 are the creative peak.

Absolutely agreed.

[Homeboyd]

I am so late to this thread but I gotta say I have no idea where it ranks but Giga is so much better than I ever expected it to be. I took a week off from the album but I liked it even more when I played it again. It's nuts, I'd basically written off any new material from the band and this thing easily has 6-7 songs I really enjoy plus Retrograde which somehow gets slightly better with each listen.

I'd love to hear some of these live but.....

[PHATJ]

I’m happy this thread has turned out to be successful with a lot of thoughtful and fun posts. I know I’ve been seemingly over the top about my praise of Gigaton, but I truly do love it, and honestly, folks, I’m having trouble finding anything I actually dislike about it.

Gigaton has completely renewed my love for PJ. I’m excited as hell to talk about the band, and the new music, and all the old albums, and how it all stacks up, and what it means... and in this time of pandemic and uncertainty and loneliness, this album has already deeply effected me.

The last time I loved a PJ album this instantly was Yield. And I actually disliked a couple songs on Yield at the time. I love every minute of Gigaton. It’s PJ’s longest album, but I want to listen to it five times in a row every time I turn it on. And it seems to fly bye each listen.

It amazes me and brings a true joy to my heart that this band, that I once idolized deeply and loved so much, brought back those feelings of intense joy and passion and wonder that I hadn’t felt in twenty some years. I have a feeling that this album will ultimately mean as much or more to me then all those classic albums I have cherished for so long.

So thanks, RM for not mocking my passion, but sharing in the triumphant return of the band we all love and need so much in times like this. And thank you PJ for not fucking up and making this quarantine even more depressing.

[Monkey_Driven]

I want to hear these songs live...

[PHATJ]

I’m actually super happy that we got the chance to fall in love with a record before being influenced by live performances. This is part of the passion I’m feeling, maybe. It’s been 20+ years since I’ve had zero influence of live performances accompanying my consumption of a albums worth of new PJ material. So my feelings about this album ring even more genuine and focused than they could’ve been otherwise.

[Anders]

Yes, I don’t mind that at all. Now we can also look forward to the live versions.

[Jaeti]

I’m actually super happy that we got the chance to fall in love with a record before being influenced by live performances. This is part of the passion I’m feeling, maybe. It’s been 20+ years since I’ve had zero influence of live performances accompanying my consumption of a albums worth of new PJ material. So my feelings about this album ring even more genuine and focused than they could’ve been otherwise.

Much as I wish I'd seen them a few weeks ago, I actually agree with this. They put in more studio effort than they have in a long, long time, so it feels right that Gigaton gets a chance to really make that its lasting impression.

[Ms Harmless]

I’m actually super happy that we got the chance to fall in love with a record before being influenced by live performances. This is part of the passion I’m feeling, maybe. It’s been 20+ years since I’ve had zero influence of live performances accompanying my consumption of a albums worth of new PJ material. So my feelings about this album ring even more genuine and focused than they could’ve been otherwise.

Much as I wish I'd seen them a few weeks ago, I actually agree with this. They put in more studio effort than they have in a long, long time, so it feels right that Gigaton gets a chance to really make that its lasting impression.

100%

[Monkey_Driven]

Let me clarify, I want to hear these songs live because I like them so much.

[LikeLukin]

I voted never but not sure if I stand behind that anymore

[reconstruction_ seeds]

But Vitalogy is good for an album which has almost no instrumental value

Dude, what the hell are you on lately? This has got to be the wildest of your crazy thoughts that you've posted so far. Vitalogy is one of their most instrumentally impressive releases and it doesn't even veer far from the standard guitar/bass/drums setup. The little jam that opens "Last Exit," Jeff's bass work in "Not For You," especially the ending, pretty much every second of "Tremor Christ," the little touches of organ in "Nothingman," the guitar tones in "Satan's Bed," and elsewhere, too, just about all of "Immortality." I just can't wrap my head around your thought processes.

He doesn’t have a thought process. He has a forever boner for Jimmy Page and freaking Greta Van Fleet. And he can’t for the life of him understand why every musician isn’t Jimmy Page.

This.

[PHATJ]

But Vitalogy is good for an album which has almost no instrumental value

Dude, what the hell are you on lately? This has got to be the wildest of your crazy thoughts that you've posted so far. Vitalogy is one of their most instrumentally impressive releases and it doesn't even veer far from the standard guitar/bass/drums setup. The little jam that opens "Last Exit," Jeff's bass work in "Not For You," especially the ending, pretty much every second of "Tremor Christ," the little touches of organ in "Nothingman," the guitar tones in "Satan's Bed," and elsewhere, too, just about all of "Immortality." I just can't wrap my head around your thought processes.

He doesn’t have a thought process. He has a forever boner for Jimmy Page and freaking Greta Van Fleet. And he can’t for the life of him understand why every musician isn’t Jimmy Page.

This.

At least you have a sense of humor about it.

[Thurman Murman]

Gigaton has completely renewed my love for PJ. I’m excited as hell to talk about the band, and the new music, and all the old albums, and how it all stacks up, and what it means... and in this time of pandemic and uncertainty and loneliness, this album has already deeply effected me.

Same!!! Honestly after Lightning Bolt (which i dont hate, but think its far and away their worst), the 7 year wait and the debacle that was Can't Deny Me i had really low expectations and was basically afaid that the band was more or less done with producing anything of any significance in the studio.

Gigaton has blown me away. Its such a fantastic record, and even the one or two songs that i'm somewhat lukewarm on i can still easily admit they are light years better than the lower end songs on most of the previous albums.

The Who Ever Said thru Seven O'Clock run is pure magic. Initially i was a little let down by the second half of the album but i've come to absolutely love Buckle Up, Comes Then Goes and River Cross.

But like you say perhaps the biggest gift is how this has completely renewed by love for the band...in the last month i've probably listened more to their back catalogue than i had in the previous couple of years!

[VinylGuy]

I dont think i ever fall in the ¨i dont care about the band¨category, as i still loved talking about the band, music and boots.

But there is a renewed passion for sure...im listening one or two new boots per week from different tours...i think this week it will be seattle 2018 and something from 2006 maybe.

[PHATJ]

I love every minute of this album. It does and says everything I need it to do and say. It’s perfect. I can’t deny a moment on this album. It’s all brilliant. Quote me, I’m the first to say it, Gigaton is my favorite Pearl Jam album.

[iweartwoshoes]

Ten, Vs, Vitalogy will always have a place in my heart which says they are the best ever. However I rarely feel the need to actually listen to them. Gigaton may well be the best Pearl Jam I will spend time with now. But then there is No Code and Binaural. But this thread could have some truth for me.

[PHATJ]

I know everyone is going to take their time figuring this out over years of time. I don’t need that. I’m there now. I love this album. Every song is at least 4 stars. They’re almost all fives to me. I absolutely love this album, even more than everything that came before. That’s real.

[PHATJ]

Ten, Vs, Vitalogy will always have a place in my heart which says they are the best ever. However I rarely feel the need to actually listen to them. Gigaton may well be the best Pearl Jam I will spend time with now. But then there is No Code and Binaural. But this thread could have some truth for me.

I absolutely love Binaural, my number one before Gigaton. No Code is great too, but not perfect through and through. Gigaton is. It really is.