Riot Act: Official Album Thread

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Rate Riot Act

5 Stars: A top tier album
43
28%
4 Stars: A very good album
76
49%
3 Stars: Average
29
19%
2: Stars: I expect more
6
4%
1 Star: Embarrassing
1
1%
 
Total votes: 155

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Monkey_Driven
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by Monkey_Driven »

tragabigzanda wrote:Listened to this on an early drive to Bozeman today, great way to start off a long day of getting shit done
The fall/winter is the perfect time for this album.
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by liebzz »

Monkey_Driven wrote:
tragabigzanda wrote:Listened to this on an early drive to Bozeman today, great way to start off a long day of getting shit done
The fall/winter is the perfect time for this album.
Bleak music for bleak times and bleak weather. How everything and nothing’s changed since 2002.
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stip
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

okay, lets get ready for Riot Act, the pearl jam album (in my opinion) that most benefits from the albums that come after (which turned the weaknesses that people struggled with into strengths)
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by Ms Harmless »

at this point in my life, my absolute favourite Pearl Jam album
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stip
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

cant keep is so full of quiet promise, cloistered yet expansive in a way that makes total sense for the song. really good opener for the album. It loses a bit divorced from the album, I think
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Save You is an excellent follow up to Cant Keep in particular. The low key barnstorming feel would have been a bit compromised if it followed a more classic opener.

I dont think all the profanity was necessary though.

I love the way the drums slightly detach themselves from the rest of the song during the bridge. Surprising from human metronome matt cameron.

great quiet screams from eddie at the end, too. And pretty much the only ones on the record
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

so far my favorite 1-2 opening combo since Vitology
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by RockPusher »

The current average score for this album is 3.89
Be mighty...Be humble...Be mighty humble...
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by Ms Harmless »

stip wrote:I dont think all the profanity was necessary though.
fuck you if I care!
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Problem is I just dont care for LBC on almost any level. I dont really find the music, or any of the performances, particularly compelling. Some nice lyrical moments are offset by too many egregiously over the top moments that lack the profundity or solidarity they aim for. Boom is too busy all over this one as well.

I do like that weird little outro solo someone (mike?) plays
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by VinylGuy »

Riot Act is the one its grow more on me these last couple of years...i loved it when it came, felt like a return to form in terms of Mike soloing, rock oriented tunes, and more accesible material like I Am Mine, and then it collapsed into a vague idea of half baked songs. I didnt liked Ed's vocals idea either.

A few years ago, it kinda opened back to me and im fucking in love with it. Matt's drums are, again, incredible, Jeff is everywhere, Mike is also fucking amazing and i appreciate what Ed's doing now.
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by Ms Harmless »

did Boom play on this? I love his playing honestly
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Ms Harmless wrote:did Boom play on this? I love his playing honestly
pretty sure
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

Cropduster is one of pearl jam’s better ‘minor’ songs. It is tricky and surprising in all sorts of pleasing ways, and features some interesting vocal melodies and evocative lyrics.

Not usually the type of PJ song I aim for, but this one really works for me. Love the outro, too
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by VinylGuy »

stip wrote:I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now
I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

agreed it certainly sounds better
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

i was always willing to give that soap line a pass, but man did it get eviscerated around here when it came out

I really dig Ghost’s exhausted energy. Mike’s first solo (and outro) are pretty great. And the ominious bridge would have added a lot to Take the Long Way.

Still, like much of Riot Act it is a song that works better nestled in the album than on its own
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by Ms Harmless »

VinylGuy wrote:
stip wrote:I feel Eddie aimed for a very similar song with Unthought Known, arguably Amongst the Waves, and Lightning Bolt - all of which are notable improvements. I think he really figured it out with Lightning Bolt. He can stop now
I prefer Love Boat Captain to those. The band strenghts are way more focused on this song than in ATW or LB. And the production of course is miles better.

But im a pretty big fan of LBC and both LB and UK are songs i dont wanna go back to. ATW grow a lot in the last couple of years
I also like LBC even more than ATW and UK (which I also like)
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Re: Riot Act: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

I adore I am Mine so much. My favorite Riot Act song by orders of magnitude. This song captures so much of the sprit of Gigaton by a band 20 years younger first trying to process defeat without surrender
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