Lets Actually Listen to the Album: Lightning Bolt

[RockPusher]

I wish we got what the band intended and not the Bob version of it. With comments like Jeff made recently, im sure they were trying something different.

I know not all of LB has worked live, but with the tracks that have (Lightning Bolt obviously, Pendulum, there must be more), it would be cool to do a side-by-side comparison. I assume that even if they are trying to play to the album somewhat, their intent would come through more, and Brendan's meddling would be shed to an extent.

[Leatherhead]

I wish we got what the band intended and not the Bob version of it. With comments like Jeff made recently, im sure they were trying something different.

I hadn't really though about that. It's a nice, but frustrating thought.

[Ms Harmless]

I have such a strange relationship with this album now

as a whole, I don't think I like it, but I'll defend to the death certain things on it

I hate that there's no real uniformity of sound / aesthetic, so it feels like a random collection of songs much more than, well, anything before it really; the best songs deserved far better production and a producer that knew how to get the best performance possible from Ed

but... "Sirens"; the haters are all wrong about "Sirens"

"Lightning Bolt" has some really great moments, including the big overdubbed toms being whacked during the outro alongside the drums, and that soaring lead melody from Mike; I really wish Ed hadn't gone so high / screechy on it

edit: it makes me think of "Born in the USA" by Springsteen and that's no bad thing

I'm pretty happy with "Swallowed Whole"; it hits in a similar way to a more commercial Counting Crows song to me, and the bridge going into the guitar solo is goosebump city

[Ms Harmless]

I really like the chorus of "Getaway", like a lot, but the verse melody and lyrics are too kinda... casual for me? I guess? they go for some witty things ("making love like the lizards") but land on slightly silly rather than funny (I guess some people feel that way about "soap makes you taller" but that doesn't bother me as much); I don't love the solo either

"Sleeping By Myself" is actually a really charming composition of a song I liked already (I'm a fan of Uke Songs), so I'm glad we have this version in and of itself, but it does sound shoehorned into an album that wasn't asking for it

[Ms Harmless]

MYM is waaaay more compressed than it should be, it sounds tinny and slight, instead of full and forceful and abrasive, as it should; I don't love the direction of the chorus, it shouldn't be happy; that worked on "Green Disease" or "Marker", not so much here

I spent so long trying to appreciate their choice to go anthemic with the chorus of "Infallible", but just never got there; it's trying to be important and anthemic, but I just don't care enough about what's being said to follow it to those heights; I don't dislike anything that's happening around it, though - the verses have just enough grit and groove to keep me interested, and the lyrics are cool; the bridge is a bit... wet? this song should have been the big brother of "You Are" and just misses the mark

[guitar_davey]

I have such a strange relationship with this album now

as a whole, I don't think I like it, but I'll defend to the death certain things on it

I hate that there's no real uniformity of sound / aesthetic, so it feels like a random collection of songs much more than, well, anything before it really; the best songs deserved far better production and a producer that knew how to get the best performance possible from Ed

but... "Sirens"; the haters are all wrong about "Sirens"

"Lightning Bolt" has some really great moments, including the big overdubbed toms being whacked during the outro alongside the drums, and that soaring lead melody from Mike; I really wish Ed hadn't gone so high / screechy on it

edit: it makes me think of "Born in the USA" by Springsteen and that's no bad thing

I'm pretty happy with "Swallowed Whole"; it hits in a similar way to a more commercial Counting Crows song to me, and the bridge going into the guitar solo is goosebump city

Is it Born to Run that you're thinking of? That's the Springsteen tune that LB reminds me of.

[Ms Harmless]

I have such a strange relationship with this album now

as a whole, I don't think I like it, but I'll defend to the death certain things on it

I hate that there's no real uniformity of sound / aesthetic, so it feels like a random collection of songs much more than, well, anything before it really; the best songs deserved far better production and a producer that knew how to get the best performance possible from Ed

but... "Sirens"; the haters are all wrong about "Sirens"

"Lightning Bolt" has some really great moments, including the big overdubbed toms being whacked during the outro alongside the drums, and that soaring lead melody from Mike; I really wish Ed hadn't gone so high / screechy on it

edit: it makes me think of "Born in the USA" by Springsteen and that's no bad thing

I'm pretty happy with "Swallowed Whole"; it hits in a similar way to a more commercial Counting Crows song to me, and the bridge going into the guitar solo is goosebump city

Is it Born to Run that you're thinking of? That's the Springsteen tune that LB reminds me of.

I don't know either of them hugely well but I'd put both of them in its wheelhouse; the thing I'm thinking of specifically is the drum style and tone of BitUSA, as well as the keys melody, which reminds me a bit of Matt's lead pattern in the outro

[Ms Harmless]

I have such a strange relationship with this album now

as a whole, I don't think I like it, but I'll defend to the death certain things on it

I hate that there's no real uniformity of sound / aesthetic, so it feels like a random collection of songs much more than, well, anything before it really; the best songs deserved far better production and a producer that knew how to get the best performance possible from Ed

but... "Sirens"; the haters are all wrong about "Sirens"

"Lightning Bolt" has some really great moments, including the big overdubbed toms being whacked during the outro alongside the drums, and that soaring lead melody from Mike; I really wish Ed hadn't gone so high / screechy on it

edit: it makes me think of "Born in the USA" by Springsteen and that's no bad thing

I'm pretty happy with "Swallowed Whole"; it hits in a similar way to a more commercial Counting Crows song to me, and the bridge going into the guitar solo is goosebump city

Is it Born to Run that you're thinking of? That's the Springsteen tune that LB reminds me of.

I don't know either of them hugely well but I'd put both of them in its wheelhouse; the thing I'm thinking of specifically is the drum style and tone of BitUSA, as well as the keys melody, which reminds me a bit of Matt's lead pattern in the outro

also I think they're in the same key? I may be wrong

[guitar_davey]

I have such a strange relationship with this album now

as a whole, I don't think I like it, but I'll defend to the death certain things on it

I hate that there's no real uniformity of sound / aesthetic, so it feels like a random collection of songs much more than, well, anything before it really; the best songs deserved far better production and a producer that knew how to get the best performance possible from Ed

but... "Sirens"; the haters are all wrong about "Sirens"

"Lightning Bolt" has some really great moments, including the big overdubbed toms being whacked during the outro alongside the drums, and that soaring lead melody from Mike; I really wish Ed hadn't gone so high / screechy on it

edit: it makes me think of "Born in the USA" by Springsteen and that's no bad thing

I'm pretty happy with "Swallowed Whole"; it hits in a similar way to a more commercial Counting Crows song to me, and the bridge going into the guitar solo is goosebump city

Is it Born to Run that you're thinking of? That's the Springsteen tune that LB reminds me of.

I don't know either of them hugely well but I'd put both of them in its wheelhouse; the thing I'm thinking of specifically is the drum style and tone of BitUSA, as well as the keys melody, which reminds me a bit of Matt's lead pattern in the outro

Yep, I can definitely hear that.

[stip]

Born to Run makes a lot of sense, actually (though I hear the vocal comparison in BOTUSA to a lesser extent). And I love both of those songs.

One of the things I like about Lightning Bolt is its consistency. It was, prior to Giagaton (including Backspacer) the only post Vitalogy pearl jam album I could put on and enjoy from start to finish. Fewer highs than some other albums, but consistently pretty good.

MYM, Lightning Bolt, Sleeping By Myself, and Yellow Moon are songs I legit love, and Future Days, Swallowed Whole, Sirens, and Pendulum are songs I quite like. And LTRP, Getaway, MFS (the song I l like least) and Infallbile all have their charms.

MYM was a legit 5 star song for a while. It's fallen off a bit. But I think Lightning Bolt has taken its place.

I get it not being a favorite of people, but the hyperbole surrounding this album (which is, at its absolute worst, a slightly bland pearl jam album) is nonsense.

[guitar_davey]

Born to Run makes a lot of sense, actually (though I hear the vocal comparison in BOTUSA to a lesser extent). And I love both of those songs.

One of the things I like about Lightning Bolt is its consistency. It was, prior to Giagaton (including Backspacer) the only post Vitalogy pearl jam album I could put on and enjoy from start to finish. Fewer highs than some other albums, but consistently pretty good.

MYM, Lightning Bolt, Sleeping By Myself, and Yellow Moon are songs I legit love, and Future Days, Swallowed Whole, Sirens, and Pendulum are songs I quite like. And LTRP, Getaway, MFS (the song I l like least) and Infallbile all have their charms.

MYM was a legit 5 star song for a while. It's fallen off a bit. But I think Lightning Bolt has taken its place.

I get it not being a favorite of people, but the hyperbole surrounding this album (which is, at its absolute worst, a slightly bland pearl jam album) is nonsense.

[Anders]

It’s ok.

[stip]

see, I can't argue with that. I disagree, but that's a totally reasonable reaction

[Mike]

Lightning Bolt (the song) with good production would be just as good as most stuff on Gigaton.

[stip]

Gigaton is just a pleasure to listen to.

[Ms Harmless]

Lightning Bolt (the song) with good production would be just as good as most stuff on Gigaton.

I completely agree

[RockPusher]

I just listened to the intro to Getaway and Who Ever Said to compare. Two things jump out: Who Ever Said has a more relaxed, spread-out intro that builds atmosphere. Then when the guitars arrive, they have a full open-air sound i.e. you can hear the atmosphere of them. When the guitars come in on the shorter (let's say "concise") build of Getaway, their sound is kind of clipped, like it was trimmed to the bare minimum on each strum to serve its purpose. You can't feel the air around it, its imprint, if that makes any sense. This is just my first time trying this out, but it is a step toward confirming that one of the big differences between BoB and Josh Evans is refinement/editing (BoB) vs open/atmospheric (Evans).

[epilogue]

Lightning Bolt (the song) with good production would be just as good as most stuff on Gigaton.

I completely agree

I'm not so sure. I can't imagine anything making the song interesting to me. It's probably the least of its entire genre and hasn't aged well, for me. Without hyperbole or irony, I can say that I think Can't Deny Me is a better song.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Thurman Murman]

I don't hate this album but i do feel like its their worst by a fairly significant margin. A recent re-listen to Backspacer and Lightning Bolt back to back pretty much confirmed that for me.

I actually think Getaway is a decent enough opener and better than Gonna See My Friend. MYM is the band's worst lead single. Sirens and Lightning Bolt are probably the heart of the album for me...i enjoy both but i dont think they compare to the best that other Pearl Jam albums have to offer. Infallible and Pendulum have probably dropped in my estimation as much as any Pearl Jam song could from those early listens to now. And that run of 5 songs to close out the album are far and away the weakest run of songs on any Pearl Jam album.