Gigaton: Official album thread

[Tuolumne]

I was surprised on those claims. They had the idea of Stone not being able to tour or promote the band as much as they wanted to in 1993. At the same time they were signed by Epic because of Stone and Pearl Jam so it was weird to hear Regan so bitter about it.
Im glad they sort it out.

Exactly why Regan comes off as a tool. He seems like a consummate coattail rider. He was in Andy's first band (I think they were childhood friends) and always thought when MLB hit it big Andy would bring guys like him along. Then he died, and he had those same expectations w/ PJ and was bitterly disappointed. He's like a member of an entourage.

[VinylGuy]

yeah, i get what you mean. Thats why Mark and Steve from Mudhoney are so cool. They didnt give a shit about anything. Once Jeff and Stone called them to open for PJ in 1994, they just continued to do their thing.
Im not sure

[Tuolumne]

yeah, i get what you mean. Thats why Mark and Steve from Mudhoney are so cool. They didnt give a shit about anything. Once Jeff and Stone called them to open for PJ in 1994, they just continued to do their thing.
Im not sure

that's a good point. Mudhoney, and many others, are a good example of a band that PJ Brought along. I suspect Regan was viewed with suspicion, and that reason seems to be validated. HE was ready, willing, and able to ride any coattail that he could. And, well, he's employed by the band now so he's clearly the entourage member that I think he is.

[VinylGuy]

Also, i agree with Jeff and Ed being the creative force behind the pearl jam ethos.

[Anders]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

I presume it's this:

That’s a real shame. Brad and Shawn deserved better.

[Anders]

Also, i agree with Jeff and Ed being the creative force behind the pearl jam ethos.

I always felt like without Stone, there is no Pearl Jam. He created the band, he wrote most of the early music, and he’s never strayed. No early Ed bullshit, no threatening to leave like Jeff did, not as troubled as Mike. Just Mr. Pearl Jam from day one.

[Got Some]

Stone take your guitar Some red wine and riffs to Hawaii for a week.

Jam the new Songs with Ed on guitar


Problem solved

[RockPusher]

Stone is awesome and while I wish he were more involved in some ways (he brings an authentic and intuitive funky umph), I can't really hold it against him or the band the way things have gone. Ed might be a megalomaniac behind the scenes. I don't know. I love his voice. I love his songwriting. Still, if the band ever wanted to go back to a less Ed-centric POV, I would be thrilled. I feel like they made a little bit of progress in this direction with Gigaton.

[Strat]

Jeff seems to get a lot of his music on PJ records. So.......

[VinylGuy]

Im super happy with the direction the band took on Gigaton. It seems Jeff has a strong voice in that, and im glad.

[gardenparty]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

I presume it's this:

That’s a real shame. Brad and Shawn deserved better.

I don’t know. I loved me some Brad, but the only reason they made it as big as they did was because of Stone.
They would have been unknown without him.

[96583UP]

Stone take your guitar Some red wine and riffs to Hawaii for a week.

Jam the new Songs with Ed on guitar


Problem solved

or get jeanne tripplehorn to do the demos

[Tuolumne]

So i put on Painted Shield's Time Machine and, coupled w/ Stone saying he writes every song with Ed in mind and my first thought is ... what the fucking fuck? The music to that is fresh and rocking as all hell. It is damn good, if PJ fans generally heard this w/ the band members playing and Ed singing they'd be nodding their heads maybe even more than we have been with Quick Escape. The kind of new fresh Stoney groove that would blow open the beginning of a PJ album

And I like the lyrics to Who Ever Said and Never Destination but it's Ed's riffs that are the weak links to the album. To me, it's like these two guys can't get into a room and write together. They seem like they're polite and Stone clearly has alot of respect for Ed's talent. I just wonder how much Ed appreciates Stone's talent.

I don't have too many complaints about Gigaton. It's got some fresh killer stuff. But when I hear some of Ed's more pedestrian guitar riffs coupled w/ strong lyrics I just think ....Man ... a missed opportunity.

[Mike]

Oh man, how disappointing it is to think about the potential Pearl Jam still has when listening to Painted Shield. Stone seems to still be super creative. Too bad I don't care about Painted Shields singer at all.

Thinking of someone as their muse and then only getting one or two songs on albums with them that are released 4-6 years apart is kinda sad.

[VinylGuy]

while i liked PS album, i prefer Gigaton. No doubt about it.

[Monkey_Driven]

while i liked PS album, i prefer Gigaton. No doubt about it.

Same.

[joostone]

while i liked PS album, i prefer Gigaton. No doubt about it.

Same.

Gigaton is a far superior album. But PS does show what Stone is still capable off. Some of these songs, especially 'Time Machine' would have worked great as a PJ song.
Stone is definately underused in PJ's material. For some reason Ed doesn't connect with most of his recent work, which is really a missed opportunity.

[RockPusher]

I don't have too many complaints about Gigaton. It's got some fresh killer stuff. But when I hear some of Ed's more pedestrian guitar riffs coupled w/ strong lyrics I just think ....Man ... a missed opportunity.

Now that I am learning guitar and bass at a little higher level than in the past, I can really agree with you here. Ed's riffs, while often memorable, are very basic. Stone's fresh and more complex riffs are something I really and truly miss. I'll have to give Painted Shield a listen!

[Hatfield]

I've mentioned this here before, but the book Grunge is Dead has some very brutal comments by none other than Regan Hagar who is one of Stone's longtime friends (in addition to the tough comments by Shawn Smith). Those comments lay right into Ed. Regan works for the band now so clearly things are ironed out, but something was afoot back in the day and Stone and Ed made it through but the relationship definitely changed.

Haven't heard of this before. Care to elaborate (again)?

I presume it's this:

That’s a real shame. Brad and Shawn deserved better.

I don’t know. I loved me some Brad, but the only reason they made it as big as they did was because of Stone.
They would have been unknown without him.

Agreed that Brad is as popular as they should have been. I like it, but the music doesn't have wide range appeal.

[digster]

I'm not sure I've ever even heard a Brad song, but regardless of coattails, I think I'd be pretty pissed if I found out label politics was meaning my record wasn't getting the push or promotion that I'd been expecting.