Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[Revelator]

The rest of this album needs to leak soon for all our sakes.

Yes

[ABNorman]

The rest of this album needs to leak soon for all our sakes.

Yes

I hope it never leaks so we can just stay in this thread and discuss which bands the new music has ripped off and how much BO'B sucks.

Forever.

[stip]

I also kinda cringe during the "but all things change" part when his voice cracks.

I those lines. Because it's something he rarely does it really draws attention but without it that section would start feeling repetitive.

I always cringe when singers reach too far beyond their range and strain I guess, it's not just Ed. I hate when Patterson Hood tries to sing falsetto too.

What? That's a beautiful transition into falsetto. There is no voice crack. His 'range' is what he can sing and he has sung much, much higher in full voice (LROM for example). This is falsetto which isn't anywhere near as difficult. It's not even that high a note for falsetto. He sings it perfectly though.

Whenever Ed sings anything high, people tend to go 'oh he's singing outside his range'. I don't get it, at all. You could say you don't like it, that's fine. Don't use terminology like range if you don't really know what it is.

Nothing personal, I've seen this kind of response too many times before and wanted to get it off my chest.

terminology and practice aside, I think he sings those notes quite well on the record. When I read falsetto in the early reviews I was picturing something more jarring. This is pretty seemless .

[sward]

Anyone else find it weird that this band that is damn near HoF induction is just making songs to sound like other artists?

"Oh, this is my Dead Kennedys song."

"Oh, that one? That's my Pink Floyd song."

I don't necessarily hate the result, but these songs are more than just influenced. Shit, Roger Waters could take over vocals for Ed on Sirens, and you might not even notice.

I was always expecting that album to arrive.

as long as the songs are good I don't care. Usually they are paying tribute to bands I don't like, but at least I can like the pearl jam version. I feel like I've expanded my horizons just a little bit

These guys have always worn their influences on their sleeve. The Who anyone? Besides, I think every band out there does it without actually giving props to their influence. Besides part 2...when you sit a guy down to talk about a song he just wrote, the easiest way to get the point across is to identify something common for the listener otherwise imagine how hard it is to explain a song you wrote music for and the vibe you were after. Besides part 3...anyone who is truly original is doing experimental songs and that normally sounds like shit...so......

[Release_Me]

He's always added a little bit of falsetto to the songs but it's usually just random sounds like ooooo or eeeee. Here, he's singing actual words. The change in register is seamless and he does it beautifully. I think it was MFS that people were referring to when they talked about falsetto and Ed sounding completely different, though.

[Mirella]

What pisses me off about this thread is that I have lots to say about the new songs, but posting it would be a waste of keystrokes. By the time I hit "submit" there are two more pages of posts that make me want to stab myself in the belly button with a broken plastic fork.

Or do just like me and post it anyway. Not that anyone replies after that, but they may read it .

groetjes,
Mirella

PS: I noticed my status is now 'a return to form'. That is cool, thanks . And it is a good opportunity to invite everyone who wants to to my Facebook group 'Pearl Jam fans getting in shape'

I seriously thought you were about to say, And it's a good opportunity to invite everyone to my house.

heheh, yeah, come and meet our cats

groetjes,
Mirella

[harmless]

I also kinda cringe during the "but all things change" part when his voice cracks.

I those lines. Because it's something he rarely does it really draws attention but without it that section would start feeling repetitive.

I always cringe when singers reach too far beyond their range and strain I guess, it's not just Ed. I hate when Patterson Hood tries to sing falsetto too.

What? That's a beautiful transition into falsetto. There is no voice crack. His 'range' is what he can sing and he has sung much, much higher in full voice (LROM for example). This is falsetto which isn't anywhere near as difficult. It's not even that high a note for falsetto. He sings it perfectly though.

Whenever Ed sings anything high, people tend to go 'oh he's singing outside his range'. I don't get it, at all. You could say you don't like it, that's fine. Don't use terminology like range if you don't really know what it is.

Nothing personal, I've seen this kind of response too many times before and wanted to get it off my chest.

terminology and practice aside, I think he sings those notes quite well on the record. When I read falsetto in the early reviews I was picturing something more jarring. This is pretty seemless .

*sorry wrong post quoted*

[harmless]

Anyone else find it weird that this band that is damn near HoF induction is just making songs to sound like other artists?

"Oh, this is my Dead Kennedys song."

"Oh, that one? That's my Pink Floyd song."

I don't necessarily hate the result, but these songs are more than just influenced. Shit, Roger Waters could take over vocals for Ed on Sirens, and you might not even notice.

I was always expecting that album to arrive.

as long as the songs are good I don't care. Usually they are paying tribute to bands I don't like, but at least I can like the pearl jam version. I feel like I've expanded my horizons just a little bit

These guys have always worn their influences on their sleeve. The Who anyone? Besides, I think every band out there does it without actually giving props to their influence. Besides part 2...when you sit a guy down to talk about a song he just wrote, the easiest way to get the point across is to identify something common for the listener otherwise imagine how hard it is to explain a song you wrote music for and the vibe you were after. Besides part 3...anyone who is truly original is doing experimental songs and that normally sounds like shit...so......

I'm with stip here. I think PJ were always, always a band that just aped other bands' styles. Pearl Jam's styles were always just other bands' styles put in a blender and whizzed around. As they've got older and the "grunge" facade has worn away, this has become even more "naked" and naive. But the big clue was in the fact that the band (or Eddie) was always just a platform from which to praise other, older, better HoF bands (and, like stip, bands I didn't even like other than Neil Young). It used to frustrate me, but then I realised that this band were unique for that. Their music didn't draw attention to itself; it pointed outwards to the music PJ loved. That might be being too complimentary, because I would love it if they were more original now... but their relative lack of originality and "identity" (at least in terms of musical style) was always there, right from the beginning. Non-fans saw that and it's part of the reason they remained non-fans.

[Huell]

In fairness, they have a uniqueness about them in terms of the amount of songwriters, Ed's voice, etc but they have always been aware of the rock and roll legacy, HoF stream.
Entering the HoF is kinda the mark that a band is well beyond creative line. Eddie seems to induct any band that he asked to... so he obviously see some value in the institution.

From what we have heard from LB, the songs have grown on me. They're tunes, not going to challenge you or anything. I was waiting to see if there was a change in the overall mentality but it looks like since Avocado on its going to be this way with albums... the last 3 have interchangable songs, no exploration... its the Bruce Springsteen template, they can alter it slightly like Bruce did with Wrecking Ball, but its same stuff really. Whatever the level of quality of these last 3 albums onwards is debatable, but they will never have the differentiation the first 7 albums did... oh well,

[Cleverman]

Disclaimer: I have nothing invested in reviews of this song, be they positive or negative. Just putting this here for the heck of it. Guess I found it a bit surprising that a piece this long was written about just this one song.

http://www.antiquiet.com/news/2013/09/p ... th-sirens/

So you think this guys a Pearl Jam fan or not?

This guy has Binaural as #2 best album of the decade so he's probably a hipster

He posts here, or at least on the old board. Great writer and big PJ fan.

He used to yell at us a lot.

Haha, really?

[harmless]

In fairness, they have a uniqueness about them in terms of the amount of songwriters, Ed's voice, etc but they have always been aware of the rock and roll legacy, HoF stream.
Entering the HoF is kinda the mark that a band is well beyond creative line. Eddie seems to induct any band that he asked to... so he obviously see some value in the institution.

From what we have heard from LB, the songs have grown on me. They're tunes, not going to challenge you or anything. I was waiting to see if there was a change in the overall mentality but it looks like since Avocado on its going to be this way with albums... the last 3 have interchangable songs, no exploration... its the Bruce Springsteen template, they can alter it slightly like Bruce did with Wrecking Ball, but its same stuff really. Whatever the level of quality of these last 3 albums onwards is debatable, but they will never have the differentiation the first 7 albums did... oh well,

Yup. I agree. The first 7 albums are locked in a safe labelled "Classic Pearl Jam." I just enjoy these songs for being enjoyable songs.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

The rest of this album needs to leak soon for all our sakes.

it just needs to be release day already

[LetMeSleep]

We have half the album. We're pretty lucky really.

24 days.

[stupidmop]

Question: stuff like insignificance, cropduster, ghost the binaural/riot act stuff, who would you say they're most influenced by? They're what I think of when I try and think of an entirely pearl jam sounding song. Disclaimer against this potentially stupid question: I'm bad at picking out influences unless they're really obvious, and I don't consider myself someone particularly well versed in a lot of music.

Maybe we'll get that awesome EP full of songs too interesting for an album soon. May.....be.

We have half the album. We're pretty lucky really.

24 days.

Not the good half though, if we believe all the reviews I want to believe.

[sward]

I'll say one thing about the leaks so far and leading into the full album..I find myself actually listening to the songs overall more than Backspacer. In some of the songs like Let The Records Play, on first listen I wasn't captivated but was hearing enough to want to go back and dissect, and I'm picking out guitar parts here, bass parts there, drum parts over there etc...to make the songs into something I want to listen to again. Digging it.

[harmless]

Question: stuff like insignificance, cropduster, ghost the binaural/riot act stuff, who would you say they're most influenced by? They're what I think of when I try and think of an entirely pearl jam sounding song. Disclaimer against this potentially stupid question: I'm bad at picking out influences unless they're really obvious, and I don't consider myself someone particularly well versed in a lot of music.

Good question, and instead of answering it at length I will say that the Binaural / Riot Act period *did* represent, for many here (including me), a move into a genuinely "Pearl Jam" sound. There was progression; and more recently, they've reverted to being more what they used to be -- influences on sleeve, and more nakedly. You can either go along for the ride or say that because they've reverted back a little, rather than musically stretching further and further, this really bothers you. I said that about S/T, and I said that about Backspacer, but ultimately I'm at the point where I've had years of complaints and now my expectations are lowered, and I enjoy what I'm hearing musically.

FWIW, though, I do think that throughout Binaural and Riot Act, Neil Young and "muddy" blues and folk-inflected rock was still what was being channelled by Pearl Jam. And there was definitely a nod to U2 in something like "You Are", which I initially baulked at. And "Breakerfall" is just a very good Neil Young cover.

[LooseGroove927]

The rest of this album needs to leak soon for all our sakes.

Yes

I have this weird feeling that it's going to leak over the weekend.

[mastaflatch]

Question: stuff like insignificance, cropduster, ghost the binaural/riot act stuff, who would you say they're most influenced by? They're what I think of when I try and think of an entirely pearl jam sounding song. Disclaimer against this potentially stupid question: I'm bad at picking out influences unless they're really obvious, and I don't consider myself someone particularly well versed in a lot of music.

Good question, and instead of answering it at length I will say that the Binaural / Riot Act period *did* represent, for many here (including me), a move into a genuinely "Pearl Jam" sound. There was progression; and more recently, they've reverted to being more what they used to be -- influences on sleeve, and more nakedly. You can either go along for the ride or say that because they've reverted back a little, rather than musically stretching further and further, this really bothers you. I said that about S/T, and I said that about Backspacer, but ultimately I'm at the point where I've had years of complaints and now my expectations are lowered, and I enjoy what I'm hearing musically.

FWIW, though, I do think that throughout Binaural and Riot Act, Neil Young and "muddy" blues and folk-inflected rock was still what was being channelled by Pearl Jam. And there was definitely a nod to U2 in something like "You Are", which I initially baulked at.

maybe this perception has something to do with the very diverse songwriting these albums displayed. maybe Ed was letting go of his leader role in those days? i feel like he took the reigns again on S/T thus making the band's official output much more streamlined. also, the Binaural/Riot Act era was a tumultuous one for the band; adapting with yet another drummer, Roskilde, Mike's relapse (i might be wrong on that one)...post Riot Act seems a lot calmer for PJ.

[harmless]

Question: stuff like insignificance, cropduster, ghost the binaural/riot act stuff, who would you say they're most influenced by? They're what I think of when I try and think of an entirely pearl jam sounding song. Disclaimer against this potentially stupid question: I'm bad at picking out influences unless they're really obvious, and I don't consider myself someone particularly well versed in a lot of music.

Good question, and instead of answering it at length I will say that the Binaural / Riot Act period *did* represent, for many here (including me), a move into a genuinely "Pearl Jam" sound. There was progression; and more recently, they've reverted to being more what they used to be -- influences on sleeve, and more nakedly. You can either go along for the ride or say that because they've reverted back a little, rather than musically stretching further and further, this really bothers you. I said that about S/T, and I said that about Backspacer, but ultimately I'm at the point where I've had years of complaints and now my expectations are lowered, and I enjoy what I'm hearing musically.

FWIW, though, I do think that throughout Binaural and Riot Act, Neil Young and "muddy" blues and folk-inflected rock was still what was being channelled by Pearl Jam. And there was definitely a nod to U2 in something like "You Are", which I initially baulked at.

maybe this perception has something to do with the very diverse songwriting these albums displayed. maybe Ed was letting go of his leader role in those days? i feel like he took the reigns again on S/T thus making the band's official output much more streamlined. also, the Binaural/Riot Act era was a tumultuous one for the band; adapting with yet another drummer, Roskilde, Mike's relapse (i might be wrong on that one)...post Riot Act seems a lot calmer for PJ.

Yup.

[stupidmop]

Someone made a post breaking down the songwriting on each album into percentages, and its interesting because eds binaural percentage was almost as high as his vitalogy one, and this was just after yield the 'democratic' album. I can never get a hold on how much eds doing album to album, either the ed having control thing is overblown, or the band overstate the whole democracy thing.