17. All or None vs. Quick Escape

[Jaeti]

One odd thing about my love for the band is that, by and large, Mike's solos don't really do much for me, and never have. Even on records, often I see them as a facet of biding time or maintaining momentum or supporting what the band is doing. I rarely have that 'wow' moment that I do with someone like Neil Young and his solos, for example. But there's a few exceptions, and the main one is All or None.

Found myself nodding in agreement through this whole comment.

[Norah]

Quick Escape sucks and All Night rules. Easy vote here.

[Stardog Champion]

I absolutely love what McCready brings to All or None, but I'm not sure how much I love the rest of the song. Certainly not to the extent that I've come to love Quick Escape. Voting for the new track.

[PHATJ]

Quick Escape sucks and All Night rules. Easy vote here.

So how do you feel about All or None?

[Mike]

Quick Escape is hugely overrated and All Or None is hugely underrated.

[stip]

All or None is a great mood piece - I like all the individual elements, but it still seems a bit underdeveloped - like they wrote two thirds of a song and then just decided to put a (very good) solo on it instead of finishing it properly.

As Stip said, Quick Escape is as huge as Pearl Jam has sounded on record for years. Very successful melding of classic and modern Pearl Jam- musically, this song would work on Ten. Great showpiece for Jeff at the end. I’ve always wanted them to capture on record the vibe of some of the great live Porch jams that we’ve gotten over the last 10 or so years, and I think the outro to QE does this. Plus, this song was directly responsible for Trump being voted out of office.

Quick Escape.

welcome to the board podunk

[stip]

This is maybe the toughest matchup this round. One odd thing about my love for the band is that, by and large, Mike's solos don't really do much for me, and never have. Even on records, often I see them as a facet of biding time or maintaining momentum or supporting what the band is doing. I rarely have that 'wow' moment that I do with someone like Neil Young and his solos, for example. But there's a few exceptions, and the main one is All or None; it's certainly the most emotional reaction I've had to a Mike solo. The song itself is great, and Ed's choice to go higher in the last verse is the best illustration of why his vocal choices in Riot Act were so good and have aged so well.

Quick Escape, though, is great. I often actually gravitate towards Stone's solos and parts, and his off-kilter solo halfway through this in the kind of guitar playing that tends to attract me more than the shredding that concludes it. The way the song tumbles out of its bridge into that solo is one of my favorite moments from the band in a long time. I'd give it to All or None, but both of these songs deserve to go further.

i forgot that stone is the first solo. might be my all time favorite of his. it is truly excellent. but i dont recall which other studio solos are his

[epilogue]

Quick Escape sucks and All Night rules. Easy vote here.

Um...

[B]

[tragabigzanda]

Do all you QE lovers enjoy the vocals, or are you just overlooking those because you think the music is worth it?

[PHATJ]

Do all you QE lovers enjoy the vocals, or are you just overlooking those because you think the music is worth it?

I love the vocals

[VinylGuy]

This is maybe the toughest matchup this round. One odd thing about my love for the band is that, by and large, Mike's solos don't really do much for me, and never have. Even on records, often I see them as a facet of biding time or maintaining momentum or supporting what the band is doing. I rarely have that 'wow' moment that I do with someone like Neil Young and his solos, for example. But there's a few exceptions, and the main one is All or None; it's certainly the most emotional reaction I've had to a Mike solo. The song itself is great, and Ed's choice to go higher in the last verse is the best illustration of why his vocal choices in Riot Act were so good and have aged so well.

Quick Escape, though, is great. I often actually gravitate towards Stone's solos and parts, and his off-kilter solo halfway through this in the kind of guitar playing that tends to attract me more than the shredding that concludes it. The way the song tumbles out of its bridge into that solo is one of my favorite moments from the band in a long time. I'd give it to All or None, but both of these songs deserve to go further.

i forgot that stone is the first solo. might be my all time favorite of his. it is truly excellent. but i dont recall which other studio solos are his

He has the Do The Evolution solo and the Brain of J, those two are my favs from him

[stip]

This is maybe the toughest matchup this round. One odd thing about my love for the band is that, by and large, Mike's solos don't really do much for me, and never have. Even on records, often I see them as a facet of biding time or maintaining momentum or supporting what the band is doing. I rarely have that 'wow' moment that I do with someone like Neil Young and his solos, for example. But there's a few exceptions, and the main one is All or None; it's certainly the most emotional reaction I've had to a Mike solo. The song itself is great, and Ed's choice to go higher in the last verse is the best illustration of why his vocal choices in Riot Act were so good and have aged so well.

Quick Escape, though, is great. I often actually gravitate towards Stone's solos and parts, and his off-kilter solo halfway through this in the kind of guitar playing that tends to attract me more than the shredding that concludes it. The way the song tumbles out of its bridge into that solo is one of my favorite moments from the band in a long time. I'd give it to All or None, but both of these songs deserve to go further.

i forgot that stone is the first solo. might be my all time favorite of his. it is truly excellent. but i dont recall which other studio solos are his

He has the Do The Evolution solo and the Brain of J, those two are my favs from him

The solo about two minutes in on BoJ? That is a really good one. I like the one in DTE too, though the solo is such a minor feature of the song (and the song doesn't really stop to showcase it)

[stip]

Do all you QE lovers enjoy the vocals, or are you just overlooking those because you think the music is worth it?

I love the vocals

I do in the context of the song, where it fits really well. It's a choice, and it works here, but I wouldn't just drop it into every song (speaking of both DTE and Brain of J)

[liebzz]

Both.

The lyrics may not individually be English literature ready, but it’s a relatable sci-fi tale that felt and still somewhat feels all too real. It was meant to be a reflection of us and Trump destroying our planet maybe from a climate change point of view but also feels poignant on the levels of division he sowed and in the context of a world enraptured in COVID while his administration sat in denial and defiance. It may, 20 years down the road seem hyperbolic and immature, but hell if that feeling isn’t dead on in these times.

And the music is awesome.

[tragabigzanda]

Just to clarify, my problem isn’t with the lyrics at all. It’s with 1) the quantity of the syllables and 2) the distorted effect and 3) the performance. It’s devoid of any subtlety, space, or breathing room. Ed dropped a humongous distorted turd right on top of their classic rock riff.

[Jaeti]

Do all you QE lovers enjoy the vocals, or are you just overlooking those because you think the music is worth it?

I love the vocals

[VinylGuy]

Just to clarify, my problem isn’t with the lyrics at all. It’s with 1) the quantity of the syllables and 2) the distorted effect and 3) the performance. It’s devoid of any subtlety, space, or breathing room. Ed dropped a humongous distorted turd right on top of their classic rock riff.

jesus trag just feel the music someday without thinking about the compression, the production, mix or something like "the quantity of the syllables"

just feel it

[tragabigzanda]

I do feel it and it feels aurally oppressive

[Monkey_Driven]

I do feel it and it feels aurally oppressive

I think that's kind of the point.