Let's Actually Listen to the Album: Pearl Jam

[RockPusher]

this is the first album on which they chose to include cheesy cringe like Big Wave; it wasn't as bad as Supersonic on BS but it was the gateway drug

I have a love/hate relationship with that song. There's some really cool musical stuff going on in the second half of it, but yeah...

[Ms Harmless]

this is the first album on which they chose to include cheesy cringe like Big Wave; it wasn't as bad as Supersonic on BS but it was the gateway drug

I have a love/hate relationship with that song. There's some really cool musical stuff going on in the second half of it, but yeah...

I really like it musically tbh; Matt does some fun stuff in the jam

[Ms Harmless]

in fact I'd probably go as far as to say that none of the PJ songs I hate are bad musically / compositionally

[epilogue]

Big Wave is such a great tune. There's nothing cringey about it.

[washing machine]

Big Wave is top ten PJ for me. Closest those guitars have come to sounding like Sonic Youth since Stupid Mop.

[McParadigm]

Big Wave is top ten PJ for me. Closest those guitars have come to sounding like Sonic Youth since Stupid Mop.

[Birds in Hell]

Big Wave is top ten PJ for me. Closest those guitars have come to sounding like Sonic Youth since Stupid Mop.

Yes.

[lowlight79]

Big Wave is top ten PJ for me. Closest those guitars have come to sounding like Sonic Youth since Stupid Mop.

I wished they had played it more on the US legs back in 06, they didn't pull it out till mid June and by the time they got to Europe, the song was straight fire with the way the ended the song. They didn't play on the East Coast till 08, which was weird.

[washing machine]

I might put it on right now.

[washing machine]

So here's another reason Big Wave works. It's not trying to be anything other than what it is. Too often on the post-No Code rockers, Eddie ends up sounding self serious. This one is just a rocker about evolution and ocean swells. Nothing more. Maybe the most honest PRAMG song EV will ever write.

[Ms Harmless]

self serious Ed was always the best Ed when he was good at it, but the problem for me is that he *does* sound serious on BW, a song that doesn't ask for that gravitas (maybe I'd feel differently if I surfed?)

I like silly light hearted Ed very rarely; I'd take a thousand Gremmies or Hitchhikers over Big Wave; on Lost Dogs they managed to find that sweet spot of R.E.M-aping weirdness to give edge to their pop stuff

all my opinion, I wish I felt S/T was a great album; I do think it's a good one though, and my favourite moments are ones that other people dislike (the Life Wasted bridge, with Ed's laugh as it goes back into the chorus, is worth the price of admission for me)

[epilogue]

That's interesting. I don't hear the song as either self serious nor as playful. It lands somewhere between those two categories for me. There isn't the gravitas of a song like Amongst the Waves (for one surf-song comparison) nor the light-heartedness of Gremmie (for another).

But I totally understand why Big Wave would rub you wrong if it came off as too self-serious. For me, that's Lightning Bolt. I think I hear that song in much the same way as you hear Big Wave, Ms Harmless.

[Ms Harmless]

it sounds like it don't get me wrong, I don't think anything on ST is as bad as the worst of LB, but I just think it started the ball rolling

[LetMeSleep]

Don't forget that this band released Mankind a decade before Big Wave.

[liebzz]

For me, it’s all in the timing. This album came after Riot Act and felt like a breath of fresh air after two very dark and, for lack of a better word, thick sounding albums. They are both amazing albums, but the change just felt good. By the time Lightning Bolt came around, that same effort, if it is the same kind of effort, felt tired and unnatural - like they were forced to sound like Pearl Jam.

[Strat]

For me, it’s all in the timing. This album came after Riot Act and felt like a breath of fresh air after two very dark and, for lack of a better word, thick sounding albums. They are both amazing albums, but the change just felt good. By the time Lightning Bolt came around, that same effort, if it is the same kind of effort, felt tired and unnatural - like they were forced to sound like Pearl Jam.

Yup. I love Riot Act and Binaural but with S/T was released it felt like a huge rush of energy and breath of fresh air. it did feel like Pearl Jam was "back" - whatever that actually meant. This also included a massive tour, promotions, interviews, tv appearances, and special events.

It was exciting.

[Ms Harmless]

Don't forget that this band released Mankind a decade before Big Wave.

yeah but Mankind is good

[E.H. Ruddock]

I love this album. Once you get past the production issues (listen to live versions) the songs are incredible.

[smallest_oceans]

For me, it’s all in the timing. This album came after Riot Act and felt like a breath of fresh air after two very dark and, for lack of a better word, thick sounding albums. They are both amazing albums, but the change just felt good. By the time Lightning Bolt came around, that same effort, if it is the same kind of effort, felt tired and unnatural - like they were forced to sound like Pearl Jam.

Yup. I love Riot Act and Binaural but with S/T was released it felt like a huge rush of energy and breath of fresh air. it did feel like Pearl Jam was "back" - whatever that actually meant. This also included a massive tour, promotions, interviews, tv appearances, and special events.

It was exciting.

Yeah this is me too. At the time I really liked the opening 4 (5,6,7) tracks. That Letterman set they did at the time was really great as well. I think the 06 tour is universally loved. A lot of positivity.

[Hatfield]

For me, it’s all in the timing. This album came after Riot Act and felt like a breath of fresh air after two very dark and, for lack of a better word, thick sounding albums. They are both amazing albums, but the change just felt good. By the time Lightning Bolt came around, that same effort, if it is the same kind of effort, felt tired and unnatural - like they were forced to sound like Pearl Jam.

Yup. I love Riot Act and Binaural but with S/T was released it felt like a huge rush of energy and breath of fresh air. it did feel like Pearl Jam was "back" - whatever that actually meant. This also included a massive tour, promotions, interviews, tv appearances, and special events.

It was exciting.

I love this album. Once you get past the production issues (listen to live versions) the songs are incredible.

Yeah this is me too. At the time I really liked the opening 4 (5,6,7) tracks. That Letterman set they did at the time was really great as well. I think the 06 tour is universally loved. A lot of positivity.

All of this! It was so fun to hear Ed and the band sound this way again. I still love listening to shows from 2006 and anytime I throw on the album itself, I really enjoy it. It's got everything I love in a Pearl Jam record.