Search for any band name + greatest hits on YouTube and you'll find a world of hastily assembled clickbaity collections. I'm not sure why. The people (or bots) who put these together can't possibly be making any money from them. I guess they're mining for subscribers. Some are very successful at it.
I took the day off sick today so I decided to try this with bootleg "Pearl Jam Best Of" videos.
A few disclaimers:
- I'm in Argentina. Some of these are probably not accessible from the States, or may already be deleted by the time you're reading this.
- I'm going to rate these based on cover art, track selection, and overall quality. Mostly the question I'm asking myself is "would this satisfy a casual listener?"
- I suck at identifying live versions so I'm not even going to try and guess where some of these are from.
- Yes this is a remarkably silly way to spend my time, but it was fun and it got me listening to Pearl Jam for the first time in a while.
- I'm not going to actually listen to the full videos -- they're very long -- but I'll click around to check quality and see if the tracklists match.
First off,
Pearl Jam Greatest Hits Full Album - Best Songs Of Pearl Jam Playlist 2021
Uploaded on July 12, 2021 by YouTube user ROCK MUSIC (3.8k subscribers)
Cover: One of those hilarious press shots from the Gigaton era, which is funny because if the tracklist is to be believed the newest song on here is from 1999. Like most of these videos, the songs are laid out pretty plainly on the right hand side. “Last Kiss” is misspelled as “Last Kis” which I prefer.
Track selection: Pretty standard. These songs are exactly what most people think of when they think “Pearl Jam”. Nothing from the 21st century and that probably suits the kind of person who would search out “Pearl Jam Greatest Hits” on YouTube. Hilarious that “Black,” “Alive” and “Jeremy” appear twice.
Impressions:
- Starts off rough with a live version of “Jeremy” from 2000 or so, but it has some weird pops throughout that sound like a CD that needs to be wiped clean with a piece of cloth.
- Hilariously, it goes off the rails almost immediately as the version of “Alive” is some cover band with a female singer.
- “Black” is also a very bad bar-band cover. Is this gonna be mostly covers? I really hope so.
- Ok, we’re back to Pearl Jam. Instead of “Daughter”, we jump straight into “Yellow Ledbetter” which is a live version I recognize from the Live at the Garden DVD. I never recognize specific live versions so this is a big deal for me!
- “Daughter” is also a live version with, like, bongos.
- Oh we’re doing “Yellow Ledbetter” again. OK. A second version of “Yellow Ledbetter” appears after “Daughter”.
- After the second “Yellow Ledbetter” ends, “Dance of the Clairvoyants” makes a surprise appearance! No wait this is a weird techno instrumental that sounds like a demo track from a Casio keyboard. Not Pearl Jam.
- “Release” is also a live cover by someone I feel I’m supposed to recognize.
- “Once” is actually PJ but another live version. Then “Last Kis” is a solo Ed live version. I’m disappointed that this appears to be a compilation of live versions but on the bright side it looks like we’re back on course with the tracklist.
- “Corduroy” “Animal” and “Porch” are all acoustic covers by someone who probably posts on RM.
- The rest is a pretty unremarkable assortment of live versions. Nothing of note except the last 3 songs listed don’t actually appear. Instead, a jaunty ukulele-and-glockenspiel number appears at the end of “Immortality,” leading to another brief techno instrumental. Very weird!
Rating: Terrible! No one would enjoy this! 3/10
Next up,
P.Jam Greatest Hits Full Album - Best Songs Of P.Jam Playlist 2021
Uploaded on Aug 16, 2021 by YouTube user… ROCK MUSIC again! I guess this is a do-over
Cover: Much more representative of the era shown in the tracklist. So much hair. Still spelling it “Last Kis” though.
Track selection: Again, pretty standard. It looks like they fixed the issue with duplication. Good job ROCK MUSIC.
Impressions:
- Compared to the previous one, it’s like night and day. We’re actually getting the studio tracks, although at shitty-mp3-rip quality but that’s expected.
- Volume levels are all over the place though.
- This version of “Leash” sounds like utter trash, like it was recorded off a telephone line!
- I enjoyed the one YouTube comment:
Rating: A big improvement! Mixed quality, but it’s the studio versions, and all of them actually by Pearl Jam. Has the songs you’d expect. If you know someone who wants to listen to a collection of songs from Pearl Jam’s relevant years, and are also indigent, this is perfect. 8/10
Next,
PearlJam Greatest Hits Full Album 2021 Best Songs Of PearlJam Collection 2021
Uploaded on Jan 28, 2021 by YouTube user R&B Music Mix (subscriber count hidden)
Cover: Pretty bad. A mishmash of colors that look ugly next to each other, and a really lazy design altogether. “Last Kiss” is spelled correctly, but “Elderly Woman…” has been shortened to “Elderly Woman Behind,” which makes it sound like a song about an old lady’s ass.
Track selection: Mostly standard, but a couple surprises. Looks like “Man of the Hour” and “I Am Mine” make an appearance, bringing us for the first time into the 21st century. Also, “Soldier of Love” is in this? Kind of weird but okay. “Better Man” is conspicuously absent.
Impressions:
- There’s a surprise near the start when “I Am Mine” immediately follows “Black” instead of “Given to Fly”
- Aside from that little hiccup, the first five songs go smoothly. But then ah, between “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter” we get a little honky tonk piano intermission for a few seconds. Very strange.
- God I love “Man of the Hour.” Just wanted to say that.
- Okay, so “GIven to Fly” is where “I Am Mine” is supposed to be and vice versa. No duplication.
- It’s all studio versions (well, aside from “Soldier of Love”) until we get to “Spin the Black Circle” which is, I wanna say, a Monkeywrench Radio performance?
- I like that it ends on a heavy note.
Rating: Pretty good! I immediately like it better than the last one because it has “Man of the Hour” in it. Weird that they left out “Better Man” and included “Soldier of Love” but it’s a solid effort. 8/10 (Note: this entry was later disqualified due to plagiarism)
Next,
Pearl Jam Greatest Hits Full Album - Best Songs Of Pearl Jam Playlist 2021
Uploaded on Jun 28, 2021 by YouTube user ROCK MUSIC again!!!
This is just a re-upload of the first one I reviewed but with different (and better) cover art. It still spells it “Last Kis,” it’s still filled with other people’s covers of Pearl Jam songs, it still ends with random instrumentals.
Rating: 4/10, because the cover art is great.
There’s a few other versions of this same compilation with different cover art, like this excellent Simpsons one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gQ8SDsFAss
Next,
Pearl Jam's Greatest Hits Full Album
Uploaded on May 6, 2021 by YouTube user CLASSIC ROCK (30 subscribers)
Cover: Pretty boring. Avocado-era picture featuring Mike’s lesbian-aunt mid-2000s hair.
Track selection: The hits are all here, minus “Do the Evolution” and plus “Soon Forget.” Why did they include “Soon Forget”? Very odd.
Impressions:
- Things are immediately weird as the video kicks off in media res during an acoustic performance of “Jeremy.” Is this from the Unplugged? I’ve never actually listened to the whole thing. Oh, is this just the Unplugged? “Even Flow” is next.
- Nevermind, “Alive” is an electric live version from the old days. The tracklist on the cover appears to be completely wrong.
- Wtf. Suddenly we get a live version of “Sirens”. I keep forgetting that this song exists. This is the most recent song to show up on any of these so far.
- A bunch of songs not actually on the cover, like “Just Breathe” and “I Am Mine.” Also “Do the Evolution” and “Save You.” All live versions.
- At 43:20, “Better Man” is interrupted by a weird ballad in a strange language I don’t recognize. I’ve been skipping around these videos, but I actually listened to this entire thing. Maybe because it’s something new. Maybe because I wanted to figure out which language it’s in. In any case, it ends the compilation on a note of mystery and I’m not sorry I heard it.
Rating: I guess 5/10? They’re mostly live versions and the quality is pretty bad throughout. I wouldn’t give this to someone who wanted a surface-level Pearl Jam platter, but the variety keeps things interesting and that weird ballad at the end is positively haunting.
Next up,
Pearl Jam |The Best |Playlist |Greatest Hits
Uploaded on May 6, 2020 by YouTube user bor zong (65.9k subscribers)
Cover: Vs-era press shot where Ed’s taking a little nap. There’s a little red highlight that actually moves down the tracklist as each new song plays, a level of craft and vision that sets this bootleg Greatest Hits collection a cut above the rest.
Track selection: What you’d expect, minus “Better Man” and… wait, “Soldier of Love” is here too? I had no idea this track was so popular. Also “Man of the Hour” is here! Wait a moment…
Impressions:
- With over 2.6M views, this is by far the most popular of these videos.
- As soon as it starts I recognize the piano theme. That’s the weird piano that popped up in R&B Music Mix’s compilation! It looks like R&B Music Mix just took bor zong’s video and chopped it up and rearranged it. I’m shocked and appalled.
Rating: This is good. Solid mix, passable quality, some thought put into the flow (it ends on “Man of the Hour”). I’m giving it an 8.5/10. Pretty good for casual listeners and actually has a couple deep(ish) cuts.
Finally for today,
Best Songs Of PearlJam 2021 - PearlJam Greatest Hits Full Album 2021
Uploaded on April 12, 2021 by YouTube user PP (haha) (69 subscribers) (HAHA)
Cover: Pretty funny because Ed’s head is just kind of poking up at the bottom there. He’s barely in it.
Track selection: Kind of weird. The first one of these to feature a Gigaton song. It also features “Future Days” (ugh) and something called “Immagine in Cornice” which I guess might be one of Mike’s instrumental guitar things from the DVD of the same title.
Impressions:
- For the first 6 songs, this sounds like it’s going to be like the others -- a mixtape featuring tracks of various quality, pulled from a variety of sources. But then…
- … something magical happens 28 minutes in. Suddenly you hear these industrial-sounding synths and drum machines. And you start to recognize a melody. It’s Linkin Park’s “Numb”! But then the guy starts singing and you notice an accent. This is a cover of Linkin Park’s “Numb” by some European person!
- This is followed by another Linkin Park cover by the same Europeans, this time “In the End.”
- Just when I think this is gonna become a Linkin Park tribute, we get a cover of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life.” Hahaha the guy who goes “wake me up” is hilarious.
- At 39 minutes, we get a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers “Californication.” Guy does a fairly good Kiedis. Then it goes into a cover of Audioslave’s “Like a Stone”. Then into a live version of “The Reason” by Hoobastank. Then some shit I don’t recognize, then Coldplay’s “Yellow,” then Nickelback, then Green Day, then Kings of Leon… all with vaguely German accents.
Rating: 10/10, absolute chaos, I love it
