Lightning Bolt: the official album thread

[VinylGuy]

Pendulum is great i forgot its on this album. Man, what a great song. Its awesome live.

[Strat]

Sounds like a band that never became attached to their own songs they were writing. Both for backspacer and lightning bolt.

I remember in those lightning bolt celebrity interviews Steve Gleason rubbed them for taking so long since backspacer. Ed remarked “the next one will probably be even longer”.

I think they just took a break for awhile. The songs never had a chance to grow during inception and certainly not love. Bob perhaps produced what the band brought him.

But much of Riot Act feels similarly thrown together, and excels because of it. The opening drum hit to Ghost makes it sound like it's the second take. The tentative playing on TMW makes it sound like they got a chord chart and then just tried a couple passes. Help, Help and Half Full both feel like they got a general sense of the structure down then just let 'er rip.

LB has none of that. And that's what BOB should have been keeping his eye on. How do you take one of the all-time best live rock bands and make them sound dead?

You have them raise kids and start families.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[liebzz]

The last time I heard this album front to back was likely November 30, 2019, when I wrote about it in the Pearl Jam journey thread. I actually said some nice things in there contemporaneous to that listen. So I should listen again outside of a song here and there.

It reminded me I don’t hate this album, I just grapple with the fact that it doesn’t measure up with how I feel about their albums from 1991-2006, and now add 2020. I should do that again but with Gigaton added to get the full measure. I won’t belabor anyone with it though - and I am in an intense Stones re-listen that has me feeling good about albums I tossed aside last time I listened.

[Brett]

Sounds like a band that never became attached to their own songs they were writing. Both for backspacer and lightning bolt.

I remember in those lightning bolt celebrity interviews Steve Gleason rubbed them for taking so long since backspacer. Ed remarked “the next one will probably be even longer”.

I think they just took a break for awhile. The songs never had a chance to grow during inception and certainly not love. Bob perhaps produced what the band brought him.

But much of Riot Act feels similarly thrown together, and excels because of it. The opening drum hit to Ghost makes it sound like it's the second take. The tentative playing on TMW makes it sound like they got a chord chart and then just tried a couple passes. Help, Help and Half Full both feel like they got a general sense of the structure down then just let 'er rip.

LB has none of that. And that's what BOB should have been keeping his eye on. How do you take one of the all-time best live rock bands and make them sound dead?

I have a theory about this that I think I've shared on here before. Maybe I'm way off the mark on it, or just totally crazy, but here it is:

The band comes into the studio in LA with their various song ideas like usual, and they start working on trying to pull the songs together into full-fledged compositions, but for some reason, it's just not working out. Maybe it's time constraints, maybe it's interpersonal stuff, who knows? Whatever it is, Brendan notices and he's like, "This isn't going to work. This whole album is going to fall apart if there's not an intervention."

So he stages one by expanding his role from rock producer to pop producer. Instead of saying things like, "Let's try this part in a different key," or "I think you should shorten the solo," he goes and charts out entire compositions. Now he says, "Stone, Mike, here's your guitar parts. Jeff, this is what you need to do with the bass lines. Matt, do that time-keeping thing you do. We're rolling." I could see some pretty lifeless performances coming out of a situation like that, and I think it dovetails with Brendan's large font credit in the liner notes.

[lecherouslittlestump]

This fits in with my theory that Pearl Jam has become Eddie Vedder + Session Players since about 1994.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[liebzz]

Sounds like a band that never became attached to their own songs they were writing. Both for backspacer and lightning bolt.

I remember in those lightning bolt celebrity interviews Steve Gleason rubbed them for taking so long since backspacer. Ed remarked “the next one will probably be even longer”.

I think they just took a break for awhile. The songs never had a chance to grow during inception and certainly not love. Bob perhaps produced what the band brought him.

But much of Riot Act feels similarly thrown together, and excels because of it. The opening drum hit to Ghost makes it sound like it's the second take. The tentative playing on TMW makes it sound like they got a chord chart and then just tried a couple passes. Help, Help and Half Full both feel like they got a general sense of the structure down then just let 'er rip.

LB has none of that. And that's what BOB should have been keeping his eye on. How do you take one of the all-time best live rock bands and make them sound dead?

I have a theory about this that I think I've shared on here before. Maybe I'm way off the mark on it, or just totally crazy, but here it is:

The band comes into the studio in LA with their various song ideas like usual, and they start working on trying to pull the songs together into full-fledged compositions, but for some reason, it's just not working out. Maybe it's time constraints, maybe it's interpersonal stuff, who knows? Whatever it is, Brendan notices and he's like, "This isn't going to work. This whole album is going to fall apart if there's not an intervention."

So he stages one by expanding his role from rock producer to pop producer. Instead of saying things like, "Let's try this part in a different key," or "I think you should shorten the solo," he goes and charts out entire compositions. Now he says, "Stone, Mike, here's your guitar parts. Jeff, this is what you need to do with the bass lines. Matt, do that time-keeping thing you do. We're rolling." I could see some pretty lifeless performances coming out of a situation like that, and I think it dovetails with Brendan's large font credit in the liner notes.

I totally buy this theory.

I would be very surprised if that happened.

More likely, based on the thumbprints on those songs, they just fleshed out what they had, thought it was pretty good and figured Eddie’s lyrics and vocals would help carry the day. Eddie was probably pretty excited about having an album that sort of plays with the idea of mortality - be it personal or the mortality of an idea as metaphor, and the band was into it at the time.

BoB put the thing together, and no one felt strongly enough to fight back about the lifeless production and probably wanted to just get things going with a tour and bam, there you have it.

[guitar_davey]

BoB put the thing together, and no one felt strongly enough to fight back about the lifeless production and probably wanted to just get things going with a tour and bam, there you have it.

Hear the sirens.

[Anders]

I am Stip.



Stip, I am.

"Do you like the song abbreviated MYM?"

I do not like it, Stip I am.

"Would you like it here or there?"

I would not like it here or there
I would not like it anywhere
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am.

"Would you like it at a show?
Where you can feel that sweet Jamily energy flow?"

I would not like it at a show
If I knew they would play it, I would not go!
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am.

"Would you like it if it was differently mixed?"

I would not like it if it was differently mixed
Some mistakes just can't be fixed!
I would not like it at a show
It's still the same damned song, you know!
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am.

"Do you think it could be saved
By a different drummer, like Jack or Dave?"

Jack couldn't save this song, no way
Neither could EITHER Dave -- A *or* K!
I would not like it at a show
I hate it -- live OR studio!
I would not like it here or there
I would not like it anywhere
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am!

"Would you, could you like it more
Than a one-off song from a movie score?
Would you, could you throw it a bone
Over a mopey B-side, written by Stone?"

I would not, could not choose this racket
Over ANY song in this tournament bracket!
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am!!

"Try it, try it again, KD!
Try it, try it, and you will see
Listen, one more time, KD
You will hear it differently."

Stip, if you will let me be
I will listen again, and perhaps will see...

Spoiler: show

I listened again...and I do NOT see!
Don't tempt me, I'll say it -- IT LACKS AGENCY!!
Even with a different drummer
It still would be a major bummer!
And even if it was differently mixed
It still should have been 86'ed!
I do not want it at a show
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
I would not like it here or there
I would not like it anywhere
I do not like the song abbreviated MYM
I do not like it, Stip I am!!!!

Brilliant.

[Strat]

if only all of KD's long winded posts were so entertaining!

[stip]

there is a direct 1-1 corellation between the length and quality of posts

[Kevin Davis]

if only all of KD's long winded posts were so entertaining!

They are!

Only to me, maybe, but that's beside the point!

[Anders]

Pendulum is great i forgot its on this album. Man, what a great song. Its awesome live.

One of the highlights of the album for sure.

[RockPusher]

Pendulum is great i forgot its on this album. Man, what a great song. Its awesome live.

One of the highlights of the album for sure.

The only 5 on it for me. I want Sirens to be a 5 so badly, but its structure is just too jarring for me despite the fact that its sentiment and other aspects of it slay me.

[stip]

I don't know if I have any 5 star songs on Lightning Bolt, but Mind Your Manners, Lightning Bolt, and Sleeping By Myself are close. And Yellow Moon, Pendulum, and Sirens are 4

[Leatherhead]

The vocals are the worst thing about this album.

[Leatherhead]

Swallowed Whole would be a good song if Eddie wasn't way too loud and sounding like shit.

[PHATJ]

Swallowed Whole would be a good song if Eddie wasn't way too loud and sounding like shit.

That song is like a cheese grater across the brain

[epilogue]

I don't know if I have any 5 star songs on Lightning Bolt, but Mind Your Manners, Lightning Bolt, and Sleeping By Myself are close. And Yellow Moon, Pendulum, and Sirens are 4

Infallible
Yellow Moon
Pendulum
Sirens

are all 5 Star songs.