Wellwater Conspiracy
The fourth and final Wellwater Conspiracy album is maybe the first and only if their albums that did not defy my expectations for them. Solid as ever, with nearly everything here quite good, but it begs the question that when you are no longer thrilled by the progression from album to album, but getting a very good set of songs nonetheless, does it make it any less of an album? Really everything from the excellent Sea Minor, the instrumental tracks in Rebirth and Sullen Glacier (the most Soundgarden sounding song in the WWC catalogue - this one just begs for Chris Cornell to lay down some vocals), Crow Revolt, and My Darker Bongo are just a run of songs that are really excellent, even if they don’t tread surprising ground for a band that kept surprising in their first three albums.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thread
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
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Kevin Davis
- tl;dr
- Posts: 9312
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:06 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
I understand this line of thinking but I think the muddying of the personal and the political is one of the things that makes Riot Act great -- even the songs in your "societal/political" bucket feel pretty informed by personal anxieties, intellectual struggles, etc., and the songs in the opposite category certainly echo the national mood during that time period, even when they don't explicitly address it.liebzz wrote:Ultimately, taking the b-sides with it, you could in a sense have two albums here: one dealing externally with the forces noted at the outset and another dealing with the personal struggles that are present here as well. Imagine an arc where Pearl Jam deliver the news and come to grips with the societal and political problems here - your Love Boat Captain, Green Disease, Cropduster, Bushleaguer, HelpHelp - followed by Half Full and I Am Mine - and then calls to action with that glimmer of hope of spritziness we like to talk about in Down and Undone. That would be a political statement record, wherein the remaining songs and b-sides that seem to address more personal struggles get their own space.
Riot Act has always felt like a very inwardly-focused record to me, really nothing like the "protest album" that the title seems to promise; the exact thematic premise is tough to pin down but to me it has always seemed to be about trying to find where acceptance as a self-preservation precaution ends and responsibility toward other people begins, viewed through the lens of two emotionally devastating events (Roskilde and 9/11) that were completely beyond the band's control. Politics are just one plot point on the album's spectrum of anxieties, and just as often as not they end up circling back to the same questions and uncertainties. It's not always the most sophisticated writing but I do think it manages to capture a pretty unique, multi-dimensional headspace that was semi-universal at the time but hard to describe.
One of my favorite PJ albums, and time has just been so kind to it.
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liebzz
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
For Pearl Jam, a big motivator for releasing this was to complete their contract with Sony - coupled with the Rearviewmirror greatest hits collection. For fans though, this was a big moment of collecting the b-sides that didn’t make the albums, the charity singles, and other rarities and oddities in one place. While bands since the beginning of rock recordings released singles with the A side and B side, never to my knowledge has a fan base so feverishly sought out the B sides, in part because of the scarcity of new material, I think, between Ten and Vs., a 2+ year gap in an age when albums were a bit more regular, and in part because Yellow Ledbetter served as notice that even some of their best songs would not always make the album, leaving fans to wonder and sometimes obsess over what didn’t make the album. Despite millions of copies of Ten making its way to fans’ hands and CD players, we all still sought out the Even Flow single, the Alive single, the Jeremy single - and the motivation was never to get a copy of those songs, but to discover what was on the rest of it - Wash, Yellow Ledbetter, Dirty Frank, etc. - over the years, particularly in the Epic Records years, the band played into that and released CD singles with songs that missed the album cut, and fans obliged to get their hands on Alone, or Dead Man, or Leatherman, Undone, and Down. So for this release to come along, and with a bunch of new songs we hadn’t fully heard in a bulk of Binaural outtakes and a few other gems, along with a selection of Christmas singles, was an exciting time. That two of Pearl Jam’s most known songs, the aforementioned Yellow Ledbetter, and the charity single and cover Last Kiss that nearly topped the charts, are here is no surprise.
In this respect, this collection is both fully essential to the experience and yet also a lost opportunity. One of the real draws of these B sides for fans was a chance to see the band let their hair down a bit, especially with the growing dichotomy of a band as loose as they were live so controlling and almost comparatively stiff on record. If Lost Dogs has a failing, it is that rather than let the existing recording speak for themselves, many of the songs are re-recorded or otherwise tinkered with to fit the mold of a Pearl Jam album proper (I still think it was a criminally bad decision to include an instrumental Brother than the full song only remedied years later with the reissuing of Ten). Notwithstanding that, the songs are killer - in most cases as good as the songs that are on the albums. The little bit of freedom we get from the band - that everyone gets a turn on lead vocals (except Mike and Matt of course), that some of the sillier recording moments make it here (Dirty Frank which actually has a great groove, and Bee Girl) - this adds a character and fullness to this release that otherwise includes some amazing tracks.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
For Pearl Jam, a big motivator for releasing this was to complete their contract with Sony - coupled with the Rearviewmirror greatest hits collection. For fans though, this was a big moment of collecting the b-sides that didn’t make the albums, the charity singles, and other rarities and oddities in one place. While bands since the beginning of rock recordings released singles with the A side and B side, never to my knowledge has a fan base so feverishly sought out the B sides, in part because of the scarcity of new material, I think, between Ten and Vs., a 2+ year gap in an age when albums were a bit more regular, and in part because Yellow Ledbetter served as notice that even some of their best songs would not always make the album, leaving fans to wonder and sometimes obsess over what didn’t make the album. Despite millions of copies of Ten making its way to fans’ hands and CD players, we all still sought out the Even Flow single, the Alive single, the Jeremy single - and the motivation was never to get a copy of those songs, but to discover what was on the rest of it - Wash, Yellow Ledbetter, Dirty Frank, etc. - over the years, particularly in the Epic Records years, the band played into that and released CD singles with songs that missed the album cut, and fans obliged to get their hands on Alone, or Dead Man, or Leatherman, Undone, and Down. So for this release to come along, and with a bunch of new songs we hadn’t fully heard in a bulk of Binaural outtakes and a few other gems, along with a selection of Christmas singles, was an exciting time. That two of Pearl Jam’s most known songs, the aforementioned Yellow Ledbetter, and the charity single and cover Last Kiss that nearly topped the charts, are here is no surprise.
In this respect, this collection is both fully essential to the experience and yet also a lost opportunity. One of the real draws of these B sides for fans was a chance to see the band let their hair down a bit, especially with the growing dichotomy of a band as loose as they were live so controlling and almost comparatively stiff on record. If Lost Dogs has a failing, it is that rather than let the existing recording speak for themselves, many of the songs are re-recorded or otherwise tinkered with to fit the mold of a Pearl Jam album proper (I still think it was a criminally bad decision to include an instrumental Brother than the full song only remedied years later with the reissuing of Ten). Notwithstanding that, the songs are killer - in most cases as good as the songs that are on the albums. The little bit of freedom we get from the band - that everyone gets a turn on lead vocals (except Mike and Matt of course), that some of the sillier recording moments make it here (Dirty Frank which actually has a great groove, and Bee Girl) - this adds a character and fullness to this release that otherwise includes some amazing tracks.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
In this journey, now covering 20+ years and dozens of albums and releases, there’s been ups and downs, but everything has had its redeeming qualities. That ends here, with the Rockfords final EP. The defense to their album was well, it might be bland, but Mike shreds so that helps. Here, we don’t even get much of that, just an extended single of songs that do absolutely nothing in the end. Bland, mid-tempo, with nothing to say.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
In this journey, now covering 20+ years and dozens of albums and releases, there’s been ups and downs, but everything has had its redeeming qualities. That ends here, with the Rockfords final EP. The defense to their album was well, it might be bland, but Mike shreds so that helps. Here, we don’t even get much of that, just an extended single of songs that do absolutely nothing in the end. Bland, mid-tempo, with nothing to say.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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joostone
- AnalLog
- Posts: 1780
- Joined: Wed January 02, 2013 9:02 am
- Location: Netherlands
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
The powerstruggle is talked about alot. But when was it won? This great thread made me go relisten all the PJ albums. So..
For the Ten/Vs albums Stone was definately the main man. He was writing most of the music and probably calling most creative shots on other songs. ALong came Vitalogy. Way more Ed songs and more creative control for him. Same goes for 'No Code'. On several occasions both Jeff and Stone shared their discomfort for the proces or results of those records. Jeff didn't felt always included and Stone thought they could make better records (at that time). The documented powerstruggle was there. But perhaps it was more so that the band wasn't really functioning properly at this time. And Eddie took the wheel, which was probably just as uncomfortable for him as for the others. They fired a drummer, Mike was in rehad, ticketmaster.... turmoil. Flash forward to 1998. 'Yield' has only two songs from Ed. Once again Stone has the most songs. But Jeff and Mike also contributed a lot of songs and for the first time other band members brought in lyrics. It was their most collaborative record so far. Both Binaural and Riot Act seemed like strong collaborative records. All members were contributing songs. And with Riot Act even Matt was writing lyrics. You only need to look at 'Lost Dogs' to see that this was their most fruitful period ever.
Was Eddie in charge? If so, then his first act as a boss was saying 'I can't do this by myself. I need all of you'. It seems that 'Gigaton' is a return to a similar approach. Because that powerstruggle was clearly won by Ed in 2005. For the S/T, BS and LB records he wrote the most songs. He wrote all the lyrics (except the one off 'Inside Job').
The powerstruggle never really was a struggle. It was a power confusion. From which they greatly benefited. It created my 2 favorite albums and resulted indirectly to their most fruitfull period. And somehow it lead to Eddie really taking control for S/T. It became Eddie & Pearl Jams for a while. Gigaton gives me hopes that a new collaborative period has started.
Sorry, long post. But this thread is inspiring
For the Ten/Vs albums Stone was definately the main man. He was writing most of the music and probably calling most creative shots on other songs. ALong came Vitalogy. Way more Ed songs and more creative control for him. Same goes for 'No Code'. On several occasions both Jeff and Stone shared their discomfort for the proces or results of those records. Jeff didn't felt always included and Stone thought they could make better records (at that time). The documented powerstruggle was there. But perhaps it was more so that the band wasn't really functioning properly at this time. And Eddie took the wheel, which was probably just as uncomfortable for him as for the others. They fired a drummer, Mike was in rehad, ticketmaster.... turmoil. Flash forward to 1998. 'Yield' has only two songs from Ed. Once again Stone has the most songs. But Jeff and Mike also contributed a lot of songs and for the first time other band members brought in lyrics. It was their most collaborative record so far. Both Binaural and Riot Act seemed like strong collaborative records. All members were contributing songs. And with Riot Act even Matt was writing lyrics. You only need to look at 'Lost Dogs' to see that this was their most fruitful period ever.
Was Eddie in charge? If so, then his first act as a boss was saying 'I can't do this by myself. I need all of you'. It seems that 'Gigaton' is a return to a similar approach. Because that powerstruggle was clearly won by Ed in 2005. For the S/T, BS and LB records he wrote the most songs. He wrote all the lyrics (except the one off 'Inside Job').
The powerstruggle never really was a struggle. It was a power confusion. From which they greatly benefited. It created my 2 favorite albums and resulted indirectly to their most fruitfull period. And somehow it lead to Eddie really taking control for S/T. It became Eddie & Pearl Jams for a while. Gigaton gives me hopes that a new collaborative period has started.
Sorry, long post. But this thread is inspiring
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
Falling a bit down the rabbit hole here in the journey, Eddie collaborated and re-recorded a few Pearl Jam songs with this choir, and the rest is the choir. Despite being a terrible photo cover that looks like a bad 70s family photo (one could get pretty merciless all around), this is surprisingly not terrible. Both the choir and Eddie are in great form, though admittedly on the reworked Pearl Jam songs, much of it seems disconnected to each other until the choir takes over the last chorus in Better Man, which is actually quite excellent. On the Walmer High School Choir songs without Eddie, not something that relates to this journey, but pretty damn admirable for a high school choir.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
Falling a bit down the rabbit hole here in the journey, Eddie collaborated and re-recorded a few Pearl Jam songs with this choir, and the rest is the choir. Despite being a terrible photo cover that looks like a bad 70s family photo (one could get pretty merciless all around), this is surprisingly not terrible. Both the choir and Eddie are in great form, though admittedly on the reworked Pearl Jam songs, much of it seems disconnected to each other until the choir takes over the last chorus in Better Man, which is actually quite excellent. On the Walmer High School Choir songs without Eddie, not something that relates to this journey, but pretty damn admirable for a high school choir.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
That is the whole point of this thread, so I will consider that a success!joostone wrote: Sorry, long post. But this thread is inspiring
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Birds in Hell
- 10Club Complaint Department
- Posts: 16265
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:38 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
I think my biggest disappointment with Gigaton is that I feel as though this could've happened, but didn't.joostone wrote:It became Eddie & Pearl Jams for a while. Gigaton gives me hopes that a new collaborative period has started.
Ed still wrote five out of twelve songs (over 40% of the tracklisting) and starting with two of his songs back to back really drives that home.
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Hater - The 2nd
Listening to this album, I wanted to get what maybe I missed in the first album that everyone else seemed to like. Mostly, for me this was more of the same. Nice rock music, great work from Matt, but not anything close to the quality of stuff we got out of the Wellwater Conspiracy albums with Matt. This still is fine but nothing I would particularly seek out. Sorry, folks. I just don’t get it for some reason. Perhaps a revisit outside of this context will help at a later time.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
Listening to this album, I wanted to get what maybe I missed in the first album that everyone else seemed to like. Mostly, for me this was more of the same. Nice rock music, great work from Matt, but not anything close to the quality of stuff we got out of the Wellwater Conspiracy albums with Matt. This still is fine but nothing I would particularly seek out. Sorry, folks. I just don’t get it for some reason. Perhaps a revisit outside of this context will help at a later time.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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VinylGuy
- jeeeesus relax already
- Posts: 42772
- Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 5:10 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Well, the2nd is basically a collection of songs they had left out for another proper release, and Ben put it out after maybe 10 years? Still, there is a lot to like but of course, you have to be in that mindset of garage-y rock and roll.
BONE FUCKIN´ TOMAHAWK.
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Brad Vs. Satchel
A collection of recordings from 1997 and 2001 from Brad and Satchel, this one plays more like an album and less like a compilation. The Satchel songs are very good, though stuck in a slower tempo that needs the Brad songs that rock here: Roll Over, 3 O’Clock, Summertime Song, Awake, and then the epic closer Playground. I Must Confess might be one of my favorite Brad slow songs. This is solid front to back and I prefer this to Welcome to Discovery Park, which many of these songs missed. A nice little surprise here!
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad Vs. Satchel
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
A collection of recordings from 1997 and 2001 from Brad and Satchel, this one plays more like an album and less like a compilation. The Satchel songs are very good, though stuck in a slower tempo that needs the Brad songs that rock here: Roll Over, 3 O’Clock, Summertime Song, Awake, and then the epic closer Playground. I Must Confess might be one of my favorite Brad slow songs. This is solid front to back and I prefer this to Welcome to Discovery Park, which many of these songs missed. A nice little surprise here!
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad Vs. Satchel
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
- Posts: 10375
- Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 7:55 pm
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Pearl Jam
This is an album that seems to divide the RMs. Some see it as an exercise shooting for mainstream relevance post-Riot Act as they wish for a band that would have continued down the path of more artier and experimental rock, while others hate the production, and yet others love the album not so much as a return to form but as its own moment in time. I fall in the latter category and with the 2017 mix now available, the sound issues are at least mostly dealt with. The songs and the band clearly jump away from the sort of murky feel of Riot Act. The band is undeniably on a mission here, jumping out with 5 blistering rockers before we can even catch our breath. The band is beating back against where we were then in the second term of President Bush, but really these same themes could be extrapolated more universally, with characters stressing at the kitchen table over their finances or trying to find a way to spin the loss of a loved one to military conflict, or again trying to escape reality by getting in a car and getting out of dodge. This is the most Mike McCready focused album probably since Vs. and he is given a lot of space, especially early on and in the album closer Inside Job, and for this record, it really adds color to the protest. This is both a thrilling adventure and breath of fresh air - the band at its most clear headed since Yield.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad Vs. Satchel
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
This is an album that seems to divide the RMs. Some see it as an exercise shooting for mainstream relevance post-Riot Act as they wish for a band that would have continued down the path of more artier and experimental rock, while others hate the production, and yet others love the album not so much as a return to form but as its own moment in time. I fall in the latter category and with the 2017 mix now available, the sound issues are at least mostly dealt with. The songs and the band clearly jump away from the sort of murky feel of Riot Act. The band is undeniably on a mission here, jumping out with 5 blistering rockers before we can even catch our breath. The band is beating back against where we were then in the second term of President Bush, but really these same themes could be extrapolated more universally, with characters stressing at the kitchen table over their finances or trying to find a way to spin the loss of a loved one to military conflict, or again trying to escape reality by getting in a car and getting out of dodge. This is the most Mike McCready focused album probably since Vs. and he is given a lot of space, especially early on and in the album closer Inside Job, and for this record, it really adds color to the protest. This is both a thrilling adventure and breath of fresh air - the band at its most clear headed since Yield.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad Vs. Satchel
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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Anders
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Think Satchel’s The Family is a wonderful record. Would probably have been even better as a Brad-album with Stone there, but it’s great as it is.
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Anders
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Interested to see where this goes from here. Feel like you’ve come to a crossroads in their career.liebzz wrote:Pearl Jam
This is an album that seems to divide the RMs. Some see it as an exercise shooting for mainstream relevance post-Riot Act as they wish for a band that would have continued down the path of more artier and experimental rock, while others hate the production, and yet others love the album not so much as a return to form but as its own moment in time. I fall in the latter category and with the 2017 mix now available, the sound issues are at least mostly dealt with. The songs and the band clearly jump away from the sort of murky feel of Riot Act. The band is undeniably on a mission here, jumping out with 5 blistering rockers before we can even catch our breath. The band is beating back against where we were then in the second term of President Bush, but really these same themes could be extrapolated more universally, with characters stressing at the kitchen table over their finances or trying to find a way to spin the loss of a loved one to military conflict, or again trying to escape reality by getting in a car and getting out of dodge. This is the most Mike McCready focused album probably since Vs. and he is given a lot of space, especially early on and in the album closer Inside Job, and for this record, it really adds color to the protest. This is both a thrilling adventure and breath of fresh air - the band at its most clear headed since Yield.
Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad Vs. Satchel
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Green River - Rehab Doll
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP
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liebzz
- I've been POOSSTTIiiEEnngeeaahh
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Agreed. It only gets more interesting from here, if not with some things I am probably going to let out in discussing Into the Wild, the Backspacer/Lightning Bolt thing, some really amazing side projects, etc.
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Strat
- Waiting for HVAC Repairman
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Hard disagree that the 2017 takes care of the sound issues!
Liebz, question: What does a listening/note taking session look like for you? Is this on in the background? Are you sitting in silence with headphones and taking notes? Tell us! let us in!
Liebz, question: What does a listening/note taking session look like for you? Is this on in the background? Are you sitting in silence with headphones and taking notes? Tell us! let us in!
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Anders
- NEVER STOP JAMMING!
- Posts: 23453
- Joined: Fri July 12, 2013 9:11 pm
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lowenan
- Location: Oslo, Norway
Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Think the ranking of s/t is more than fair, but feel like the review didn’t explain why it is rated last of the Pearl Jam albums.
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tragabigzanda
- Production Police
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 11:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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liebzz
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
It’s not. So far, Lost Dogs and Riot Act are rated below it.Anders wrote:Think the ranking of s/t is more than fair, but feel like the review didn’t explain why it is rated last of the Pearl Jam albums.
I won’t drag the other quotes but the method is that I listen pretty closely on the train and subway or as I am crossing the bridge on foot on the way into work and the way home. It gives me approximately 3 hours a day of commuting time. Since I am riding/walking, I make mental notes such that if something is really good, it sticks out when I get the chance to sit down and type as I arrive at the office, on the train or home. I live about 35 min train ride from NYC, plus a subway ride downtown, and work in Brooklyn so I walk over the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridge in the morning when it is quiet.
Ten is ranked as high as it is for a reason - when you listen to it in context rather than a vacuum, which is precisely how I am deliberately listening this time rather than the thousands of other times I have heard that album, you can hear just how remarkable two additions really paid huge dividends for Jeff and Stone - that being Eddie Vedder, who provides a voice and a passion that feels anchored in reality and authenticity that they frankly lacked with Andrew Wood who was clearly more of a space cadet (he was talented but not in a way that I think meshes as well with Stone and Jeff’s style of writing). The other is Mike McCready, whose accents over top of Stone elevate how they both individually play. Before Mike, Stone’s lead guitarist(s) were almost a straight glam/metal, and McCready brings just a touch of soulful bluesiness to his playing along with all the effects that harkens back to Hendrix without being a carbon copy. He’s obviously no Hendrix, but the way it informs his playing I think meshes really well on Ten. I don’t think, other than in moments on Vs., they ever collaborated so fluidly together than Ten - it became a Stone song or Mike song on lead with the other falling completely into the background.
I will note that I believe I have said it in the past but I still think Pearl Jam created 9 out 11 great albums with Lost Dogs being a 10th if you include it. I often have a very fluid experience ranking them because I think nearly all 9 (10) of them are very close to each other. The side projects have been much easier for me so far. They are nearly all really good but my preferences have been pretty clear. Choosing between Pearl Jam albums, especially those 9, can be a tough project because I can make arguments I believe in for all of them.
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VinylGuy
- jeeeesus relax already
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Re: The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thr
I love ST so much. Loved it when it came out and kinda felt bored with it afterwards but it came back in 2020 in all its glory, i just adore it.
Great fucking album.
Listen to it LOUD.
Great fucking album.
Listen to it LOUD.
BONE FUCKIN´ TOMAHAWK.