The Journey/Rank Thread to Rank Them All - the Worst Thread

[liebzz]

some random thoughts:

i will be checking out best friends?, ghost riding and some more wellwater conspiracy again. (something tells me the wellwater albums need more than 1 or 2 listens)

right now i would rather listen to gigaton over vs., but i couldn't put it higher in a ranking

my cavedweller! it doesn't deserve to dwell down there,

"attention dimension" should be on this list because it was sold at the 10c store. I bought the CD in 2005 when i bought everything they sold.. last week I had some mushrooms and played it in full and it was great!

I had thought about Jack Irons but then decided to focus on the current members. Jack has a number of solo albums, Eleven, and technically the Chili Peppers, which would beg the Soundgarden question. We’d be here a long time. Haha.

[liebzz]

Painted Shield

Stone’s new band! Of all the Stone side projects, this one most clearly reminds me of his solo work, and not just because On the Level shares a riff with Cadillac. The vibe is pretty similar, some songs making little statements but never taking themselves too seriously, almost a recognition that this is fun and none of their day jobs, yet also recorded and crafted with the effort of a band who could easily stand on their two feet. I really love every song on this album and eagerly await #2, which is actually forthcoming. This one’s gonna cause some trouble since it will be high on the list, but man, Time Machine, Knife Fight, Ten Years From Now, On the Level, I Am Your Country, Evil Winds (love how whenever a band member needs someone to tear up a solo on a record that Mike’s on speed dial), Painted Shield, Raven…hot damn! Even Orphan Ghost is excellent as an opener. This is a really great record.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Painted Shield
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
Ten Commandos
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

[liebzz]

Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP

The latest in my need to do an about face, listening to this on this morning brings a much more positive outlook than before. Matter of Time, the song, is actually pretty good, a sort of Springsteen-like cadence behind a nice little piano. Would it ever be considered something I regularly reach for? Probably not, but it’s much better than my first listen. Say Hi is a nice little sentiment, but I am not sure it holds up under the weight of serious scrutiny. It’s a nice little toss away and we can leave it at that. Otherwise on the EP, Eddie takes the massive flop (for me at least) in Future Days and by stripping it all the way down actually salvages this song. Growin’ Up is a great cover of the Springsteen song and the track I reach for most here, but that acoustic performance of Porch is pretty damn good. Much more serviceable than I gave it credit in the past.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Painted Shield
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
Ten Commandos
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

[Anders]

Have only barely listened to Painted Shield. I'll rectify that.

[liebzz]

Jeff Ament - I Should Be Outside

On his most recent release, I found I really loved the first half of this album, but then cooled a bit as we pulled to the finish line. Lightmoves, I Hear Ya, Passion Denied, and Bandwidth are among his best songs, and OOF and The Divine Perfume aren’t far behind. The rest, while still pretty good, failed to grab me as enthusiastically. Still this is an excellent record worth the visit again with ideas I still wish he brought to the band - I sure hope he’s got a bunch more.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Painted Shield
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Jeff Ament - I Should Be Outside
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
Ten Commandos
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

[liebzz]

Eddie Vedder / Olivia Vedder / Glen Hansard / Cat Power - Flag Day Soundtrack

Rumors of a studio collaboration with Glen Hansard kicked around for quite a few years before this release. Despite the fact that I needed a few listens for it to properly sink in, this is a really solid release. Everyone named above makes excellent contributions to this album. Seemingly out of the blue, Olivia Vedder’s vocals on both My Father’s Daughter and There’s a Girl are great and add flavor to both songs. Cat Power was particularly strong for me on I’m A Map. Both Tender Mercies and Wave were strong songs from Glen Hansard.

Rarely would I describe Eddie Vedder’s contributions the most light-hearted in a studio album, but that certainly seems to be the case here. While Flag Day is a very solid collaborative track, I’ll Be Waiting has a wonderful lightness to it that tends to be something we usually hear more from Eddie in a live setting. Same with his cover of REM’s Drive, which is mostly true to form, but oddly the first time I think I can say that Eddie sung a song where you can hear the words clearer when he sings it. Go figure.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Painted Shield
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Eddie Vedder, et al - Flag Day Soundtrack
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Jeff Ament - I Should Be Outside
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
Ten Commandos
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

[liebzz]

All that damned music in 18 days with just Earthling to go, folks.

[Strat]

Good on ya liebz, this has been an incredible feat and ill be sad when its over !

Good work, man.

When you are done will you do a little write up summary about your feelings of the journey and any new thoughts pertaining to the overall pearl jam world and experience?

[Anders]

Very well done on an interesting thread. Not too different from how I would rank it either. No Code on top, and The Rockfords at the bottom for sure.

I’ve been interested in this wider part of the Pearl Jam universe since the mid 90s. Always thought TOTD and Mad Season were top quality 90s Seattle music, in the discussion with the best of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Nirvana.

From the more musically separate music, Brad (with Satchel and solo Shawn Smith) has always been a big favorite of mine. While Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric is the album apart from the above, that I’ve listened to the most.

A few albums I would rate lower than you did, but I think you did a fair and logical ranking. Look forward to seeing how Earthling does.

[Kevin Davis]

Gotta say, liebzz -- any time you do a journey of a band I'm already familiar with, I almost always feel inspired to jump in myself, and it's always so enjoyable, even though I never follow along exactly with the sequence. I've listened to a ton of PJ these past two weeks and have just loved every minute. Currently playing: ridleybradout's "Cinderellas 2013" compilation -- sounds way better now than it did at the time, when I was constantly fretting over the nuances of PJ's live performances (and probably carrying a bad taste in my mouth from LB). This "Speed of Sound" is damn good!

[liebzz]

Thanks. I mean, I like to think I am trying to relate to these things in all sorts of meaningful ways, and at the same time celebrating some of these great artists. My biggest wish is for people to experience at least some of it along with me since the goal is as much communal as individual. Doing with all things Pearl Jam is like the Super Bowl of journeys. I have a lot of thoughts I will share about what this one was for me on a larger scale after Earthling. A quick and voluminous ride for sure.

[Jaeti]

Yeah, it's been a great thread. Got me to go listen to Brad for the first time in 20 years, some of it for the first time. I haven't yet dug into the other side projects that sound especially solid (RNDM and Painted Shield), but I intend to. Appreciate it.

[liebzz]

Eddie Vedder - Earthling

This is possibly the most shocking album in this entire journey - yes there’s that feeling of newness that goes along with the immediate adrenaline of hearing a new album from Eddie Vedder - but more so this to my ears is a massive turn from Pearl Jam. It’s hard as fans not to expect Eddie Vedder to at some level sound like Pearl Jam - the voice so distinct and in the manner the band is on some level carrying a classic rock torch along with it. Backspacer and Lightning Bolt both made efforts I think to make more effortless rock, and Gigaton clearly more labored as a work of art (and frankly it succeeds where the other two ultimately fall a bit short of Pearl Jam’s torch). Pearl Jam carries all these classic and meaningful bands on their backs in some way for me, keeping the thread of honest rock music going. They are essential to me for that among many other things.

All this is what Earthling is not, and that is immediately jarring. The immediate feel of this album immediately recalls a sound in the 70s and 80s - like Eddie is channeling, in a no so self serious way - the spirits of Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac and the Clash and Talking Heads, but in a way that has no shades of the self-consciousness that permeates Pearl Jam - a force that might keep Pearl Jam is check but here Eddie is free to do whatever the hell he pleases. Drop an obvious Mike Campbell riff? Why the hell not!? Plop a what now seems obviously a purposefully overwrought and frankly silly ballad in the middle of the album and release it as a single? Try and stop him. That there was a collection of musicians there with him to simply let go all of the Eddie Vedder baggage and power through an album by all rights would leave a purist aghast at this speaks even more to the point he is making.

Let’s be clear though, this still has some Eddie filter happening…intentionally tossed off rockers. In rehashing the conversations we’ve heard about between Eddie and Bono about Pearl Jam embracing and taking the mantle, this is practically what Bono would have had in mind for them. Eddie, 30 years after shunning the spotlight, whips out exactly what we’d never expect - a cohesive set of earworm pop rock songs distinctly Eddie, expressly not Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Painted Shield
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
Eddie Vedder - Earthling
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Eddie Vedder, et al - Flag Day Soundtrack
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Jeff Ament - I Should Be Outside
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
Ten Commandos
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

[evenslow]

nice work, liebzz!!

[Strat]

and there you have it folks.

Take a victory lab, fella. Pour a drink.

Thanks for the ride!

[RockPusher]

liebzz, thanks for doing this. Your thoughts on Earthling, and its placement relative to PJ in your rankings, are spot on with me.

[liebzz]

Alright, some larger thoughts on this. This was really so much fun to share my impressions on such a rich and deep catalogue. Whether it was albums I heard for the first time, or ones I’ve lived in for decades, seeing the band in this new light really brings a whole new level of depth to my experience with them. The Pearl Jam catalogue is rich, and the arc is plain to see - a band who busted out the gates, struggled with its place in the world, found its voice, played with its own sounds and slowly settled into what makes them who they are. It’s a great experience just to go there. Adding the side projects brings something extra, in some ways getting to know musically each band member in their own space, yet even seeing how that space makes the whole of Pearl Jam so much greater than its parts.

I expected something different coming out of this - an analysis that basically would fit the Lightning Bolt narrative that Eddie’s getting in the way of this band taking the next step, but in how much I came to enjoy Gigaton in context, I realize they really all contribute to the next step - the next step is, I think, collaboration and coming together to create music rather than banging through pre-written tunes. Pearl Jam always excels most through that organic level of creativity, and I think they would be best served bringing things back to those elements, and then tinkering around the boundaries of what their wheelhouse is. Let the influence from the creativity surrounding RNDM, Painted Shield and the solo albums play themselves out together. No matter what, based on their track record across these 60 albums, EPs and compilations, I am confident it will be great.

As far as the rankings, I was intellectually ready to push Yield to the top of the list. It’s the most Pearl Jam record of them all, and is the synthesis of their whole career from what came through what was to come…and it’s a great fuckin’ record. But in the end, I wound up back home with No Code. Something about the way Jack and Jeff play on that album draws me in like a warm blanket on a cold day, or when a pair of jeans are so broken in that the fabric feels apart of you. No Code, not a perfect album, but perfectly resembles me from my musical taste to that comfort food that just envelopes you. It’s the record that feels like it’s mine alone that they made just for me and it will always feel like that.

Nonetheless, when you in such a short time frame listen to all this, you can’t help but feel gratitude to 5 guys (and Boom…and Josh now) you may never meet who speak to you in ways no one else can.

[Anders]

Not having listened to Earthling yet (but soon about to), I find it interesting it would be ranked above albums like Shame, Flag Day, Ukulele Songs, Backspacer and Lightning Bolt, but below albums like Interiors, Into The Wild, Mirrorball, Bayleaf, Lost Dogs and all the other nine Pearl Jam albums.

[Anders]

Eddie Vedder - Matter of Time EP

This went completely under my radar. Will listen to it today.

[Anders]

As far as the rankings, I was intellectually ready to push Yield to the top of the list. It’s the most Pearl Jam record of them all, and is the synthesis of their whole career from what came through what was to come…and it’s a great fuckin’ record. But in the end, I wound up back home with No Code. Something about the way Jack and Jeff play on that album draws me in like a warm blanket on a cold day, or when a pair of jeans are so broken in that the fabric feels apart of you. No Code, not a perfect album, but perfectly resembles me from my musical taste to that comfort food that just envelopes you. It’s the record that feels like it’s mine alone that they made just for me and it will always feel like that.

Well put. I think No Code has a warmth to it, that Yield can't quite match, even if it song for song, it should be more or less of equal rank and rating.