Eddie Vedder - Earthling

[Ms Harmless]

in terms of it not being PJ backing Ed, that's obvious, but not because it isn't groovy; Chad Smith is a much groovier drummer than Matt

[Jaeti]

I’m really digging this. Brother the Cloud and Mrs Mills are my two favorites but there’s several really good songs. We finally got a pop album from Ed with a couple other genre songs mixed in. Mostly just a fun listen and what’s wrong with that?

Not one damn thing. It's super duper fun.

[nomorecrackpipes]

No song was worse than The Haves: my fear was a bunch of songs worse than it.

It had its moments, but nothing stood out. Nice to hear a tight band, though.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Ms Harmless]

in terms of it not being PJ backing Ed, that's obvious, but not because it isn't groovy; Chad Smith is a much groovier drummer than Matt

Yes, but his groove lies in his dynamics: Subtle shifts to how hard, and when, he hits his kick and snare. And the mix and master has obliterated all that. For some ungodly reason, they went to the trouble to pair Ed with one of the grooviest drummers on the planet, and then compress, EQ, and quantize him into robotic submission.

I do agree with you, I'm just saying that as a drummer I could hear that Chad was making better groove decisions than Matt would; I do agree though that if you're going to get Chad, don't obliterate all the loud / soft dynamics; there is hardly a single audible ghost note on this thing

[guitar_davey]

I just realized that the last 50 seconds or so of Picture is basically the Alive outro solo played on piano.

I still stand by this, but Breakerfall might be an even better comp.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Ransom98]

https://we.tl/t-uy4apphGXx

Beacon night 2 flac

[Tj]

[wease]

in terms of it not being PJ backing Ed, that's obvious, but not because it isn't groovy; Chad Smith is a much groovier drummer than Matt

Yes, but his groove lies in his dynamics: Subtle shifts to how hard, and when, he hits his kick and snare. And the mix and master has obliterated all that. For some ungodly reason, they went to the trouble to pair Ed with one of the grooviest drummers on the planet, and then compress, EQ, and quantize him into robotic submission.

I do agree with you, I'm just saying that as a drummer I could hear that Chad was making better groove decisions than Matt would; I do agree though that if you're going to get Chad, don't obliterate all the loud / soft dynamics; there is hardly a single audible ghost note on this thing

We understand each other perfectly

Anyone that says Matt doesn’t have groove needs to listen to Your Saviour from the Temple album. Why the fuck he doesn’t play with more groove in PJ is fucking beyond me. He obviously can do it, so it must be a conscious choice not to.

[Monkey_Driven]

Ed sounds great during this show.

[Ms Harmless]

in terms of it not being PJ backing Ed, that's obvious, but not because it isn't groovy; Chad Smith is a much groovier drummer than Matt

Yes, but his groove lies in his dynamics: Subtle shifts to how hard, and when, he hits his kick and snare. And the mix and master has obliterated all that. For some ungodly reason, they went to the trouble to pair Ed with one of the grooviest drummers on the planet, and then compress, EQ, and quantize him into robotic submission.

I do agree with you, I'm just saying that as a drummer I could hear that Chad was making better groove decisions than Matt would; I do agree though that if you're going to get Chad, don't obliterate all the loud / soft dynamics; there is hardly a single audible ghost note on this thing

We understand each other perfectly

Anyone that says Matt doesn’t have groove needs to listen to Your Saviour from the Temple album. Why the fuck he doesn’t play with more groove in PJ is fucking beyond me. He obviously can do it, so it must be a conscious choice not to.

it is what it is, I don't speculate about it anymore

[Tj]

I would love to hear what Ed brought in with Invincible. I wonder if it was a acoustic sketch a skeleton of a song or more of a complete concept . I feel he was pushed a little on this song. I'm glad he was. I would love Mcready solo or flourishes in this.

[Tj]

Funny I picture Mike loving this album, and Stone not even admitting he is aware of it.

[Fattie_Vedder]

This album kind of showcases why something like Dance, which is such a stylistic departure, can sound so organic. I am usually in the ‘Pearl Jam should sound like Pearl Jam camp. But between Dance and this album, I’m kind of rooting for them to just throw it all out for the next album and see what they come up with.

Wanting PJ to sound like PJ is such a tricky, double-edged thing. It can mean something different to each person . I would love for the band to truly remove all expectations, habits, and 'formulas' that they've grown to using to allow for truly organic and authentic experimentation. I would prefer authentic experimentation at this point even if it fails in parts, than trying to stick to a formula that has worked for the most part but falls short of the creativity and greatness this band is capable of. DOTC is a success story that gives me hope. But I fear there may be a genuine mismatch in styles between Ed and the rest of the band. For something like Earthling to work with PJ, there would have to be some major compromises and cession of creative control.

Then again, maybe simply having fun making music is what's needed. Forget all the rest, forget expectations, just take the approach Ed took here and make the music they enjoy making and want to hear. And then again, maybe Ed's not enjoying making music with PJ as much as he is by himself where he has full control, and with guest musicians that can help make his musical ideas come to life. I feel very mixed about Pearl Jam's future.

[Jaeti]

I doubt I'll ever love Rose of Jericho because the lyrics don't do much for me. And while the bridge is boring, I really dig everything else about its sound.

Feels like something that could've shown up on Lost Dogs from sometime between 2000 and 2006. Spiritual cousins with Big Wave and Hitchhiker. I hear a bit of Ghost in there, too.

[Fattie_Vedder]

Agree to disagree.

Put that tone next to save you or rivals tone. I hate it.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I love the sound of the guitars in Rival (no surprise I really like some of the Painted Shield songs that have that distinct Stone flavor), and generally I prefer a more distorted sound, pretty much the sound of Vitalogy. The guitar sound instantly threw me off when I first heard Power of Right, and I didn't like it. Now it's one of my favorite songs on the album. It works for this album.

[Tj]

Power of Right initially had me excited when I first heard it live. I thought it was going to have a Mudhoney feel. Then I heard the studio version and it felt like Finger 11. It was jarring. I do however have come to like it. The gloss feels needed after Invincible. Good solid song for me. Yes it is a very modern rock song, but it has vibe that keeps it grounded. Green day has managed to pull this off as well it is a slippery slope though.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now