Eddie Vedder - Earthling

[evenslow]

before i read up on the last 900 pages what's the consensus? i see spenno doesn't like it and that's fine. it's not wilt chamberlain or anything but it's certainly linsanity.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[evenslow]

in a weird way, it reminds me of mccartney 3. really fresh pop songs with just enough of a curve ball to keep you guessing and engaged.

[evenslow]

Consensus seems to be that it’s surprisingly well liked, but favorite song rankings vary wildly. And everyone is in agreement that it sounds like shit.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Fattie_Vedder]

Several listens in, this is my current ranking:

Love these:

1. Invincible
2. The Dark
3. Power of Right
4. Brother The Cloud (the outro alone makes up for the tepid verses)

Really like these. Ranking of these is pretty interchangeable.
5. Fallout Today - this one has the most staying power of these
6. Rose of Jericho
7. Mrs. Mills - could be number 5 or even above BTC depending on mood
8. Try

Like well enough:
9. Long Way
10. Good and Evil

Dislike to visceral dislike
11. The Haves - not as bad as I originally found it if it plays in the background as part of the album and, this is key, I’m not paying attention to the lyrics.
12. Picture - country rock ain’t my thing. This sounds like it should be the theme song to some 90s Disney animated film about dogs.

** On My Way is not included because it’s more of an outro than a song. But it would otherwise be number 2 for me. It’s one of my favorite moments on the whole album.

[LetMeSleep]

If there’s a divisive question that has yet to be explicitly stated, it’s something along the lines of “Can PJ make an album with this breadth of sonics without sacrificing their sonic hallmarks? Or is it time for them to completely toss the formula and go full Peter Gabriel for the next one?”

We're not asking for much really. Just the production and ambience of Binaural/Riot Act, with the recent experimentation from Gigaton, with a freeing lack of self awareness (Earthling, certain b-sides over years). Personally I'd add in a song-by-song snare and kit approach by Matt with Gregg Keplinger ala Superunknown.

[digster]

I think if you take a run on Gigaton like Dance/Quick Escape/Alright, you get a group of songs that covers quite a bit of ground. But I don't think the band could ever do an album quite like this because this album's stylistic shifts are based on Eddie trying on a different classic rock mask for each song. Pearl Jam has certainly borrowed from their inspirations, sometimes pretty liberally, but it's hard to imagine them making a record full of songs that ape particular artists in that way.

[Tj]

I think Mike and Ed are in a sonically musical head space that is a bit at odds with the other half of the band.
Weird thing is from Vitalogy to now Ed and Stone have each had some weird flip the Stone of 94 and the Ed of today would be brilliant. As would the Ed of 95 with the Stone of today.

[Ms Harmless]

Andrew Wottman is not the problem here. He seemed to encourage some fast, fruitful sessions with a bunch of new sonic territory. It’s the mix and master that are trash.

did someone different do that part?

[Tj]

Yes

[Leatherhead]

Can we get a poll for this album?

[Tj]

Andrew Wottman is not the problem here. He seemed to encourage some fast, fruitful sessions with a bunch of new sonic territory. It’s the mix and master that are trash.

did someone different do that part?

Ed said he cant believe how good it sounds or something to that extent.

[Ms Harmless]

Several listens in, this is my current ranking:

Love these:

1. Invincible
2. The Dark
3. Power of Right
4. Brother The Cloud (the outro alone makes up for the tepid verses)

Really like these. Ranking of these is pretty interchangeable.
5. Fallout Today - this one has the most staying power of these
6. Rose of Jericho
7. Mrs. Mills - could be number 5 or even above BTC depending on mood
8. Try

Like well enough:
9. Long Way
10. Good and Evil

Dislike to visceral dislike
11. The Haves - not as bad as I originally found it if it plays in the background as part of the album and, this is key, I’m not paying attention to the lyrics.
12. Picture - country rock ain’t my thing. This sounds like it should be the theme song to some 90s Disney animated film about dogs.

** On My Way is not included because it’s more of an outro than a song. But it would otherwise be number 2 for me. It’s one of my favorite moments on the whole album.

my partner and I both said "Picture" sounded like a Disney song I like it enough, and I think that it helps that it's in a trifecta with a Beatles-esque piano-led song, and a lounge style reprise; I almost want a canned round of applause chucked in there somewhere

[Tj]

Crap this is getting better with every listen.
Loving all of these 5 stars
Invincible
Fall Out
The Dark
Try
Rose of Jericho
Mrs Mills

[epilogue]

I just don't get this argument. It's the second time it's come up this afternoon. Weird.

My point is that EV=/=PJ. Expectations are different, in the sense that we are all to some degree Pearl Jam fans, and while that makes us EV fans, it doesn't definitively make us fans of his solo work. If his solo work is great, woohoo! But if his solo work doesn't live up to the PJ standard, that's not the same kind of dealbreaker as when PJ's work doesn't live up to the PJ standard.

agreed. this seems pretty straightforward to me

So weird

[Ms Harmless]

nah I agree; in a way I don't care how Ed solo sounds; I'm not about to dislike Soundgarden because Chris Cornell made Scream; I had low expectations going into this and it's a really fun listen with some great moments

[Ms Harmless]

I think my least favourite moment is the transition between Power of Right and Long Way; it's *really* jarring, and not just stylistically; the overall volume of LW is lower and the snare drum disappears

[Ms Harmless]

yep, the LW drums sound like they're being played by matchsticks

[RockPusher]

Is Scream that awful thing I memory-holed?