Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[E.H. Ruddock]

Howard Stern interview tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what they play

[stip]

As someone who has lurked in the shadows of this board for awhile, the time has finally arrived to join in with the discussion surrounding Dark Matter.

Like many of you, I have followed this band from the moment I saw the 'Alive' video on MTV when I was 14 years old. Ten was one of the most influential albums in my musical development, and my love for the band only intensified with each subsequent release. As the band's music continually evolved, I was always open and willing to take the ride with them as they intentionally distanced themselves from what people 'expected' them to be.

For the record, my favorite PJ album is Yield, followed closely by Vitalogy, Vs., Ten, and then No Code to round out the top five. I love all of the albums though, and I do not believe they've made a 'bad' record yet.

Having said that, and after spending the last four days listening to the various available incarnations of Dark Matter—the crappy mp3 leak; the proper digital version; the Atmos mix on Apple Music; and now my CD copy—I'm here to say that this album is exceptional in almost every way.

Twelve studio albums deep, and now in their fourth decade as a band, I'm simply amazed with what they still have left in their creative tank.

The production in some areas is not necessarily my cup of tea, but I must give Watt full credit for pulling an album out of these guys that seamlessly captures everything that makes them 'Pearl Jam'—and for ultimately delivering an album so balanced from front-to-back that I can't even fathom them working with anyone other than this cat for album #13.

Ed's vocals sound stronger than they have in a decade; McCready shines on nearly every song; Stone and Jeff lay a solid foundation that is essentially the backbone of the album; and for maybe the first time in his long and illustrious tenure with PJ, Matt Cameron has finally been unleashed.

FWIW… This is how I'd rank the songs, right now…

1. Won’t Tell
2. Upper Hand
3. Setting Sun
4. Waiting for Stevie — This is like stepping into a PJ time machine. Insert Don Draper’s pitch on nostalgia <<here>>.
5. Got to Give
6. Wreckage
7. React, Respond
8. Dark Matter
9. Running
10. Scared of Fear — I can’t believe I ranked this song 10th. Love the guitar riff. Ed’s vocal delivery is great as well, IMO.
11. Something Special

One other thing I'd like to point out, and maybe it has been discussed in this thread already, but I found that many of the problems I had with the production of the album—the over compressed drums, Ed's vocals sitting too far back in the mix at times, and the general blaring assault on the ears, all seemed to be mitigated on the actual CD. I don't know if it's just a case of the 'Apple Digital Master' being way too 'hot', but I found my rip of the CD to be much 'cleaner' and much more enjoyable to my ears. For example, the drums and overall mix on 'Waiting for Stevie' were kinda bumming me out on the streaming versions, but they are actually not too bad on the CD, IMO.

And one final thing for Stip…

I'm right there with you on 'Waiting for Stevie'.

On Friday morning, I loaded up the album on my Apple Music and proceeded to embark on my morning run, and I got pretty emotional at WFS—specifically the section after the bridge where they go to the re-intro and into the outro that is so reminiscent of 'Breath'.

Incredible song and a real testament to the enduring power of this band's music.

Also, thank you for your extensive and excellent review write-up that was posted yesterday. I shared it on another board with some folks who were struggling with the new material. As they opined that the band no longer sounds like the Pearl Jam they loved during the first two albums, and questioning why Ed no longer sings like he did back in '93, I simply pointed out that it is unfair to hold them to the standard of being frozen in time.

I really think some of the sentiments in your review helped open them up to why we still love this band, and as to why we are still so affected by their music some thirty years later, as their opinions began to change after reading your review and spending some more time with the album.

Welcome Buck, and thank you for sharing that. It's really cool to hear.

I am excited for my CD to finally show up in 3 days...

And yeah, that moment when they all kick back in is incredible.

[stip]

Howard Stern interview tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what they play

If I had to pick 4 songs I'd go with

Scared of Fear
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Upper Hand

I think these would all work really well without a crowd. Songs like Got To Give, Stevie, and Won't Tell feel like they beg for that energy, and React Respond doesn't seem like where I'd want to begin

[VinylGuy]

Howard Stern interview tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what they play

If I had to pick 4 songs I'd go with

Scared of Fear
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Upper Hand

I think these would all work really well without a crowd. Songs like Got To Give, Stevie, and Won't Tell feel like they beg for that energy, and React Respond doesn't seem like where I'd want to begin

They will play a classic, Alive or Betterman are my choices.

[RockPusher]

Howard Stern interview tomorrow. Can’t wait to see what they play

If I had to pick 4 songs I'd go with

Scared of Fear
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Upper Hand

I think these would all work really well without a crowd. Songs like Got To Give, Stevie, and Won't Tell feel like they beg for that energy, and React Respond doesn't seem like where I'd want to begin

They will play a classic, Alive or Betterman are my choices.

Howard spoke to Ed about Glorified G being his favorite, so dark horse candidate there if Ed decides to pander lol

I'm gonna guess:

Dark Matter
Running
Alive
Wreckage

Wishing for others, but these are what I *think* they'll play

[Arthur Morgan]

Is it confirmed we will get 4 songs tomorrow?

[WaitingForBluey]

They need to remember how to play the songs first

[WaitingForBluey]

Thanks for the facial reconstruction surgery Dr. Ruddock

RIP bluestate

[E.H. Ruddock]

Welcome to the board!

[Farmer John]

I'm guess only 3 songs based on other bands that went on Stern, like RHCP (who played 2 old hits and one new song)

[Arthur Morgan]

They need to remember how to play the songs first

Especially Mike and Stone who apparently still need to figure out who has what part.


Am I wrong for worrying about Ed’s vocals on these songs tomorrow and on tour?

At first glance I did t think he was pushing too hard on this album, but with more listens I don’t know….

[Noaheb]

react, respond is now my #1

just listened to the trag-queen mix and it fucking kicked my ass!

edit-thanks for doing this Trag!

[E.H. Ruddock]

Is it confirmed we will get 4 songs tomorrow?

Nah we’ll probably get 2 maybe 3. He’ll want to ask as many questions as he can.

[stip]

Is it confirmed we will get 4 songs tomorrow?

4 is just a number I said that seemed plausible

[E.H. Ruddock]

Thanks for the facial reconstruction surgery Dr. Ruddock

RIP bluestate

[Arthur Morgan]

Apparently the band will be live from their warehouse and not physically on location with Howard.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Apparently the band will be live from their warehouse and not physically on location with Howard.

Yeah Howard doesn’t work from his studio regularly since COVID. He’s pretty paranoid about it still

[WaitingForBluey]

Thanks for the facial reconstruction surgery Dr. Ruddock

RIP bluestate

Lol... that's perfect.. hehe

[Ensign9]

I hope they don’t use the same mic Jeff used for Tuesday night.

[ElonDusk]

I didn’t know Stern was still a thing. I thought he quit because of Covid?