Birds in Hell wrote:Going back to Stone's quote:
"In a sense, (Wotman) was going back in time and saying, ‘You did this so well, just do this’. It makes me think ‘OK, we did that, now what’s the opposite of that? Let’s lean in the other direction’"
I think you can see some commonality in that approach with the records Wotman produced for the Stones, Ozzy etc. - it's an attempt to identify the hallmarks of the most readily digestible and commercially successful version of the artist, boil those things down to their bare essence and push a few more drops out of the same magic sauce.
Waiting for Stevie feels like the boldest example of that on DM, which I think (along with Wotman's heavy involvement in its creation) is one of the reasons it leaves such a sour taste in the mouth for me.
If a few more months of reflection has got Stone feeling like it's time to get back to meandering and unfocused weirdness, I'm all ears.
If I am reading you right (apolgoies if I am not) thats a pretty reductive and somewhat dismissive take. an alternative - Watt’s strength as a producer seems to be that he is good at helping artists highlight (and in some cases rediscover) some of their core strengths as artists that produce the work people found emotionally satisfying and resonant and reminds them why they first fell in love.
Its worth remembering that Waiting For Stevie is not a single. the people who are lining up to shout its praises are the people already listening to Pearl Jam. the ones who take the time to digest a song. I dont love WFS because it is easy, or because it is intended to be familiar. What is great about it is how it captures the naked emotional truth, the angsty seeking and desperate need to find meaning and purpose, but flips the script and offers not just an articulation of that need but also the understanding that you will make it through and that, someday, it will be okay. It is the child reaching out in Release to find the parent can respond.
Waiting for Stevie goes back to the begining but carries the journey with it. If Watt’s perspective as a lifelong fan helps them complete that circle then he did his job. DM is not an experimental or meandering record in the way Gigaton often was. But it is not calculated or engineered either. It feels immediate and instinctual and unedited and free in a way Pearl Jam maybe never really has since Ten. Ever since Pearl Jam has tried not to sound like Pearl Jam. Dark Matter is the sound of pearl jam just being. When you put them together this is the heart of who they are (which is why these songs sound so natural live. their live chemistry is also instinctual). Watt kept things moving and kept them in that space. he didnt give them time to overthink.
if this produced hits its because the music is really fucking good and emotionally compelling. not because it felt familiar
