Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[Thejambi]

Pearl Jam, masturbation, whatever it is -- these things can only be as good as you'll let them.

I'm tweeting this. Fucking gold.

Damn you Harmless.
Masturbation was my thing. I'll try to do better .

[Thejambi]

Just discovered Blues Funeral. I wish this was Lighting Bolt.

[stip]

that's a pretty great record.

I do like lightning bolt more though.

[stip]

I wonder which one I think is objectively better. Blues Funeral is a more dramatic listen. Both have a few top tier songs and are generally strong listens from top to bottom. Probably more songs I don't really care about on Blues Funeral, but nothing on L-bolt is as good as gravedigger's song.

It's hard. Good pearl jam will just be so satisfying in a way that good other things, even great other things, aren't for me.

[Thejambi]

The tone and production is aces. He would be a great candidate to sing over Stone solo songs.

[stip]

Yeah, whoever produces his stuff does a really magnificent job.

[McParadigm]

I've been known to wonder aloud if 4AD has an internal production policy clause or something, because no matter who produces they tend to release really great sounding stuff.

[Thejambi]

I wonder which one I think is objectively better. Blues Funeral is a more dramatic listen. Both have a few top tier songs and are generally strong listens from top to bottom. Probably more songs I don't really care about on Blues Funeral, but nothing on L-bolt is as good as gravedigger's song.

It's hard. Good pearl jam will just be so satisfying in a way that good other things, even great other things, aren't for me.

It's still new to me but Gravedigger's Song, Bleeding Muddy Water and Phantasmagoria Blues are top tier.
It's a ridiculous exercise but this album's sound, both in production and composition, is what I feel would be Pearl Jam's sweet spot.

[stip]

I wonder which one I think is objectively better. Blues Funeral is a more dramatic listen. Both have a few top tier songs and are generally strong listens from top to bottom. Probably more songs I don't really care about on Blues Funeral, but nothing on L-bolt is as good as gravedigger's song.

It's hard. Good pearl jam will just be so satisfying in a way that good other things, even great other things, aren't for me.

It's still new to me but Gravedigger's Song, Bleeding Muddy Water and Phantasmagoria Blues are top tier.
It's a ridiculous exercise but this album's sound, both in production and composition, is what I feel would be Pearl Jam's sweet spot.

Mark Lanegan can't do anthems all that well (quiver syndrome is decent, but not great). But that slower moodier stuff is fantastic. Ed's take would be less dark, but they could do that stuff well.

I'd love to hear Eddie cover Muddy Water or hear Mark cover Yellow Moon

[Jorge]

I wonder which one I think is objectively better.

Stop. STOP.

[Jorge]

Sorry. Stip*

[VinylGuy]

Oh shit, PJ and Lanegan are so different....even the Trees are very different from PJ.
Im glad i have both, but Blues Funeral might be a better album just because its trying more than LB.

And yes, Alain Johannes is a great producer/musician.

[harmless]

Lightning Bolt is so frustrating because it's really good in so many spots, but even though it's good, it's still not trying. Imagine if PJ really *tried* to make a great record now; Lightning Bolt proves they still could, even if they haven't in Lightning Bolt.

[VinylGuy]

Lightning Bolt is so frustrating because it's really good in so many spots, but even though it's good, it's still not trying. Imagine if PJ really *tried* to make a great record now; Lightning Bolt proves they still could, even if they haven't in Lightning Bolt.

All i could read there was: LIGHTNING BOLT.


but yeah, i agree.

[Thejambi]

Oh shit, PJ and Lanegan are so different....even the Trees are very different from PJ.
Im glad i have both, but Blues Funeral might be a better album just because its trying more than LB.

And yes, Alain Johannes is a great producer/musician.

They are very different. I guess thinking about the No Code era along with Jeff and Stone solo work, I could see PJ doing this music very successfully. I do enjoy Lightning Bolt but I may be getting a little fatigued on the urgency and anthem-ed nature of modern PJ. Which I admit is a little unfair considering that is Pearl Jam''s m.o.

Hearing an album like Blues Funeral just reminds me of the side of Pearl Jam that hasn't been followed as extensive.

[harmless]

Lightning Bolt is so frustrating because it's really good in so many spots, but even though it's good, it's still not trying. Imagine if PJ really *tried* to make a great record now; Lightning Bolt proves they still could, even if they haven't in Lightning Bolt.

All i could read there was: LIGHTNING BOLT.


but yeah, i agree.

Still enjoying the hell out of it though. I mean, the issues I have with it are not the same issues I had with Backspacer or S/T, and they're not even significant. Any issues I have with Ed's voice on this record are nothing compared to the things he was doing then, particularly no aw-huhs, less obvious splitting of single-syllable words into two, and no screeching. The one place he is shouting / screeching (the end of LB), it really works for me, but I think that's because it's only one place. S/T did that so much it made my ears bleed.

[harmless]

Oh shit, PJ and Lanegan are so different....even the Trees are very different from PJ.
Im glad i have both, but Blues Funeral might be a better album just because its trying more than LB.

And yes, Alain Johannes is a great producer/musician.

They are very different. I guess thinking about the No Code era along with Jeff and Stone solo work, I could see PJ doing this music very successfully. I do enjoy Lightning Bolt but I may be getting a little fatigued on the urgency and anthem-ed nature of modern PJ. Which I admit is a little unfair considering that is Pearl Jam''s m.o.

Hearing an album like Blues Funeral just reminds me of the side of Pearl Jam that hasn't been followed as extensive.

Agreed. I really would love them to eventually get past this reaching for an anthem, grab four bar stools and just hammer out a low-key record with lots of low register from Ed. Also, more twelve-string acoustic. God it's making my ears happy.

[VinylGuy]

Oh shit, PJ and Lanegan are so different....even the Trees are very different from PJ.
Im glad i have both, but Blues Funeral might be a better album just because its trying more than LB.

And yes, Alain Johannes is a great producer/musician.

They are very different. I guess thinking about the No Code era along with Jeff and Stone solo work, I could see PJ doing this music very successfully. I do enjoy Lightning Bolt but I may be getting a little fatigued on the urgency and anthem-ed nature of modern PJ. Which I admit is a little unfair considering that is Pearl Jam''s m.o.

Hearing an album like Blues Funeral just reminds me of the side of Pearl Jam that hasn't been followed as extensive.

Agreed. I really would love them to eventually get past this reaching for an anthem, grab four bar stools and just hammer out a low-key record with lots of low register from Ed. Also, more twelve-string acoustic. God it's making my ears happy.

yes, it would be nice to see them experimenting again. Leave the anthem thing a little behind and sit down and make a weird album...they could even rock out more. Hell who knows!

[stip]

Okay, lets roll up our sleeves and do this thing!

Getaway: 3.5
MYM: 4.5
MFS: 3.5
Sirens: 4
L-bolt: 4.5
Infallible: 4.5
Pendulum: 4.5
Swallowed Whole: 3.5
LTRP: 3.5
Sleeping By Myself: 4
Yellow Moon: 4.5
Future Days: 3.5 (I know, I know--this will probably go back down to a 3 at some point)

So I'd give Lightning Bolt a 4


Gravedigger's Song: 5
Bleeding Muddy Water: 4
Gray Goes Black: 3
St. Louis Elegy: 4.5
Riot In My House: 2.5
Ode to Sad Disco: 4.5
Phatnasmagoria Blues: 3.5
Quiver Syndrome: 3. 5
Harborview Hospital: 4.5
Leviathan: 4.5
Deep Black Vanishing Train: 4
Tiny Grain of Truth: 3

Blues Funeral: 3.9


Man, that's pretty close. Sad Disco might be a 5. They're basically equal, but Lightning Bolt would probably edge it out on intangibles just because it's pearl jam

[stip]

I think experiment may soon join cringe in the upper ranks of words I'm sick of hearing