Let's Actually Listen to the Album: Pearl Jam

[harmless]

I like "Gone" quite a lot, always have.

[stip]

Wasted Reprise: This, with Bugs, are Eddie's two Tom Waits moments in the catalog. I've always really liked this song--my favorite interlude on any of the records.


Army Reserve:

I don't like this song enough to really care, but I bet this one would have been great on Binaural. So maybe 4 songs instead of 3. The main riff is interesting, as is the spacey playing that surrounds it. I like the tired-broken-too stubborn to quit ragged edge in Eddie's vocals, and I've always thought the story in the verses was pretty moving--especially the ' she tells herself and everyone else that father is risking his life for our freedom' part.

I remember in an early listening party review on the main pearl jam site some woman raved about this song--her favorite of the 4 she heard, and she declared that the chorus was everything there is to love about music. Something along those lines. that's a bold call, and this one really fell short. For whatever reason it never sat well with me. Even listening to it now I can't really tell you why.

the outro is okay. I like the playing, but it feels disconnected from the rest of the song, and so there isn't really anything at stake--some cool noises with no soul. I think that's probably the fault of the chorus disinvesting me from the song.

[stip]

I like "Gone" quite a lot, always have.

I liked it more than I remembered. I loved it when it came out, then just stopped listening to it. Maybe I just assumed I didn't like it because it gets so much shit.

I was never a fan of the demo, though. I think the studio version is much better.

[Thejambi]

Ug. I tired. I'll have to download that Live Mix and come back.
The #1 thing that kills this album is the production. Inside Job is a close #2.

[Mike]

I just actually listened to Marker In The Sand and it made me realize that I like Avocado way more than Backspacer and Lightning Bolt. The production of Avocado isn't even that bad aside from the shitty mastering. Certainly better than Lightning Bolts production. I hope they'll redo that someday. There should be tapes from before the mastering process, right?
Maybe I should LAL the whole album.

[EJ]

I like "Gone" quite a lot, always have.

I liked it more than I remembered. I loved it when it came out, then just stopped listening to it. Maybe I just assumed I didn't like it because it gets so much shit.

I was never a fan of the demo, though. I think the studio version is much better.

I'm not a big fan of the band's version of this. Its tiring. Thought it was decent on that AOL Session show though.

[stip]

Come Back: See parachutes--this is a gorgeous song that S/T ruins, like someone rubbed sandpaper all over a beautiful woman. I actually kinda wish whatever muted effect they use at the beginning of Black was all over this song.

I like the motown vibe it is trying to conjure up, and I've always though this is a really nice vocal melody. Eddie's performance may be a bit too scratchy. A cleaner performance would have been nice here.

I especially like the start of each verse, the 'If I don't fall apart' moment in particular--there's something so vulnerable about it.

Excellent moment where Mike comes in during the 'it's okay....' part right before the end. Some lovely notes on his guitar.

I do really like the outro, despite the rawk mawkishness in the solo--that's okay. It's that kind of song. And I like Eddie's intensity. It's forlorn and painful, and the vocalizations at the end are nice. But it should all sound cleaner.

Another song I wish was on a different album, but I still really like it regardless.

[stip]

Inside Job: Oh good, this will be fun.

Another song that, like severed hand (but much much moreso) is really setting up for a huge payoff it never delivers. the intro is interesting, and I especially enjoy when the piano comes in. The problem is that at about 1:35 or so it starts to meander, and the hushed verses are underwhelming.

I can forgive the lyrics in inside job. I think they're sweet, although I admit its a condescending sweetness, like when you hang your kids art on the fridge.

3 minutes into the song and at this point I'm actually kinda bored.

"I used to try to kill love/it was the highest sin" is just terrible. I don't mind the human light lyric. In my unguarded moments I probably even like it a little bit. This is awful. Even worse than 'how I choose to feel is how I am.'

It's a relief when the song starts to pick up, but it feels like its running in place despite the appearance of movement--like there's a blue screen behind it. Artificial, rather than the moment of revelatory catharsis it wants to be.

I like the music leading into the climax of the song, but it is not good enough to justify 5 minutes of build.

The climax is a bit boring "the light comes from within your heart and desire...' part.

That twinkly little outro is nice.


Just think, this album could have closed with cold confession. I don't know that it would have fit on the album, but that song is so good, and this one is so underwhelming, that I just don't give a shit.

[stip]

The back half of the album is uneven, with no real highspots, but I do like Come Back a lot, the reprise is nice, and gone and army reserve are nice little surprises as long as you only come across them every so often. But still, I'm not sure any pearl jam album has a weaker second half, and it's too bad, because those first 6 songs are so good.

They wrote a lot of these sessions, iirc. I hope all that stuff comes out some day.

[bada]

I'm with ya Stip on WWS but we fall apart on Unemployable.

[chewm]

Army Reserve is one of my favorites songs ever by this band.
And yeah, Unemployable is great.

[aurynsdad]

The back half of the album is uneven, with no real highspots, but I do like Come Back a lot, the reprise is nice, and gone and army reserve are nice little surprises as long as you only come across them every so often. But still, I'm not sure any pearl jam album has a weaker second half, and it's too bad, because those first 6 songs are so good

Couldn't disagree more about the back half. I often like to listen to just the last 3 songs as kind of an EP experience. I don't share your opinion on the lyrics in Inside Job- I think they're very honest and raw and I like that.

FWIW, I just LAL'd to the album. One of my favorites by them.

Life Wasted- I like it. Lots of urgency, which hasn't always been there for them in recent years
WWS- Another nice song. These first two aren't my favorites, but they have a lot of energy and get me into the album
Comatose- I don't really feel this one
Severed Hand- although I don't connect with the lyrics, I love the music in this tune and it has grown on me a lot
Marker in the Sand- total classic. Love this one
Parachutes- not for me. I know a lot of people love it, but I think it's the filleriest thing on here.
Unemployable- Pretty decent
Big Wave- worth it for the crazy guitar ride that takes me back to the glory days
Gone- just a really nice later years Jam
Wasted Reprise- why not
Army Reserve- I love this song- the urgency is awesome, and the outro is classic
Come Back- a waltz (like all or none) with crunchy guitar. The moment at 4:23 never ceases to rock my world.
Inside Job- one of the most non-pearl jammy pearl jam songs, in my opinion. It oozes vulnerability.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

Life Wasted - Crappy generic riff, lame lyrics, worst opener ever.
WWS - Another crappy generic riff with more lame lyrics.
Comatose - A decent rocker. Cool guitar interplay in the bridge.
Severed Hand - Another riff that sounds like it was made up in about 5 seconds.
Marker in the Sand - A very decent song that isn't strong enough to elevate the album at this point.
Parachutes - A gorgeous masterpiece. Highlight of the album for me.
Unemployable - Superb music, with horrible lyrics that almost ruin it.
Big Wave - Written by Jeff but clearly Matt Cameron influenced. Can't go wrong there.
Gone - Zzzzzzzzz.......
Wasted Reprise - Zzzzzzzzz......
Army Reserve - Zzzzzzzzz......
Come Back - Zzzz...*snort*. I have awoken from my slumber to throw up.
Inside Job - One of the better songs on the album. A good closer. Unfairly maligned.

[hlniv]

Life Wasted - Crappy generic riff, lame lyrics, worst opener ever. YEP
WWS - Another crappy generic riff with more lame lyrics. YEP
Comatose - A great rocker. Cool guitar interplay in the bridge. YEP, BUT BETTER
Severed Hand - Another riff that sounds like it was made up in about 5 seconds. MAYBE, BUT THIS ONE ROCKS, TOO
Marker in the Sand - An excellent song that isn't strong enough to elevate the album at this point. MY FAV HERE
Parachutes - A gorgeous masterpiece. Highlight of the album for me. YEP
Unemployable - Superb music, with acceptable lyrics that don't add to or take away from the music.
Big Wave - Written by Jeff but clearly Matt Cameron influenced. Can't go wrong there. AND ITS FUN!
Gone - Zzzzzzzzz....... YEP
Wasted Reprise - Zzzzzzzzz...... YEP
Army Reserve - Zzzzzzzzz......THIS ONE HAS ITS MOMENTS, BUT ITS FLAWED
Come Back - Zzzz...*snort*. I have awoken from my slumber to throw up. YEP-EXACTLY MY REACTION
Inside Job - One of the most promising songs on the album, but horribly executed. Could have been a good closer. Justifiably maligned.

We are very similar in our opinions here, see bold above.

[Alex]

wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf house

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

We are very similar in our opinions here, see bold above.

[jtmack20]

Thought I'd chime in on my least favorite album. I just listened a few weeks ago and consider that close enough for this thread. better production/sound definitely would have improved this, as would have better song selection, ie Of the Earth, Cold Confession, Let it Ride. As it stands I listen to this the least of all albums. Although I have been recently enjoying the demos a bit more than the album.

Life Wasted: Decent rock song, nothing special. Demo version with extended outro solo is superior
WWS: Mediocre. generic riffs and too many words jammed in.
Comatose: solid hard punk rocker. I like Stone and Mikes work on this
Severed Hand: One of top 2 tracks on here. Good old school rocker
Marker in the sand: its...ok. I respect it but have never felt it. to each his own
Parachutes: really good song with great lyrics, has grown on me over the years
Unemployable: like the music in this one alot, especially chorus and outro. always thought it should be called "Scared Alive"
Gone: terrible
Big Wave: music is cool i guess but this one sounds like a b-side to me.
LW reprise: its ok
Army Reserve: decent song
Come Back: if someone were to describe this song to me- bluesy, soulful, big solo- I would say this is gonna be awesome! but its not.
Inside Job: The music is ok I guess, but the lyrics and delivery are just not close to PJ standards for me.

[LetMeSleep]

I'll come out straight away, I listen to this album more than any other PJ album and have done for the last few years. When this first came out I was busy moving overseas and travelling so I didn't hear till maybe July 06 and then it was from a rip in a hire car with an awful stereo. I didn't make it past Comatose until my wife turned it off. I didn't really listen to it till 2008.

What I like about this album is they seem pretty comfortable with themselves and the songs. Sure Gone and Inside Job sound forced but the others feel right. The production is harsh and certainly could be improved upon (I'd love a remaster or remix of this album). And finally, the run of 1-8 is very strong and one of the nicest runs in their catalogue. I do retrack the final 4-5 tracks though.

LW - I enjoy this track a lot once it's playing. The guitar interplay is great and Matt plays the hell out of this.
WWS - The thought of this song makes me go uurrgghh but again once it's playing I enjoy it.
Comatose - Things pick up here. All 5 guys are killing this and they do so for the next 5 tracks.
SHand - Interesting intro goes somewhere pedestrian that is pretty cool. I like Mike's morse-code part. Ed sings this one well delivering it with the perfect intensity for each part.
Marker - Track of the album here. Matt is awesome, guitar parts are great (although I don't like the brickwealled distortion on Mike), Ed's melody is fantastic. Brutal then melodic with great rhythmic elvolution thoughout the track. Keys are great in the outro leading us into
Parachutes - What a great 1-2. This track was filler for a year or so then all of a sudden it hit me. This and MITS are their best tracks since NAIS.
Unemployable - A good solid 3.5* track played well. The vocals and backing vocals are a bit of a departure that I really like. Lyrics are a bit weak.
Big Wave - Killer riff that is a blast on a summers day.
Gone - I don't like Matt's hat work in the verses. It tries to give movement to a plodding track. I don't listen to this track very often.
Wasted Reprise - Nice enough interlude.
Army Reserve - This is a nice 4* track. I love the feel and the comfort of this track. Everyone plays it well. Has a great line in it too
(She can feel this War on her face)
Come Back - This is an okay track ruined by production and Matt's Hihats. This could have ended the album if it was extended with better production.
Inside Job - Atmospheric and okay to start then crashed in like another take or they un-solo'd the rest of the band. Awful. I like the tinkling sunrise part at the end.

Retracked 1-8 as is then into Army, Wasted Reprise, Come Back (and sometimes into IJ).

[stip]

I like your description of the guitars in severed hand

[bada]

I *think* Stone does the morse-code part.