I think this is one of the best anthems in their catalog.
I tend to agree with stip on this one. The live versions kill.
But, it is a prime example of a track on LB that is completely ruined by the production decisions (fade out), instrumentation choices (fucking shakers), and the way in which it was recorded and mixed (is that a piano? laser? guitar? kazoo? can't tell).
I can see enjoying the song but I don't really think Corduroy, Alive, Last Exit, Black and Lightening Bolt are in the same conversation. Maybe Lightening Bolt is among the best after 50 other songs.
Ed's tended to have one anthem-by-numbers on the last three records (Severed Hand, Unthought Known, LB). This is definitely the best of the three, though it still feels kind of forced. I feel like this is definitely what Unthought Known was attempting to do.
bada wrote:I can see enjoying the song but I don't really think Corduroy, Alive, Last Exit, Black and Lightening Bolt are in the same conversation. Maybe Lightening Bolt is among the best after 50 other songs.
Well most songs don't belong in the same conversation as those, period
bada wrote:I can see enjoying the song but I don't really think Corduroy, Alive, Last Exit, Black and Lightening Bolt are in the same conversation. Maybe Lightening Bolt is among the best after 50 other songs.
Well most songs don't belong in the same conversation as those, period
Does Force of Nature? When you say that is a 5 star song I am equally confused cause it doesn't measure up. I enjoy the last few albums in a vacuum but matched up against the older material they don't compare. Rats.
My biggest concern was that it be good enough to do something about the interminable Backspacer bitching that had come to define RM.
In a way I think it was successful at that. Some here who were at a breaking point (myself included) mostly walked away after Lightning Bolt failed to reignite the flame. At the same time it lacked the outright repulsiveness that would have at least kept the hate train rolling.
Mission accomplished, pearl jams.
Last edited by BurtReynolds on Fri February 14, 2014 1:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Any rating system is flawed because it assumes objectivity for what is a 100% subjective experience. The other day I was listening to BS and ATW was a total 5 for me. Almost every time I listen to Pendulum, it's a 5 for me. Are both of those songs 5s? Some of the time. Same applies for a song like Alive. Sometimes, I'm kind of sick of it and it plods. Most of the time though, I love the heck out of it.
