What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Riot Act

[Got Some]

"Undone" not being on this album is its only flaw IMHO

Ed wrote the lyrics to this song in a deep magazine issue. He went onto say the lyrics sum up his feeling right now. That's why it should of been on the album. It was the perfect counter balance to the "negativity" of the second half.



PS.I love 1/2 full.

PPS. Eds lyrics are incredible on this album.

I Am Mine Can't Keep Cropduster All Or None LBC Thumbing My Way Bu$hleaguer
Save You.

PPPS: I Would love to hear more riot act b-sides.

[ABNorman]

For me, it's easier to mention the only thing on Riot Act that ISN'T flawed: All or None. Summed up the entire vibe of the album and did it in 1/15th of the time. It's the only song from this album I still listen to regularly. You Are, 1/2 Full and I am Mine are all good as well. The rest is dull, murky sludge.

Edit: Can't Keep is good as well. But none of these is top tier.

[stip]

All or None. Summed up the entire vibe of the album and did it in 1/15th of the time.

this is a great post

[mastaflatch]

After initially calling this one of PJ's best records, cooling down and letting it sink to the bottom of their catalog, I rediscovered Riot Act a few months ago with great pleasure. It's still a pretty weird one by PJ's standards but it's one of their most rewardings listens if you can get past a few idiosyncrasies.

I think that it's the musicians' Pearl Jam album. The playing is stellar yet subtle, the band taking offhand detours and crudely adorning the songs with thoughtful but un-forced bits. It's like they'd hit some kind of peak with that one and could only simplify their subsequent offerings - I can easily imagine Eddie and Mike being bummed to play some of these (and Binaural's) live because you can't just sit back and blow away, this is music that requires involvement from everyone in order to work and, maybe, Pearl Jam just isn't a band like that. I'm just glad that they did record this album the way they did because it sounds better than anything else, especially when you play it LOUD.

Riot Act's major flaw is that it's preceded by Binaural which makes two "difficult" albums for the casual fan in a row. Maybe it was intentional, i don't know but it certainly alienated many people and settled the landscape for the band to fight to get them back again afterwards.

[WtOB?]

sometimes this is my favourite album. the political turmoil of the time and Ed's existential crisis go hand in hand nicely.

[WtOB?]

save you is the major flaw here. thanks for rewriting habit and placing it on an album where thematically it's completely out of place, ed.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I can't believe that anybody would find Binaural and Riot Act "difficult".

Listen to "Trout Mask Replica". That's difficult. If any of you pussies can memorize that album I'll give you my entire bootleg collection.

[hlniv]

By "difficult", most who would use that phrase actually mean "not over abundantly obvious or lazily accessible to anyone with at least one functioning ear"

[Lament]

Yeah, keep in mind that this is a board where Pearl Jam is regularly described as being "experimental."

[Kaius]

I can't believe that anybody would find Binaural and Riot Act "difficult".

Listen to "Trout Mask Replica". That's difficult. If any of you pussies can memorize that album I'll give you my entire bootleg collection.

[Thejambi]

Ed. That is the record's major flaw. It probably was our last chance at "great' Vedder, pre jaw-shift and awh-huhs. Instead we get a bored and generally mailed in performance. I don't buy it as a conceptual tie-in either.

[Norah]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

[Birds in Hell]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

I think they're great!

[Strat]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

I think they're great!

Love them. Wish he still sang like that.

[stip]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

On a few songs

[Heathen]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

Of course not.

[Thejambi]

I think his voice sounds great, just uninspiring and non-committal.
I would probably take it over his Post RA wankery though.

[Kaius]

I love the 'detained' sound to his voice in most of the songs. It's like he's singing from a foxhole.

[digster]

I wouldn't want every record's vocals to sound like this one, but I'm happy that he did it once.

[mastaflatch]

Are Kevin Davis and I the only ones who actually like Ed's vocals on Riot Act?

I think that he got better with this low profile vocal attitude on RA (comparing it with some songs on Binaural) and even better on his solo records but he decided that PJ needed him to get out of his range in order to be good i.e. sell records.

Ed's voice on RA is also better than I once thought; it's full and calmer than usual in a menacing and/or desperate way. it's way more expressive than most of the band's catalogue but, in the vein of what digster wrote, I don't think this would be the same band without Eddie screaming his lungs out. thing is, that capacity to fill the room with that approach was kind of behind him by RA.