The Best Moment in Backspacer

[epilogue]

That last breath and the end of The End.

That was really striking the first time I heard it.

Yeah, that might be one of my favorite post-Riot Act PJ moments, honestly. It's something special.

[DeLima]

I think The End is a genuine good post Riot Act PJ moment

[VinylGuy]

I love how the guitars sound in Johnny Guitar. Really crunchy and groovy.

[Yeddie Yedder]

It sounds weird to say, but it is really the hooks/choruses/melodies that stand-out for this record.

[joostone]

Far from my favorite record, its my #9. But it's such a positive record in their discography that I wouldnt be suprised that in 20 years orso people will see it as one their greatest efforts. Where S/T sounds overcooked (the mixing and editing..leaving great songs off...) and LB sounds undercooked (leaving way to much space for B'OB + half of the songs are into a newer direction and half of it is uninspired), backspacer sounds just fine as it is.

GSMF: I just love Ed's vocals here. Especially when the cerse kicks in.
Got Some: Those drum rolls at the beginning.
The Fixer: The single most positive song in their whole discograpyhy. 'yeah yeah yeah'!!
Johhny Guitar: I'll hide my disappointment cause for years I have been hoping that when she came she'd be coming just for me...ah yeah!
Just breathe: I really like the arrangements here. Much better than on 'future days'. Especially the french horns.
ATW: This song proved to be a grower to me. I really like Mike's solo here. It's a good example of Mike's newfound style where he is not just going crazy anymore (too bad, I liked that Mike better )
UK: I like the way this builds and builds starting with how the drums kick in.
Supersonic: I love that huge funky bridge. Too bad they added it to the 'mankind' riffs...
SOS: Another grower, one of my favs on this record. Again lovely arrangements.
FON: Never a fan. But because of that I almost missed it's great lyrics. 'Wonderland pulling Alice in the hole'
The end: I cried when I first heard it on record and when I first heard it live....Nuff said.

[Yeddie Yedder]

ATW: This song proved to be a grower to me. I really like Mike's solo here. It's a good example of Mike's newfound style where he is not just going crazy anymore (too bad, I liked that Mike better )

Probably my favorite song on the record. However, interesting point on Mike's solos…I def love his ripper moments. His tasteful moments are top-notch….live…In My Tree and Nothingman are sensational.

I suppose if Mike only did rippers, he would be something like Kirk Hammett

[Birds in Hell]

I love how the guitars sound in Johnny Guitar. Really crunchy and groovy.

I love the song but what on earth is going on with the drum sound?

It's as though it's been processed with some kind of...brittle distortion, I can't think how else to describe it. Listen to those opening hits: sizzle-sizzle.

It's really weird.

[Sgt. Crackpot]

I love how the guitars sound in Johnny Guitar. Really crunchy and groovy.

I love the song but what on earth is going on with the drum sound?

It's as though it's been processed with some kind of...brittle distortion, I can't think how else to describe it. Listen to those opening hits: sizzle-sizzle.

It's really weird.

I think it's due to the terrible post production. The life was sucked out of the drums.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[epilogue]

I really like that little grunt/mumble at the beginning of Got Some.

[epilogue]

Supersonic is a really terrible song. Certainly, nothing about it is the best moment in Backspacer.

Honestly, Pete might get his wish. This one might take Habit's place as my least favorite PJ song.

[epilogue]

I love how they let that tone linger for a long time to close out Speed of Sound.

[epilogue]

The End is a lovely song. A nice and fitting album closer. And, yeah, having just LAL'd the thing, that intake of breath at the end of the song is the best moment on Backspacer.

[Tuolumne]

This album has solidified it's place for me as my favorite since Yield, which makes it my number 4. Ask me on certain days, and it can even be higher. Other albums I rank have better single songs, but they don't play top to bottom like this. I can play this one straight through in one drive, just what I need. It definitely turns a new leaf on the band and focuses on melody and hooks in a way they never had for a whole album.

Can anyone place The Fixer on any album besides this one? Impossible. No one could have seen that single coming, like it or not, and it reframed the band for me, one that focused on punch and immediacy with not one wasted moment. For me, it is very very clear they put alot of time and care into honing the parts and cutting the fat off. It takes some craft to hone it down to something where every snare hit, guitar spash, or solo is brief and succinct like they are here.

It contained all of the promise of the lighter side of the band that already existed in the shadows going all the way back to the old days, when it wasn't so much about the depth of the lyric as it was about the sing songy delivery and hook: Dirty Frank, Yellow Ledbetter, Angel and other Xmas singles and all the Lost Dogs nuggets like Leatherman, U, Down, All Night, Don't Gimmie No Lip, Hitchhiker, Education, Driftin, and the punchier cuts from the last few albums like Get Right, Green Disease, Breakerfall, and Big Wave.

They were going for the garage power pop side (Ramones, Guided By Voices, Cheap Trick, Buzzcocks) rather than the classic rock riffs and I think they succeeded, or atleast in delivering on the promise of the aforementioned songs.

Any change like this can be hard on the fan base, cause they invest their time and emotion on a certain promise, and then it's swept up from under them with irreverant ...... eh, fuck em.

I think this side of the band existed from Day 1, and I think their body of work would have been missing something if they did not dedicate a whole album to this like they did with Backspacer. Love it.

As for my favorite moment ....... a tie between the opening 30 seconds of The Fixer and bridge on Johnny Guitar and the big crescendo on Unthought Unknown.

[digster]

I'm not sure about a moment, but I actually think Backspacer, in theory, was a good idea. The band's always been underrated melody writers, so a more poppy album sounded like it might be an interesting alley to go down when they started talking about it. It's just the execution that fell on its face.

[stip]

I can't believe more people aren't talking about how great the fixer is.

[LetMeSleep]

I can't believe more people aren't talking about how great the fixer is.

The Fixer is a good song which I like more than most. But as for a moment, not many on this album. As Toulumne suggests, all the fat has been trimmed. Any moments are calculated. The point where Matt opens up on UK cannot be calculated. This band thrives on emotional moments.

LB doesn't have many moments either. And I believe that it is every bit as calculated as BS.

[VinylGuy]

The fixer is awesome. As experimental as whatever they did in the mid 90s.
a big fuck you to their core fanbase too. Another one.

[stip]

I don't think the fixer was an intentional fuck you to fans. Nor is a song like sirens. They're just songs people with a certain fixed idea of what pearl jam should sound like are likely going to react poorly too.

[VinylGuy]

I don't think the fixer was an intentional fuck you to fans. Nor is a song like sirens. They're just songs people with a certain fixed idea of what pearl jam should sound like are likely going to react poorly too.

I agree. But in a way the fixer was as experimental as Who you are as a first single in 1996.