The Best Moment in Lightning Bolt

[stip]

In this thread we talk about the best moments in Lightning Bolt. Probably.

The Best Moment In...
Ten
Vs
Vitalogy
No Code
Yield
Binaural
Riot Act
S/T
Backspacer

[stip]

This is my 4th or 5th favorite Pearl Jam album, despite the somewhat sterile production. I think it's a very strong set of songs, and one of very few pearl jam albums I'll listen to from start to finish with no desire to skip a song (possibly just this and Vs). So there are a lot of great moments on here for me.


Getaway: The outro or the really sharp sound on the guitar when they kick back in during the 'science says...' verse. That's the kind of harsh, abrasive sound this song needed. The guitars are a bit neutered, especially given the fact that they're playing off of that catchy bouncing bassline.

Mind Your Manners: the opening riff, the call and response outro, the solo, and the brief pauses punctuating the song are all high points, but eddie's delivery and sound on the 'self-realized...' chorus is my possibly favorite moment on the album, and one of my favorite choruses in the catalog. If this isn't a top 10 song for me, it's right on the cusp.

My Father's Son: I'm not as much a fan of this one as others are (the lyrics make this one a harder sell for me). The tropical bridge is excellent, especially as a counterpoint to the verse. I also love the way the guitars sound like they're haunting the song during the chorus. Lots of great choruses on this album.

Sirens: Stone's whale song accents, the acoustic guitar coming out of the solo to transition back into the chorus (not a fan of this solo, though. With a few exceptions Mike did not bring his A game to this album), and the harmonizing at the end. Plus Eddie sounds great throughout, especially during the beginning. He should sing more in that lower register.

Lightning Bolt: This is a top 25 song for me despite the decision to eliminate the final solo in its ENTIRETY, which puts the Life Wasted bitching into context. If I was going to pick a moment or two it would be the solo after the first verse (which is pure rock and roll bliss--possibly a top 5 mike moment and a stunning exception to my previous comments about his performance on this album), or the go for broke vocals during the final verse 'and with no repair in sight...' I'm a sucker for that stuff (and this kinds of performances dominate my favorite songs on S/T and Backspacer, which goes a long way to explaining my love for those records). The rapturous guitars in the outro are also a high point. With better production and a stronger opening verse this is their born to run.

Infallible: My favorite moment is probably the guitar screeching (4:29) right before the final 'keep on locking your doors'. The 'time we best begin here at the ending' moment.' I love the martial, vaguely menacing tone in the verses and the rally optimism of the chorus.

Pendulum: This is almost certainly my favorite of Pearl Jam's 'atmospheric' songs, and has been from the moment we got that tour announcement at the start of the Lighting Bolt build. So it's another song where it's hard to pick a 'moment'. Maybe the point where the acoustic guitars come in for the final third of the song, and Eddie's uh huh huh huh huh chanting, which isn't really something we had heard before.

Swallowed Whole: I really like the way the song flattens out for the final two lyrics. It's a subtle moment, but the chiming guitar at the end of the choruses transitioning back into the verses are nice. Reminds me of tremor Christ. This is actually one of the more disappointing songs on the record for me, because it's doing everything I love but I can't fully commit to it. I should love the point where the song picks up speed, and the solo, and I just like them.

Let the Records Play: I love the filthy riff, and the swaying melody in the chorus. This is probably at the bottom of the album for me, but it's still a good song.

Sleeping By Myself: This song is such an unassuming little gem, and I have such a hard time taking seriously dismissals of this song. It was my favorite song on Uke songs, and it's even better here. My favorite aspect (sorry, not a moment) of this song is the sad bounce it has--the way it's forcing itself to try and be happy and not buying any of it, but is still self aware enough to be bemused by the effort. Also, that little bit right before the final verse where they sneak the uke back in is a cool moment.

Yellow Moon: The bridge is great, but the first 30 seconds of the song, with the rich, bottomless feel to the music, and Eddie's gorgeous delivery, is probably my favorite moment. This is a wonderful 'walking the dog alone at night' song.

Future Days: Probably the bridge (lots of great bridges on this record), though the moment when the violin kicks in after the first verse is another great moment. It gives the song an autumnal vibe that really suits it.

I love this album.

[Mike]

- Getaway's outro/ending
- Mind Your Manners' chorus
- My Father's Son's bridge
- Imagining Eddie singing the intro of Lightning Bolt like a creepy dude hiding in a bush
- Always Something, Never nothing part in Lightning Bolt
- Intro to Infallible
- I like Pendulum and Swallowed Whole but can't pinpoint a favorite moment on them
- The outro of Let The Records Play
- I love Sleeping By Myself but it's the same here as with Pendulum/Swallowed Whole, maybe the repeated 'I'll be sleeping by myself tonight' at the end
- The piano intro to Future Days is obviously the best part in Pearl Jam's catalog Well, I like the bridge

[stip]

you're right Mike. The intro to infallible is probably my favorite part, especially since we've never really heard anything like that from them before.

[Mike]

it was a fun time when we only heard the crappy soundcheck version and the intro from the teaser video with Stone drawing. everyone had these wild expectations and thought it will
be really great. well, I still like how it turned out to be quite a bit.

[Mike]

Next to the bridge I also enjoy the little electric guitar figures Stone (I think it's him) is playing over the verse after the first chorus in Future Days. I like his contributions in general on
that song but that doesn't really count as a moment.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[LetMeSleep]

Pretty much the 2 moments used in the pre-release. Opening of MYM, Pendulum piano intro.

I also quite like the Infallible verse and setup. It's a departure for them. Yellow Moon is the only song with a bit of room to it and it feels warm.

[daft twat]

Stip,

4th or 5th? Honestly? I like this album overall. I rank Riot Act dead last and distantly so. But I can't imagine placing this ahead of any of those first 5 albums, if for no other reason than nostalgia.

[stip]

I have no no code or yield nostalgia. After vitalogy every Pearl jam album consisted of 4-5 songs I loved, another 4 or so I liked, and the rest tracks I didn't really care about. So even if backspacer and lightning bolt didn't produce a ton of top flight material I love that they are consistently enjoyable from start to finish.

[hlniv]

This thread should not be very long

This album is quickly fading to equal footing with Backspacer at the bottom (way, way, bottom) of PJ albums for me. I am expecting at this point for it to overtake it soon as the cellar dweller.

As for moments, I can only come up with-

1. Sleeping by Myself - intro/verse, if not for anything else besides the fact that its such a departure from the rest of a subpar album
2. Lightning Bolt outro jam (live only, the album cut is horrid)
3. Transition from MYM intro to riff
4. Yellow Moon bridge
5. Swallowed Whole bridge
6. Pendulum - entire song (but only the 1st 20 times I heard it, gets old and repetitive very quickly)

In total, there is about three minutes worth of album that I thoroughly enjoy (1,3,4,5 above)
Another 30% of the album is listenable and good (Full songs 1,3,4,5, plus maybe My Father's Son)
That leaves about 60% that I have no desire to hear for quite some time.

[bodysnatcher]

my favorite part was playing Future Days for a buddy of mine and looking at the reaction on his face

[Tuolumne]

The bridge on Swallowed Whole is a sort of cathartic moment for the album for me. Tied the album together lyrically and emotionally for me and made sense out of the whole thing. Before I got to that, I had trouble getting the album down as a whole singular concept. It's a strong middle of the pack album for me, with certain songs on it that I play as much as any in their catalogue, although not one I can play easily all the way through like Backspacer. It definitely feels like and album put together in 2 very separate recording sessions. Stellar album though.

[hlniv]

The bridge on Swallowed Whole is a sort of cathartic moment for the album for me. Tied the album together lyrically and emotionally for me and made sense out of the whole thing. Before I got to that, I had trouble getting the album down as a whole singular concept. It's a strong middle of the pack album for me, with certain songs on it that I play as much as any in their catalogue, although not one I can play easily all the way through like Backspacer. It definitely feels like and album put together in 2 very separate recording sessions. Stellar album though.

I would love to hear your take on what "sense is to be made out of the whole thing", and what the "singular concept" is. I honestly can't connect any of this mess.

[Birds in Hell]

I have no no code or yield nostalgia. After vitalogy every Pearl jam album consisted of 4-5 songs I loved, another 4 or so I liked, and the rest tracks I didn't really care about. So even if backspacer and lightning bolt didn't produce a ton of top flight material I love that they are consistently enjoyable from start to finish.

*insert Jorge's burger photo*

I rank Riot Act dead last and distantly so.

I always wonder how serious these "Riot Act dead last" folk actually are, I think B is another. Is it some deep-seated opinion based on how disappointed you were in the album at the time that you simply can't move on from or have you genuinely listened to the record in full, compared it the band's subsequent albums and decided it's still genuinely worse?

I'm no Riot Act supremacist, I think it was easily the band's weakest effort at that point, but I struggle to understand.

[Birds in Hell]

I listened to this recently, the same day I listened to Backspacer (see the 'Best Moment in Backspacer' thread for that thrilling submission). Unlike that record, Lightning Bolt sounded much less enjoyable than I remembered.

My Father's Son and Let the Records Play stood head and shoulders above everything else - Stone's opening guitar tumble from the latter, and Mike's solo during the rollicking outro, was particularly great.

Those two songs are the genuine article as far as I'm concerned, the rest I'd rather forget.

[LetMeSleep]

....Let the Records Play.....genuine article as far as I'm concerned

Go to bed, Spenno.

[Leatherhead]

....Let the Records Play.....genuine article as far as I'm concerned

Go to bed, Spenno.

I have been enjoying live versions of this song a lot.

[Jorge]

"Let the Records Play" is either an embarrassing piece of whitewashed George Thorogood faux-blues pablum or a remarkably feeble attempt at a Marc Bolan glam-rock stomp. Either way it fails hard. I can't believe Stone is responsible for it.

[Leatherhead]

"Let the Records Play" is either an embarrassing piece of whitewashed George Thorogood faux-blues pablum or a remarkably feeble attempt at a Marc Bolan glam-rock stomp. Either way it fails hard. I can't believe Stone is responsible for it.

Listened to many live versions?