ITT We Nominate Pearl Jam's Peak Year

[Kevin Davis]

I'm hesitant to call anything a "final peak" until the book has been closed for good. I know it seems unlikely that things will shift in a different direction, but Bob Dylan had over 20 years between "Blood on the Tracks"/"Desire" and "Time Out of Mind," and he went down into some pretty unfathomable valleys.

[zeb]

I'd love for that to be true about Pearl Jam too, KD, but it seems so very unlikely.

[PHATJ]

It's almost like saying Nirvana is about ready to hit their next peak. Or Pink Floyd. Or the Rolling Stones....

[zeb]

No it isn't.

[Kevin Davis]

Oh, I certainly wouldn't put any money on it happening -- they're not a band that seems particularly given to taking a step back and examining what their strengths are at any given time, and without that willingness to tear down and rebuild, it seems unlikely that they'd ever become anything other than an increasingly compromised version of what they've always been. I get that. I was just saying.

[PHATJ]

Well, it kind of is. Pearl Jam is still alive and active as a band, so they have that going for them. But that's about it. Don't get me wrong, I still love PJ (I even think LB was a really good album), but to think there is any way they could reach a peak again that comes anywhere close to what they were able to achieve at any given point from 1992-1998 is a far far reaching stretch. I hope they have a miracle left in them that hits those lofty peaks, I really do. But it ain't gonna happen.

[Birds in Hell]

I think the potential for a solo artist to stumble their way back into a fertile creative period is significantly higher than it is for a band.

I honestly can't think of any examples of the latter off the top of my head.

[given2trade]

2003 was the end of shit being good, not a peak. good tour, good album (in hindsight only, we all though riot act sucked vs previous albums at the time...little did we know what the next 12 years would bring).

peak output = long road/i got shit ; right between vitalogy and no code. it's not even a debate.

best two albums are vitalogy/no code with yield the runner up.

i never saw pearl jam live before 1998 but saw them 14 times that year...was a pretty great tour. but all the live stuff before that was also great so it seems silly to rank peak based on a tour.

so in conclusion, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin_Ball

december 5, 1995 - was the peak. but shit was still amazing for a few years after that.

[PHATJ]

2003 was the end of shit being good, not a peak. good tour, good album (in hindsight only, we all though riot act sucked vs previous albums at the time...little did we know what the next 12 years would bring).

peak output = long road/i got shit ; right between vitalogy and no code. it's not even a debate.

best two albums are vitalogy/no code with yield the runner up.

i never saw pearl jam live before 1998 but saw them 14 times that year...was a pretty great tour. but all the live stuff before that was also great so it seems silly to rank peak based on a tour.

so in conclusion, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin_Ball

december 5, 1995 - was the peak. but shit was still amazing for a few years after that.

[LetMeSleep]

Surely the peak would be the recording date not the release date for Merkinball, if we go with your theory.

Released December 5, 1995
Recorded February 7–10, 1995

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[given2trade]

Surely the peak would be the recording date not the release date for Merkinball, if we go with your theory.

Released December 5, 1995
Recorded February 7–10, 1995

That's funny, I was going to change it to that.

But it's more the 1994-1996 timeframe was peak; output between and including Vitalogy and No Code.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[gardenparty]

I think the potential for a solo artist to stumble their way back into a fertile creative period is significantly higher than it is for a band.

I honestly can't think of any examples of the latter off the top of my head.

Sonic Youth, for sure. I'd rank their Jim O'Rourke-era records amongst their very best.

Blur is another one. A lot of britpop diehards might disagree, but I think their last few albums are easily their best.

Think Tank is my jam

[hlniv]

Five peaks listed below, ranked -

First peak (#2) = March/April 1994 (Killer shows / last Vitalogy tunes recorded / SNL)

Highest peak (#1) = March 1998 (Jack Irons live, including Yield tunes - live performance quality peak)

Creative peak (#4) = Sept/Oct 1999 (Binaural and outtakes recorded, fresh studio experimentation with Matt Cameron)

Next peak (#3) = June/July 2003 (Probably the most unique live songs played by a band in 60 days in all of rock history - 15 different openers in 33 shows, for example)

Last peak (#5) = July 2006 (14 show West Coast leg in one month was last great live run)


Honorable Mention -

Sept 1991 -Apr 1992 - Dave A joins, plays first shows, and records with the band for the first time
Fall 1993 - Vitalogy tunes debuted live, Animal at VMA's
Summer 1995 - Classic shows with Jack on a doomed tour, No Code songs begin to be recorded
May/June 2000 - European leg, Binaural tunes debuted live
Sept 2011 - PJ20

[numbers]

Surprised to see so many people listing '03. It was a good tour but in my eyes clearly not a career peak.

I feel like 03 is when they fell in love with being a live band, but before they embraced it too much.

[epilogue]

1998 is absolutely the right answer. This thread should have been locked 2 pages ago.

[LoathedVermin72]

what was pearl jam's peak date, hour, and minute

[LetMeSleep]

March 9, 1998. Sydney. About 2039 after Long Road and Hail, Hail they blast through Brain Of J. Peaked.

[epilogue]

/thread