ITT We Nominate Pearl Jam's Peak Year

Norah · Post by **Norah** » Thu September 10, 2015 11:18 pm

He just got a little more specific than I did.

Strat · Post by **Strat** » Thu September 10, 2015 11:42 pm

They're going to peak on the colbert late show. I can feelz it

Leatherhead · Post by **Leatherhead** » Thu September 10, 2015 11:45 pm

Strat wrote:They're going to peak on the colbert late show. I can feelz it

Can a band peak with a performance of only one song?

Strat · Post by **Strat** » Fri September 11, 2015 12:05 am

Leatherhead wrote:
Strat wrote:They're going to peak on the colbert late show. I can feelz it
Can a band peak with a performance of only one song?

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Fri September 11, 2015 12:12 am

I was going to post Jeremy 92

Post by **stip** » Fri September 11, 2015 1:09 am

No, strat was correct

LetMeSleep · Post by **LetMeSleep** » Fri September 11, 2015 1:18 am

It's not the first time we've disagreed, Stip.

tragabigzanda · Post by **tragabigzanda** » Fri September 11, 2015 1:42 am

pearl jam sucks now

Leatherhead · Post by **Leatherhead** » Fri September 11, 2015 3:40 am

Strat wrote:
Leatherhead wrote:
Strat wrote:They're going to peak on the colbert late show. I can feelz it
Can a band peak with a performance of only one song?

THIS IS SO GOOD

twoheadedboy · Post by **twoheadedboy** » Sat September 12, 2015 10:59 pm

I have to say 1994. You get:

-Dave A on the Vs. tour, playing a lot of Vitalogy (such as the ridiculous "Not For You" for SNL)
-Most of the recording of Vitalogy
-Bridge School w/Jack
-Missed Self-Pollution by 8 days unfortunately

The Mar/Apr '94 US Vs. tour was absolutely insane. There may not have been a better tour by any rock band in the entire decade*. Eddie still at the peak of his vox (which would start to deteriorate in Pacific Rim '95 and fully collapse during the '95 US tour, not to make a full recovery until the '98 tour), Eddie as seething and emotional as he would ever be, and Dave A behind the kit for those who prefer that, playing almost their entire catalog plus b-sides and yet-to-be-released songs. If I'm not limited to calendar years, I would say 3/26/94 - 3/25/95, as that gives me everything in '94 back to Murfreesboro, all the way through the end of the Pacific Rim tour.

*Nirvana's US Nevermind tour Sept/Oct '91 is close, maybe a little more intense (!) but cannot match the setlist variety of Pearl Jam despite a relatively equivalent catalog size. The longest shows were 75 - 80 minutes and you were some mix of 4 Incesticide songs and 2 In Utero songs at best.

Post by **evenslow** » Sun September 13, 2015 3:06 am

well said ^^

zeb · Post by **zeb** » Sun September 13, 2015 5:17 am

Hey twoheadedboy! Nice to see you.

twoheadedboy · Post by **twoheadedboy** » Mon September 14, 2015 12:34 am

Glad to be here

twoheadedboy · Post by **twoheadedboy** » Mon September 14, 2015 12:39 am

given2trade wrote: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.

It's hard for me to argue with that. Only thing I can say is that I'm ranking 2006 higher than you apparently, because while I think Riot Act is probably a better album than Avocado (if only Ed's voice didn't sound like shit), the latter is more enjoyable to me (despite the substandard production). And the 2006 tour was great, and much more even than '02 - '05. Lollapalooza '07 wasn't fantastic, but to me, that is the real final end of Pearl Jam being great, not that there haven't been (and won't continue to be) enjoyable and even compelling moments here and there.

Edit: Also, the problem with picking Vitalogy through No Code as the SONG peak, as inclined as I am to agree, is to state that Ed as the primary songwriter and band dictator is the best format for Pearl Jam...clearly that couldn't continue, and I don't feel he has written much of consequence for Pearl Jam since he started putting out solo records, along with ruining a few choice songs from other band members in the studio.

Post by **evenslow** » Mon September 14, 2015 12:55 am

twoheadedboy wrote:Edit: Also, the problem with picking Vitalogy through No Code as the SONG peak, as inclined as I am to agree, is to state that Ed as the primary songwriter and band dictator is the best format for Pearl Jam...clearly that couldn't continue, and I don't feel he has written much of consequence for Pearl Jam since he started putting out solo records, along with ruining a few choice songs from other band members in the studio.

No. All it's saying is that Ed was on fire from a songwriting perspective from 94-96. Which is true.

Not For You
Whipping
Corduroy
Betterman
Immortality
Sometimes
In My Tree
Off He Goes
Habit
Red Mosquito
Lukin
Around the Bend

That's just what he gets an official credit for musically - obviously wrote lyrics for everything else during that period. And, more than anyone else in the band, he spearheaded the general direction of their sound and ethos.

It's okay to like Ed.

EDIT: I somehow forgot I Got Shit and Long Road - two songs I promise from now on to #neverforget.

given2trade · Post by **given2trade** » Mon September 14, 2015 1:16 am

evenslow wrote: EDIT: I somehow forgot I Got Shit and Long Road - two songs I promise from now on to #neverforget.

I was just about to say, WHAT ABOUT THE PEAK SONGS!??!?!?!

given2trade · Post by **given2trade** » Mon September 14, 2015 1:21 am

twoheadedboy wrote:
Edit: Also, the problem with picking Vitalogy through No Code as the SONG peak, as inclined as I am to agree, is to state that Ed as the primary songwriter and band dictator is the best format for Pearl Jam...clearly that couldn't continue, and I don't feel he has written much of consequence for Pearl Jam since he started putting out solo records, along with ruining a few choice songs from other band members in the studio.

fwiw, I don't even know who writes what songs besides knowing that Jeff wrote Nothingman and I can't even remember what song off of Yield. I do remember reading that Vitalogy was mostly Eddie.

I wasn't only basing the peak on song releases - was just saying that Pearl Jam live from inception to 2003 was pretty great so it's hard to rank based on that.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Pearl Jam came pretty close to breaking up 1994-1996 and that corresponds to their peak as a band from an output perspective. Most artists due their best work at times of stress.

tragabigzanda · Post by **tragabigzanda** » Mon September 14, 2015 2:43 am

pearl jam sucks now

Leatherhead · Post by **Leatherhead** » Mon September 14, 2015 3:15 am

Breakerfall
Gods' Dice
Evacuation
Light Years
Nothing as it Seems
Thin Air
Insignificance
Of the Girl
Grievance
Rival
Sleight of Hand
Soon Forget
Parting Ways
Sad
Hitchhiker
In the Moonlight
Education
Fatal
Strangest Tribe
Drifting
Sweet Lew

BAM! Peaked.

C4lukin · Post by **C4lukin** » Mon September 14, 2015 10:18 am

Best year was Merkinball and the year previous and the year after. That is my favorite PJ era I believe.

So 94-96ish. I realize that is not a year, but it all overlaps into a particular small period for me.

Red Mosquito

ITT We Nominate Pearl Jam's Peak Year

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