Do any of you PJ naysayers...

[Kevin Davis]

Of all of Pearl Jam's albums, I think the songs on "Riot Act" give me the strongest, most consistent sense of singular exclusivity to their album--the sense that they really belong on the record that birthed them and nowhere else.

This is probably more accurate than saying Riot Act is more cohesive than S/T or Backspacer.

I would definitely call it more cohesive than "S/T," if not "Backspacer." I actually think "S/T" is sort of the opposite of "Riot Act" in that the songs really don't hang together on their album (maybe due to the sequencing) but work great in concert, peppered amidst the other songs in their book. It should have been their "Time Fades Away" or "Europe '72."

[stip]

Of all of Pearl Jam's albums, I think the songs on "Riot Act" give me the strongest, most consistent sense of singular exclusivity to their album--the sense that they really belong on the record that birthed them and nowhere else.

This is probably more accurate than saying Riot Act is more cohesive than S/T or Backspacer.

I'll buy that

[harmless]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

[VinylGuy]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

True...but i love unemployable and big wave more than Marker...i would say Marker and Gone are two songs i dont care much, they should have been better for sure.

[tommymtcom]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

True...but i love unemployable and big wave more than Marker...i would say Marker and Gone are two songs i dont care much, they should have been better for sure.

Marker has great verses, but those choruses are just pearl jam-by-numbers. Really ruins the song, if you ask me.

[harmless]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

True...but i love unemployable and big wave more than Marker...i would say Marker and Gone are two songs i dont care much, they should have been better for sure.

I quite like Marker and Gone.

[nightmareblack0206]

I fkn love ST........sounds awful in my 1000w stereo, but album was SUPERB. Especially for its time

[nightmareblack0206]

ST was probably the funnest leak of all time. ....

[VinylGuy]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

True...but i love unemployable and big wave more than Marker...i would say Marker and Gone are two songs i dont care much, they should have been better for sure.

I quite like Marker and Gone.

i like them too, but there should have been better...specially Marker. Kinda the same thought apply too Amongst the waves or UK, or Cropduster too...

[stip]

i really like the U2ish marker chorus. I don't think it is pearl jam by the numbers, although it's a sound they could do well. It may be one of the worst produced moments on that record though, which is saying something.

[harmless]

i really like the U2ish marker chorus. I don't think it is pearl jam by the numbers, although it's a sound they could do well. It may be one of the worst produced moments on that record though, which is saying something.

Yeah, I think it's affected sonically more than anything. A good song but it sounds too thin, not enough depth.

For a long time I said I might like the album much more if it had been re-produced / mastered.

[VinylGuy]

i really like the U2ish marker chorus. I don't think it is pearl jam by the numbers, although it's a sound they could do well. It may be one of the worst produced moments on that record though, which is saying something.

yeah the chorus sounds really bad...and the guitars sound so thin. I would like to know what happened with the producing and mixing on that album.

[digster]

Of all of Pearl Jam's albums, I think the songs on "Riot Act" give me the strongest, most consistent sense of singular exclusivity to their album--the sense that they really belong on the record that birthed them and nowhere else.

This is probably more accurate than saying Riot Act is more cohesive than S/T or Backspacer.

I would definitely call it more cohesive than "S/T," if not "Backspacer." I actually think "S/T" is sort of the opposite of "Riot Act" in that the songs really don't hang together on their album (maybe due to the sequencing) but work great in concert, peppered amidst the other songs in their book. It should have been their "Time Fades Away" or "Europe '72."

Backspacer to me is one of their less cohesive albums, at least in terms of the sound of it. It's this strange, uncomfortable mix of garage stuff, anthems, Pearl Jam does New Wave and straight up acoustic based folk songs. It doesn't bother me really; the strengths of an album's songs will usually overcome a diversity of sound on it, but it's still there.

Lyrically, I guess it's a little bit more coherent. To me, it's always been a record about having the things that you've been working for, with a slight ominousness of not having the power to stop them from being taken from you. Speed of Sound, though, really sticks out to me; they've had songs that didn't make sense lyrically in the context of the rest of the record, but that's one of the first songs they've done that swims in the opposite direction of where the rest of the record is going.

That being said, for all the talk of cohesiveness, it's taken with a grain of salt in the sense that they've never made a completely cohesive record musically and lyrically, and probably never will. Nor do I feel like that needs to be at the top of their priorities.

[stip]

That being said, for all the talk of cohesiveness, it's taken with a grain of salt in the sense that they've never made a completely cohesive record musically and lyrically, and probably never will. Nor do I feel like that needs to be at the top of their priorities.

agreed

[HardTI]

When I talked about 'coherent' vs. 'cohesive', I kind of forgot that I think the second half of S/T is pretty muddled. The album is very front-loaded, and I don't just mean with heavy. Pretty much all of its best moments happen in the first 5 or 6 songs.

True...but i love unemployable and big wave more than Marker...i would say Marker and Gone are two songs i dont care much, they should have been better for sure.

I quite like Marker and Gone.

I hate Marker and Gone. Marker would have been salvageable if it had an extended jam in the middle, but is mostly cannot stand that song.

[harmless]

I only like extending jams on my toast in the morning, see.

[Jorge]

I hate Marker and Gone. Marker would have been salvageable if it had an extended jam in the middle, but is mostly cannot stand that song.

Are you saying "I hate Marker. I wish it was longer." ?

[HardTI]

I hate Marker and Gone. Marker would have been salvageable if it had an extended jam in the middle, but is mostly cannot stand that song.

Are you saying "I hate Marker. I wish it was longer." ?

I think I'm agreeing with whoever said the verses are pearl jam by numbers. I like the breakdown in the middle and wish that was longer. That would turn it into a song I don't skip over.

*Edit - I just realized they said it was the chorus, not the verse. The chorus and that little jam I really do enjoy. The verses kill the song for me. I absolutely hate that main riff of the song.

[nightmareblack0206]

Outro is top notch PJ

[stip]

I hate Marker and Gone. Marker would have been salvageable if it had an extended jam in the middle, but is mostly cannot stand that song.

Are you saying "I hate Marker. I wish it was longer." ?

I think I'm agreeing with whoever said the verses are pearl jam by numbers. I like the breakdown in the middle and wish that was longer. That would turn it into a song I don't skip over.

*Edit - I just realized they said it was the chorus, not the verse. The chorus and that little jam I really do enjoy. The verses kill the song for me. I absolutely hate that main riff of the song.

what song does the 'pearl jam by numbers' verses of marker remind you of? Whether or not it's good, it didn't feel familiar to me