Moonlander - Stone Gossard

[Norah]

Ed solo show

key words here - dude can still bring it. don't be so hyperbolic son. you're better than that.

No, it really is that bad in Pearl Jam.

and

And that's a big maybe about the solo shows.

On second thought, you're completely right. Stone could totally pull off the mix of warmth, maturity and targeted power (while also harmonizing) like Ed does here.

Stone will never be the live singer Ed is, or was. Ed is a natural performer, and shares with many of pop music's greatest singers a knack for fusing spectacle (however modest) and melodic variation with an uncanny ability to render almost anything he sings entirely his own. Whether its due to inability or underdevelopment, Stone doesn't have that--his presence is awkward and his voice doesn't have much traveling capacity.

However, with "Bayleaf" Stone composed a record that was 100% suited to his strengths, something which it doesn't seem one can necessarily count on Pearl Jam to do at this point in time. To be fair, "Bayleaf" is over ten years old, and there's no real "track record" to indicate a follow-up would be equally well-considered; also to be fair, most of Eddie's serious missteps as a singer haven't been related to new studio material, but rather his insistence on continuing to perform songs in concert that are clearly beyond his current limitations. I thought he sounded as good as he could have been expected to sound on the ukulele album, and I'd say the same thing about the one-off tracks that have popped up over the last few years ("Ole," "Skipping," "Better Days," etc.). Misguided though it may be, I don't fear poor vocals from Ed on the next record as much as I fear poor songs. His voice is still a powerful instrument; even singers whose voices are in great states of deterioration can still be moving, because those instincts for how to render a song are ingrained in them. They just need discipline.

But I don't think saying that one would rather hear Stone sing at this point is necessarily a side-by-side catch-all comparison of the two singers. Most of us have heard virtually every musical note out of Eddie Vedder's mouth over the last decade--any of us could take any song we're familiar with, and in our mind create a reasonable facsimile of what Eddie Vedder would sound like singing it. His voice holds no surprises for us at this point, as gripped as we've all been by it in the past. At his best, Stone is a charismatic, inquisitive songwriter, and his geeky alien-sounding voice serves his material (personally, I thought all the weakest tunes on "Bayleaf" were the ones sung by Ty Willman), but when I listen to him sing I still feel like there are stories in his voice I haven't quite figured out yet, and that's the kind of thing that invites playback.

Kevin Davis, ladies and gentlemen. He actually understood what I meant and didn't just assume I was trolling you nerds.

But, we do have those 2008 songs that are a much more recent example of his vocals compared to Bayleaf.

Luckly we have the cutuphalfdead-whisperer b/c god forbid he spoke up for himself once in his 10 trillion posts.

I'm really sorry that someone else is more articulate than me when it comes to describing music.

[verb_to_trust]

The only song on Bayleaf I really don't enjoy is Hellbent. Fend It Off is probably my favorite next to Bayleaf and Anchors. Really sad I don't own this on vinyl....it had pretty cool packaging and is exactly the kind of album I enjoy having spin in the background these days.

I will be devastated if Moonlander is 12 different variations of Supersonic...

[dkfan9]

Ed solo show

key words here - dude can still bring it. don't be so hyperbolic son. you're better than that.

No, it really is that bad in Pearl Jam.

and

And that's a big maybe about the solo shows.

On second thought, you're completely right. Stone could totally pull off the mix of warmth, maturity and targeted power (while also harmonizing) like Ed does here.

Stone will never be the live singer Ed is, or was. Ed is a natural performer, and shares with many of pop music's greatest singers a knack for fusing spectacle (however modest) and melodic variation with an uncanny ability to render almost anything he sings entirely his own. Whether its due to inability or underdevelopment, Stone doesn't have that--his presence is awkward and his voice doesn't have much traveling capacity.

However, with "Bayleaf" Stone composed a record that was 100% suited to his strengths, something which it doesn't seem one can necessarily count on Pearl Jam to do at this point in time. To be fair, "Bayleaf" is over ten years old, and there's no real "track record" to indicate a follow-up would be equally well-considered; also to be fair, most of Eddie's serious missteps as a singer haven't been related to new studio material, but rather his insistence on continuing to perform songs in concert that are clearly beyond his current limitations. I thought he sounded as good as he could have been expected to sound on the ukulele album, and I'd say the same thing about the one-off tracks that have popped up over the last few years ("Ole," "Skipping," "Better Days," etc.). Misguided though it may be, I don't fear poor vocals from Ed on the next record as much as I fear poor songs. His voice is still a powerful instrument; even singers whose voices are in great states of deterioration can still be moving, because those instincts for how to render a song are ingrained in them. They just need discipline.

But I don't think saying that one would rather hear Stone sing at this point is necessarily a side-by-side catch-all comparison of the two singers. Most of us have heard virtually every musical note out of Eddie Vedder's mouth over the last decade--any of us could take any song we're familiar with, and in our mind create a reasonable facsimile of what Eddie Vedder would sound like singing it. His voice holds no surprises for us at this point, as gripped as we've all been by it in the past. At his best, Stone is a charismatic, inquisitive songwriter, and his geeky alien-sounding voice serves his material (personally, I thought all the weakest tunes on "Bayleaf" were the ones sung by Ty Willman), but when I listen to him sing I still feel like there are stories in his voice I haven't quite figured out yet, and that's the kind of thing that invites playback.

Kevin Davis, ladies and gentlemen. He actually understood what I meant and didn't just assume I was trolling you nerds.

But, we do have those 2008 songs that are a much more recent example of his vocals compared to Bayleaf.

Luckly we have the cutuphalfdead-whisperer b/c god forbid he spoke up for himself once in his 10 trillion posts.

I'm really sorry that someone else is more articulate than me when it comes to describing music.

tis a grand sin

[dkfan9]

The only song on Bayleaf I really don't enjoy is Hellbent. Fend It Off is probably my favorite next to Bayleaf and Anchors. Really sad I don't own the on vinyl....it had pretty cool packaging and is exactly the kind of album I enjoy having spin in the background these days.

shit, i'm gonna put it on right now.

[VinylGuy]

Bayleaf on vinyl? that sounds awesome....how is the edition?

[Norah]

did they even press bayleaf to vinyl?

[WtOB?]

I'm gonna throw Bayleaf on again now. I don't want to let myself forget about it again.

[dkfan9]

Bayleaf on vinyl? that sounds awesome....how is the edition?

whoops, didn't mean on vinyl, just meant i was gonna throw the cd on because it sounded like such a good chill out background album

[super nintendo chalmers]

Bayleaf on vinyl? that sounds awesome....how is the edition?

whoops, didn't mean on vinyl, just meant i was gonna throw the cd on because it sounded like such a good chill out background album

Yeah, no vinyl. Now, that's a reissue I'd pick up.

[verb_to_trust]

There were so many good releases in the early 2000's that never made it to vinyl. Paul Westerberg's Stereo comes to mind as an all time favorite of mine. Damn CD format....

[TheDapperGent]

Not gonna get into the specifics of Stone Gossard the solo artist; his strengths and weaknesses are easy enough to see. I did play Bayleaf front to back the other day after ignoring it for a few years. Enjoyable but I was ready for it to be over before it ended.

Ill pick up Moonlander though. Im intrigued enogh.

[zatara]

https://soundcloud.com/pearljam/i-need- ... -different

I like it, but I'm not objective

[Farmer John]

https://soundcloud.com/pearljam/i-need-something-different

I like it, but I'm not objective

Interesting... Not what I was expecting.

[Farmer John]

On second listen...

[Birds in Hell]

Not really digging that.

[Farmer John]

"Apollo - EP" is on iTunes with a May 7 release.

1. I Need Something Different
2. Moonlander
3. Both Live
4. Your Flames

[bodysnatcher]

really digging this. whether it's Stone or not.

[dimejinky99]

I liked it. The solo was great

[stip]

Not really digging that.

yeah me too. The chorus was catchy towards the end, though

[B]

I like that better than everything on Bayleaf X5.