The band's biggest mistake

[doone]

Without albums there isn't a product to play live.

You can play new material on the road that is not recorded (or not yet).... Pearl Jam did that in the early years.

Pearl Jam's fan base is larger than just the places they tour. They couldn't possibly reach everyone if they stopped releasing albums. They're middle aged men who have families, they don't want to spend all their time on tour. Despite former comparisons, they aren't the Grateful Dead.

[stip]

That's another thing that bothers me about this band. They'll say something like "We don't play new material on the road because of quality control" but think nothing of getting plastered before a show and playing like shit.

that's not the same thing, really at all. One is wanting control over how your new music is perceived before you are comfortable with it, and not wanting songs judged and dissected until they are finished. It's like not showing someone a rough draft of your work. I don't know that they need to have that fear, but it is totally legit.

[nah]

their apparel designs. and like someone said, boom is unnecessary.

and i think it's polite that pearl jam play their radio hits because not everyone at the show is an elitist or a die hard. ed really likes to please everyone and i find that endearing

[bodysnatcher]

Without albums there isn't a product to play live.

You can play new material on the road that is not recorded (or not yet).... Pearl Jam did that in the early years.

Pearl Jam's fan base is larger than just the places they tour. They couldn't possibly reach everyone if they stopped releasing albums. They're middle aged men who have families, they don't want to spend all their time on tour. Despite former comparisons, they aren't the Grateful Dead.

This is why they should dedicate more time to the studio. Go on a tour hiatus, be around your families, just release albums for a while.

[Fuck You Jobu]

That's another thing that bothers me about this band. They'll say something like "We don't play new material on the road because of quality control" but think nothing of getting plastered before a show and playing like shit.

that's not the same thing, really at all. One is wanting control over how your new music is perceived before you are comfortable with it, and not wanting songs judged and dissected until they are finished. It's like not showing someone a rough draft of your work. I don't know that they need to have that fear, but it is totally legit.

Isn't playing drunk and sloppy just like a rough draft? Why is it ok for them to release that kind of material if quality control is so important?? Only new material (which according to our "rankings" isn't as good in quality compared to older material anyways) is subject to QC? When they premiered Lukin in '95 at Soldier Field (maybe that wasn't the world premiere), it was horrendous. Bascially Eddie just mumbling the same dumb verse melody and it was crap. They had 3 albums worth of material and a shit ton of B-sides, so the quantity was there.

And it's not like they don't still play new material on tour...

[bodysnatcher]

Editing the MTV Unplugged performance

[liebzz]

Editing the MTV Unplugged performance

Wow. I forgot about this. Definitely brought some sadness when I played the DVD.

[bodysnatcher]

[warehouse]

Editing the MTV Unplugged performance

this is a great answer. unplugged was one of the things that made them explode in the early 1990s. i know mtv edited the order of the broadcast, but the band never should have edited anything.

[bodysnatcher]

Editing the MTV Unplugged performance

this is a great answer. unplugged was one of the things that made them explode in the early 1990s. i know mtv edited the order of the broadcast, but the band never should have edited anything.

Yeah definitely. The act itself is what it is, but just feels symbolic of much more.

[armstrsj]

Puzzles and Games should have been the fourth track and first single of Binaural.

[Fuzzcharger]

Editing the MTV Unplugged performance

this is a great answer. unplugged was one of the things that made them explode in the early 1990s. i know mtv edited the order of the broadcast, but the band never should have edited anything.

Yeah definitely. The act itself is what it is, but just feels symbolic of much more.

Rewriting their own history is lame.

[its_not_1974]

Puzzles and Games should have been the fourth track and first single of Binaural.

I love Puzzles and Games, but you take away Light Years in any universe and I will fight you.

[KurtLeon]

Getting rid of this:

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

is that the bat wings?

[darth_vedder]

Good thread. I agree with those that say the lack of albums. I mean 4 years between RA and S/T, then 3 years after that till BS, now nearly 4 years again. I just get the impression that they don't really care anymore.

Also, the changing to a nostalgia act. I always thought PJ would age more like Sonic Youth or Neil Young, instead they have taken the U2 / Rolling Stones road. For me, that's a little disappointing.

[Gods' Die]

I always thought PJ would age more like Sonic Youth or Neil Young, instead they have taken the U2 / Rolling Stones road. For me, that's a little disappointing.

How true is that?

[darth_vedder]

I always thought PJ would age more like Sonic Youth or Neil Young, instead they have taken the U2 / Rolling Stones road. For me, that's a little disappointing.

How true is that?

I don't know. I guess we still need more time and see how these fellas handle their 50's. Really, that's just my opinion of the group at this current time. As always shit can change.

[stip]

To sum up much of this thread:


Regarding Live Shows

Complaint number 1.

Pearl Jam plays too many songs. They should play fewer songs so they are less sloppy


Complaint number 2.

Pearl Jam always plays the same songs. They are a greatest hits band.



Regarding studio albums

Complaint number 1.

Pearl Jam needs to spend more times in the studio working on constructing songs, using the studio as an instrument, focusing on the craft.


Complaint number 2.

Pearl Jam show use a more raw, instinctive approach. No over analyzing, keep a live feel, no 'fixing'

[Jorge]

It's almost as if this message board were made up of several individuals, with differing opinions.