54. Getaway vs. Black Red Yellow vs. Off He Goes

[stip]

90s, sorry

[Brett]

"Getaway" is a pretty boilerplate Pearl Jam rock song. It's not doing anything that other songs before it have done, oftentimes better. That's not to say that there haven't been times where I've enjoyed the song, but it's going to be hard-pressed to earn my vote in a lot of matches.

"Black, Red, Yellow" has an excellent bounce and is quite a bit of fun, though it hasn't had the greatest of staying power over the years. I still really like the loose-feeling guitars in the beginning and the somewhat tense feeling middle section with the Rodman sample.

"Off He Goes" is beautifully engineered and performed. It's easy to get carried away with the band's power when they really get going, but sometimes the details get lost. Songs like this one pull away the noise, and you can hear that this is a band that really knows their way around their instruments, even if the songwriting isn't always top notch. For me, that puts "Off He Goes" at the top of this match.

[liebzz]

I voted for Black Red Yellow. I just love the way it feels off kilter. It’s a rare occurrence of a b-side that undoubtedly would fit amongst its peers on the album. And its abrupt ending surprises me every time.