Red Mosquito

3 plus years later, Backspacer still sounds fresh to me for the most part.
This flows better imo:

GSMF
Got Some
The Fixer
Amongst the Waves
Speed of Sound (seems to have more energy when placed here)
Supersonic
Johnny Guitar (longer jam before fade out would be ideal)
Unthought Known
Just Breathe (feels more deserved here, like its been earned)
Force of Nature
The End

Supersonic is another song that sucks. Top 10 worst songs also.

Like

. Unthought Known
. Speed of Sound
. The End
. Johnny Guitar
. Gonna See my Friend


Tolerable

. Just Breathe
. Amongst the Waves


Meh

. The Fixer
. Force of Nature
. Supersonic
. Got Some

Interesting bimodal distribution of like and dislike for this album.

This is the only PJ album where I could honestly do without hearing any of the songs ever again. Some people seem to lump this and Avocado together but Avocado is much better and largely ruined by production and a weak second half.

Great
Force Of Nature
Got Some
Just Breathe

Good
Unthought Known (Better album than live)
The Fixer (the same)
GSMF
Amongst The Waves

Okay
Speed Of Sound
The End
Supersonic
Johnny Guitar


I don't think that there's a BAD song in almost any Pearl Jam album (Vs probrably is the only one...), I do think though that non BS songs are perfect, nor awesome. All of them have it flaws (Supersonic has most of it).
But Backspacer still feels good for me and fun to listen to.

Songs I really like

Gonna See My Friend
The Fixer
Johnny Guitar
Just Breathe
Force of Nature
The End

Got Some is right on the cusp of this


Average

Amongst the Waves
Unthought Known
Speed of Sound

Amongst the waves and unthought known both have elements that I love but the songs are inconsistent.


Really Supersonic is the only one I don't like at all

I tend to skip the Eddie acoustic tracks(they aren't bad songs they are really pretty good I just don't really want to listen to them for some reason) and I don't care for Supersonic and kinda loathe Force of Nature(I explained this ad nauseam on the old board I'm tired of my own bitching) but the rest is good to great.....well maybe good to really good.

1. Got Some
2. Just Breathe
3. Johnny Guitar
4. Unthought Known
5. FON
6. GSMF
7. The End
8. The Fixer
9. Amongst The Waves


10. Supersonic




11. Speed Of Sound

I like most of the songs on the album, but 4 years later and I still haven't felt the same emotional investment to it that I have for the other albums. I am often an apologist in some ways in defending this album, but I think had it been a year before the next release, the album would have aged better as either an offshoot quick album or an interesting outlayer from the rest of their albums. The longer the wait the worse it ages because it's not that strong a collection of songs to hold over a rabid fanbase for this many years without something more substantial around to make the case for it.

I would say that Backspacer features no great songs, some good songs, some average and some bad. It is still my least favorite PJ album and I rarely seek it out. Here is how I rank the tracks.

1. Amongst The Waves
2. Johnny Guitar
3. Force Of Nature
4. The End
5. Speed Of Sound
6. Unthought Known
7. Got Some
8. The Fixer
9. Just Breathe
10. Supersonic
11. Gonna See My Friend

In my opinion is a good record, but it lacks the classic sound they made in Ten, Vs, Vitalogy and Yield. Backspacer didn't disappoint, there are some great songs on it, but there are some songs that would have been better as b-sides like Speed of Sound or Force of Nature and other songs like The End or Just Breathe in another Eddie Vedder solo album. Also this album was so short!, we cannot compare
It with a Beatles record with similar lenght, those Beatles records like Revolver, Rubber Soul people still are talking how influential they were but who is talking about Backspacer?

Love this album it aged great for me, just breath, force of nature, and unthought known get alot of love from me in fact ther isn't a song since yield that I like as much as these grievance is close but not there. Speed of sound is a song I really connect with, and the rest of the album is good with little moments in each song to look forward to. Supersonic is the only song I really dont get, but my three year old loves this song first song that ever made him dance which is cool.

Can a mod please edit that post and pop in some punctuation? ktnx.

Very Good

. Unthought Known
. Just Breathe
. Got Some

Good

. Gonna See my Friend
. Amongst the Waves
. The End
. Supersonic

Reasonable

. The Fixer
. Speed of Sound
. Force of Nature

No Good

. Johnny Guitar

I admitt it whats to say. got a mad lack of typing skills. but I post anyway once upon a time I forgot a period
once upon a time I forgot a ? once I forgot a !;"',,:[]

I'd file every song under "Forgettable" except for Supersonic, Gonna See My Friend ("Bad") and The Fixer ("Vomit-Inducing")

I always really want to like Backspacer. Listening to it now. It's not so much inexcusably awful as it is unmemorable. Amongst the Waves kind of sucks. Supersonic kind of sucks. What happened to Speed of Sound makes the Eddie fixin' jokes hold a little less credibility.

At least S/T is aging okay.

I actually like the Speed Of Sound demo......why they decided to make the studio version sound cheesy as hell I'll never know.

verb_to_trust wrote:I actually like the Speed Of Sound demo......why they decided to make the studio version sound cheesy as hell I'll never know.

I feel like Brendan O'Brien just had an egotistical wank fest over that entire song.

bodysnatcher wrote:

verb_to_trust wrote:I actually like the Speed Of Sound demo......why they decided to make the studio version sound cheesy as hell I'll never know.

I feel like Brendan O'Brien just had an egotistical wank fest over that entire song.

I agree, in reality he should have been the one to keep it reigned in.