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Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Mon April 13, 2020 5:55 pm
by Hatfield
reconstruction_ seeds wrote:What are these weakest parts of their catalog from binaural which u speak of???
I love the intense reservation with which you delivered this line
Tuolumne we are waiting!
No Code feels like Zuma, Time Fades Away or On the Beach. I wouldn't put everysong up against Pearl Jam's best songs, but as a whole, I wouldn't take out one track. Would I want Sometimes on Yield, Gigaton or Backspacer....hell no, but I wouldn't want No Code to start any other way. Habit isn't as good as DTE, but it's perfect on No Code. They really captured something on No Code and I don't think what they captured was inconsistency.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Mon April 13, 2020 7:32 pm
by PHATJ
Binaural has gotten better for 20 years. It’s PJ’s best work.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Mon April 13, 2020 7:37 pm
by Leatherhead
I didn't grow up listening to Pearl Jam, so I find it easier than most do to rank the early stuff lower than other albums. Ten got me hooked, but vitalogy-Riot Act kept me hooked.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Mon April 13, 2020 7:40 pm
by PHATJ
Leatherhead wrote:I didn't grow up listening to Pearl Jam, so I find it easier than most do to rank the early stuff lower than other albums. Ten got me hooked, but vitalogy-Riot Act kept me hooked.
I started with Ten, and that particular album I find incredibly difficult to rank.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Mon April 13, 2020 7:43 pm
by Monkey_Driven
Leatherhead wrote:I didn't grow up listening to Pearl Jam, so I find it easier than most do to rank the early stuff lower than other albums. Ten got me hooked, but vitalogy-Riot Act kept me hooked.
This. I got into the band when I was 14 or 15 in 2000/2001.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 12:06 am
by Tuolumne
Hatfield wrote:reconstruction_ seeds wrote:What are these weakest parts of their catalog from binaural which u speak of???
I love the intense reservation with which you delivered this line
Tuolumne we are waiting!
No Code feels like Zuma, Time Fades Away or On the Beach. I wouldn't put everysong up against Pearl Jam's best songs, but as a whole, I wouldn't take out one track. Would I want Sometimes on Yield, Gigaton or Backspacer....hell no, but I wouldn't want No Code to start any other way. Habit isn't as good as DTE, but it's perfect on No Code. They really captured something on No Code and I don't think what they captured was inconsistency.
I'd respond, but I'll get castrated. To preface, I *really like* Binaural. I'm a firm believer that the band has never put out a clunker. No weak albums. I've listened to alot of bands back catalogue, especially all of their contemporaries, and *man* there is some gawdawful stuff from some pretty great bands. PJ is a band that always has something good. Having said that:
Binaural - songs 1-5 - they're not essential PJ. I'm sorry to Binaural lovers - please see above - but Breakerfall just doesn't land for me, Gods Dice should be a b-side (a pretty decent one), Evacuation is cool but is not a good #3 song, and Light Years is heartfelt but doesn't achieve liftoff, Nothing As It Seems is a novel and worthy experiment that deserves attention but the #5 slot in an album is extremely critical in carrying a song cycle. The album doesn't really achieve that liftoff until Insignificance, which is missing that intangible factor that a Rearviewmirror had (maybe it's a production thing?). I think Insignficance - Of the Girl - Grievance is as strong of a stretch they've ever had. Rival is and Sleight of Hand are also good tangents in their catalogue. I like it, they're good, they're necessary and they open up new songwriting veins that yielded great returns later. But, they don't land as a group as well as other albums do.
No Code, as I said before, is top shelf for the first half and kind of a mess for the second half. Habit, Lukin, Red Mosquito, I'm Open, Mankind do not scream essential great PJ to me. They were good enough at the time. We had 18 months and we had Yield before we had message boards to really tear some of those songs apart. Sorry folks.
For me, they're great "alternate universe" PJ. Like, when you get sick of the earnest and heartfelt world conquering stadium rockers, this is some pretty damn good stuff. Take away the essential PJ, and look at some of this in a vacuum, and for me some of the weaknesses I mention above come through. My opinion, I hope it can be respected.
There you go, tear me apart, Toulumne is used to it round these parts. I **LOVE** Backspacer and I see it torn to shreds here, so, I hope everyone keeps that in mind before shooting me to outerspace.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 12:48 am
by Leatherhead
I listened to a 30 song Binaural/Riot Act era playlist today. That shit is my essential Pearl Jam.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 12:49 am
by Ms Harmless
Riot Act is my favourite PJ album as of this moment
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 2:42 am
by RockPusher
Here is the ranking I expected before listening to each album all the way through and scoring all songs:
Ten
No Code
Vs
Yield
Vitalogy
Gigaton
Riot Act
Binaural
Avocado
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
After scoring all the songs and creating album averages, this is what I ended up with:
Ten
Yield
Tie: Vs, Gigaton
No Code
Binaural
Acovado
Riot Act
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
Vitalogy
Now a couple caveats: I didn't score Arc or Red Dot, but I did score Bugs and Stupidmop because they're long enough to be songs. Obviously, Vitalogy's score was dragged down a lot. It would be in the upper section without them. I also can't stand Lukin, and that hurt No Code. At this point I should probably just stop talking since some of you will want to burn me at the stake.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 3:06 am
by Leatherhead
I really like Lukin. For some reason that song absolutely screams Pearl Jam to me.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 3:11 am
by PHATJ
Leatherhead wrote:I really like Lukin. For some reason that song absolutely screams Pearl Jam to me.
I love Lukin too, always have for some reason. I don’t try to explain it, but it rocks my socks off.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 4:21 am
by RockPusher
Leatherhead wrote:I really like Lukin. For some reason that song absolutely screams Pearl Jam to me.
It certainly does scream
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 12:49 pm
by evenslow
Hatfield wrote:No Code feels like Zuma
this is spot on.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 4:26 pm
by Thurman Murman
Leatherhead wrote:I listened to a 30 song Binaural/Riot Act era playlist today. That shit is my essential Pearl Jam.
I think the Binaural sessions are essential Pearl Jam. But i think it could have benefitted by either being significantly re-tracked, or as a double album.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 5:43 pm
by RockPusher
I listened to a bunch of Lost Dogs this morning wondering where it would rank if it were an "album." LOL, definitely at the bottom. It's got some of my favorite PJ tunes, but also some silly ass numbers that I'm glad are on there but don't belong on an album.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 5:48 pm
by Kevin Davis
RockPusher wrote:Here is the ranking I expected before listening to each album all the way through and scoring all songs:
Ten
No Code
Vs
Yield
Vitalogy
Gigaton
Riot Act
Binaural
Avocado
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
After scoring all the songs and creating album averages, this is what I ended up with:
Ten
Yield
Tie: Vs, Gigaton
No Code
Binaural
Acovado
Riot Act
Lightning Bolt
Backspacer
Vitalogy
Now a couple caveats: I didn't score Arc or Red Dot, but I did score Bugs and Stupidmop because they're long enough to be songs. Obviously, Vitalogy's score was dragged down a lot. It would be in the upper section without them. I also can't stand Lukin, and that hurt No Code. At this point I should probably just stop talking since some of you will want to burn me at the stake.
Aren't "Arc" and "The Color Red" the same length as, if not longer than, "Lukin?"
It's an interesting experiment but the "rank each song and take the average" method of ranking leaves out too many intangibles for me.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 5:50 pm
by Kevin Davis
Thurman Murman wrote:Leatherhead wrote:I listened to a 30 song Binaural/Riot Act era playlist today. That shit is my essential Pearl Jam.
I think the Binaural sessions are essential Pearl Jam. But i think it could have benefitted by either being significantly re-tracked, or as a double album.
Every song from the
Binaural sessions is good but no attempt to retrack the album has ever been satisfying to me -- even the original proposed tracklist, while it certainly presents more good songs than the released version, doesn't work for me.
If ever a PJ album was crying out for a "complete sessions" box set, it's probably this one.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 6:01 pm
by digster
I still think the best version of Binaural is the officially released one; particularly, PJ has never been better in their career than in the last half to two/thirds of that record. Even some of my favorite PJ records feel like they lose a bit of steam near the end, but that doesn't happen here. The original tracklisting that everyone swears by just has too many issues with me, and I don't know if the album benefits by stacking so many of the moodier, slower songs on top of each other, as the original version did.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 6:06 pm
by Monkey_Driven
Kevin Davis wrote:Thurman Murman wrote:Leatherhead wrote:I listened to a 30 song Binaural/Riot Act era playlist today. That shit is my essential Pearl Jam.
I think the Binaural sessions are essential Pearl Jam. But i think it could have benefitted by either being significantly re-tracked, or as a double album.
Every song from the
Binaural sessions is good but no attempt to retrack the album has ever been satisfying to me -- even the original proposed tracklist, while it certainly presents more good songs than the released version, doesn't work for me.
If ever a PJ album was crying out for a "complete sessions" box set, it's probably this one.
Re: RANK THE ALBUMS
Posted: Tue April 14, 2020 6:09 pm
by Thurman Murman
digster wrote:I still think the best version of Binaural is the officially released one; particularly, PJ has never been better in their career than in the last half to two/thirds of that record. Even some of my favorite PJ records feel like they lose a bit of steam near the end, but that doesn't happen here. The original tracklisting that everyone swears by just has too many issues with me, and I don't know if the album benefits by stacking so many of the moodier, slower songs on top of each other, as the original version did.
True....the second half of Binaural is excellent. I'm just not as big a fan of the first half, or more specifically the first 3 tracks. Light Years on its top shelf Pearl Jam.