Red Mosquito

It isn't a singles record for me either, and the 3 songs I tend to seek out are the first 3, so if I'm going to do more than that I tend to listen to the whole album

I think this album is greatly benefiting from the fact that many don't care for Lighting Bolt and Backspacer. Then going back even further S/T was uneven with bad mixing. Riot Act had very low lows, and bad sequencing. Binaural was a shock to the system then come to find out four years later it could have been so much better. So that is 20 years for a weird kind of hard to swallow tension on every album. Then this comes along after a seven year wait, and it is one of there easiest to digest albums at it release. I think in 3 years it will be in most folk bottom 3rd. For me it is number 8. It may climb but I don't see that happening. Btw the 8th best PJ recording is a really fantastic album

we are way past the whole...ïts because you didnt like LB¨...i genuine love this one. And im a fan of Backspacer....hell, i dont like LB for PJ standards only.

This is one feels special. Im guessing it will be a top 3 for me at some point (tomorrow)

VinylGuy wrote:we are way past the whole...ïts because you didnt like LB¨...i genuine love this one. And im a fan of Backspacer....hell, i dont like LB for PJ standards only.

This is one feels special. Im guessing it will be a top 3 for me at some point (tomorrow)

Yeah i agree with this...my love for Gigaton doesn't have anything to do with my indifference towards LB.

Tj wrote:I think this album is greatly benefiting from the fact that many don't care for Lighting Bolt and Backspacer. Then going back even further S/T was uneven with bad mixing.

this album is benefitting from the last three being varying levels of shite, yes, as well as the fact that it is better than them

1. Quick Escape (5)
2. Who Ever Said (5)
3. Dance of the Clairvoyants (5)
4. Seven O’Clock (5)
5. Take the Long Way (4.5)
6. Never Destination (4.5)
7. River Cross (4.5)
8. Comes Then Goes (4.5)
9. Superblood Wolfmoon (4)
10. Retrograde (4)
11. Alright (4)
12. Buckle Up (4)

I could be on board with that, though I am a bigger fan of Alright.

I was playing all my PJ songs on Shuffle and these songs still mix really well with the vintage albums; "Alright" into "Hail Hail" was sweet

liebzz wrote:I could be on board with that, though I am a bigger fan of Alright.

I really like All Right. And it is sequenced brilliantly between Quick Escape and Seven O’Clock.

PHATJ wrote:1. Quick Escape (5)
2. Who Ever Said (5)
3. Dance of the Clairvoyants (5)
4. Seven O’Clock (5)
5. Take the Long Way (4.5)
6. Never Destination (4.5)
7. River Cross (4.5)
8. Comes Then Goes (4.5)
9. Superblood Wolfmoon (4)
10. Retrograde (4)
11. Alright (4)
12. Buckle Up (4)

Interesting

I just ordered a custom 24x24" poster of the Gigaton cover from posterburner.com. Found a picture that is 2500x2500, highest resolution I could find. Hope it looks good.

there are various ways that this album absolutely captures PJ as a live band probably more than all others:

one is the big detour -- the winding roads of loud and soft then softer, then loud again -- that "Who Ever Said" takes

the second is how it really showcases them as a band that is equally committed to beauty, in the ballad, and aggression, in the rocker; there aren't many bands that would pile up their rockers, then their ballads, in a clear Side A and Side B, but PJ doesn't give a shit that that's not "what's done"

finally, I realised yesterday after making a comment on their live tags (which I think have mixed success, I love the "goodbye" tag on "Light Years" but could take or leave others), this album has at least two songs ("Never Destination" and "Take the Long Way") which turn what we expect to be a bridge, into a tag... just as they might do live; and yeah, you could say "those are so fleeting, it's a shame they didn't make more of them in their respective songs", but I think nah, that's *exactly* why they should stay as they are, because they're exciting and fresh but fleeting, blink and you'll miss them, quality over quantity, like... sushi

edit: I forgot to say, this isn't new to them (e.g. "If I had known then what I know now"), but Gigaton goes all-in on it

Last Exit is my all time fav album opener but Who ever said is quickly rising to the top...this album is really damn good. It’s a top tier PJ album for me, partially due to the current times + some really strong lyrics that seem to relate to what’s going on right now...even if not by design.

Ms Harmless wrote:there are various ways that this album absolutely captures PJ as a live band probably more than all others:

one is the big detour -- the winding roads of loud and soft then softer, then loud again -- that "Who Ever Said" takes

the second is how it really showcases them as a band that is equally committed to beauty, in the ballad, and aggression, in the rocker; there aren't many bands that would pile up their rockers, then their ballads, in a clear Side A and Side B, but PJ doesn't give a shit that that's not "what's done"

finally, I realised yesterday after making a comment on their live tags (which I think have mixed success, I love the "goodbye" tag on "Light Years" but could take or leave others), this album has at least two songs ("Never Destination" and "Take the Long Way") which turn what we expect to be a bridge, into a tag... just as they might do live; and yeah, you could say "those are so fleeting, it's a shame they didn't make more of them in their respective songs", but I think nah, that's *exactly* why they should stay as they are, because they're exciting and fresh but fleeting, blink and you'll miss them, quality over quantity, like... sushi

edit: I forgot to say, this isn't new to them (e.g. "If I had known then what I know now"), but Gigaton goes all-in on it

To this I would add the following:

Who Ever Said false ending is a very "live" thing.

Quick Escape of course has the most live-sounding solo they've done on an album in many years

The "multiple closers" thing has a real encores feel to it, with River Cross feeling very much like the song that sends 'em home.

I think it's ironic and timely that Gigaton (not a gig, backwards) turns out to be the concert we need in a time when we can't have them.

RockPusher wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:there are various ways that this album absolutely captures PJ as a live band probably more than all others:

one is the big detour -- the winding roads of loud and soft then softer, then loud again -- that "Who Ever Said" takes

the second is how it really showcases them as a band that is equally committed to beauty, in the ballad, and aggression, in the rocker; there aren't many bands that would pile up their rockers, then their ballads, in a clear Side A and Side B, but PJ doesn't give a shit that that's not "what's done"

finally, I realised yesterday after making a comment on their live tags (which I think have mixed success, I love the "goodbye" tag on "Light Years" but could take or leave others), this album has at least two songs ("Never Destination" and "Take the Long Way") which turn what we expect to be a bridge, into a tag... just as they might do live; and yeah, you could say "those are so fleeting, it's a shame they didn't make more of them in their respective songs", but I think nah, that's *exactly* why they should stay as they are, because they're exciting and fresh but fleeting, blink and you'll miss them, quality over quantity, like... sushi

edit: I forgot to say, this isn't new to them (e.g. "If I had known then what I know now"), but Gigaton goes all-in on it

To this I would add the following:

Who Ever Said false ending is a very "live" thing.

Quick Escape of course has the most live-sounding solo they've done on an album in many years

The "multiple closers" thing has a real encores feel to it, with River Cross feeling very much like the song that sends 'em home.

I think it's ironic and timely that Gigaton (not a gig, backwards) turns out to be the concert we need in a time when we can't have them.

yes! these are great additions to this, and I love the "notagig" point

I can't help but feel we'd have gotten (and may still get some day) a full live run-through of this record.

I still can't believe this is their longest album. I think it flows perfectly.

DOTC set my expectations too high. It's one of the best things they've done and I was hoping the album would be as left-field and interesting.

Instead it's a solid mid-tier PJ album , which is fine. But it has none of the promise of DOTC, which is seriously a fantastic achievement.

Something that will be interesting to consider in the future. Part of what is so compelling about this record is its connection to the times and feels very in the moment. I can't say I feel like any of their recent albums reflect a moment so vividly since Binaural. Will that be important and create closeness and resonance to the album or will it feel more dated over time? I always wonder if Pearl Jam is better when Eddie's lyrics are more personal issues (older albums feel this way to me) or more specific societal issues (newer albums) and this feels (mostly) like a specific commentary on our current time but done incredibly well.

An official video of Retrograde is coming in two days.

4th single.

there's a very quick image at the end of (I think) PJ members as Tarot cards? confirming to me that that may have been the space they were in with the "Hangman" image of 7.00