Well, after about 10 listens now, I feel like I can maybe make a little more sense out of my initial reaction to Lightning Bolt. My first few reviews from Friday night and early Saturday morning were probably swayed a bit by copious amounts of wine and beer, so I'm not even sure that I feel quite the same way 5 days removed. But still, I enjoyed it then and I still enjoy it now.
Getaway
For most of PJ's catalog, album openers have easily been one of the most immediately and likeable pieces of any given album for me. GSMF and Life Wasted are still near the top of my list on their respective albums. Can't Keep is probably a top 10 PJ song for me as well. And everything from Once to Brain of J speaks for itself. Breakerfall was the only one that left me feeling a little perplexed after the first few listens, and even that had a classic album-opening intro to it. Getaway has me similarly perplexed but it's for the very reason that it doesn't have a strong intro to it. I don't necessarily need (or want) something that immediately smacks you in the face. GSMF and Life Wasted both hit a little too quickly. I'm not even able to get back to my couch before those songs are halfway through their opening riffs (ha!). I always used to love the noodling they did prior to the opening track, like on Go, Last Exit, Brain of J and even Can't Keep. What ever happened to that? Getaway obviously has some strong elements to it. The chorus is catchy as hell and the outro is full of energy and power. The lyrics are also pretty solid the whole way through. But I find myself waiting through the first 1:15 (until the first chorus hits) trying to catch the vibe of the song and I blame that fully on the intro, especially the first :15 seconds. That opening guitar part just seems to stumble haphazardly in, as if it's completely unsure about itself. There's a feeling of lacking self-confidence in that intro. If this song was placed near the middle of the album I might not even notice that predicament, but as the album opener, your primary job is to hit me with something intriguing right off the bat. Something that says "hey, this album is going to offer me something special". And if you're starting with a guitar riff, you better make it a memorable one. What I think would work for me is if it would've opened with a short jam based on the chorus riff and then straight into the first verse. As it is, I'm still just not sure what to make of it yet? - 3.5/5
Mind Your Manners
Surprisingly, MYM sounds even better now in the context of the rest of the album. As the hardest song on LB, it sort of jumps out as a "most indispensable" track. I really thought I'd have MYM fatigue by the time the album came out and that I might be tempted to skip it a few times but there's no such thing happening with this one. In fact, I'm enjoying it more than ever. I love the way it comes thundering right through the end of Getaway, like it's trying to completely plow over the previous song. And whatever Getaway is lacking in bite, MYM quickly fills in that space. Also, this just might be Mike's best solo on the album? - 4/5
My Father's Son
This song is loaded with a lot of elements that one would find on my "favorite things about PJ" list. So it's kind of a no-brainer for me. The bassline speaks for itself, Eddie's lyrics are strong, and the bridge it surprisingly good. Musically this almost sounds like Jeff's attempt to continue moving in the same direction as Got Some, but not only are the lyrics far better on MFS, but this song has one element that Got Some was missing, and that's a kickass bassline. Maybe this song will lose some steam over the long run, but as a big time fan of stuff like Green Disease and Johnny Guitar (not sure why I mention those specifically but those just seem to be closest thing I can relate this to, along with Got Some), this song will most likely be a personal favorite from this album for the long haul, although never quite reaching perfect 5 status. - 4.5/5
Sirens
A lot of reviews mention the "schizophrenic" nature of this album and the disjointed track flow due to the wide variety of styles that are packed on here. I actually think the track flow works very nicely and there is only one point where I find it completely jarring, and that's when the opening of this song peaks out of from under the rolling tank that is the first 3 songs. It takes me a little while to adjust, which slightly affects my overall enjoyment of Sirens, which I already know is a song that, by itself, I thoroughly enjoy. However, when I give myself over to this song, by the time the pre-chorus hits, I've completely forgotten about how poorly it flows and I'm once again in this strange new world that is Sirens. It seems to work every time. It's not one of my favorites on the album, it's not even the song that I'm most likely to sing at the top of my lungs, and maybe it hits a little too early to be a track 4 (because of the track flow issue I mentioned) but after all its flaws are forgiven, this song still just works for me big time. I'm glad that I heard it a few times prior to experiencing the full album because otherwise I may have been a little "overwhelmed" by the drastic difference in style that this song introduces to the PJ catalog. But in the context of this whole album, there are a lot of things on LB that seem like introductions to potential new paths for Pearl Jam to explore. Not only Sirens, but Infallible, Pendulum, Let the Records Play, and Sleeping By Myself. So really, it fits like a glove in a weird way. - 4/5
Lightning Bolt
There are so many interesting things going on in this song. For one, the comparisons to UK are completely unfair. Is it the opening palm mute that immediately brings about those comparisons? It's not even close. This song is about a millions times more interesting than UK. The guitar work on here is excellent. The non-traditional structure also helps keeps this song fresh and adventurous. The lyrics aren't always great but there's enough here to help carry the song. I'm not completely sure if this song will stand the test of the time, particularly because I'm not sure if the band will be able to pull this off live, but for now it sits near the top of the album for me. I wish there was more I could say about this tune but I fear that if I start to over-analyze it I won't enjoy it as much, so I'm just gonna keep riding it as far as it takes me (obligatory wave reference.) - 4.5/5
Infallible
No other song on this album has taken more of a leap forward from 1st listen (3-3.5) to 10th listen (4.5-5) than Infallible. Something about this song is infectious. It's the only one that I find myself singing out loud too every time. And even when I'm not listening to the album, it's the first melody that pops up in my head. There are a few interesting things to note here. As soon as I heard the chorus for the first time, I figured that was Stone's contribution to the song, mainly because the guitar riff he plays there reminds me so much of something he would write for Brad. That's not a bad thing really, but I'm just saying it sounds uniquely Stone to me, but not in a PJ way, more of a Stone side project kind of way (if that makes any sense?). Second, can we finally give BoB some credit for this album? There are a lot of interesting things happening throughout this album that probably aren't there without BoB's input. I'm not saying he should produce their next 10 albums or anything like that, because that probably wouldn't be a good idea, but I'm saying he really adds some interesting textures to a lot of these songs, but no more so than on Infallible. It's there, I'm sure you hear it, so I'm not going to bother pointing out specifics. - 4.5/5
Pendulum
It's been a while since we've had such a consensus for a new PJ song. That pretty much speaks for itself. There are a few things on here that I seem to notice every time. First of all, the guitar tone (I believe it's Stone's part) at about the 1:50 mark, right after "Easy left me a long time agoooooo.....", is just killer. It's a dusty, twangy, deserted ghost town, distorted, reverb-y steel guitar something... I'm not even sure how to describe it but I love it every time. Also, I love how Jeff doesn't overuse that interesting arpeggio bassline. It kind of comes and goes... in a good way. And the moment when the acoustic guitar enters, on the "ah ah ah" part, might be one of the best moments of the album. Here's another interesting question, related to what I said above about BoB? Who's idea was it to add the bowed guitar? Jeff or BoB? Hmmmm.... Perhaps the best PJ song since Of the Girl. - 5/5
Swallowed Whole
There are so many reasons why this song just works for me big time. First of all, I love the way that opening guitar just rolls right out from underneath the dark beauty that was Pendulum. Overall, the guitar and bass work on this song are just top notch. Once the extra guitars roll in, right around the "Loud loud loud" part, I'm just nodding my head and loving this tune. The chorus is more of a bridge for me, so I don't really put too much emphasis on it. The whole song is built around that main riff and the guitar solo is just seems to contrast that main guitar riff in such a wonderful way. Perhaps another reason why I love this song so much is because my 4 year old daughter is way into it and requests it every time I put on this album.
One more thing, a lot of people have mentioned ITW as a comparison point for this song but I actually hear more of Eddie circa RA/Binaural (think Down, Undone, Education, Sad, etc.) That's a very promising association. - 4.5/5
Let the Records Play
From the opening riff, I was sold on this song from the first listen. And after watching Stone's vignette and hearing what sounds like an open-A tuning, the whole song just became immensely cooler. Even the chorus sounds interesting to me because I can see he's playing something more interesting than just basic power chords. In fact, this songs loaded with some of the most interesting guitar parts that Stone has written in a long, long time. The bridge might be one of my favorite parts of the whole album and all the guitar jamming going on before and after the final chorus is just some much needed PJ jamming fun! Also, I might add that the lyrics are much better than I expected. Overall, this is still one of my favorite moments on the album. Oh, and here's one more things to piss everyone off.... I like the fadeouts! Fadeouts may just be a necessary evil. Keep them wanting more! - 4.5/5
Sleeping By Myself
I was really surprised by this one. I totally prepared myself for a "horrible" experience. Instead, after the first listen, I was relieved that it wasn't really that bad. After the 2nd listen, I started to think "wait a minute, this song is actually pretty good." By the 3rd listen, "Uh, was I just singing along to this?" Fast forward to the 10th listen, "Could this end up being one of my favorites on this album when all is said and done?" Just like with Can't Keep, I think they nailed it with their interpretation of this song and it's time for me to officially say "Sorry BoB for talking so much shit on you for a song that I hadn't even heard yet!" - 4/5
Yellow Moon
This is sort of in the Getaway category for me. I'm taking more of the wait and see approach with these two. But songs could drop to a 3, or rise to a 4, depending on what happens if I get to experience them live in Brooklyn on Saturday, or later on bootlegs. I'm pleased to see that they seem to be playing YM every night as part of the 1st encore because I think I really need to hear this song live to have a better interpretation of it. This song was pretty boring for me at first. I have to admit now that I'm slowly starting to sing along after every listen. For some reason, even though this was written by Jeff, this song has the strongest ITW association for me (as opposed to Swallowed Whole). It seems to have a bit of a Hard Sun feel to it. That's just my interpretation. It would've worked so well as one of those above average b-sides where everyone says "Damnit, PJ shouldn't track their own albums anymore. I really love this song and it should've been on the album. It's so much better than _______." - 3.5/5
Future Days
I'm a bit surprised by this song as well. There are a lot of interesting things going on here that may only be picked up on a nice pair of headphones. For one, I don't find the piano part cheesy at all. In fact, the whole reverb-y pump organ thing going on underneath it makes it kind of cool. If you think this is cheesy, boy do I have some stuff to show you! Also, the subtle use of the violin is a bit of genius if you ask me. And either Stone or Mike, or perhaps both, seem to be doing nice some guitar coloring way underneath the mix. With all of that said though, my issues with the song are a bit different from those that I hear the most. For one, it's just way too long. Here's where the brevity of Backspacer would've worked nicely. There's probably one verse too many. I really like the lyrics to 2nd verse, so that one should definitely stay, but either the 1st or 3rd verse could've been chopped off or at least shortened. Also, I'm not a fan of the bridge at all. That section is way too reminiscent of Just Breathe, or at least something that would've fit seamlessly on Backspacer. Other than that, I actually really like the way the final piano part just kind of gracefully stumbles off into the distance with that pump organ drone going on underneath it (in contrast to the way that I don't appreciate how the opening guitar riff for the album ungracefully stumbles into existence). Cut out the bridge and maybe it's a 3.5. Shorten it and/or improve some of the lyrics and perhaps it could even be a 4. I do know one thing though, I sing along to the chorus every freakin' time whether I want to or not. - 3/5
Overall - 4/5 - Lightning Bolt is certainly a strong effort from Pearl Jam. I'm most certainly sure that I will like it better than Backspacer when all is said and done, but since S/T is still a personal favorite of mine and well, RA and Binaural stand so close to hallowed ground, it's hard for me to really have any clue where this album will end up in the full catalog. I wouldn't be shocked if it ends up growing into a top half PJ album though. And that's certainly reason for celebration after a long, 4 year wait!
