Eddie Vedder - Earthling

[stip]

after two listens (not headphones/focused experiences) invincible, the dark, try, and Mrs Mills and On My Way were the standouts, none of which feel like the types of songs I would have gravitated to

Good songs. Love that Ed’s dads voice was part of On My Way, but think the song needed another minute or two.

its short, but its got such a great end credits/coda feel to it that the extra length might have undermined

[stip]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

Unsurprisingly, I think Ed sounds a lot like he did on Gigaton. That’s what I thought of most.

not necessarily in voice (my point)

[Anders]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

Unsurprisingly, I think Ed sounds a lot like he did on Gigaton. That’s what I thought of most.

not necessarily in voice (my point)

Fair enough. I just don’t quite feel the Yield comparison.

[RockPusher]

Invincible is a serious grower for me already. About as earwormy a song as I've ever heard. Changing my song rankings to reflect this and also The Dark being better than I thought:

PJ tier:

1 Fallout Today
2 Power Of Right
3 Brother The Cloud
4 On My Way
5 Rose Of Jericho

I like it a hell of a lot:

6 Invincible
7 The Dark

I like it:

8 Mrs Mills
9 Long Way

Mixed feelings:

10 Try
11 Good and Evil
12 The Haves
13 Picture

The fact that 7/13 are songs that I absolutely want to hear and hear again =

[Anders]

after two listens (not headphones/focused experiences) invincible, the dark, try, and Mrs Mills and On My Way were the standouts, none of which feel like the types of songs I would have gravitated to

Good songs. Love that Ed’s dads voice was part of On My Way, but think the song needed another minute or two.

its short, but its got such a great end credits/coda feel to it that the extra length might have undermined

[Juvenal]

after two listens (not headphones/focused experiences) invincible, the dark, try, and Mrs Mills and On My Way were the standouts, none of which feel like the types of songs I would have gravitated to

Good songs. Love that Ed’s dads voice was part of On My Way, but think the song needed another minute or two.

its short, but its got such a great end credits/coda feel to it that the extra length might have undermined

Less is more here, I feel. It's like a moving... not quite gut punch, but it did knock me for six.

Waiting up in the dark for him to speak - and he did. I may be a soppy old fool but it got me.

[Release_Me]

Reviews keep flowing in.

https://www.kerrang.com/album-review-ed ... -pearl-jam

https://www.allmusic.com/album/earthling-mw0003622840

[Fattie_Vedder]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

That’s weird to me. This album is the antithesis of Yield in terms of sound and musical composition. Yield allows the subtle notes, flourishes, and nuances of each instrument to stand out, this album emphasizes loudness and multiple instruments playing the same chords or notes in a resonant manner.

[stip]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

That’s weird to me. This album is the antithesis of Yield in terms of sound and musical composition. Yield allows the subtle notes, flourishes, and nuances of each instrument to stand out, this album emphasizes loudness and multiple instruments playing the same chords or notes in a resonant manner.

In spirit, not sound (I was not clear). I don't think it has any particular sonic similarities to any of the records.

[stip]

Okay, time for my third listen - first time with good headphones and no non-RM distractions

[McParadigm]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

I was sort of pointed back there as well:

I think the late 90's is the last time he was as casually playful with (and this unconcerned with adhering to the formula of) his music. Can't start a fire without a spark.

[digster]

Not saying a thing about quality, but I don't think a single song here would sound out of place on Backspacer or LB (besides the last track here, which is doing its own thing). They've got a very similar emphasis on straightforward songwriting and a de-emphasis on interplay between the band.

[Fattie_Vedder]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

That’s weird to me. This album is the antithesis of Yield in terms of sound and musical composition. Yield allows the subtle notes, flourishes, and nuances of each instrument to stand out, this album emphasizes loudness and multiple instruments playing the same chords or notes in a resonant manner.

In spirit, not sound (I was not clear). I don't think it has any particular sonic similarities to any of the records.

Oh, gotcha. That’s an interesting thought.

[stip]

Invincible - somehow this is my favorite song on this album. It's a great example of something that probably wouldn't work on a Pearl Jam album where almost every song has to not only be a statement, but needs to be serious and self-aware (I don't say this as a complaint. I love that about them). And this is certainly a statement song, but it thrills in its joyful absurdity. It's just a song that is in love with the fact of its existence in a way that ends up feeling powerful, partly because it's so utterly unself-conscious about what it wants to celebrate. This is maybe Eddie's most successful foray into pure cheese and its a great example of how you can make this work by embracing it and letting your stockpiled credibility carry you through moments that might otherwise feel cheap or inauthentic coming from someone else.


The Peter Gabriel vibes are a nice change of pace from the usual influences. The closest Pearl Jam comparison I can make is Infallible if the verses were written in the spirit of the chorus.

I really like the "the unbearable weight, the unbearable light, the unbearable weight, lets lift it up' sequence. And the way his voice soars when he sings invincible. Those moments almost disappeared entirely between Into the Wild until they returned in Gigaton. Such a relief to see him sticking with it.

If I'm honest, as much as I enjoy this, I'd probably struggle with it a little bit if this was on a Pearl Jam album. On paper this probably shouldn't work for me. But I kind of love this.

[stip]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

I was sort of pointed back there as well:

I think the late 90's is the last time he was as casually playful with (and this unconcerned with adhering to the formula of) his music. Can't start a fire without a spark.

yup, this

[stip]

Power of Right: I like the fuzz in the verses (and the bass), but I feel like the chorus is coming from a different song.

A lot of lyrics here (that I wasn't paying attention to yet). Solid lyrics will elevate this one for me, but something about this doesn't fully come together for me, at least not yet. I dig the handclaps, too. Continues the playful vibe of Invincible despite the more aggressive music and vocal performance. Kind of weird how the song just stops.

Like I mentioned a few posts ago, this one starts to border into 'this could have been Pearl Jam' territory, which makes it slightly harder to appreciate it for what it is since I kind help but focus on what i think it should be.

[RockPusher]

Power of Right: I like the fuzz in the verses (and the bass), but I feel like the chorus is coming from a different song.

Do you hear Worldwide Suicide at all, because I sure do!

[stip]

Long the Way: This feels much less slight in the context of the record. I really like the Tom Petty vibes of the song - the music, Eddie's delivery, all of it. Again, this is a space Pearl Jam hasn't really played with before, and Petty is a great touchstone for Eddie (I also love his wildflowers cover from the last batch of xmas singles). Just a few more f'ing lyrics would have really helped elevate this.

The psychology of the bands you like, the album experience, and all of it are really on display. This was a song I was pretty disappointed in when it was all I knew of Earthling and it had to carry all the weight of my expectations. But on an album I'm enjoying, with no obvious Pearl Jam aspirations, it's so much easier to appreciate and judge it for what it is, and appreciate the craft and artistry and intent.

Brother the Cloud: Really enjoy the verses and the way they tumble into the chorus (and it's a great chorus - and the melody on 'these are just dreams/as sad is it seems/I'm always wide awake' is great. But similar to Power of Right, the David Byrne bridge feels like it should be in a different song. There are a few frankensongs on this album. The transition into the darker outro is better done, but I'm a bit less interested in it. I get the sentiment behind the fuck you but I don't really like how its executed.


This should have been the first single (at least if we had to choose between the three we had)


Also, apparently the version I'm listening to on Spotify is edited.

[stip]

Power of Right: I like the fuzz in the verses (and the bass), but I feel like the chorus is coming from a different song.

Do you hear Worldwide Suicide at all, because I sure do!

I didn't, but that was a top 10 pearl jam song for me for a while, so let me go back and see!

Kind of a barroom World Wide Suicide - sure I kind of hear it. Especially in the parts of the song I like. Actually in the chorus, too. Yeah, you're right. There's some common DNA here

[guitar_davey]

i saw a bunch of backspacer comparisons earlier, but this album has stronger Yield vibes to me

That’s weird to me. This album is the antithesis of Yield in terms of sound and musical composition. Yield allows the subtle notes, flourishes, and nuances of each instrument to stand out, this album emphasizes loudness and multiple instruments playing the same chords or notes in a resonant manner.

In spirit, not sound (I was not clear). I don't think it has any particular sonic similarities to any of the records.

In the sense that it's such a stylistic hodgepodge?