Red Mosquito

VinylGuy wrote:Ten Commandos should have been so much better. The lead single with Lanegan was great though.

LB...what else can i say about it? Worst PJ album is still at least, a compelling listen. Pendulum, Sirens, Yellow Moon and Fathers Son are all great, with MYM and Getaway being ok. So many half baked songs and the worst production ever makes me be really far from the album.

The drum´s sound are just awful.

Agreed on most of this. I do enjoy Getaway and MYM though.

yeah, i liked them too and listening to those 4 tracks is a blast but it should have been so much better. And then LB the song appears and nope, its not going to happen.

I recently made a “remaster” of backspacer restoring some of the dynamics.. (I posted it in the backspacer thread)

I tried to do a similar thing for LB, but because the drum sound is so terrible, restoring the drums dynamics did not help the overall sound very much. :/

VinylGuy wrote:yeah, i liked them too and listening to those 4 tracks is a blast but it should have been so much better. And then LB the song appears and nope, its not going to happen.

Exhibit A in Pearl Jam underutilize Mike McCready. How in the world do you fade out at that moment!? It’s so telling for Lightning Bolt the album that the best part of the album is not even present - a 60 second jam that everyone, especially Mike, shines on.

Inspired by this thread Ive listened to all PJ records last week on headphones (was in Omikron isolation, just plenty of time). And the drop in quality with BS and LB is even bigger when you listen to all their records in a row. I like BS for what it tried to achieve. It's about as much of a fun/party record we will ever going to get from this band. But LB...not sure what they were aiming at there. It's just soo bland at times. Horrible production on drums and vocals. Some really uninspired songs. And for some reason it took the band 7 years to recover from this. Listening to 'Can't deny me'' you can say that they almost didn't recover....

RNDM - Ghost Riding

On their second album, RNDM immediately get to business pushing their sound to the next level. If the first album was a demonstration of how well Jeff and Richard Stuverud meshed with Joseph Arthur, round 2 shows them getting even better. Adopting something that builds into more of a TV on the Radio meets U2-ish sound (I swear it’s there!), the songs are simply addicting, and oddly danceable. That run from Ghodt Riding through Got to Survive and Stray is just magical. Stronger Man, NYC Freaks, It’s Violence, Stumbling Down, and Dream Your Life Away are all excellent and demonstrate a ton of range in their sound. There’s no soft spots here, and it’s a shame we likely won’t be hearing from them again soon. One of the best side project albums for the band.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Ten Commandos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP

yeah, Ghost Riding is a special one. I was hooked and surprised from the get go. I love Acts and was exited for the new one, but they went for a new sound and got it.

Also i got this one in Japan, in a Tower Records and they even dedicated a whole shelf for RNDM, which i thought it was super weird, took a pic and send it to Stuverud trough Facebook.

He couldnt believe it.

What’s really fascinating are all these magnificent side project albums that were released in the lead up and in the years following Lightning Bolt. It gives the impression that the band’s artistic focus was elsewhere, but they were certainly banging out a bunch of tours in this time. Perhaps they were similarly doubting what the Pearl Jam engine still had in it from an album making point of view.

Don’t think RNDM is better than the best from Brad, but it’s the best side project/non-PJ Jeff has been a part of since TOTD.

liebzz wrote:What’s really fascinating are all these magnificent side project albums that were released in the lead up and in the years following Lightning Bolt. It gives the impression that the band’s artistic focus was elsewhere, but they were certainly banging out a bunch of tours in this time. Perhaps they were similarly doubting what the Pearl Jam engine still had in it from an album making point of view.

yeah, i saw PJ in 2018 and it was one of the most passionate shows i ever seen. Even Black sounded tragic, urgent and new. Why it took so long for them to release Gigaton? Not sure. But im happy because how it sounds specially. We know they scrapped another album with Brendan, so im sure there is a lot of the inner works in the studio from those years that we dont know.

Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score

Mike’s decision to involve himself in scoring a few movies seems like a somewhat natural path for him. Our first glimpse into Mike having an interest in instrumental music goes back a couple of years to the Sonic Evolution Mad Season tribute concert, where played his composition Waking the Horizon (which I really like) with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. While these snippets don’t sound anything like that, there are a lot of really cool ideas in here, some of which I sort of wish Pearl Jam would have kicked around a bit, like the very different Tree Fractal, Shine Watcher/Spaced Out, Moonlight Thieves, and Don’t Let Go Hold On. As a score, you are naturally meant I think to pass through, but it’s nice to get a few notes from Mike.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Ten Commandos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP

Matt Cameron - Cavedweller

After the very disappointing Ten Commandos, Matt Cameron makes his solo debut with Cavedweller. Whereas the former suffered from a sort of blandness, this one is a bit better. There’s a bit of interesting stuff going on, and Matt mostly succeeds where he most confidently leaves behind the meat and potatoes 90s sound, especially on the instrumental Into the Fire and Real and Imagined. The album also open with a trio of strong tracks in Time Can’t Wait, All at Once, and Blind (which moves around quite a bit and gets better as the song progresses).

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Ten Commandos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP

Anders wrote:Don’t think RNDM is better than the best from Brad, but it’s the best side project/non-PJ Jeff has been a part of since TOTD.

I would say that looking at that list that everything from Vs. all the way down to Best Friends? is pretty damn close and could be reshuffled based on the day i am having.

liebzz wrote:

Anders wrote:Don’t think RNDM is better than the best from Brad, but it’s the best side project/non-PJ Jeff has been a part of since TOTD.

I would say that looking at that list that everything from Vs. all the way down to Best Friends? is pretty damn close and could be reshuffled based on the day i am having.

That’s fair. Plenty of good music there.

Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell

On Jeff Ament’s third album, he delivers one hell of an excellent record, bringing a bunch of new sounds that I had hoped would bleed into the next Pearl Jam record. In particular, the first nine songs on this album are killer, with a range from big rock to incorporating everything from an indie pop rock style, some interesting soundscapes, and exploring places that seem a bit outside his comfort zone, though they immediately feel natural for him. That one-two-three punch of The Noise The Noise, Door, and Safe in the Car might be the best opening salvo to any side/solo album so far. Drugs starts interesting then slays in its second half. Moment of Impact is pure Ament gold. Somewhere has a nice aggressive push to it. This one just seems to hit all the right spots.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Ten Commandos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP

Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score

Mike scores another film, and while again it’s hard to do more than pass through, there are a number of really good ideas here and a solid finished song (Show Your Colors). Sadie’s Theme (Dark), Leave It Alone, and Plane Overhead seemed like ideas that would be cool to explore. I’d say I prefer this one slightly to The Glamour & the Squalor.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Vs.
Pearl Jam - Ten
Stone Gossard - Moonlander
Pearl Jam
Stone Gossard - Bayleaf
RNDM - Ghost Riding
Neil Young - Mirrorball
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs
Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild
Brad - Interiors
Temple of the Dog
Pearl Jam - Riot Act
Mad Season - Above
RNDM - Acts
Jeff Ament - Heaven / Hell
Wellwater Conspiracy - The Scroll and Its Combinations
Brad - Shame
Brad - Best Friends?
Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Brad Vs. Satchel
Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats
Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric
Wellwater Conspiracy - Declaration of Conformity
Wellwater Conspiracy
Brad - Welcome to Discovery Park
Three Fish
Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
Pearl Jam - PJ20 Soundtrack
Green River - Rehab Doll
Jeff Ament - Tone
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Brad - United We Stand
Green River - Dry As a Bone
Tres Mts. - Three Mountains
Mother Love Bone - Apple
Mother Love Bone - Shine
Green River - Come On Down
Hater
Hater - The 2nd
Matt Cameron - Cavedweller
Three Fish - The Quiet Table
Bad Radio Demos
Green River - 1984 Demos
Mike McCready - Sadie Original Score
Mike McCready - The Glamour & the Squalor Original Score
Ten Commandos
The Rockfords
Deranged Diction - Life Support / No Art, No Cowboys, No Rules
Eddie Vedder and the Walmer High School Choir - The Molo Sessions
The Rockfords - The Waiting EP

I'm behind but appreciate the first RNDM and Moonlander rankings. Those are special little records.

Saw RNDM twice live and they were a total blast.

evenslow wrote:I'm behind but appreciate the first RNDM and Moonlander rankings. Those are special little records.

Saw RNDM twice live and they were a total blast.

Ha! Sorry I am going at an increased clip the last couple of days so I can be done before Earthling hits Friday morning.

Invincible, when we rank.

This thread is tremendous and inspiring. I love the idea of exploring an overarching body of work in chronological order. Delving into the formative and side projects really helps build context around the main albums, as you have pointed out. And developing a ranking based on listening to it currently will be really fun to revisit and revise upon future spins of these albums. You've mentioned that you've done other threads similar to this. Doing a quick search only turned up the Doors, CCR, and a few others. Where can I find the others, specifically the Chris Cornell one? Man, greatly appreciate the effort you've put into this!