Eddie Vedder - Earthling

[Ms Harmless]

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Ms Harmless]

I think I'm gonna go ahead and agree

I never do this, but I was looking at the tracklist and thinking that without Long Way and The Haves, it's a pretty strong 11 songs

[coptheriotact]

nah I agree; in a way I don't care how Ed solo sounds; I'm not about to dislike Soundgarden because Chris Cornell made Scream; I had low expectations going into this and it's a really fun listen with some great moments

I listened to “carry on” the other day and it made more sense why he wanted to ditch the rock band for the next album. His voice was improving a lot and the rock backing band was only making everything sound stale.

Scream is cool, at least it still gets talked about

[Ms Harmless]

The Dark is joyous

[Fattie_Vedder]

my partner and I both said "Picture" sounded like a Disney song I like it enough, and I think that it helps that it's in a trifecta with a Beatles-esque piano-led song, and a lounge style reprise; I almost want a canned round of applause chucked in there somewhere

Hah! I know I can count on the RM fam to know what I’m talking about

[Ms Harmless]

if Ed wants to do 80s-inspired pop now he should get Mike Crossey, The 1975's guy

[Ms Harmless]

I fucking love Good and Evil, such a great performance from Ed

[benton netty]

I think my least favourite moment is the transition between Power of Right and Long Way; it's *really* jarring, and not just stylistically; the overall volume of LW is lower and the snare drum disappears

This was driving me nuts, yesterday. The mastering engineer really didn't do their job, there.

[Ms Harmless]

I think my least favourite moment is the transition between Power of Right and Long Way; it's *really* jarring, and not just stylistically; the overall volume of LW is lower and the snare drum disappears

This was driving me nuts, yesterday. The mastering engineer really didn't do their job, there.

it's awful

[Anders]

If there was a strong song instead of Picture, and The Haves had better lyrics, this album would be quite a bit better.

[Ms Harmless]

I'm pretty happy tolerating all 13 of these tracks but 10 of them I like a lot

[E.H. Ruddock]

Welp, I’ve finally listened with headphones, and here’s where I’m at:

1. Creatively speaking, I find this album even more encouraging than Gigaton for what the future holds for Pearl Jam. The range of ideas is pretty great, and even the lesser tracks have some fun ideas and ear candy. I’m fully on board with an Andrew Wottman-produced Pearl Jam album.

2. The reliance on digital processing is variously encouraging and concerning. It’s great to hear some new guitar and bass sounds behind Ed’s voice, and the synth pads that we first got in DOTC continue to be the most surprisingly great addition to the pallet…but the sloppy vocal edit in Try (“hitting like the WITNESS in your eyes,” at 1:54), and some of the more Frankensteined song arrangements, give me less hope that PJ will ever make another Riot Act.

3. Ed continues to get away from the condenser mic breathiness of BS and LB, which is so great.

4. The compression and EQ are abysmal. I have serious ear fatigue after one listen, and had to turn the volume way down on the heavier songs. I’m firmly convinced that Ed’s going deaf, and has no idea or awareness of the results that’s having on his finished product. It is what it is, I guess.

Compositionally much stronger than I ever thought this would be, and more importantly, it never sounds tired; there’s nothing that smacks of a retread like SBWM.

Also, I really like The Haves. There I said it.

Great post trag. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading this

[Matters]

How does Ed get away with so much cheese on Invincible and still make a really great sounding song? I love how the guitars near the end sound like Ed’s crossroad demo.

Rose of Jericho is track 2 on my playlist.

The good parts of Long Way remind me of Mark Knopfler. The not so good parts remind me of Tom Petty.

If you’re going to record a song with Stevie Wonder, it should be obvious that you are recording a song with Stevie Wonder.

I’ve never had any desire to listen to Elton John. That said, he and EV should make more music together.

[Bammer]

Don’t worry, guys, I’ll get my eagerly anticipated review posted sometime soon.

[scrub12]

I can’t get Try out of my brain.

[Monkey_Driven]

I can’t get Try out of my brain.

It's so good.

[Tj]

The Dark is joyous

It is outstanding . The first verse being from the point of view of someone on the other side looking upon someone here on this plane in the dark. Bring everything back to Release. I wait up in the Dark for you to speak to me. Then the second vs from the point of the survivor. Release ,The Dark, and On my Way have beautiful connections. I have hard time believing it is a coincidence.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[Leatherhead]

Man, Eddie Vedder is having a survivor’s creative renaissance, and I am here for it.

Go on....

Gigaton and then this. The sound or style of these records might not be for some, but it's hard to argue that any of it has that Getaway "(sigh) I guess they'll want a song like this..." stink of weary obligation to it.

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.

I may not be liking Earthling, but I do love Gigaton, and I do also agree with this.