Red Mosquito

escape wrote: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!

I wish I could give you the full list, but from memory:

Chris Cornell (I think in the Chris Cornell thread that references his years alive), The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stone Temple Pilots, Elvis Costello, The Band, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Marcus King Band, a different Pearl Jam one with just the studio albums from Pearl Jam alone, Radiohead, a loooong Grateful Dead one that took something like 6 months to complete, and I think a few others. They really are a new way to digest the albums. It was suggested during my most recent journey through Elvis Costello that we all rank along the way and I carried that over here. Not meant as a qualitative final word on these albums as much as a real time sense of how I am experiencing them in this context - especially because this is a band I have been a dedicated fan of for nearly 30 years. And even then, there were and are blind spots in their creative output that I have yet to explore (ie, side projects of Jack Irons, and various collaborations they have done with other artists). This ultimately is a celebration of all things Pearl Jam in the lead up to Eddie Vedder’s and Painted Shield’s new albums.

Pearl Jam - Gigaton

Time flies. It’s been nearly 2 years since this album’s release, the time leading up to its release maybe the most stressful for us fans, not knowing what direction the band was pursuing after a 6.5 year gap from an album that needed more nuance and better decisions, and a single in Can’t Deny Me that left a lot of fans sorely disappointed (I think the song is fine - nothing spectacular but not the disaster it is portrayed to be). So it’s of no surprise that the initial reception to this album was largely of glee from us here in RM. They seemed to balance the need for something distinctly Pearl Jam with the need to actually move things in a creative direction rather than a Pearl Jam album for its own sake.

Inspired by a desperation to shine a light on the state of our world, be it the environment or the over-connectedness with social media or whatever other message you want to ascribe, they came to this ready to go. The fact that this coincided with the pandemic was one of those fits, perhaps like U2’s All You Can’t Leave Behind and 9/11 - an indirect connection that practically predicts the predicament.

The songs themselves are nearly all exactly right. I might quibble with the fact that Stone should have sung Buckle Up, but otherwise I love every moment of this record. From the big rock of Quick Escape, the fragmented but purposeful Superblood Wolfmoon, the left turn turned genius in Dance of the Clairvoyants- their boldest and maybe best song in decades. The MFC like relief of Never Destination, the epic calls to action in Seven O’Clock and River Cross. This is all phenomenal, not just because it takes the trends of the last 15 years and delivers it far better than any of those records, but because it is an effin’ awesome album.

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
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

Awesome! I will search those out in the forum threads. I rarely spend much time in the other bands section, so this will be a good chance to do some deep reading.

You're exactly right - after 30+ years of fandom, it's super exciting to find a new way to listen to these albums that have been with you for the majority of your life. Pearl Jam was my first real introduction to side projects, usually from whatever magazine articles you'd find in the library or wherever. There was something mythical about the Pearl Jam side bands, as very few of my other favorite bands in those years had that vast amount of other projects, minus the odd soundtrack or compilation track appearance. But full albums with distinctive bands and identities, still firmly rooted in the Pearl Jam family tree. And thanks to Pearl Jam's popularity, it was relatively easy to track down releases like the first Brad and Three Fish albums.

Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP

A quick shot (5 songs in under 7 minutes!), Jeff clearly needed to get his voice heard. While this feels like a quick one off, literally, The Divine Perfume and No Papers are a nice addition to his songbook. The rest, sorry, I don’t like at all. As quick as his EP, I’m done with this now (except of course those first two songs)

Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
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
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
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

Really fucked up to take an idea like this and make it into a good thread

McParadigm wrote:Really fucked up to take an idea like this and make it into a good thread

We’ll never need/get to rank anything here ever again

Strat wrote:

McParadigm wrote:Really fucked up to take an idea like this and make it into a good thread

We’ll never need/get to rank anything here ever again

Nah. Just now, when we play rank the albums we’ll just have to rank 60 of them instead of 11.

RANK THE SIDE PROJECTS

SIDE PROJECTS TOURNEY

If we add Earthling and the Pluralone, or the Jack Irons solo albums, we likely get to 64

Strat wrote:

McParadigm wrote:Really fucked up to take an idea like this and make it into a good thread

We’ll never need/get to rank anything here ever again

I do not agree with liebzz’s rankings and yet I find no fault in them. Really sick shit.

liebzz wrote:Pearl Jam - No Code
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Pearl Jam - Binaural
Pearl Jam - Yield
Pearl Jam - Gigaton
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
Jeff Ament - American Death Squad EP
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

What do we have left ?! Painted shield then earthlings ?!

Painted Shield, Matter of Time, I Should Be Outside, Flag Day, Earthlings

Is 'I should be outside' the name of an album, or a general commentary on your state of mind at this point in the exercise?

Kevin Davis wrote:Is 'I should be outside' the name of an album, or a general commentary on your state of mind at this point in the exercise?

Summit fever, baby!

I actually do a good chunk of this outside and it is during my commute so I would be listening to something anyway. It’s actually easier this way because the variety prevents me from getting fatigued on any single artist.

Merkinball could be added.

Honorable mention to the excellent collaboration Eddie Vedder had with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and M.A.C.C., a rock band consisting of Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Chris Cornell, and Matt Cameron.

some random thoughts:

i will be checking out best friends?, ghost riding and some more wellwater conspiracy again. (something tells me the wellwater albums need more than 1 or 2 listens)

right now i would rather listen to gigaton over vs., but i couldn't put it higher in a ranking

my cavedweller! it doesn't deserve to dwell down there,

"attention dimension" should be on this list because it was sold at the 10c store. I bought the CD in 2005 when i bought everything they sold.. last week I had some mushrooms and played it in full and it was great!

Anders wrote:Merkinball could be added.

I listened to it with Mirrorball but got so caught up with talking about Neil Young that I forgot to talk about it. Absolutely love both of those songs.