What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam

[Heathen]

That's too easy.. There are good songs' to be found here.

Look, I was starting to like you. But it's gone now, you're back to Lament's level.

I will fuck you

Yeah that's what Lament would do.

I wouldn't call it "fucking" with you Heathen. I'd call it "making love."

Sometimes I wish you would respect me a bit less.

[Kaius]

It's getting weird now

[bodysnatcher]

This was the last album that contains the Ed persona that I enjoy. The songs didn't show it, which is a shame.

[Bammer]

Major flaw is that it's self titled. I don't like that. I wish the album had a name.

[McParadigm]

[stip]

This seems like a good time to remind everyone that I have a framed poster of the cover art hanging up in our downstairs living room

[ABNorman]

The title of this thread is awkwardly phrased.

What is Each Album's Major Flaw?

Pearl Jam.

[samiad]

Jesus, where to begin?

This is far and away the worst PJ album. Backspacer is much more relaxed and fun, and Lightning Bolt has better songs and more variety. This, however, is neither fun, nor a good mix of songs. Its shite.

I gave this a spin yesterday in fact, just to keep hoping that something will come of this record. But no.


/10

Life Wasted - 5 (open goal...missed by a meandering nothing of a song...)
World Wide Suicide - 6 (decent but forgettable)
Comatose - 3 (all e-ter-na-teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeghghghghghg)
Severed Hand - 4 (10 different ideas that don't hang together)
Marker in the sand - 3 (as above)
Parachutes - 6 (this is kind of nice - but I still wish it went somewhere)
Unemployable - 5 (i like the beach boys vibe of the verse, but the chorus sucks)
Big Wave - 3 (epic fail of a song)
Gone - 2 (so much potential here squandered by the worst chorus of all time - its like Ed just got bored and decided to repeat "gone, so long" until we're all asleep)
Reprise - 1 (seriously?)
Army Reserve - 6 (a decent song)
Come Back - 10 (fucking classic. gorgeous. perfectly played and sung. where the fuck did this come from?!?)
Inside Job - 6 (almost a 7. good song. bit try hard. but good)

So - the flaw?!?

PJ try too hard to please fans - by thinking we all want another VS. But i don't think we do. After this, I think we'd all kill for another...well....anything else!!

[hlniv]

Come Back - 10 (fucking classic. gorgeous. perfectly played and sung)

[bodysnatcher]

The title of this thread is awkwardly phrased.

What is Each Album's Major Flaw?

Pearl Jam.

[bodysnatcher]

[Tj]

Vs was a brilliant reaction to Ten
Vitalogy was brillant reaction to 1993
No Code was a brillant reaction to a band being in over their heads
Yield was a brillant good bye to the 20th century
Binaural was a brilliant hello to the 21st
Riot Act was a landscape of all that came before it
Pearl Jam lives forever in vacuum all by it's self, makes it really interesting that this is their self titled record. It has no connection to the past and doesn't point to a future. Think back on the zobbie theme of the insert this makes sense. Something organic ie Alvocado gives way to something like the living dead. No great songs, No bad songs

[stip]

I don't know. I think riot act and S/t are in conversation with each other more than any other two pj slbums

[mastaflatch]

i comfort my ego by thinking that i like this album because of the time it takes me back to and the memories i associate with it but last week, my girlfriend put it on while i was gardening (we have speakers outdoors) and found that, despite all that's been said about it and despite the fact that i agree with most of these statements (questionnable pacing, shitty sound, some horrendous lyrics, plain ole bad songs) i like this record.
it works for me. i'm not an audiophile as much as i'd like to and even if i can acknowledge the sonic weaknesses of S/T, i'd rather hear this than most of Backspacer.
it has some pretty good songs that i enjoy more than songs i'd rate higher, if it makes any sense. Comatose, Severed Hand, Parachutes, Big Wave, Army Reserve and the music to both Life Wasted and Inside Job - all great.
its biggest flaw is that it doesn't leave you wondering when the record's over. it's not a tricky album by any means. it's not the portrait of a band that has crossed a new barrier. in that sense, i'd liken it more to Yield than any of their other albums in the perspective that it somewhat went back to something more instinctive (Yield did that on the surface only, though). it was an album for them to enjoy playing live without all the hassle of counting time or learning new scales.

[digster]

A big thing I noticed when re-listening to S/T a few years ago was the complete inability on the band's part to either put together verses and choruses that made any sense being in the same song together, or worse, to undercut a promising song with a shitty section. WWS is a great example of the latter; it builds really well in the verse and pre-chorus only to have that moronic "it's a world. world over." , be what it was building to. Other songs like Marker and Army Reserve have great verses that just lose me when they transition into their choruses, even though in isolation they're not bad. What's left are some tired re-hashes (Severed Hand, Gone), a few near-misses, and one out-and-out stunner (Parachutes). I do agree with stip in the sense that it truly goes off the rails in the back half. If the quality of the first seven songs had been maintained, it still would have been their worst record by a considerable margin, but I don't think it would have quite the reputation it does now.

[knee tunes]

Major flaw is that it's self titled. I don't like that. I wish the album had a name.

and if it was really self-titled, wouldn't it be called "album"?

[Heathen]

Major flaw is that it's self titled. I don't like that. I wish the album had a name.

and if it was really self-titled, wouldn't it be called "album"?

or

[dimejinky99]

The title of this thread is awkwardly phrased.

What is Each Album's Major Flaw?

Pearl Jam.

[Huell]

Its definitely the mix for the biggest flaw. This should be an album you can crank up but it cannot take it.

Also as discussed before, there is something wrong with the drums on alot of the tracks. The snare is off or loose, and it takes the momentum from the songs

Can anyone advise if the vinyl mix turned out better? Or if there are better mixes available? This is a noted album for the effects of the loudness wars and how it can take away from the enjoyment of an album. Surely the band are aware of this, and if Ed is the audiophile he claims to be they would correct it

[stip]

A big thing I noticed when re-listening to S/T a few years ago was the complete inability on the band's part to either put together verses and choruses that made any sense being in the same song together, or worse, to undercut a promising song with a shitty section. WWS is a great example of the latter; it builds really well in the verse and pre-chorus only to have that moronic "it's a world. world over." , be what it was building to. Other songs like Marker and Army Reserve have great verses that just lose me when they transition into their choruses, even though in isolation they're not bad. What's left are some tired re-hashes (Severed Hand, Gone), a few near-misses, and one out-and-out stunner (Parachutes). I do agree with stip in the sense that it truly goes off the rails in the back half. If the quality of the first seven songs had been maintained, it still would have been their worst record by a considerable margin, but I don't think it would have quite the reputation it does now.

I love the danceable insanity of the WWS chorus, but otherwise that's a good point regarding the chorus. Especially on army reserve and marker (which is a great chorus but a pretty abrupt change from the verses)