Let's Actually Listen to the Album: Pearl Jam

[The Captain]

Its a bit weird, but when this album first came out I dismissed it out of hand and didn't listen to it again until last year. I think I was turned off by the start to Love Boat Captain.

For a website I am site editor of, I went back last year and did retro reviews of all the albums. I'm really glad I did as I discovered some really good songs I had missed.

My review is here http://www.unambitiousus.com/music-revi ... tled-2006/

All my other album reviews can be found on there as well.

My favourite songs from the album now?
Big Wave, Come Back, Love Boat Captain, WWS

[BurtReynolds]

[aurynsdad]

I know it's all opinion but anyone who thinks this piece of shit is better than the rest of the catalogue are in the minority and for a good reason.

"I know it's all opinion but anyone with an opinion different than mine is wrong." Ha. I love the self-titled album.

[harmless]

Its a bit weird, but when this album first came out I dismissed it out of hand and didn't listen to it again until last year. I think I was turned off by the start to Love Boat Captain.

For a website I am site editor of, I went back last year and did retro reviews of all the albums. I'm really glad I did as I discovered some really good songs I had missed.

My review is here http://www.unambitiousus.com/music-revi ... tled-2006/

All my other album reviews can be found on there as well.

My favourite songs from the album now?
Big Wave, Come Back, Love Boat Captain, WWS

There's something wrong here, can you tell what it is?

[stip]

Love boat captain should never be anyone's favorite song?

[Sgt. Crackpot]

Oh boy.

[harmless]

Are we witnessing the inevitable implosion of RM here?

[Kaius]

Avacado

[bada]

LBC is real good live.

[harmless]

So much better live than on Avacado.

[bada]

....but not as good as on Pearl Jam.

[hlniv]

Its a bit weird, but when this album first came out I dismissed it out of hand and didn't listen to it again until last year. I think I was turned off by the start to Love Boat Captain.

For a website I am site editor of, I went back last year and did retro reviews of all the albums. I'm really glad I did as I discovered some really good songs I had missed.

My review is here http://www.unambitiousus.com/music-revi ... tled-2006/

All my other album reviews can be found on there as well.

My favourite songs from the album now?
Big Wave, Come Back, Love Boat Captain, WWS

Welcome to the site. I think I read most of your reviews last year, and I must say, generally they made it quite obvious that there isn't a whole lot of depth to your listening. I encourage you to spend some time with yield, no code, binaural. If i remember, all of these got pretty bad reviews from you based on, in my opinion, pretty lame reasoning and shallow descriptions. Don't take that personally, I don't mean it as harsh as it sounds.

But, that's ok, it sounds like you are not quite the indoctrinated obsessive that many of the people are, ( or were at one time), so it's understandable. Just keep listening, and I promise many of the albums and songs you don't like, you will grow to appreciate a lot more than the ones you liked on new listens.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I just read that guy's reviews and my brain hurts again.

[Kaius]

I just read that guy's reviews and my brain hurts again.

You shouldn't subject yourself to that kind of torture.

[stip]

I just read that guy's reviews and my brain hurts again.

i know. he praised evacuation. i was surprised too.

thanks for sharing the links, captain. welcome to the board

[darth_vedder]

I just listened to the Black Market Avocado for the first time. Some clear improvements from the album there, very interesting.

I agree. I think hearing S/T live could be about the only live Pearl Jam I prefer over the studio. Pretty much every song from every other album I like better on the album, and S/T is the opposite.

I really hope they decide to remaster it one of these days. I don't think the album would jump much in the overall rankings, but I'd definitely enjoy listening to it more.

[Brett]

"Life Wasted": I've seen a number of people compare this one with "Breakerfall" and it's no surprise why. "Breakerfall" was the first PJ opener to start right out of the gate with no build-up, jamming, or false start, and "Life Wasted" is the second song to do so. Both are also pretty hard-hitting, energetic songs, but have differing approaches and aims. "Life Wasted" was basically supposed to be the band's "return to form," as was the entire "Avocado" album. I don't find this song particularly compelling; the main riff isn't really memorable, although the soloing is notable for being so present compared to much of the band's work in the intervening years. I think the only particularly memorable part of the song is the chorus, and, well, it's not great. There are also complaints about the fade being bandied about, which I guess I can understand if you want that ending solo to keep going, but it doesn't bother me.

"World Wide Suicide": I never really like "WWS" before, and I wouldn't rank it amongst my favorite PJ songs now, but listening here, it's more interesting than I gave it credit for. It's groovier than I remember, almost reminiscent of "Undone," which I like; at least in the verses. The pre-chorus and chorus are again pretty weak, and is probably where I direct most of my disdain. The bridge isn't particularly redeeming either, but the bass line that transitions to the final verse is neat, as is that guitar bit that plays over that verse (Mike or Stone?). I didn't mention Vedder's vocals yet, but so far, in this song and the prior, they're pretty "meh," which was another big turnoff for me. He's trying to sound young and it's not working.

"Comatose": I said before, I was never a huge fan of Pearl Jam's attempts to be a hard, fast, and heavy band, but I've started coming around to them. This song sits in that same kind of space as "STBC" and "MYM." I hated it when it first came out, but it's alright now. The intensity never lets up and it's more serious than the songs I compared it to, so it's good that it's short. Any longer and it would grate. The raspy vocals work here because of the style, but man, that clipping at the end is really annoying.

So those first three turned me off this album when it was new, and I don't really have any strong affection for them now. The next four songs on the album (which I'll address in my next post) are the only ones that I would take if I was to rebuild this thing from the ground up.

[Brett]

"Severed Hand": Somebody once mentioned that "Avocado" is supposed to be an art-rock album a la Riot Act, and this would be one song where I'd be inclined to believe that. The swelling opening is interesting, as are the lyrics that stand out to me. I feel like the pacing on this one is better than the first three, and the way that they settle into the bridge is a standout point. That final jam is fun to see in live videos, but on record it's not particularly remarkable, however I do like the transition into the outro proper.

"Marker in the Sand": Now this is something different. I like the contrast between verse and chorus. The former is kind of spiky and chugging, while the former is really smooth. The lyrics deal with some heady stuff, but, again, I'm not overly familiar with them. The short instrumental jam in the middle (I guess that counts as a bridge, maybe?) is rather cool, and has always been my favorite part of this song. It's sort of unexpected and throws some nice contrast on the rest of the track. The outro is also pretty fun with the sort of pseudo gospel sounds that really mesh with the subject matter.

"Parachutes": It was my favorite song on first listen, it's been my favorite in the intervening years, and it's still my favorite now. I still don't know how this one managed to slip into an album whose tone is so very different. I love the lilting guitars and the little keyboard touches throughout. Eddie's vocals fit really well, and the falsettos are an unexpected, but absolutely welcome change of pace. I also like how the whole thing is just slightly off-kilter to avoid being predictable, and it just feels very organic and free compared to everything else (Apparently, it also makes me write like a hippie...). The album standout.

"Unemployable": Another good song. Contrary to most, I like the lyrics on this one, and Eddie's delivery is pretty good. The bass notes that punctuate the end of each line in the verses are cool. I like Matt's drum work here; the tapping on the cymbals in the intro and chorus give it an interesting energy. I've heard, and dismiss the Shania Twain comments about the backing and wordless vocals. It's been done before her and will be done in the future, so it just seems like a lazy comparison to me. This song has the best outro on the album; it's another standout point of the record for me. One of the few songs on the album to consistently grow in my favor.

Okay, now the best part of the album is out of the way. As I said, I'd only save those four songs if I were to trash this album and make it new again, but as most everyone else is keen to point out, there needs to be some mastering issues worked out, too, if possible. There's still some aspects of this album that I like as the tracklisting goes on, but it's pretty downhill overall.

[Brett]

"Big Wave": I don't understand the appeal of this song for some people. Yeah, it's kind of "throwaway" and is supposed to be the "fun" song on the album, but I've always found it to be tedious. Definite b-side material. More painful screaming from Vedder. I do like the bridge and outro, though; the song's only redeeming qualities.

"Gone": I used to like this one early on, but it's kind of lost its luster. I don't remember the demo, so I'm not gonna make any comparisons there. I have a hard time deciding if this is over-arranged or if those extra touches are necessary to make it work. It's obviously ground that's been gone over before, which doesn't take points away on its own, but something just isn't there. I'm just now noticing Matt's drumming in the second verse; it's very understated and serves the tone really well. Kudos to that. Another song, that seems to overstay its welcome a bit, but I'm not sure where it could be trimmed.

"Wasted Reprise": Okay, maybe I'd keep this on my reimagined "Avocado," too, but I don't know how much sense it would make without the full song. Would be kind of funny though. Nice little callback to the band's "artier" moments, the keyboards are a nice touch. It's also notable for being the first reprise the band has ever used.

Welp, three more down, three to go.

[Brett]

"Army Reserve": Another one that has a bit of the spacier, artier style that maybe could have defined this album. The chiming intro's kinda neat. More sort of "choral" backing vocals. A lot of precursors to Lightning Bolt stuff on this record. Bits of "Infallible" and "Pendulum" seem to be rooted in this album's stylistic choices. I think I should probably enjoy this song more than I do, but it's just "there" and never seems to make an identity for itself. The only real background song on this record. It doesn't stand out for good or ill.

"Come Back": I somehow think this song could be better than it is. Bluesy gospel stuff that perhaps Pearl Jam just isn't quite soulful enough to pull off convincingly (it's a reaaaallll possibiltyyy!). They do make a dutiful effort of it, though. I would count this as another background type song like "Army Reserve," but it's different enough from the rest of the album to stand out. Might have worked as the closer. I like the understated "soloing" at the "it's okay" part, but it kind of gets rendered meaningless by the unnecessary ending tripe. Ah, well.

"Inside Job": Yeah, unfulfilled expectations here. The intro is pretty legendary for building into a half-baked mess. So many bad ideas went into putting this one together. Ugh, that piano; why? Cut the piano out and make this an instrumental, and it would actually be pretty good. Actually the full-throated, try-too-hard choruses would need to be toned down a bit, too, but I still feel there's unfulfilled promise here. That little sparkly bit at the end after the song's finished: is there a story behind that? That's another one of my favorite bits of this record, and I think I'll pull that out, too, for my rebuilt "Avocado."

I guess I'll close with saying that there's much on this album that I think was poorly chosen, or poorly performed, or just poor overall. Like I said, I might be ready to reassess this and put at the bottom of the pile, pending listening through again to Backspacer (Which has gotten less airplay than any others, save maybe the most recent, and I can't guarantee that either, so it should be interesting, because it's going to be pretty unfamiliar territory).