Red Mosquito

I recently had quite a few hours travelling to/from shows so I thought I’d listen to all the official albums in order to feel how the band has evolved. Unfortunately it was in a bomb with a shite stereo but it’s another unique situation to hear these songs consistently. Oh and Hey Foxy wasn’t included. That turd doesn’t exist in my life. All original releases too, no re-issues/remixes.

Ten
Fuck me but that is one hell of a debut. Takes me back to 92. I can’t believe just how metal some of the solos are and some of the sonic treatments. Reverb on vox, massive drums, Mike’s guitar tone. This is still an amazing album for me that I probably can’t judge objectively.

VS
Slimmed, trimmed of all the fat. This is one lean mutha. A lot of this has to be credited to both Dave A and BoB. This has so much punch and feels like a live album with a couple of overdubs.

Vitalogy
PJ prove it was possible to trim even more fat off. This is abrasively in-ur-face through performance alone. Not sure how many of you guys play music yourselves but when you have a live intense jam that almost unravels, that’s what this album feels like. Even though PJ were rallying against becoming the biggest band in the world, the beast had so much momentum that it just couldn’t not happen. I love the filler tracks too (excepting Foxy).

No Code
Sonically different with some iffy transitions. I enjoyed this immensely more than I thought I would, well at least until Mankind>>. I believe PJ didn’t have the strength to completely commit their vision to this album and a double album would have served them better. The punk songs seem to have been squashed in. I guess if I’d bridged into No Code with Merkinball then the transition mave have been smoother. Side A of No Code is up there with Ten and Vitalogy as the best run of tracks in their catalogue.

Yield
Tracks 1-4 are amazing and run together so so well. Then we have Wishlist. I enjoy Yield more without it and I’m beginning to really warm to this album.

Binaural
Is a mess of an album but the songs are there. Some great songs and some amazing sounds. Pity it wasn’t fully committed too.

Riot Act
I love this album up to Get Right/GD. I appreciate the little excursions but I don’t want to hear them very often. You Are and All Or None are top drawer.

PJ
Again Side A is so so strong but the sound is such a downer. The last few tracks stutter a bit both due to poor production and/or performance. Or is Gone really that bad a track?

Backspacer
I like this album but it is a step down from the rest. Including 2 solo eddie tracks (JB and the End) bums me out. I’d prefer them elsewhere and not anywhere near a PJ album. Enjoyable but not essential.


In short, this is one hell of a catalogue that few bands could match. I had extra time on my trip and I replayed from Leash to Immortality and then Life Wasted to Big Wave. It may have been that it was 2am and I needed to be pumped/awake or the shit stereo responded to harsher and more immediate tones but these were the choices. Highly recommended if you have a long road trip.

I like this and appreciate your Pearl Jam stamina. One time, just before the release of the self-titled album, I think, I counted down the days by slowly making my way through one album a day until the release...fun but exhausting. Maybe I will do that for the next album.

LetMeSleep wrote:Or is Gone really that bad a track?

yes.

liebzz wrote:I like this and appreciate your Pearl Jam stamina. One time, just before the release of the self-titled album, I think, I counted down the days by slowly making my way through one album a day until the release...fun but exhausting. Maybe I will do that for the next album.

If you start now, you might be able to include all of the official boots as well!

AndySlash wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:Or is Gone really that bad a track?

yes.

yes.

bodysnatcher wrote:

AndySlash wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote:Or is Gone really that bad a track?

yes.

yes.

I like Gone.

I think Ed's solo demo on the Christmas 7" is really good, it's just not a song that gives the band a lot to work with.



It's a persistent problem I have with Ed's songs he's written for the band, as I explained in the 10th album thread. They very often don't have the kind of open spaces for three guitars, keys, drums and bass to do interesting things.

LetMeSleep wrote: Ten
Fuck me but that is one hell of a debut. Takes me back to 92. I can’t believe just how metal some of the solos are and some of the sonic treatments. Reverb on vox, massive drums, Mike’s guitar tone. This is still an amazing album for me that I probably can’t judge objectively.

We've been over it before ad nauseum about how we're all so jaded about this thing from a combination of repetition and production, but holy shit this is a DEBUT album from a band that was together for a few weeks. Objectively incredible if you can listen without prejudice George Michael style.

evenslow wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote: Ten
Fuck me but that is one hell of a debut. Takes me back to 92. I can’t believe just how metal some of the solos are and some of the sonic treatments. Reverb on vox, massive drums, Mike’s guitar tone. This is still an amazing album for me that I probably can’t judge objectively.

We've been over it before ad nauseum about how we're all so jaded about this thing from a combination of repetition and production, but holy shit this is a DEBUT album from a band that was together for a few weeks. Objectively incredible if you can listen without prejudice George Michael style.

Yeah perhaps I should have prefaced my comment with Fuck me but that is ine he'll of a debut. Also I have lived with the remix for years so it was very interesting to hear the original again. I often forget how much the 80s carried through into the nineties ie clothing, film, haircuts etc.

LetMeSleep wrote:

evenslow wrote:

LetMeSleep wrote: Ten
Fuck me but that is one hell of a debut. Takes me back to 92. I can’t believe just how metal some of the solos are and some of the sonic treatments. Reverb on vox, massive drums, Mike’s guitar tone. This is still an amazing album for me that I probably can’t judge objectively.

We've been over it before ad nauseum about how we're all so jaded about this thing from a combination of repetition and production, but holy shit this is a DEBUT album from a band that was together for a few weeks. Objectively incredible if you can listen without prejudice George Michael style.

Yeah perhaps I should have prefaced my comment with Fuck me but that is ine he'll of a debut. Also I have lived with the remix for years so it was very interesting to hear the original again. I often forget how much the 80s carried through into the nineties ie clothing, film, haircuts etc.

Liked your point about the metal creeping in as well - there are moments on Ten that are somewhat Alice in Chains-ian.

Definitely. I think Sap and Ten were recorded in the same studio. Possibly same engineers. AIC and SG were the links between metal and grunge for sure.

emanon wrote:

liebzz wrote:I like this and appreciate your Pearl Jam stamina. One time, just before the release of the self-titled album, I think, I counted down the days by slowly making my way through one album a day until the release...fun but exhausting. Maybe I will do that for the next album.

If you start now, you might be able to include all of the official boots as well!

I might hate Pearl Jam if I did this. My wife would also most assuredly divorce me.

Birds in Hell wrote:I think Ed's solo demo on the Christmas 7" is really good, it's just not a song that gives the band a lot to work with.



It's a persistent problem I have with Ed's songs he's written for the band, as I explained in the 10th album thread. They very often don't have the kind of open spaces for three guitars, keys, drums and bass to do interesting things.

Speed of Sound suffers from the same problem.

I'm imagining an album of solo Vedder with Gone, Just Breathe, The End, Speed of Sound. These songs should not have been on PJ albums.

LetMeSleep wrote:I'm imagining an album of solo Vedder with Gone, Just Breathe, The End, Speed of Sound. These songs should not have been on PJ albums.

Agreed.

That Speed OF Sound demo is so, so good. I like the album version too, but that demo is far superior.

This is a great thread and all, but the fact that you don't like Foxy negates everything positive about you.

PHATJ wrote:That Speed OF Sound demo is so, so good. I like the album version too, but that demo is far superior.

Is that on Gremmie?