There has been a lot of hype surrounding the new self titled Pearl Jam album as everyone says it is their best work in over a decade. Well that really says much since it can’t be hard to be better than the bland rock they have been churning starting with the release of No Code. But with that said, this album is indeed better than anything they have released during that time frame, but still is no way near as good as their first three albums.
The album is the band’s first in four years and the rest did do them good as there seems to be a spring back in their step, or it could also have been their time on the Vote for Change Tour lit a match underneath them, as sharing a stage with Bruce Springsteen can definitely have a positive effect on musicians. The album starts off with the twin guitar assault by Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on Life Wasted and the you should have downloaded it when it was free on the band’s website World Wide Suicide which roar with ferocity that will undoubtedly will become a highlight of their live shows. Then Comotose is fast romp that is the closest the band has gotten to puck yet.
But what made Pearl Jam great is their diversity, yeah, they rocked, but were still able to slow things down, go acoustic, and make some eerily good music too. Marker in the Sand effortlessly switches from an angst fill verse to a mellower chorus with ease. The back to back Parachutes and Unemployable both sound like something from the British Invasion. The conclusion on Wasted Reprise sounds like something that could have come off their collaboration with Neil Young on Mirror Ball. The somber Come Back is their most heart wrenching song ever not named Betterman. Then the closer is the very moody Inside Job that builds to a eerie conclusion that grabs your attention for all of it’s seven minutes.
The stories are more poignant as ever even as Eddie Vedder’s delivery seems to be more indecipherable as ever. World Wide Suicide is a full on assault on the Bush administration. Unemployable follows a dude just issued his pink slip on his journey on trying to get another job. But the one that hits closest to home, and happens to be the closest to the Pearl Jam of old, is on Army Reserve, an elegy to the wives and children of those serving in our armed forces today. Hopefully this album singles an upswing the band will be on for years to come.
Song to Download - Come Back
Pearl Jam gets a
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
All I can say is that if you think the music on albums like No Code, Yield, and Riot Act is bland then I'd like to know what you think is tasty. I mean with songs like Save You, Given to Fly, In My Tree, Around the Bend, Faithful, Sleight of Hand, Grienvence, I mean I could go on for days. These albums, songs, all come from different influences and have incredible depth and musical scale. This band is by far the most talented, gifted, and honest band ever. Perhaps you should go back and take a listen to the other albums again. They are all brilliant, each in their own right.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, that's just my opinion, at least we agree: this is the best thing I have heard from them in a while. Nice to have them back in the forefront of today's music.
I'm not saying the band hasn't had great songs in the past ten years, but there were plenty of songs on those three albums that I found skipping, and that was rare on the first three albums.
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