Artist Spotlight: Pearl Jam

Ahhh grunge. You know we're sincere 'cause we dress poor.

It's time for another Artist Spotlight and with winter and rain here it seems fitting to cover my favorite band to come from the Seattle grunge scene. Pearl Jam rode in following Nirvana's wave of popularity that made alternative rock and specifically the downbeat, punky hard rock bands of grunge popular. From the beginning, Pearl Jam stood out as, well, being the grunge band with the most commercial sound while still retaining a strong sense of integrity. Unlike some 90's band that took a little time to grow on me, Pearl Jam I liked from the start. In someways they were the soundtrack to my 20's. Who knew this great band would start with a surfer and a demo tape?

Ten (1991)

When singer Eddie Vedder of the band Bad Radio received a demo tape from former Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Jack Irons, rock history was made. Vedder put vocals and lyrics to the demo of ex-Mother Love Bone guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and ex-Shadows guitarist Mike McCready. When Ten was recorded, Dave Krusen was the drummer who left after recording. Given clear, visceral production from Rick Parashar the group exhibited a muscular sound that had the anthemic rebellious qualities of The Who matched with a stripped down spikiness like The Police.

Ten is one of my favorite albums as they unwittingly made a great Arena Rock album. The thrashing "Alive" became the bands breakout song. "Even Flow" rocked harder and showed the band could pull the loud/soft dynamics was part of Nirvana's sound. " The surging "Jeremy" became an MTV standard as everyone tried to guess if the boy in the video shot himself or shot the classroom (the song was based on the true story of a boy who shot himself in front of the class that tormented him). The Stonesy ballad "Black" demonstrated Vedder's melodramatic delivery to strong effect.

Pearl Jam at this point managed to recall the greatness of other classic hard rock bands but wore enough flannel to seem current. It was a group I enjoyed listening to for their fire and honest approach to BIG RAWK glory. At the time, I was trying to wrap up college and with many of the bands I liked before breaking up was looking for something new to listen to. One album into their career, Pearl Jam had already generated a classic.

Singles soundtrack (1992)

Normally I don't count a soundtrack appearance as a perfomers discography unless they performed the whole album, but when I think of this movie I often think of Pearl Jam. Probably because most of them are in it playing Matt Dillon's band, Citizen Dick. The rocker "State Of Love And Trust" is one of my favorite PJ tunes and "Breath" was all over the radio. This appearance plus music videos and appearing on MTV Unplugged made Pearl Jam the band you couldn't escape from in 1992.

Vs. (1993)

Probably stunned by their own success, Pearl Jam was determined to break their "one trick pony" label of grungified Arena Rock. Tired of their own omnipresence, they quit making music videos particularly after being unhappy at the acclaim "Jeremy" received. At the same time, they loaded up some familiar sounding songs to avoid completely losing their audience. The result was the enervated but scattered Vs. album. Originally titled Five Against One until the media took it as a shot at their most famous critic, Kurt Cobain, Vs. finds the band upping the punkiness at times and introducing a new acoustic element. New drummer Dave Abrusezze had an even more Stuart Copeland feel to his playing but clashed with Vedder in terms of personality. The Southern rock anti-gun rant "Glorified G" is written as Vedder's response to Abrusezze buying a firearm.

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Musically, it's definitely a transitional album. The first single "Go" announced a less commercial approach overall as it hit the radio with it's rapid pace and frantic guitars. "Go" and "Blood" emphasized the punky edgy side of the band. Sequels to the hits from the first album abounded as "Dissident" was "Alive pt.2", "Animal" was the new "Even Flow" and "rearviewmirror" copied "Jeremy" except for the Rush style bass pattern. And The Police influence kicks into high gear on "W.M.A."

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But the acoustic side is what shines on Vs. Pearl Jam standards "Daughter" and "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" are the highlights here. "Daughter" is easily the best song on the album, an almost folk rock feel with lyrics that hint at the woes of child abuse.

Pearl Jam's career continued to fly high and succeeded in expanding their sound. On it's own terms, Vs. is a fun ride but not much more. Personally, I could relate to the need to make a step forward in life at that time and was dating my wife when she bought this CD. We both liked Pearl Jam and still have this CD in our collection, I often think of my wife when thinking about Vs. but that's more due to timing than anything else. There's really nothing sentimental on the album.

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Vitalogy (1994)

You're not a rock star until you make an album complaining about the rock star trip and with fame phobic leader Eddie Vedder it was inevitable. Vitalogy finds the band continuing to stretch their sound sonically with consolidating the overall approach so it all fit under one roof. Wild experimentation such as the White album era Beatlesque "Tremor Christ", accordion driven "Bugs" and the sound collage "Hey Foxymophandlemamathat'sme" broke new ground. Elsewhere, they built on the approach of the first two albums with the hyper punk "Spin The Black Circle", the swaggering Stones styled "Not For You"and the dark folk of "Immortaility".

The lyrics do their best to show Vedder and the band trying to keep fame at arms length, whether it's spiteful ("Not For You"), rueful ("Corduroy") or fighting it's attraction ("Satan's Bed"). Vitology was a darker album than the previous two (and with Pearl Jam that's saying something) but the band was able to keep their roll going . "Corduroy" and "Nothingman" weren't the singles but still made a huge impact on radio. Best of all, "Better Man", a song Vedder had from his Bad Radio days, proved to be a smash and is one of the best in their catalog.

My wife and I were just married and didn't have much money, I often associate this disc with living in our first apartment. The apartment was in a noisy neighborhood next to a hospital and the complex was shaped like a pill box. Vitalogy was one of the few CDs I bought at the time, so fortunately it was really good.

Merkinball (1995)

By the next year many changes took place that helped Pearl Jam dismantle the fame that had come the first half of the decade. They got into an extended battle with Ticketmaster that resulted in very little touring in the US. At the end of Vitalogy, drummer Dave Abrusezze was fired and replaced with Jack Irons. Then they recorded an album backing their hero Neil Young called Mirrorball (1995). Two left over tracks from those sessions, "I Got Id" and "Long Road", became Pearl Jam songs released on a two song EP called Merkinball.

"I Got Id" was another big radio hit, a midtempo anthem stamped with a stark guitar lead. The second song "Long Road" has become a minor PJ classic of sorts, a soft meditative song with a healing tone. Years later, the band used "Long Road" for the 9/11 tribute for one of that evening's best performances.

For me, I had started a new job and heard "I Got Id" as I drove home almost daily. So I always think of work when I think of this song.

No Code (1996)

I have reviewed this disc before on my Favorite 100 CDs list so I'll recap. Pearl Jam was reportedly not getting along well during the making of this disc and it shows. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. No Code shows the band dropping much of it's hard rock tendencies and loosening up. New drummer Jack Irons playing style was key to this as he replaces the Stuart Copeland influence with a bouncy garage band flavor. A former Chili Pepper, Iron's was also adept at polyrhythmic drum patterns like on the single "Who You Are". Neil Young's influence creeps in, particularly on "Smile" and the band strives to match Crazy Horse's Ragged Glory in their own terms.

Although it sold well initially, No Code was the first commercial setback for Pearl Jam. And they seemed unfazed by it. They actually seemed to prefer it.

Yield (1998)

Since they weren't going to break up, Pearl Jam continued forward but with a new attitude. Yield to me is the career album, not in greatness but instead a band deciding their in it for the long haul. As a result, much of Yield comes off as workmanlike. Where No Code showed the band's various songwriting elements pushing for more individuality, Yield yields a slightly homogenous product.

The Led Zeppelin "Going to California" influenced "Given To Fly" was the first single and most memorable piece from the album. Another strong rocker, "Do The Evolution" was very listenable and showed a rare flash of humor from an otherwise stern band. "Push Me Pull Me" was the next step in developing the groups spoken word / sound collage style. "MFC" was a nice little bit of stomping garage rock.

The rest of the album sounds great as well, but there is a sameiness to much of the disc. Like Pearl Jam, I had settled into a long haul with my work and could relate to it. Still, Yield is one of the lesser favorites this band has done and I rarely play it.

Later in the year, the band recorded their annual Christmas single that included a cover of a 60's R&B hit called "Last Kiss". The song became Pearl Jam's biggest hit single of their career much to their chagrin.

Binaural (2000)

Pearl Jam continued their commercial slide, intentional or not, with Binaural. Produced with that distinct murky touch producer Tchad Blake brings, PJ went into the new millenium with a different drummer. Jack Irons dropped out and was replaced by ex-Soundgarden stickman Matt Cameron. Cameron made his presence felt on the prior live album Live On Two Legs (1999) where he brought muscle back to the rhythm section. Expected to do the same here, Binaural was a bit of a disappointment for fans like me waiting for Pearl Jam to really rock again. As on No Code and Yield, there was an intentional shying away from playing anything remotely catchy to be sure no one outside of the immediate fan base liked it.

In contrast to their prior work, the musicianship and playing is tight and professional while the atmosphere is remote and mysterious. The songwriting was still more on the rote side with a touch of underwritten material despite inspired moments like my favorite track, the acoustic strumming "Thin Air". Vedder's ukelale backed "Soon Forget" is another memorable flash of humor. The Who styled opener "Breakerfall" was a rocker that would have made John Entwhistle proud. Taken in full, Binaural does effectively create a mood of communication breakdown.

The band witnessed a tragedy when a concert at Rockskilde resulted in the death of many fans during their set, almost resulting in the band breaking up.

For me personally, Binaural came at a time when the band I looked to for rock were mellowing out. I listened to it a bit at the time but usually forget the album when selecting music to listen to.

Riot Act (2002)

The last studio album for Columbia / Sony was the fittingly named Riot Act. Usually the last album in a contract of a formerly popular band is a last ditch attempt to sell out. "Like me or I won't have a job" is what these albums usually scream. Yet Pearl Jam persevered with their uncommercial approach. No anthems, no pop hooks, nothing to get them on the radio. What was there was the warmest effort they've done since Yield, they even brought in an organ player for some tracks.

Despite the refusal to sell out, Riot Act features tunes more accessable than the previous few discs. The lead single "I Am Mine" received radio play and was somewhat catchy in a seaside shanty kind of way. The oddly titled "Love Boat Captain" (not Captain Stubbing) was the catchiest thing they had released since "Better Man". My favorite on the disc, "Green Disease", rocked with fervor and of course a message.

In contrast to Binaural, this disc is practically glowing in delivering a real flesh and blood band. All of the songs are well written and thought out but not to the point of staleness. Riot Act isn't meant to sell millions of records but is a baby step towards re-establishing them in the public eye.

For me, Riot Act came at a time shortly after we had moved into our current address. I remember sitting on my relatively new couch listening to Riot Act play on the stereo so it is tied to these memories of getting used to a new place.

While on tour, the band starting to play the Bush /war bashing "Bushleager" at live shows generating a lot of heat for the group. Done at a time when the country was on the verge of war and President's Bush popularity riding high, Pearl Jam became the target for all liberal bashing pundits. Everyone, note to self-listen to Eddie Vedder next time.

Lost Dogs (2003)

Pearl Jam has one of the strongest cult followings in rock today and are a strong generator of bootleg recordings as a result. So much so, PJ took to recording and releasing just about all of their concerts. In the studio, rarities were all over the place so they decided to clean up with a two disc set. Lost Dogs brings in the Odds & Sods of their career, filling in the blanks with B sides and soundtrack cuts. The early Hendrix styled ballad "Yellow Ledbetter" finally gets an official release. The hit "Last Kiss" also gets the full CD treatment.

The set is uniformly good except for the deletion of lyrics from "Brother". For me, the Who cover "Leavin' Here" is a rampaging bit of good rockin fun. Because much of it was previously released or bootlegged their weren't any stand out tracks but succeeds in setting the band up for the next phase.

Pearl Jam (2006)

Effectively off of Sony and now free to make music on their own terms Pearl Jam returned to the Big Rawk. Easily their hardest rocking disc since their debut, Pearl Jam shows a band ditching their restraint and finally writing catchy songs. "Life Wasted" written following the funeral of a Ramone is one of their best ever. Thematically, Vedder has Iraq on his mind with "Marker In The Sand", "Army Reserve" and the excellent rocker "World Wide Suicide".

At this point, Pearl Jam was sort of forgotten about to me but this disc brought it all the way back. The band is alive and rockin again with an abandon not seen in years. Pearl Jam stands out as a whole more than the actual songs as I can't remember all of the tunes but recall being impressed with it as a whole. With newly restored vigor and relevance, Pearl Jam found themselves being censored on an online concert by AT&T.

For me, the album mirrored my own life in that it came at a time when new energy and a new approach was needed. One of my favorite discs of 2006, I rate this one as a welcome return to form.

In 2007, the band recorded a cover of the Who classic "Love Reign O'er Me". To hear it, just click below:

Pearl Jam - "Love Reign O'er Me"