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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 9:07:22 GMT -5
It's criminal that State Of Love Trust isn't on an album. SOLAT is easily one of my top PJ songs. It should've made either Ten or Vs. "Hard To Imagine" should be on a proper album as well.... |
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Post by Kensterberg on Apr 5, 2006 9:07:44 GMT -5
FWIW, State of Love and Trust is by far my favorite early PJ track. One of my five faves by them, ever. SoL&T was the first track that really made me pay attention to PJ.
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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 9:09:47 GMT -5
FWIW, State of Love and Trust is by far my favorite early PJ track. One of my five faves by them, ever. SoL&T was the first track that really made me pay attention to PJ. Wow! That's pretty much exactly how it is for me. The remix on the Greatest Hits album sounds even better than the version that's on the Singles soundtrack. |
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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 9:10:06 GMT -5
So Ken,
are there any Riot Act songs you do like?
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Post by Kensterberg on Apr 5, 2006 9:13:23 GMT -5
So Ken, are there any Riot Act songs you do like? Gonna have to listen to it again and get back to you on that one. I'm off to court now ... so it'll be later today (or maybe even tomorrow) before I have anything more to say 'bout PJ. But this does seem like a good time to revisit Riot Act (and maybe some other older Pearl Jam releases) in preparation for the new LP. |
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Post by Galactus on Apr 5, 2006 9:15:00 GMT -5
Jeremy is probably my least favorite song on Ten. I love Oceans, Black, Even Flow, Deep Porch... I just really like most of it, especially the live versions. I think it's held up, songwritting wise, better then Vs. Again though I hardly ever listen to any of studio albums anymore. ...maybe of have some extra time tonight I'll zip up and YSI my live versions of each album. "Jeremy" is one of those songs like AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" that I'd be happy to never hear again. I used to think both were OK, but I don't even know how to describe how utterly sick of both songs I am. "Deep" is another cool one from Ten. I disagree w/ you though that the songs have held up better than the Vs. songs....IMO "Go", "Animal", "Blood", and "RVM" all sound more alive (no pun intended), and better today than the songs from Ten. Yeah, I guess I'm there with Daughter and Elderly Woman, I be okay if I never heard them again...still love Go, Animal, RVM and Indifference and the rest is just okay. Rats is cool on the rare occastion they pull it out. |
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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 9:17:48 GMT -5
I'd love for them to play "Rats" again live; don't think they've played it since 1996.
I have a massive wishlist (no pun intended) of songs I'd love to hear live...
For starters, they should start playing "Who You Are" again...
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Post by Paul on Apr 5, 2006 10:26:17 GMT -5
Pitchfork review of World Wide Suicide Wed: 04-05-06
Pearl Jam: "World Wide Suicide"
genre: rock
Meet the new Pearl Jam, same as the Pearl Jam that grungy fuddy-duddies cut bait on once the group became insular and phrenological. Though such a position wrongly excludes more than half of the band's catalog from any sort of love, those fair-weather fans might be in the right when it comes to this song. The group's efforts to quote rock unquote sound pretty flat-- you'll believe that this is the group's eighth album. As for what the lyric sheet holds, Eddie's attempts to zing a certain jug-eared preznit one more time ("Tell you to pray while/ The devil's on his shoulder") are equally lackluster. The belabored baseball metaphors on Riot Act were a better vehicle for beating around the bush than this well-intentioned what-is-it-good-for gnashing. If this single is indicative of what Pearl Jam's self-titled album has to offer, Clive Davis might have to spring for Rick Parashar's magical flange to recoup his investment. [David Raposa]it got two and half stars outta five www.pitchforkmedia.com/tracks...05.shtml#song2 pretentious wankers! |
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Post by Thorngrub on Apr 5, 2006 10:41:54 GMT -5
Well all I gotta say is, you'll pardon me Dave Raposa if I must temporarily suspend my disbelief that you are in any way shape or form a higher authority than me when it comes to what quote rocks unquote.
We'll soon see...
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Post by Kensterberg on Apr 7, 2006 16:41:44 GMT -5
OK, I've listened to Riot Act a couple more times, and here's my review of it c. 2006 ...
Sometimes you go back and revisit an album, and realize it's a lot better than you'd thought at the time. Other times, you discover that it was much, much worse than you'd initially realized. When Pearl Jam released Riot Act back in 2002, I gave it a few spins, but it never really made a huge impression on me. An alright enough record, I thought, but one that just didn't really resonate with me at the time. After all, I already knew that George W. Bush was a manipulative idiot, and that two guitars, bass, drums and vocals make for the best rock and roll instrumentation. Maybe I should've just left well enough alone.
There's only one really big problem with this album: the songs just aren't very good. The production is perfectly mediocre - neither the best nor the worst of the band's career, and neither detracting nor enhancing the experience of listening to these songs. No, the problem is much more fundamental. Pearl Jam's best work has sounded engaged with weighty topics without ever being weighed down with political specifics. There is no particular villian for the rage in "Corduroy," for example, but the anger and frustration are palpable, and the track winds up speaking personally to most of the band's fans, and almost anyone who loves rock and roll. This time around, the songs attempt to be much more pointed, but this winds up keeping them from being truly engaging. Vedder's overly wordy lyrics hamstring any attempt at the kind of soaring melodies that make so much of the PJ catalog memorable and invigorating, and the rest of the band seems to be just as void of any ideas. So the whole thing just sort of churns along as a forgettable mush. "Love Boat Captain," which attempts to fit into the "Elderly Woman ..." or "Betterman" school of not-quiet ballads, is probably the worst offender here: a track so concerned with its lyrics that it loses any musical appeal, and ultimately fails on a lyrical level. The biggest exception to this is the striking, moody, meditative "I Am Mine," which actually manages to make a virtue out of Vedder's wordiness and atonality. Sounding not unlike an outtake from a better PJ record (it's an almost perfect companion piece for "Wish List"), "I Am Mine" reminds the listener why they fell for Pearl Jam in the first place. Too bad the rest of the record makes you wish that Vedder et al remembered it, too.
Other tracks that are at least worth hearing include "Green Disease" and "1/2 Full." The rest of the record, unfortunately, marks a low point in PJ's post-Ten output. In fact, this is the first time ever that the band have made a record which doesn't top the quality of their debut. If I can take any consolation from this revisit to Riot Act, it is that the band seems to have stumbled in part b/c they were trying too hard. Vedder, in particular, seemed to want so badly to get his lyrical point across that he forgot some of the basics of songwriting. Hopefully, the next time out Pearl Jam (who have often sounded uncomfortable and forced in the studio, but almost always have emerged with great songs) will ease up on the wip a bit, and make another record worthy of their talents.
Overall rating: 2 1/2 stars. Biggest disapointment in the PJ catalog.
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Apr 8, 2006 4:42:56 GMT -5
You're harsh on Ten. There's some great stuff on that album and scarcely a bad song. Only the production holds it back, which is why latent classics like "Porch" really strut their stuff in the live arena.
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Post by Galactus on Apr 8, 2006 9:29:51 GMT -5
You're harsh on Ten. There's some great stuff on that album and scarcely a bad song. Only the production holds it back, which is why latent classics like "Porch" really strut their stuff in the live arena. Seriously anyone that has questions about great Ten is should compile a live versions album...hell, I'll do it for you. I'll YSI "Live Ten" later tonight. |
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Post by Kensterberg on Apr 8, 2006 21:36:26 GMT -5
You're harsh on Ten. There's some great stuff on that album and scarcely a bad song. Only the production holds it back, which is why latent classics like "Porch" really strut their stuff in the live arena. Seriously anyone that has questions about great Ten is should compile a live versions album...hell, I'll do it for you. I'll YSI "Live Ten" later tonight. I can't agree with you guys about the merits of Ten. If I never heard Alive again, I wouldn't miss it. Black is cloying in the studio, but works (at least most of the time) live. Evenflow and Jeremy are about the only things on there I really like, and they both get much better live. Esp. Evenflow. |
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Post by Paul on Apr 10, 2006 8:05:59 GMT -5
Nice write up on Riot Act Ken. Many of the points you make, I feel the exact same way, but I think I like the album just a notch more than you....
I'm glad you pointed out "1/2 Full" and "Green Disease" as tunes you dig. The former I used to hate, but is now a song I enjoy to listen to. "Green Disease" has always been the stand out track for me, and I think still holds up the best. I believe you were spot on w/ "LBC"....talk about trying too hard and just falling flat! No love for "Can't Keep"? Along w/ "GD" I feel it's the second strongest track on the album..."Save You" is another I think falls under what you describe as trying too hard...It's not a bad song, just in the middle somewhere, and lacks the true vibe and passion of better rockers like "Hail Hail", "Even Flow", or "Do The Evolution"...What did you think of the more experimental tracks like "Help Help" and "You Are"?
Good call on the production as well. Describing it as perfectly mediocre is a good way to put it...It certainly doesn't take away from the album, but w/ lackluster songs, better production could have helped. Based on the one song I've heard from Pearl Jam (World Wide Suicide) it sounds like the production is about the same (Adam Kasper still producing), but hopefully the songs have better hooks, are more alive (no pun intended), and have the energy that Riot Act seemed to lack.
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Post by Paul on Apr 11, 2006 13:20:00 GMT -5
Here's a link for a leaked Pearl Jam song from the new album...It's called "Parachutes" For the most part I've stayed spoiler free for this album, but I couldn't resist my curiosity and listened to this track...It's very, very different from "World Wide Suicide" and very different from anything I've heard Pearl Jam do...I don't know if this is exactly a good thing, but I can picture this song growing on me, and enjoying this song when I'm by myself.... If you're interested, here's the link... analoggiant.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-pearl-jam.html |
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