The Best Pearl Jam Album.

[Kensterberg]

Argh! I was sure you'd vote for PJ, Paul. Et tu Cookie?

There aren't any bad tracks on the self-titled. None. Not even a weak one. As good as No Code is, it's still got to carry the weight of both I'm Open and Around the Bend, neither of which are even 'good' cuts, much less great ones.

I love In My Tree and Off He Goes, and Who You Are is right there with Wishlist as the best of the monochord drones the band has messed around with, but I'd trade all those songs just for Unemployable, or Life Wasted.

I think that maybe I love the self-titled best in part because it comes the closest to what I'd like Pearl Jam to sound like: an American equivalent of the finest moments of the Who and the Clash. This is the album that punches and pushes and bullies and even croons its way to that kind of sound, it fulfills the promises made waaaaaay back on State of Love and Trust. Not a bad track, not even a wasted moment or opportunity. Maybe they should have called this album Not Wasted or something, because nothing here is spare, nothing is excess. From the brutally basic instrumentation to the primal kick that even the ballads carry, this is a lean, mean fighting-weight band at the peak of its powers.

Fuck it, I'm going to lapse into blithering fandom. It's the best record from last year. It might be the best record from this decade. In my humble opinion it is Pearl Jam's definitive recording. And it fucking rocks.

[Thorngrub]

Holzman's lapsing into blithering fandom

[Paul]

Ken, I thought about voting for Avocado, but in the end, No Code has my heart. I just relate to it more so than any other PJ album. You do make a very compelling argument for 'Pearl Jam' however.

I gotta completely disagree with you about "Around The Bend" though. I love that song. It's a heart felt lullaby kind of number. I'm not saying it's the strongest on the album by a long shot, but it's a pretty good song IMO. The only misfire on No Code is "I'm Open".

The first few songs on both albums are about as good as it gets for Pearl Jam.

I haven't listened to Avocado in a few months, probably since October, I may go re-listen this weekend. After last listen my favorite songs on the album were "Marker In The Sand", "Life Wasted", and "Parachutes".

[Thorngrub]

Another heartfelt lullaby kinda number, which for some totally inexplicable reason,
gets bashed around here or left out altogether, is the exquisite "Thumbing My Way",
man I love that song. You gotta be some cold heartless reptile to not dig it.

[Paul]

consider me a cold heartless reptile

I'm not much of a Riot Act fan, in fact I nearly lost my confidence in Pearl Jam because of that album. However, after 4 years the album upon further review isn't half bad.

"Can't Keep", "1/2 Full", "Ghost", and "I Am Mine" are all, IMO, top quality PJ songs. But for some reason, I've never been able to get into "Thumbing My Way" -- Actually, that probably would've been a better name for the album as opposed to Riot Act, because it seemed like Pearl Jam was simply thumbing their way through the songs.

[Thorngrub]

Call me a softy then. It's just a lovely little acoustic strummed tune, and very heartfelt.
Sure, Eddie's channeling his inner Bob Dylan, but since when is that a bad thing?
I love that song

[Paul]

Nothing wrong w/ channeling Mr. Dylan...I just wasn't a big fan of the song...I think something like "Parachutes" and "Sometimes" is more heart felt. But that's just me...it's good that we all have a difference of opinions.

[Thorngrub]

hell yeah it is. But if you don't change yours to match mine I'm going to have a fit. j/k

[upinkzeppelin2]

I've yet to hear the new PJ album, but I seriously doubt it would trump Ten - which gets my vote again. I remember the last time I put this poll up, No Code won by a landslide. Looks like it's happening again. No surprise there. I might even put it as my 2nd favorite.

[Kensterberg]

Pearl Jam blows Ten off the map, Melaun. Of course, Riot Act is the only PJ album that isn't better than Ten IMO, so that's to be expected.

Seriously, you haven't heard the latest PJ? OK, that's going in to the stuff I'm going to send you ... assuming I can find my way to the post office twice in the same calendar year! (I owe Ryo a set of live discs which I really need to get out).

[Kensterberg]

WTF voted for Riot Act? That can't have been a serious vote! Come back here, I wanna here your reasons for that, whoever you are ... and then pick those "reasons" apart piece by piece.

Riot Act is a bad record, no matter whose name is on it or what the circumstances around it were.

[rockysigman]

kenholzman said:

Pearl Jam blows Ten off the map, Melaun. Of course, Riot Act is the only PJ album that isn't better than Ten IMO, so that's to be expected.

Seriously, you haven't heard the latest PJ? OK, that's going in to the stuff I'm going to send you ... assuming I can find my way to the post office twice in the same calendar year! (I owe Ryo a set of live discs which I really need to get out).

I thought you had underlings that you forced to run errands like that for you.

[Kensterberg]

rockysigman said:

kenholzman said:

Pearl Jam blows Ten off the map, Melaun. Of course, Riot Act is the only PJ album that isn't better than Ten IMO, so that's to be expected.

Seriously, you haven't heard the latest PJ? OK, that's going in to the stuff I'm going to send you ... assuming I can find my way to the post office twice in the same calendar year! (I owe Ryo a set of live discs which I really need to get out).

I thought you had underlings that you forced to run errands like that for you.

Remember what happened the last time I had one of my minions go to the post office? NOTHING! If you want something done right ... well, put it in somebody's job description.

[Galactus]

Going to the post office is pretty easy job...maybe someone's hiring skills should be called into question?

[rockysigman]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH