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Pearl Jam - (self-titled 8th album) |
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Written by Drew
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
A quick disclaimer: This review is really geared towards Pearl Jam fans or at least people familiar with the previous albums. I just didn’t feel like trying to describe the Pearl Jam sound, so almost all of my musical references are internal to Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam has a thing with album art and begging the question, and their self-titled eighth studio release is no exception. Though, the avocado/puzzle/body part theme just seems so conventional compared to this week's other major release; you just can’t compete with 3D glasses built into the cd case. So, I’m afraid the focus here is going to be on the music.
At this point in Pearl Jam’s career, comparisons to earlier work are inevitable, and the word on the street is that this album is supposed to be their ‘return to form’. Pearl Jam’s ‘form’ being their first three (and most popular) albums: Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy. After a few listens, I respectfully disagree with the popular assessment. To me there is no question that Pearl Jam is a different band with different aims than they were in the early nineties and the music on this album certainly reflects that.
If you aren’t up on your Pearl Jam history, the big change came in the mid nineties during the No Code era witch included a Ticket Master battle, a new sound, and a bit of a touring hiatus. Pearl Jam buzz was huge when Yield hit in 1998 and the momentum carried through the Binaural tour when Pearl Jam released each concert on CD as an official ‘bootleg’. Binaural was a rather confusing album and the ‘bootleg’ discs saturated the Pearl Jam market, so the momentum didn’t last much longer than the Binaural tour. As a result Pearl Jam’s last two albums, Binaural and Riot Act, were somewhat overlooked by many people. They were not the instant gratification albums that people were looking for. However, I think the previous two albums contain plenty of material that set the stage nicely for the current ‘return to form’ that everyone seems to be talking about. As a whole, I feel that the new album has a great deal of resemblance to Yield, an exceptional album that was a rocking ‘return to form’ album back in 1998. Honestly though, people said the same thing about Riot Act, so is our self-titled subject any different? If you're expecting another Ten, you might as well forget it.
I think the new album has a lot going for it with one major exception. I’m not really wild about the single choice of “World Wide Suicide”. Lyrically it is a wonderful song that fits into the context of the album well, but I feel that the song is a bit too abrasive on the surface and just doesn’t come across well in a mainstream radio environment. I’ve been listening to people's reactions to “World Wide Suicide” for the last couple of weeks and the typical reaction seems to be that it is a negative song about a negative subject that people are bombarded with every day. It’s unfortunate, because I feel that this album is more about dealing with reality and finding peace, than it is about putting the war down.
The album is a lyrical portrait of a world at war with view points ranging from the omnipotent to the very personal. It is well crafted colloquy about the human condition that is virtually free of accusations and finger pointing, an impressive feat for such a politically charged album. The flow of this album from start to finish is admittedly better than on Binaural, Riot Act and this review. The first five songs are straight rock that almost overpower some beautifully heartfelt lyrics. Fans looking for some good ol’ Pearl Jam will certainly appreciate the Vitalogy-like “Comatose”, the No Code-esque “Severed Hand”, and the absolute gem that is “Marker in the Sand”, which almost has a Peter Buck kind of groove. The next group, with the exception of “Big Wave”, are solid mid tempo songs. Parachutes is a bit reminiscent of the lighter side of Binaural (“Light Years”, “Thin Air”), but the real highlight here is the empathetic “Gone” which has sort of a “Dead Man” feel to it. “Big Wave” is the obligatory hippie surfer song which Ed seems to write every couple of years. There is something about “Big Wave” that just doesn’t sit right with me. It sticks out on this album, and it’s the only song that I really feel tempted to hit the skip button on at this point. “Wasted Reprise” is a short segue into the piste de résistance of any Pearl Jam album, the closers. “Army Reserve” is about as close to Vs. as we’ll ever hear again. For a moment Ed’s voice is even reminiscent of the scathing “Blood”, a comparison that can’t be made lightly. “Come Back” is the song that first jumped out at me on this album. It takes the atmosphere of “Nothing As it Seems”, Boom Gaspar’s Hammond B3 organ of “Love Boat Captain”, and a sweet sweet vocal track from Ed to form a beautiful and instantly classic song. The closing track, “Inside Job”, is a song of self actualization, almost a call to action; a grown up’s version of “Indifference”. The album ends appropriately with the words “Life comes from within your heart and desire”. What more needs to be said?
This avocado album has a more focused theme than any previous Pearl Jam album. Though, it isn’t up there with Ten or Vs. in terms of the instant gratification factor. If you think back to Ten or Vitalogy or Binaural, those albums have wide emotional swings and deal with a variety of subjects, while subject matter and emotional state of the current album is relatively consistent throughout. It may just be that I am a fan of concept albums, but I think the flow of this album makes it one of the most listenable Pearl Jam albums in years.
Mookie Blaylock’s jersey hangs prominently in the rafters, but there is a new game being played on the court with new stars and new highlights being made. Welcome to 2006, welcome to the avocado. |
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