pearl jam

PropJoe10

I like alot of the songs on Backspacer but I cant listen to it as an album, and I dont really know why. After a few listens, I think Lightning Bolt will end up ahead of Backspacer in my PJ album list but its too early to say where yet. Getaway, Pendulum, My Father's Son, Yellow Moon and Infallible are probably my pick so far

I think I've now found a smaller group to be part of than that other one I've been in since 2009; The tiny 'I actually like Backspacer and think it is a good album' group, membership <1,000 worldwide

This new group is the 'Sleeping By Myself Defenders'! Let me explain roughly, I had no interest in hearing the Eddie-Uke album for whatever reasons when it came out, despite the fact that the 'Into The Wild' album is a regular player in my car. Since then, I'm still unaware of the songs from the Uke album, and the first time I heard SBM was on 'Lightning Bolt'. I have to say, not only do I not dislike it, but I quite like the melodies, harmonies and sounds in this song. I do not think that it doesn't belong to the album like many fans do, for me it fits in like 'Soon Forget' did on Binaural.

As of now, the song that doesn't fit on Lightning Bolt for me is 'Future Days'. It's weird for me, I think it's actually a good song but not for this Pearl Jam album. The last brilliant album closer for me was 'Inside Job' off of 'Avocado'. That song is a real team effort, a Pearl Jam song. With 'Future Days', I feel it is something that Eddie and Brendan tacked on to the album when the rest of the band were finished recording in the studio.

Anyway, all around I'm delighted with Lightning Bolt. For me, it is the 'truest' sounding Pearl Jam album since 'Riot Act' or 'Binaural'. The sonic depth on songs like 'Infallible', 'Pendulum' and 'My Father's Son' has not been present on a PJ record since the likes of 'You Are' and 'Sleight Of Hand' were recorded. I am complimenting the band with this achievement rather than the producer. Like 'Backspacer', I think the production on 'Lightning Bolt' is a bit too much and would love to see the guys try something different producer-wise on the next album, and hopefully there will be a next album.

By the way, I am generally a fan of Brendan O'Brien and the man is a bit of a personal inspiration for me, but I actually think he hates Pearl Jam...and that is another story

PropJoe10

Agreed on a change of producer, I think working with someone else could end up bringing even more awesome stuff out of the guys. Its great to see that they're still feeling creative and pushing the sound forward, even after over 20 years in the saddle. Best band around by a mile

smackbunnybaby

david75 wrote: »

Never ever ever understood the idea of waiting til it comes out.

It is out. It's been officially released on a stream in iTunes by the band.

Go for it!

And, backspacer? Really? It's a fine collection of songs but...

Is it all iTunes or just US iTunes?
I'm old-fashioned and need the physical release.
I find that it doesn't hold me back in life though. :-)

And Backspacer? Well i was expecting NOTHING from it and got a fantastic album. Probably why It means more to me than I had expected.

david75

I'm a backspacr fan too. Riot act and the god awful (for me) Avocado record were happily placed bottom of my list once it arrived:)
It's got great songs but it'll only really make sense completely once we have it context of the canon. It was the perfect record at the perfect time.

Lightning bolt seems to be like a No Code II. Strange left turns musically all over. Once it settles and time is spent with it, I can see it being a favourite.

david75

And sleeping by myself is excellent. Not sure that it fits in the record in any way shape or form but I am a fan.

fluke

stankratz wrote: »

I think I've now found a smaller group to be part of than that other one I've been in since 2009; The tiny 'I actually like Backspacer and think it is a good album' group, membership <1,000 worldwide

This new group is the 'Sleeping By Myself Defenders'! Let me explain roughly, I had no interest in hearing the Eddie-Uke album for whatever reasons when it came out, despite the fact that the 'Into The Wild' album is a regular player in my car. Since then, I'm still unaware of the songs from the Uke album, and the first time I heard SBM was on 'Lightning Bolt'. I have to say, not only do I not dislike it, but I quite like the melodies, harmonies and sounds in this song. I do not think that it doesn't belong to the album like many fans do, for me it fits in like 'Soon Forget' did on Binaural.

As of now, the song that doesn't fit on Lightning Bolt for me is 'Future Days'. It's weird for me, I think it's actually a good song but not for this Pearl Jam album. The last brilliant album closer for me was 'Inside Job' off of 'Avocado'. That song is a real team effort, a Pearl Jam song. With 'Future Days', I feel it is something that Eddie and Brendan tacked on to the album when the rest of the band were finished recording in the studio.

This. So much this.

I feel quite fortunate that I have a place in my heart for all the albums. They all have different memories for me - where I was in life, school, travelling etc. I see them more as chapters.

Also, I'd say that Backspacer group is bigger than you think. The backlash is just from the same few people on the same forums reiterating their points over and over again.

Each to their own and what they like but honestly the way some fans are on some of the other PJ sites you'd swear the band's creativity was dead after the Mamasan tape.

DD Mikasa

Why isnt the stream working for me? Seems to be working for everyone else. Just seems to give me options to listen to MYM and sirens

PropJoe10

DD Mikasa wrote: »

Why isnt the stream working for me? Seems to be working for everyone else. Just seems to give me options to listen to MYM and sirens

Maybe upgrade your iTunes or something? Sounds a bit strange.

DD Mikasa

Sorted it now cheers

Mental Mickey

Sirens is a gorgeous song. The guitar solo is absolutely brilliant. It's probably the best thing they've done in years??

Wooden Jesus

Love the album after a few listens. Pendulum is fantastic, really caught me off guard. Yellow moon would be a much better song to close the album but i cant complain future days is a pretty good song on its own merit.
Still dont know what to make of infallible its good but it annoys me

Mental Mickey

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Sirens is a gorgeous song. The guitar solo is absolutely brilliant. It's probably the best thing they've done in years??

.......................that, Mind Your Manners are the only two songs I've heard from it so far.

Mental Mickey

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Sirens is a gorgeous song. The guitar solo is absolutely brilliant. It's probably the best thing they've done in years??

Apparently Sirens isn't even good enough to be a modern day Bon Jovi B-Side, if you are to believe some of the 'fan' reviews around the net. For me, it is a show-stopper of a tune, something I did not see coming. I thought if PJ were ever to release a song like this, they'd at least keep it under 4 minutes to make it radio-friendly but no, 5 mins 30s of beauty is what they've written, recorded and presented to the world. Plus it features the most passionate and melodic Mike McCready guitar solo that I can remember on a PJ record since maybe Avocado's Come Back or Riot Act's All or None. The final part of the solo that echos back into the intro chords of the song does it for me most.

That said, apart from the flat-out wrong 'Bon Jovi' comparisons being thrown about, Sirens is not a song for every Pearl Jam fan and like any piece of work in the public domain is rightfully open to and deserving of some kind of criticism. I'm just more inclined to agree with statements like "It's not my thing/It doesn't do it for me" than somebody stating as fact that "It's shít/terrible/god awful" when clearly a song like Sirens is not any of those things.

There's Yellow Moon, a song off the new album that is being proclaimed by many fans as a masterpiece. So far on my few listens, not only can I not hear that yet but it is far from the many songs that I look forward to listening to when I put on the album. There is no way in the world though, as a fan of this band, that I could call it in any way a genuinely terrible song, or shíte, or a Neil Young B-side (which could also be complimentary!) As well as that, I know myself from past experiences that when it comes to this band the songs I don't gel with instantly can be the ones that have the greatest effect further down the road. For years I skipped 2 songs in particular...Tremor Christ off Vitalogy and No Way off Yield, bonkers I know. These songs finally clicked with me in a big way and then I got to hear them both at the same gig in Belfast 2010 where I almost melted into the floor.

Anyway fúck all that, it just goes beyond me how easily people can rank something so new alongside albums that have been released and in their minds/lives for 13-22 years. "Not in my top 6 Pearl Jam albums"...well of course it fúcking isn't! Maybe when you actually get the thing in your hands, listen to it to at least the point where you can remember and identify songs beyond "that song with the cheesy wo-wo-woo synth effect" before you dismiss it (for the benefit of yourself) and publish your opinion that it is "laughable crap" on the band's 'fan forum' (for the benefit of the band you 'love'). At this early stage, I can only say that songs like Getaway, MYM, My Father's Son, Sirens, Lightning Bolt, Infallible, Pendulum and Swallowed Whole give me hope that someday I will consider this collection a classic. I have taken more songs out of this album on the first few listens than I did in 2 years with Binaural, which is now an ironclad favourite of mine.

Sorry folks, I'm just venting here. I know it's the internet, but the amount of negativity I've read in the last few days directed at the band and the rest of us who are trying to enjoy a good thing for what it is makes me question why some people call themselves fans in the first place. Of course I'm not talking about Boards, but over on the 10c forum where fans allegedly spend their time. Between complaints of "My seats which I haven't actually seen yet suck" and "They only played 27 songs, bit of a letdown" to the everyone-knows-better-than-the-band comments like "They should have put that disjointed Avocado B-side which has only been heard live a few times on the album instead of song X", I really do think we as Pearl Jam fans have been spoiled over the years. Sadly there are those of us who can see it and act accordingly, and then there are the rest which leads to me wasting page space with posts like this!

TL:DR Eh...I'm not even sure, but yeah Mickey I think Sirens is a cracking song:D

david75

Great post. And I agree with 99% of everything you said.
I'm sure it's fans of any band that have a rabid fan base are like this but maybe not? Pj fans have been spoiled I think. And with the result the complain. Endlessly. About everything. It's beyond tiresome. I rarely read the 10c forum. It's either blind sicophants jizzing all over the band/tenclub, or constant bitching about anything and everything.

Lightning bolt is a strange one. I think it's like a No Code. It'll only really reveal itself if you out in the time with it. I'd love to see where we all are with it in a years time.
It'll also be interesting to see what songs survive in the live setting.
This band have an annoying habit of writing songs for an album then discarding them utterly (still haven't seen force of nature live and I'd love to).
There's so many curveball tunes on this one. I've no idea how this will go.

The tour starts tomorrow night. And tenclub have said things are getting changed up and there's gonna be a lot of experimenting going on. What with the no support acts for the first leg, this might mean acoustic sets? A long wished for addition to the Pj live experience. I'd like to see that. If they pick the right songs.

Pj seem to pick two 'rarities' per tour and only really get good at playing them towards the end of the tour. Which is what, 2/3 weeks long usually?
It's going to be an interesting few months, watching what shape these set lists take and how this record is represented.
I'll be watching closely.

PauloConn

Has there been any mention of a European leg of the tour??

david75

None. Good possibility for next summer. Rumour is they've already booked an Italian leg at least. Nothing concrete or confirmed yet at all though.

PropJoe10

I really cant make up my mind about this album. Theres some amazing stuff - really liking Getaway, MYM, Fathers Son, Yellow Moon, Pendulum and Infallible. Let The Records Play is terrible though, Swallowed Whole is so-so. I'm hoping these tunes will be growers.

Mushy

david75 wrote: »

None. Good possibility for next summer. Rumour is they've already booked an Italian leg at least. Nothing concrete or confirmed yet at all though.

I think its a given for next summer, just waiting to finalize then announce it. Wont be for a while though.

crazygeryy

Mushy wrote: »

I think its a given for next summer, just waiting to finalize then announce it. Wont be for a while though.

Yup thomond park next summer for sure. :-)

david75

That might not be as bizarre as it sounds.

You get a free pj poster if you buy LB in tower

Hyperbullet

Matt Cameron must be the busiest drummer going these days. Barely gets any time off between Soundgarden tour and the Pearl Jam U.S. trek. Don't know how he keeps going!

Sugarlumps

Chaps an animal drummer, if you love doing what your doing then why stop? I presume he doesn't have kids?

PickledLime

Liking this so far - Sirens being the highlight. Nothing approaching The Fixer though, probably my favourite song since the Vitalogy days (and yes, I'm also in the "Backspacer is a great record" club )

Agree that it has that sort of unfocused (in a good way) No Code vibe to it. When's it getting a physical release? Hifi + headphones is the only way to do it proper justice.

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Riot Act is great. But its too long. Cut out Get Right, Green Disease and Help Help and you have a great record from start to finish, pretty much.

green disease is a great bloody tune!!

Fi H

hahaha thomond park would be awesome
that and download festival!

david75

It was released yesterday. Everyone in Pj has kids except Jeff I think?

Lasts nights set. First of the tour. Looks epic



11 October 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA

Pendulum
Of the Girl
Nothingman
Small Town
Lightning Bolt
Mind Your Manners
Animal
Got Some
Given to Fly
Untitled
MFC
Faithfull
Sirens
Unemployable
Why Go
Daughter
Infallible
Let the Records Play
Unthought Known
Rearviewmirror

Speed of Sound
Yellow Moon
Footsteps
Whipping
Do the Evolution
Better Man
Porch

Black
Alive
Rockin' in the Free World
Yellow Ledbetter

david75

01. Pendulum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eZxnruZb5Y

05. Lightning Bolt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvRsmX8VIpE

13. Sirens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1vpvWqDgMk

17. Infallible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9bbyvQigGs

18. Let The Records Play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM4LLw8M9so

22. Yellow Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkMgkrD2cDc

crazygeryy

Credit where its due david.your on the ball.

david75

Wanted to be a little bit on the ball.
Going to the two Brooklyn shows this week.
Hoping the sets won't travel back to the middle by then. We'll see