Ten by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam are:- Vocals: Eddie Vedder
- Rhythm Guitar: Stone Gossard
- Lead Guitar: Mike McCready
- Bass Guitar: Jeff Ament
- Drums: Dave Krusen
Please note, drummer Dave Krusen left soon after the mixing of this album and was replaced for the long term by Dave Abbruzzese.
Here it is - one of the defining moments of the grunge era and one of the best albums of the 90's. Pearl Jam was formed by members of Mother Love Bone after that band broke up due to the tragic death of the singer. For those interested, Mother Love Bone was made up of members of the former Green River, who split up due to creative differences (possibly Stone Gossard's careerism). Pearl Jam exploded onto the Seattle scene with a new californian singer. Soon they aqquired a record deal, the only Grunge band to be singed to a major label for their debut. They recorded the tracks mainly live, really loosely, in contrast to Mother Love Bone. Powered by major singles such as
Alive and
Jeremy, this album sold more than 10 million copies, and was only held off the number one chart position by Nirvana's classic
Nevermind.
This album's sound is somewhat bluesy. Pearl Jam's sound is something I really like about them. It is great that the guitar and vocals fit so well together. Every song is perfect. This album is a piece of rock history and in my opinion one of the best albums of all time.
Once
This excellent album opener starts quietly with drums but soon a classic riff can be heard. Pearl Jam's excellent sound is introduced in this song. Excellent singing on this song. A short, classic guitar solo is featured here.
5/5
Even Flow
Straight into the song this time. This song is about some people Eddie saw outside one night. Another great riff plays in the background of the verse. The guitar fits so well with the vocals. Another great guitar solo.
5/5
Alive
My favourite song on the album. Classic vocals, solo, everything. It slighlty autobiographical for Eddie*. It is about a boy who isn't told who his real father is, and when the real father dies the mother falls in love with the son because he looks like the father. The song opens with a great riff and then the drums come in. By now any listener will be in awe. Some nice lead guitar fills on this album, especially during the chorus. The solo is quite lenghty, but this is definately not a negative
thing. Eddie's vocal display during the chorus is impressive. The vocal break during the guitar solo is enthralling, as is the climax of the song, the solo itself. Every instrument moulds together so well, no wonder Pearl Jam are the most succesful grunge band.
5/5
Why Go
This song once again enters with an excellent riff. Anticipation builds to the chorus, but unexpectedly (in contrast to the earlier songs) the listener believes there is a quiet chorus with just vocals. A return to the verse riff precedes the actuall anthemic chorus. Yet another enthralling guitar solo.
4.5/5
Black
This enters with quiet guitar strumming and vocals. Soon the normal sound is restored and this song draws this listener in with it's perfect instrumentation. This song is perfect. This becomes something of a ballad, actually.
5/5
Jeremy
A HUGE hit for the band, and that is what contributed to them not releasing many more music videos. "We don't want our songs to be remembered as videos," Eddie said. "Some songs just aren't supposed to be played between hit number one and hit number three." This is one of those songs. Written about a boy that shot himself in front of his school class. This starts with a riff and drumming featuring use of the ride cymbals. Great lyrics are in this song. Eddie's vocals draw me (and you too) in during the chorus. Wow - is all I can say about this album so far.
5/5
Oceans
Straight in with vocals in this one, and the vocals have a great melody. The bass line complements the vocals well. Drumming doesn't stand out but a close listener will notice the fine relation between the floor-tom and the guitar strumming during some parts of the song.
4/5
Porch
A fast riff starts this song with some fast singing that is shown at other parts of this song. Once the chorus enters, the bass can be heard well and this becomes another classic Pearl Jam song. A decent dueling-guitars solo is featured here.
5/5
Garden
An arpeggio based riff starts this song and soon a sad tone is adopted. Great.
4/5
Deep
Straight into it again, with some skilled guitar 'licks' and a scream by Eddie. Some decent riffing during the chorus. This song features the soft/loud verse/chorus structure popularised by Nirvana but possibly invented by the Pixies. More guitar 'licks' are featured throughout this song and the rhythm guitar really adds to the song.
4.5/5
Release
The epic climax to this album comes in the form of the song Release. A riff featuring an arpeggio starts the song with some soothing singing by Eddie. Eddie singing reaches your heart and questions your values. Eddie is in no doubt singing about some things that are very painful to him. This album finishes in the way it started with some quiet drumming, before a hidden song featuring a riff that has probably already played on this album sometime.
4.5/5
*(see Alive). When Eddie was a child, the man who he thought was his father was nothing but a fake. (Paraphrased from Alive's lyrics). His real dad died and Eddie didn't get to know him.
This album takes me away to another place. After listening to it, you really feel something. I cannot praise it enough. Easily one of the best albums of all time. One of the great things about this album is that all the instruments work so well together and this proves Pearl Jam are definately a great band.
The songwriting is excellent. This album is
not typical of the grunge era, it is representative of the grunge era.
