Review Summary: With high production values and an art rock approach, this could be a comeback for Eddie Vedder and co.
Pearl Jam
Riot Act
Epic Records, 2002
Pearl Jam is...
Eddie Vedder: Vocals
Mike McCready: Guitar
Stone Gossard: Guitar
Matt Cameron: Drums
Eleven years after the release of their debut, Ten, Pearl Jam had released seven studio album. Each one of these albums managed to differ from one another, with a new concept brought to the table alongside every new release. No Code used world music to it's advantage, Yield tried mainstream rock, and Binaural attempted art rock. Unusually, Riot Act appears to be the band taking another shot at creating art rock, this time with minor folk influences.
Production on previous albums, ever since the streamlined Ten, has always been a bit hazy, with various instruments (especially the bass) often being drowned out due to the muddy production values. Riot Act takes a different approach, with the production at top notch. Every single drum hit by Matt Cameron is perfectly audio, and Eddie Vedder's powerful voice is clearer than ever before. The bass, while not always audible, still manages to make the occasional appearance, often when the guitar distortion has been toned down.
Similarly to Yield, the line between ballad and hard rock has been crossed. Unlike past albums, there are no punk rockers here, which may come to a disappointment to some, as the harshest Pearl Jam songs also managed to be among their best ('Do The Evolution', 'Animal'). As for ballads, only the depressing 'Love Boat Captain' and the rather mediocre 'Thumbing My Way' really stand out as carrying the torch of such classics as 'Nothingman', 'Off He Goes', and 'Black'. Without the inclusion of these two styles of music, we are left with a series of mid tempo rockers. These include the epic album opener 'Can't Keep', the catchy riffing of 'Cropduster', and the slow temp 'I Am Mine'.
Musically, the album has neither improved nor worsened from their previous efforts. Matt Cameron is an excellent drummer, and manages to prove his abilities once more, this time adding catchy fills and rolls to his technique. Guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready both up the distortion here, and create gigantic, powerful riffs in the process ('Green Disease', 'You Are'). Unfortunately, they once more deny the listener of any noteworthy soloing, which comes as quite the disappointment after the heartfelt solos found on Binaural. Jeff Ament, the ever present bassist, has some decent bass lines, and ups the distortion quite often for a more grungy feel. 'Save You' contains one of the best bass lines of Jeff's career, and is prove of his talent and instrumental abilities.
Over the years, it is clear that Eddie Vedder's voice has been losing much of it's power and ability. His deep, powerful moans and howls found on Vs. and Ten are virtually non existent, which is unfortunate, as some areas of songs sound as if they could use an animalistic shriek or two. 'You Are' is an example of the deterioration of his abilities, with his voice often sounding shaky and out of place. Despite these minor hiccups in his vocal abilities, his voice is still quite impressive, if not the album highlight that it used to be. Lyrically, Eddie seems to have taken a much more political stance. This is quite evident on the bizarre 'Bush Leaguer', which complains about all of the issues with the Bush administration. While not as openly annoying as say, Green Day, this political stance does not act as a strong point, and some who appreciated the much darker lyrical content of old, will be disappointed. The two ballads, 'I Am Mine' and 'Love Boat Captain' show a different side to the lyrics, with the former dealing with accepting life and death, and the latter reaching out to the families of nine people who died during a Pearl Jam show in Denmark.
Many songs here manage to be mediocre, unfortunately, and almost seem to act as filler. 'Get Right' is an annoying little tune, and seems like a shorter version of 'You Are', whose funky guitar and vocals manage to be head-achingly out of place with one another. 'Help, Help' has weak lyrics and rather annoying vocal melodies. 'Arc' is quite obviously filler, with vocal shouts simply dubbed over one another. Luckily, it is only a minute long and serves as an intro to 'All Or None', the album finale, which, unfortunately, manages to be rather boring as well.
Riot Act is a very well produced album, and one that displays the abilities of the band members quite well. While some songs aren't up to par with others, with a lack of real variation, the album still manages to pull through as neither Pearl Jam's worst album, nor their best.
Recommended Tracks:
-Can't Keep
-Love Boat Captain
-I Am Mine
-Cropduster
-Green Disease
