Review Summary: A return to- the- roots album for Pearl Jam, who manage to create one of their best albums in almost a decade.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
J Records, 2006
Pearl Jam is:
Eddie Vedder: Vocals
Mike McCready: Guitar
Stone Gossard: Guitar
Matt Cameron: Drums
Jeff Ament: Bass
After a long variety of albums that had spanned many genres and styles of music, Pearl Jam, for their eighth album, made the career altering decision to return to their roots. This would mean a much harder sound, with the occasional electric ballad thrown in. It was generally agreed by members of the band and the press that this album would become the classic that Vs. and Ten both managed to be.
One thing is for certain, and that is that the band have abandoned the art rock approach found on Binaural and Riot Act. The guitars are in constant distortion, and the drumming and percussion is as furious and powerful as ever. Eddie Vedder has stopped the smooth vocal approach in exchange for a more aggressive approach. All of these elements are immediately apparent with the album openers 'Life Wasted' and 'World Wide Suicide', two punky tunes that grab a listeners attention with their furious chorus' and catchy hooks.
Indeed, it would appear that Pearl Jam have taken a much more hard rock approach with this album. The first five songs are all quite heavy and furious, which would be great in the earlier days of the band. Unfortunately, Eddie's voice has started to deteriorate quite noticeably with age, with his traditional raspy growl taking a far more hectic, whiny style. Although it adds to the aggressiveness and sheer anger of the harder songs, it may be annoying for some. The band themselves seem to be aware of this weakness, and employ backing vocals and synchronizations far more than on previous albums. Fortunately, Eddie's ballad voice seems to be more or less intact, which works well in the favor of the slow 'Come Back' or the depressing 'Gone'. His lyric writing skills seem to have advanced as well, making many of the songs vaguely political, but only enough so that the song can still be enjoyed with an open mind.
The filler found on previous albums has been mostly cut down, with absolutely no real experimental tracks to be found. While this may disappoint those expecting a wide amount of musical variety, it helps the album greatly by allowing many of the tracks to have a distinct flow between them. The only song that could be considered filler is the short 'Life Wasted Reprise', which actually manages to be very good on it's own despite it's short length and simple instrumentation (an organ).
The guitar style has once more shifted, with Mike and Stone collaborating very well with one another. The finished product is some very catchy riffs and many short but sweet solos. 'Come Back' has a slow melodic solo at the end that manages to be beautiful, and a definite album highlight. The solo found at the end of 'Life Wasted' is also quite spectacular, and recalls the earlier days of 'Animal' and 'Why Go'. The riffs are consistent and often very catchy, propelling many of the harder songs to new musical heights. Strangely, the riff of 'Severed Hand' manages to sound remarkably similar to Nirvana's infamous 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', a fact that demonstrates that Pearl Jam were once a powerful grunge band in the same league as Nirvana and Alice In Chains.
Unfortunately, some songs just manage to be quite bland or of little interest. This is particularly true of the strange, slow 'Parachutes', with it's rather poor lyrics and awkward beat, the song loses it's interest very quickly. 'Comatose', the fastest song on the album, and one of the shortest, is rather a letdown after the powerful album openers. Other than these two unfortunate tunes, every song manages to hold the listener's attention quite well, particularly the album closer. 'Inside Job', which is the longest Pearl Jam song to date, as well as one of the most varied. With subtle organ touches, an excellent guitar solo, and powerful vocals, 'Inside Job' manages to be one of the best songs that the band has created since their 'No Code' days.
In conclusion, Pearl Jam's self titled album shows a return to their more hard rock roots. Although Eddie Vedder's voice is starting to lose it's magnificence, the instrumental prowess of the band and some good songwriting help make many of the songs here worthy listens.
Recommended Tracks:
-Life Wasted
-Marker In The Sand
-Unempoyable
-Big Wave
-Come Back
-Inside Job
