Review Summary: Control Myself, CHAPTER 9: "Something's Broke? I'm Gonna Put a Bit of Fixin' on It..."
From
Vitalogy onwards, it's hard to pick a point where Pearl Jam were ever truly making concise or brilliant music. The problem lay mostly in their tossing and turning in stylistic changes, leading to turgid eastern influences on
No Code, overtly political ranting on
Riot Act and simply boring trad-rock on their self titled in 2006. It appeared Pearl Jam had 'lost it'- content with simply abhorrent attempts to be a band they weren't, no line was on the horizon for the Seattle 5-piece.
Who knew then that a 35-minute pop album would be their saving grace?
It's strange to assess
Backspacer's relevance in the scheme of the Pearl Jam canon as it undermines the two contradictory qualities they had going for them. On one hand, there's the deviance of experimentation that made at least all of their albums listenable, on the other a flat out uninteresting move into pop formula that killed their self-titled. Here, however, Pearl Jam more than suit the scheme of things; kicking off with horns, thundering guitars and Vedder's characteristically rough vocals, "Gonna See My Friend" echoes a legion of amazing Pearl Jam album openers and is more than a brilliant signpost of things to come- it's one of the bands best performances. Follow-ups "Got Some", "The Fixer" and "Johnny Guitar" are no slouches either- filled to the brim with vocal hooks and reckless hard rock, they're more than fascinating; coming this long after
Vitalogy, they're down right amazing.
Needless to say,
Backspacer rarely hits a bum note, as careful pop ballads shine ("Unthought Known", "Just Breathe") in lieu of the rock and roll mammoths that dominate the record. At 35-minutes, Pearl Jam are quick with the impact and rare with the considerations; you'll be all the more happier for it at the end.
And that's the genius of
Backspacer. To an end, it's more of the same, and hardly serves the Pearl Jam legacy in the way it should. But by God,
Backspacer is so fresh with its hooks and riffs that it puts every other Pearl Jam album to shame for its ponderous and maniacal extensions of ego-
Ten included. Hardly a classic,
Backspacer is the sound of a band now more comfortable with themselves than ever in uncertain times. If only they realized 15 years earlier.
NEXT: "Everyone's a Critic Lookin' Back Up the River..."
