Pearl Jam

I love this cd! It's the best cd ever made! It had very fast shipping!

A compilation of a band that is a a nonhits band is difficul to make, but we got precious songs, like in all the entire albums, so, why not??

Beautiful artwork and colourfull Cd's.

As in hundreds of newly remasters this is a victim . yes it has good songs ,but the dynamic range is gone . this happens when the recording levels are pushed too high und it looses all clarity . the only positive is pearl jam is getting more distortion in their grunge sound . I have been A Disc Jocky and have played loud music for more than 30 years ,I still Have great hearing due to the full dynamic range of cd's from 1984 to 2003 listening . when you listen to compressed and distorted music your hearing suffers . also distortion kills speakers as well as hearing . please check reviews before buying over recorded junk . you may never have to wear a hearing aid like people that I know.

Been listening to Pearl Jam for a while but had never bought any of their music and am pleasently suprised in that I thought I would like the older (relativly) stuff but I actually like the newer stuff a bit (not much) more. Overall a very good compilation.

What Pearl Jam did, maybe even unwittingly, was to weld the thick sludgey minor-chord sound (and general angst) of grunge to arena size rock choruses and guitar power. In doing so, they managed to quickly outshine their nearest peers (Nirvana) commercially and ultimately become the vanguard for rock through the 90's. Along with Red Hot Chili Peppers and maybe Soundgarden, they shaped the sound of a decade and thrived to see their success sustained creatively.

"Rearviewmirror" reflects (har har) that 12 years between Ten and Binaural in solid fashion, even if does lean heavily on the first three albums. It also offers a dozen later track to show that, even while the band's spotlight had faded somewhat, albums like No Code were better even while the band purposely was making music that antagonized fans expecting more of "Jeremy." Treats like "Do The Evolution" and "Man Of The Hour" sound just as powerful as any of the pre-Vs. material.

And for those who argue that Eddie Vedder is a big old sourpuss, they miss out on fun stuff like the tribute to old 45's "Spin The Black Circle" or the totally unironic cover of "Last Kiss" (that actually hit the top ten in 1999). Guitarist Stone Gossard rips some particularly innovative riffs through the proceedings here, and it's worth noting that Goassard (as well as the rest of the band) usually co-wrote the band's songs. On "Rearviewmirror," they are divided into two CD's, with an "Up" disc of rockers and the "Down" side of more pensive or acoustic material.

It is the second disc where more of the interesting material lies for me. I've always personally felt "Better man" to be the best song Pearl Jam ever wrote, and the closer, "Yellow Ledbetter" is a damn good blues number with Mike McCready hitting a terrific facsimile of Jimi Hendrix. There is plenty of meat spread between the two discs, and for the casual radio fan of Pearl Jam, this is a great sampler at a fine price.

Yeah yeah, Pearl Jam may have came out first...but Creed and Nickelback sound hell of a lot better. Plus, Pearl Jam.. what a dumb name! And the lyrics/vocals are a complete failure to the brilliance of modern rock heroes Chad Kroeger and Fred Durst.

BTW: 'Jeremy' is a terrible song!

Yeah yeah, Pearl Jam may have came out first...but Creed and Nickelback sound hell of a lot better. Plus, Pearl Jam.. what a dumb name! And the lyrics/vocals are a complete failure to the brilliance of modern rock heroes Chad Kroeger and Fred Durst.

BTW: 'Jeremy' is a terrible song!

ok, might be showing my age but still listen to this on a regular basis.

I don't knowif it was just my copy or what, but the 2007 vinyl reissue that I got has serious audio issues, like the left track cutting out intermittently on a frequent basis, seems like either i just got a bad copy or it was a cheap cash grab by Sony/Epic

Although, I am up to date with the ipod/mp3 era, I wanted to go back and buy some of the classic cd's I once owned. This is one of the best albums in my opinion.

If you liked Ten but thought it could be a bit heavier you'll love this. This is the strongest album by them, the only this closer is the latest self titled album. It starts strong with 'go' and even in the middle of the album when they start to experiment with 'w.m.a' you're still totally sucked in. A lot of rock albums tend to have song after song that sounds the same but each song here has it's own feel, no two are similar at all. This album also has perhaps their best song ever 'rearviewmirror', raw emotion and loud guitars dominate this album and anyone who wants to know what the 90's grunge was all about has to check out this.

Is this the same band that made TEN WTF?!?!?! These songs are uninspired and lame, are they out of gas already!?!?

It's an understatement to say that Pearl Jam was one of the best grunge bands of all time. However, Vs. was the album in which Pearl Jam really turned grunge into a pop culture craze of the 90s.

Stone Gossard shows off some of his best work on this album, playing another excellent famous electric solo on the song "Daughter". Pearl Jam also started to use acoustic guitars, but rather than reflecting hollow, shrill anger as Nirvana did, Pearl Jam almost made grunge sound like Creedence Clearwater Revival with their bright chords.

Probably the most interesting departures include "W.M.A.", which has the catchiest tribal drum rhythm I've ever heard in a grunge song. The album also takes the time to explode into a Funkadelic funk guitar in the loud jam "Blood". Even though it doesn't seem like all these genres don't fit together at all, it sounds amazingly epic with Eddie Vedder screaming at the mic and awesome guitars and drums all around. The only time it seems that the instruments don't fit together is during the awkward Jimi Hendrix riffs in "Rats" that don't sound nearly as cool as they should.

This is one of the best Pearl Jam albums, far better than their fourth album, "No Code." The instruments all complement each other surprisingly well--proving that they were one of the coolest loud bands ever at this time.

This is my favorite Pearl Jam album, because I like every song on it. I love to rock out to this CD while I'm driving!

This release isn't on par with "ten" to me, but it still ranks pretty high. It's hard-hitting rock with equally impacting lyrics. "Vs" marked the end of my tight squeeze on Pearl Jam, and as such, for me is the last of their real rock sound.

I attended every one of these shows at The Gorge, and listening to this CD reminds me of each of them at different moments. Mainly when Ed Vedder discusses things. This is a great gift for any PJ fan.

I recently bought this box set and I really like it. I have bought other live cd's from Pearl Jam before, but can't help buying cd's that come out. They really give out a great show in every concert which makes them unique. It is a great group that still makes good music. If you already own this set, I could also recomend Live At Benaroya Hall which is an acustic concert.

Just get it!! This is a great set of shows. All three shows are great!! The music is great and the atmosphere that Eddie Vedder creates is awesome!! Enjoy it!

I like Pearl Jam. When I had just graduated from high school they were the biggest thing in Rock. They were cool and more importantly back then, I was cool because I liked them. Some 18 years later, somewhere in a dusty corner of my house I have the CD's alphabetized in some kind of time capsule that my wife wishes was boxed up and out in the garage.

So last week I found myself at a music store and I came across this really cool looking box... "Pearl Jam". I picked it up and looked at the incredible amount of music contained on the discs... some titles I knew, some I had no idea about. I am 39; I have a good job, so I came home and ordered from Amazon. Well I got the package last night... I put in disc one at 11 pm and I sat up all last night listening to these songs, the new and the old, and I held the box like you do when you are 14 and music is everything. I felt transported during this musical journey and I wanted to share with you how good this group of songs is, how drawn in to the concert setting you will be. I liked Pearl Jam when it was 1991 and now in 2008 they seem so damn good, not just angry but powerful. What a find. I encourage anyone with a dusty corner in their home to relearn Pearl Jam and to enjoy the wonderful tracks that you might not even know about it you moved on after the "Vitalogy" years.

Five stars ***** Pearl Jam is the new Dead, with a better catalog. For a few hours I did not have a mortgage, car payment, and a house that needed to be cleaned... For a few hours I was Live at the Gorge with Pearl Jam... and it was a place that I had not been to for a long time, too long.

I feel sorry for the seasoned PJ fan, especially the fanatics who buy EVERYTHING! There are many, many, many live PJ cd's out there. They record everything and offer it to the fans. For collectors it has to be hell to keep up. May have to mortgage the house to have them all, but this set is an exception. Even the big fans that dont buy every one (like myself), but buy their studio CD's should have this.

3 shows in their entirety and very raw yet excellent sounding. The crowd sings along to a lot of tracks, which is good for the feel, but can be annoying. Small complaint to an otherwise flawless live set. The set-lists themselves offer a great variety and hit on each disc. A couple extras and fun covers are here too. The packaging is excellent and is cool for collectors.. Songs do repeat in the set, but makes the shows legit.

I really pick my spots to purchase 'Live' CD's, but i have to say that this one is really well done. A no-brainer for PJ fans. And is a decent value for 7-discs if you find it onsale. Even live rock junkies should have this as the band sounds tighter than ever.

If you are just discovering pearl jam, this album is not for you at first. It still has some rock tunes like SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE, CORDUROY, LAST EXIT, SATAN'S BED, NOT FOR YOU, BETTER MAN, WHIPPING. There is some experiemental stuff on here, like BUGS, AYE DAVAITA, PRY TO, and FOXYMOP HANDLE ITS ME. One other hit is TREMOR CHRIST, it charted at number 18 on the hot 100 but is now largely forgotten. But I do recomend buying this after you buy their first two records TEN and VS

Pearl Jam-Vitalogy ***1/2

Sorry but Vitalogy is far from being Pearl Jam's best album. I just can't for the life of me understand how this has developed the reputation it has. Of the first four albums from the band this is the weakest. Vedder's lyrics are nice here but fail to evoke anything. The band here sounds great but at the same time this album seriously feels like they are trying to be The Replacements. This sounds and feels a lot like The Replacements first album Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash.

'Last Exit' and 'Spin The Black Circle' are two of the best songs on the album, but they are also the two songs on the album that sound the most like The Replacements, which is fine with me as The Replacements are truly one of the greatest bands of all time. 'Not For You' and the erratic 'Tremor Christ' once again find the boys sounding like The 'Mats. But this time toward the end of The Replacements career rather than the start. 'Nothingman' might be the best song on the album, and it remarkably sounds nothing like anyone other than Pearl Jam, which is a good thing. 'Bugs' is nonsense an a serious misstep for Eddie Vedder, and the accordion is over-kill and down right annoying after the first three notes. 'Better Man' is the big single of the album and one of Pearl Jams greatest songs, and one that personally scares the junk out of me. The thought of being in a false relationship with someone who claims to love you but doesn't, that is scary. The rest of the album is hit or miss for me and mostly ends up being miss.

Now it was one thing when The Ramones became a parody of themselves in the 1980's but Pearl Jam didn't even do that, they became a parody of the original flannel wearing Replacements, and so early in their career. Sad. Vitalogy is an album worth owning as the good material is really good, but for the casual PJ fan your better of with Yeild, or their self titled, and Vs.

An improvement over VS but still not a very good album. One or two good tunes the rest is just stupid studio retardation with accordians and sound effects.....not Pearl Jam of the TEN era.

This is an interesting record. Lot of experimentation, in fact more so than on any other Pearl Jam record. Now, there are "modern classic rock" songs that are the group's stock in trade and actually come off sounding quite excellent as far as resting on laurels go ("Last Exit"; "Spin the Black Circle"; "Not For You"; "Corduroy"; "Tremor Christ"), and the massive hit "Betterman", aptly described by the group's producer as a "Blatantly great pop song" - sure, it was annoyingly overplayed in its time, but it's much easier to appreciate now than it was back then, and I think it's my favorite of the group's songs (that ending is so perfect!): the similar sounding "Nothingman" is another strong point. Then there's some useless annoying stuff, like "Whipping" and "Pry, To" (which is short, thank god), as well as idiotic experiments like the polka "Bugs" (What the WTF is the point of that?), the bizarre "Satan's Bed" ("I want to suck Satan's dick" is a real lyric from that song! Now, that's just screwed, I'm sorry), the Latin-funk "Aye Davanita", and the sound collage "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Stupid" (note how I combined the song's two titles! Oh yes...) - sort of like an alt-rock "Revolution 9", and just as bad as that "song", too. The power-ballad "Immortality" is a keeper, though

Want singles and hits? You've got em.
Rockers: "Last Exit", "Spin the Black Circle", "Not For You", "Corduroy", and "Immortality"
Mid-tempo hits: "Nothingman" and "Better Man".
And even: "Tremor Christ"

This is an excellent album with everything you have come to expect from Pearl Jam. Really, their first three albums were a dynamic trilogy that will always be their best work. They have continued to make strong music, but have released more experimental stuff in recent years, and have sort of become the new Grateful Dead, in a way.

This is a must-own album for any fans of rock music, hard rock, and the Seattle sound of the 90s.

3 1/2

With each successive release prompting fans to curb their enthusiasm, it is no wonder this album was met with general praise even if general quality was slowly diminishing.

Granted there are 3 good songs on this album but this is like a Pearl Jam rip of band now. Pearl Jam goes POP/Rock.....WTF NickleJam

Pearl Jam-Yield ****


The question of Pearl Jam's fifth album Yield is not whether the band lost something rather then it is what did the gain, because Pearl Jam has always been a band to grow and change, even today more then a decade after their career began as one of Seatle's leading grunge bands. Pearl Jam who before this album was known for their sense of rock anthms has become a band more known for it's wonderfuly lush melodys with the ocasional delve into a rocker, and that all started with Yield.

Always one to experiment, slightly, and push the envilope, slightly, Eddie Vedder and the boys did just that, or should I say Ed Vedder as he preffered to be called from Yield on. The political message and world concious lyrics are as present as ever, and the DYI punk ethos is here still as well just with a sorfter sword. Rockers like the album opener 'Brain Of J' and the albums only slight hit single 'Do The Evolution' give this album the kick in the pants it needs. The sludgy production on the ladder is amazing and adds to the overall feel of the song making it one of the bands very best. While middle of the road songs such as 'No Way' have the same bombast as anything in Pearl Jams early catologue just in a softer package. But the ballads come across as more self-concious then anything else and concerned, not truly reaching what they could fully be.

What you end up getting with Yield is actaully one of the bands stronger albums of all that they released in the late '90s and early '00s. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament play some of the most inspired and original guitar of their career without coming across as self-indulgent and emotionless in their playing like they have sometimes been known to do.

In the end It's a struggle with this album though because at this point Ed Vedder was "over being a rock star" so at this point he was really full of his own stink and was horrible to fans, but at the same time this was him being himself and making the most honest music of his career, and from this point on is when I really became a fan of Pearl Jam and really appreciate their music after this point, and Yield is a good starting point into the second half of the bands career.

So, um... "Brain of J" is a powerful screaming loud rocker with a surprisingly quiet middle section. And "Given to Fly" is an amazingly emotional power-ballad-like thing. And... and... come on guys, I'm flailing here... because in truth, a lot of it is monotonously mellow. Pearl Jam doesn't do mellow. Even "Black", "Daughter" and "Yellow Ledbetter" rocked somewhat. Okay, the mellowness on Viatology pretty much rules, but other than that? Not their thing. Which is why I can't really listen to "Faithful", "No Way", "Wishlist" or "Pilate" without feeling myself itching to hit "fast forward". Oh yeah, I like "Do the Evolution" too. Song rocks. So does the pounding, completely straightforward "MFC". But Eddie Vedder's screaming ends up being a bit of a headache. Some of the last album's weirdness shines through, but that all ends in tears (the spoken-word "Push Me, Pull Me"; the keyboard instrumental "Red Bar"; Indian instrumental "Hummus"). Cut down to the best material, this would've been a decent record, but the "best material" is, other than "Brain of J" and "Given to Fly", merely decent. A "Low Light" indeed.

I am a huge fan of Pearl Jam and most of what they do. Most of their CDs start out good, but then slow WAYYYYY down, so I skip those slow songs. This usually means that I am skipping 4 or 5 tracks-per-14-song-disk. Yield is the only one that I can listen all the way through with no skips. It is a solid release with all of my personal favorites, including two quiet but well done songs, Given to Fly and Wishlist. I give this CD a 5 out of 5. This disk is staying in my CD player for months to come.

Binaural is a good disc, plus songs by itself, rather than their production. Perhaps in an attempt to make an album darker and sinister, Pearl Jam has created an album with sound weird, sometimes stuffy and not always so pleasant. Good songs like, Insignificance, Light Years, Breakefall, among others, are what's special in that album without the brilliance of the past.

A little personal back history, I bought this album trying to establish some semblance of cred in 2000. It was a tough time, eighth grade. My body was changing: I went from athletic to chubby back to athletic and had my wisdom teeth pulled. I grew out of Weird Al and the swing revival and moved on to what I thought was harder stuff like Sugar Ray and Incubus. I even raided my brother's CD collection. In it, I found Pearl Jam's Ten. It was pretty well beaten and wouldn't play, so I went to an Ames (remember those? They're all gone now!) and bought myself one at a "Nice Price!" (remember those stickers? They're all gone now!) for $8.00 or so.

Pearl Jam was always my favorite band to come out of the Pacific Northwest movement in the early 90s. Then again, I could only name Pearl Jam and Nirvana at that point that came out of that region. Oops. Anyways, a short time after I purchased Ten, I found out at Boarders (remember when it was cool to hang out there?) that they had a new CD so I picked it up. I was oddly confused then by what I heard. It was hard. There was screaming. No "Jeremy", "Alive", or "Evenflow", instead confusing key-changes and some non-radio friendly tracks. In short, at the time, I hated it and would have given probably only one or two tracks above 3 stars. How does it fare eight years later?

1. Breakerfall - Initially, the only track on the CD that I ripped to my computer in the days before Musicmatch or iTunes made it so convenient. "She lost her invitation to the party on earth. And she's standing outside, hating everyone here," is a pretty cool metaphor that I use in every day speech. As you can probably tell from my other reviews, I love opening numbers, they're great at dictating the pace of album and can make it sink or swim. This one drives with a synging guitar riff and driving drums. There's a sense of immediacy and urgency in Eddie Vedder's voice. I'm a fan. Five out of five stars.

2. God's Dice - Cool musicianship in this one, but I have no idea what Vedder is saying in this one, which is automatic minus one star. This just isn't something I would listen to by choice, but it isn't unbearably bad to make me turn it off if it came on shuffle. Three out of five stars.

3. Evacuation - A really cool bridge almost raises this above "God's Dice" in terms of likability, but again, this song is just too hectic with muffled vocals. A little too hard for me. Three out of five stars.

4. Light Years - One of songs tucked away on this album that took a few listens to find. A nice soft number with a pinch of darkness in its chord progressions. I have a feeling this is what Jimmy Eat World was trying to do on their first album. Unfortunately, they failed miserably, and I wasted $12, but this song, "Light Years" is "Light Years" ahead of what they were doing at the time. Five out of five stars.

5. Nothing as It Seems - I would later buy this as a single just for kicks at Tower Record's going out of business sale for a mere $.04. It wasn't worth that much. Just a bad song. Lots of noise, lots of Pink Floyd influence, lots of garbage. I can't believe they would release this as a single, especially with the really good songs on this CD being exceptional. Only the bridges keep me from giving this song a one. Two out of five stars.

6. Thin Air - This is a cool track. Has a Neil Young vibe for the verses with a more modern chorus, with a hint of hauntingness. Will definitely listen to again. Four out of five stars.

7. Insignificance - This track was the B-Side for "Nothing as It Seems" and is significantly better. Definitely fits more the Pearl Jam style. Very cool chorus. Definitely glad I gave this song a second chance. Four out of five stars.

8. Of The Girl - One of the songs I used to skip over completely when listening to this album just because of the minute long intro. These days, the intro is still kind of boring and also serves as the outro, but the meat and potatoes the song is pretty good. Four out of five stars.

9. Grievance - One of the more embarrassing moments of eighth grade was telling my 10th grade friend Matt how cool I thought this album was and then when he started rattling off names of songs, I would agree. He named a name that actually wasn't on the album and I stated it was a really cool song, but he called me out on it. He also called me out on this song when he played it in his car when I couldn't identify it. It has since become a bittersweet song for me to listen to, but a good one nonetheless. After quite a few listens, I can safely say it's my favorite song on the album. Five out of five stars.

10. Rival - This song is a song I mistakenly identified as a Black Crowes song once in 2000. Ooops. It is pretty cool, moves a long at a relaxing pace, has my favorite guitar solo on the album, and is much cooler than anything the Black Crowes did in the year 2000. Four out of five stars.

11. Sleight of Hand - This song really bores me. To the point where I turn it off. And I don't like all of the noise in the middle. My least favorite track on the album. One out of five stars.

12. Soon Forget - A mandolin brings us in. Very cool chords used in this very quick, well told story. Five out of five stars.

13. Parting Ways - Sleight of Hand is exceptionally boring, and this comes in a close second on the album. However, this one can atleast maintain my interest and is pleasing to listen to. Not really a "surprise track" but if you keep the song long enough you hear something that resembles gun shots. I'll give it two out of five stars.

Review:


1. Breakerfall - Five Stars
2. God's Dice - Three Stars
3. Evacuation - Three Stars
4. Light Years - Five Stars
5. Nothing As It Seems - Two Stars
6. Thin Air - Four Stars
7. Insignificance - Four Stars
8. Of the Girl - Four Stars
9. Grievance - Five Stars
10. Rival - Four Stars
11. Sleight of Hand - One Stars
12. Soon Forget - Five Stars
13. Parting Ways - Two Stars


Average star rating = 3.62, slightly above average. A word of warning though, this album is strangely forgettable. Many of the songs, including "Light Years" and "Grievance" are very pleasing to the ear, but are completely forgettable, where as "Breakerfall" is a true standout. And I didn't just say that to cover my rear from that incident years ago. Or did I?

I really dismissed this one the first time I heard this, but like No Code it's slightly grown on me: as usual the classic rockers ("Breakerfall"; "God's Dice"; "Evacuation"; "Grievance") are best, though none of them match "Alive". As usual, the ballady stuff is boring and dull ("Light Years", "Nothing is As it Seems"; "Thin Air"; the aptly titled "Insignificance"). Okay, one of the ballady things is good: "Of the Girl", which has plenty of restrained emotion and lots of cool psychedelic noises. It's, like, awesome and stuff. But here's my question: Why didn't this album end after "Grievance"? The last three songs are dumb, dumb and dumb. The biggest insult is "Sleight of Hand", which I think is supposed to sound like a Talking Heads song or something with the weird new wave rhythms and the weird new wave synthesizers. Well, it's just bad. And Eddie's singing it like he's half asleep and/or stoned (possibly at the same time!) And here's hoping I soon forget the poor acoustic folk thingy "Soon Forget", because see, that's not what Pearl Jam should be doing! At all! These guys should be rocking out! Oh, and they should make better stuff than "Rival" while they rock out, because that is a bad song! I mean, not as bad as "Sleight of Hand", which might be the worst thing the group ever did, but still bad. Now I said in the start of my review that this has slightly grown on me, as in "it's jumped from one to two stars". So still a sub-par record, still plenty to complain about: too much experimentation, too many stupid rockers, not enough quality (except for "Of the Girl". That song rules, and you know it, so admit it). I think this might be Pearl Jam's weakest album. Yeah, that sounds right.

Between the catchy, sometimes experimental rockers of the album "Yield" and the dark, heavy tunes found on the album "Riot Act", Pearl Jam had Binaural. This album sometimes seems overlooked as a popular album by the Seattle juggernaut of grunge, but lets face facts, grunge was all but over with by the time the millennium was upon faithful listeners, and yet Pearl Jam was still rocking on. Binaural has several singles that would be deemed "classics" or at least songs that belong within their greatest hits category. The catchy, scratchy rhythm of Breakerfall is a good way to start the album, and the mystical, lucent song "Parting Ways" is a great way to end it, with vocalist Eddie Vedder softly lulling along with dreamy vocals.

In the middle of it all, there are a number of memorable tracks, like "Light Years" which has a crashing intro to the chorus with bombastic cymbals that still allow Vedder's lyrics about a friend who has passed on. The mood is not self suffering or self serving, but universal in its message, with a tinge of sadness that does not drown out the message as it is delivered in present tense as a refection of and about life after the loss.

The track "Nothing as it seems" was written by guitarist Jeff Ament, and is soft and smoldering with brooding guitars and dark lyrics about seeing past a perfect childhood into darker, bitter moments that don't stand out much until later in life. Then there is "Of the Girl" which has one of the best intros the band has ever done. Slowly, this song builds up with acoustical power until settling on a plane in which Vedder starts in with signature singing. A song subtle in sound but very deep in message, truly one to remember. Just when one thinks they have had a perfect dose of PJ's assorted recipe of sounds and singing, the listener gets one out of left field that has yet another opening guitar piece that astounds, and with "Sleight of hand" we have a beautiful heart tugging sound that soon explodes into a chorus that although is familiar PJ territory, still seems more emotional and in depth than much that they have done. That is not a bad thing, with all the songs on here mixing blends of hard rock fun and slow moving fury, emotion and storied songs, Binaural becomes a hidden classic that after nearly ten years, still holds staying power.

I've been a Pearl Jam fan ever since I saw them open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins back in the early 90's. I'd never heard of them before that night, but the next day I was at a record store looking to pick up all of their albums. There were none to be found and the workers had never heard of them.

After a while, TEN hit the shelves and I picked up a copy. It was worth the wait and it is still in my music rotation. Then came Vs and Vitology and they too were worth the wait and they too remain in my regular listening rotation. When No Code came out I snatched that up and gave it a few listens, but it found it's way onto the shelf pretty quickly. It just didn't do it for me and I assumed Pearl Jam had lost their magic. I lost interest in them and honestly had no idea they were still making albums.
Thanks to Internet radio, I have rediscovered Pearl Jam and their more recent recordings. Binaural was the cheapest newer PJ album I could find so I decided to give it a try. It was most definitely worth the wait.

I've had it for a few days and while I like some songs more than others, there isn't a single song on here that makes me reach for the skip button. This is the Pearl Jam I missed and I'm excited to see what else I've missed out on.

I got this CD when it first came out through Columbia House. At the time it was an unintentional purchase (forgot to send back one of their release of the month cards) but I thought that I would give it a listen just so it wasn't a waste of money. At first it didn't stack up to previous Pearl Jam releases. But after listening to it a few times I started to like it, then over the years, fall in love with the album. It's almost a friend now, about once a month I have to pop it back in my CD player and it's just... about as near perfection as an album can be. It's honest and that's just so rare.

Apple, outlet, Dennis Rodman's eye, pool ball, rotting teeth, zipper. The cover of No Code confounds and confuses, as does the album in it's entirety. This album was released during a time when no one seemed to be able to quite figure out the point or overall goal of Pearl Jam in rock music. Jumping from mainstream rock anthems to hard rock, grunge, acoustic balladry, blues, classic rock revival, experimental junk rock, and back again within the span of one album, let alone their entire career, made Pearl Jam a hard band to pin in any area, and upon first listens, some songs or albums may appeal to some listeners and not others. Pearl Jam are a band that writes and plays whatever they feel like, exploring a wide range of issues, while still maintaining artistic integrity and an excellent sense of pure rock and roll. No Code is arguably Pearl Jam's most diverse, jumpy, and spontaneous album to date, and probably the most prone to being misunderstood. What the hell is Pearl Jam trying to say with this set of thirteen seemingly unrelated songs? What the hell are Pearl Jam all about anyway?

My experience with Pearl Jam has stretched through my entire lifetime, since I was very young and my mother played the records and I heard them on the radio, to my childhood when she stuck with the band when the media did not, to my early high school years when I rediscovered the band and countless songs and hooks that colored my childhood, to now when I am progressively rounding up all the stray material and learning why exactly I enjoy them. When I popped No Code into my stereo years ago, probably six years after it was actually released, I recognized some of the songs and did not recognize others. This scramble of familiarity made things all the more confusing, yet kept me that much more interested and willing to stick with the album.

I began asking myself questions, because that is exactly what adolescents do. They ask themselves questions that they can't answer, mostly because they are too lazy and don't want to work hard enough to find the answers. Why do I like this album? Why does the album juxtapose (well, maybe I didn't know words THAT big) hard rockers awkwardly next to quiet ballads? Why does Who You Are, the song that sounds like it SHOULD be the opener, come third in the line? Who is Jerome Turner? Why does Eddie narrate the lyrics to I'm Open? Is Lukin even a word? Why did this album only come with nine Polaroids with song lyrics on them, not even coving all the songs? And what is with all this cover art, indecipherable phantasmagoria?

It took me several years of occasional listening to unwrap No Code and get to the point where I enjoyed it fully. The songs that stood out on first listen were Hail Hail and Off He Goes, simply because I recognized them. Experiences like the ones I had with these songs were the reason that I started to get so interested in music in the first place. The nostalgia, rushes of memories, and sense of vague familiarity were what made many albums in my mothers collection feel like buried treasure. Although I gravitated to those songs in particular, there were several more that struck me as outwardly fantastic, such as the other single Who You Are. The aforementioned song is nothing short of a masterpiece for Pearl Jam and an accurate representation of No Code. It swirls into view with a pounding beat and is dotted with many tidbits of foreign instrument, such as steel drums and sitars. The sitar is used again to it's full potential by the time the song has revealed it's winning hook and cemented it's place in the listeners ears. That paired with a wonderful guitar solo makes it one of the finest songs on the album.

This excellence is not lonely. It's easy for me to say that every song on this album is really great, but from a commercial standpoint, Pearl Jam knew how to put their best foot forward with No Code by producing three singles which would become radio staples. Hail Hail, Who You Are, and Off He Goes are all fantastic songs in their own right, and all coming from three completely different directions. Hail Hail is one hell of a riff rocker, Who You Are is an eclectic anthem, and Off He Goes is a gentle acoustic ballad that rivals Daughter in sheer quality. These songs would be enough to reel in the casual listener, which would then be hit hard with all the other great things Pearl Jam has to say here. Every song is finely tuned and unique; Sometimes is a reflective prayer, In My Tree is a driving explosion of glorious sound, Habit is as angry and rhythmic as the preceding album Vitalogy's Spin The Black Circle, and I'm Open is poetry recited over gentle ambient chords and soft beats. This album has about as much continuity and order to it as a fleeting stage one dream.

And yet somehow it works. No Code ends with Around The Bend, a deceptively simple lullaby of tropical style. This ending is deceptive, but ultimately satisfying and beautiful. The listener naturally expects some kind of stylistic answer or solution within that last song, and this might be yet another unsatisfying venture on the first listen. But like the whole album, it opens up with a little time. This is the brilliant code that is communicated through the album perfectly, that is, there is no code. The second you start to pin down a pattern or style in Pearl Jam, they will undoubtedly change or surprise you. The only way to fully appreciate No Code, and Pearl Jam, is to take several steps backward and look at the full picture. Pearl Jam are an excellent band that make whatever music they want to, with whatever message they feel. The entire notion that Pearl Jam cast away their fan base by becoming more experimental is a sad misconception. Pearl Jam never attempted to alienate anyone. It is not their fault that they have a strong desire to push their creative boundaries, and it is not their fault that their true fans were revealed in the process. In any case, No Code is the keystone to Pearl Jam's discography, and the picture of excellence by which the rest of their albums should be judged, even their earlier, more revered works such as Ten. It might not make any sense at first, but that makes it all the more fun. No Code is a puzzle which can be solved in a number of ways, all yielding the same solution, a transcendent masterpiece.

Arguably their last great work. It certainly fulfills the mellow contract Vedder signed which Vitalogy had been hinting towards, and though we see some rough spots straining to fulfill the musical wishes of fans past, present, and future (in particular their former heavy-rocking screamers which impressed on V take a beating here) the album remains a well-rounded snapshot of a thoughtful band in flux, in no small part from so many of the impressive transitions McCready and company impart on unsuspecting formulas.

This is their last album to debut at no.1. There are only 3 rock tunes on here, Hail'Hail, Habit and Lukin. Lukin is only a minute long to let you know. Their first single is called Who You Are, which has eastern influence sound on it. The song I'm Open, eddie first talks, then he just says I'm Open a few more times, and the rest is nothing like their first two albums. This is the album where most of the pearl jam fans dont like, I think it is a very good record. It shows that pearl jam as a band can do more than just rock anthems

With 1996's "No Code", Pearl Jam began to shift away from the limelight and dove deep into themselves to produce a record that is both diverse and entertaining.

"Sometimes" begins the album, a track that is moody, and somewhat somber, exploring religious themes about the creation of man and man's struggle through life while remaining concise.

The next track, "Hail, Hail" picks up the pace, with a dirty, fuzzed out riff and a good bass line. The song manages to take the somewhat depressing lyrics about a relationship gone wrong while staying fast paced, and as the song goes on some hope manages to seep in.

The next two songs, "Who You Are" and "In My Tree" pick up in "Sometimes" place after the frenetic "Hail, Hail", with rolling, almost tribal drum beats carried by Jeff Ament's bass and Eddie's voice.

"Smile" has a riff with a similar dirty quality to it, and relatively simplistic lyrics. The harmonica interspersed throughout adds another dimension to the trudging rocker, making it one of the more standout tracks.

"Off He Goes" is one of my favorites from the album. The lyrics set a narrative over a slow acoustic guitar, telling the story of a friend that sets off on a trip brought on by what could be strains in his personal life ("Know a man...his face seems pulled and tense.../
Like he's riding on a motorbike... in the strongest winds"), and as doubts creep into the narrator's mind about this friend's return, he unexpectedly shows up again, seemingly the same person. However, he is soon off again, and the song ends on a note similar to how it started.

"Habit" has a garage rock/grunge-type riff to it, with muddled and often hard-to-understand vocals from Vedder. It seems to explore the drug use of someone close, how it's wrong for them but yet they're still sucked in and on the way to self-destruction. However, the two breakdowns Both crammed into a 3:36 song), coupled with the guitar solo (Which is pretty impressive) fading out right as it gets some good momentum behind it, put the track lower than it deserves to be.

"Red Mosquito" has something closer to a country rock vibe going for it, with interesting vocal melodies. It's got a good flow and progression to it, and is one of the better tracks off the album.

However, the next song takes a turn for the more abrasive side of Pearl Jam. "Lukin" is a 1 minute long song, with a simple three-chord riff and screechy vocals from Vedder, describing his own fallacies and a stalker that might or might not be out to kill him.

"Present Tense" is a slow and introspective number, which also happened to put me in a much better mindset after some personal issues that had plagued me. The atmospheric guitar work during the verses highlight the lyrics and message without getting in the way, but I'll leave that message for you to discover yourself. It's worth it.

"Mankind" is something that is either enjoyable or unenjoyable in my opinion, with little to no middle ground. Rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard employs the mic on this song, who also wrote the lyrics for the song. What's being conveyed is a man that is watching mankind obsess over the little things, while he sits back and wonders why. Again, you either like it or you don't.

"I'm Open" begins and ends with spoken word poetry from Vedder, which is interesting to listen but may end up leaving the impression of him being pretentious and rambling. For those who can appreciate the song, though, it's an interesting piece of music that deserves a bit more praise.

"Around The Bend" finishes the album, a number mostly carried by the bass and drums. The vocals are soothing and relaxing, and listening to it right now in my tired state is actually wearing me down further! The story behind it is that Vedder wrote it as a lullaby for one of the member's kids, and that quality leaves it's fingerprints through the whole song, both in lyrics and instrumentation. It's good to listen to when you want to get away from everything, if only for four minutes, because of it's optimistic and calming lyrics.

Overall, Pearl Jam took a big chance with this album. It is markedly a much slower tempo than their previous albums, and marked the point in the band's history when they shifted to a less commercial and more mature entity. Of course the album was greeted with less-than-stellar sales, but it was well worth it in my mind.

2 1/2

One of the dreaded "rocking comeback" discs you hear about your old favorite bands producing, only to witness its faded out, rather limited glory and realize how comparatively tame expectations had become over time. I try to keep on eye on these old chums, but gloating reviews of course thrust higher expectations then logical. The release is a perfect encapsulation of the musty, distort-chord rock they are doing functionally well these years- perhaps even to the extent that there are no great songs but all decent ones. To expect any real hard hitting melodic power of yore would be a mistake.

I'm a fairly big Pearl Jam fan, and so when I when I found this cd at a used record store for 5 dollars, I had no problem buying it. The album is mostly fast paced and loud, with little room for anything else. This makes it somewhat of a boring album at times, due to the lack of variation. After giving it a couple of listens, only 2 or 3 songs really stick as being great. The rest of the songs are very typical and don't really do anything for me. The lyrics are relatively bland and the songwriting is very formulaic. The exception to this is the last track, "Inside Job" which is by far my favorite on the album. This song was well written and actually shows that Pearl Jam may be able cover some new ground. The rest of the album on the other hand doesn't present anything new and is full of songs that sound all too familiar. Overall, the album isn't necessarily bad, it's just nothing special.

The best band in the world released their best album to date. Every album gets progressively better, as well as different than the last one. This should be the opinion of every die hard Pearl Jam fan. There is no best or worst album, they are all equally great for their own reasons.

Ok, so it's been a few years since I've reviewed a PJ album... I've just been busy listening to this brilliant album, trying to find the words to describe the degree of it's AWESOME FACTOR. I won't be fancy, ladies and gentlemen... let's just say it's off the charts, and THEN some. It is the legendary band's answer to all the nay-sayers that claim their music has grown too mellow or "tired" sounding in the last several years. PEARL JAM is THEE most energetic album since YIELD. Period. While their last two LP's were more experimental and laid-back (but still GREAT in my opinion), this one is straight up in your face from beginning to end. Very aggressive, hard, energetic sounds that sort of bring you back to their earlier days... VS and VITALOGY in particular. That being said, the thing that sets this beauty apart from their entire body of work is this: the first 5 songs are HARD rockers to say the least. Not even VS can claim that. I won't go into each song here... just a few of the highlights (although the ENTIRE album is a highlight). Severed Hand begins with a riff and feel not unlike the beginning of Corduroy (VITALOGY), and it really gets the adrenalin pumping like nothing else. Marker In The Sand is one of the most funnest, greatest sing-along songs in the history of Pearl Jam. Big Wave has one purpose: to SHUT the mouths of all those pour souls that claim PJ have become old, tired, and boring. The last two songs are great ballads that are up there with the very best of PJ ballads... Come Back perhaps a great candidate for the "next" Yellow Ledbetter, and Inside Job has just a pinch of Stairway To Heaven's (Led Zeppelin) influence to it, starting off slow then building up to a frenzy. The only thing that may count as filler on this album (but it's damn good filler at that) is Wasted Reprise. Ending this masterpiece is a cool, short little blend of sounds that you feel you've just heard dashed here and there through out the whole album. Overall great sounding album with a ton of energy and expert musicianship backing it. Miss the old, glorious days of the early 90's?? Try this one on for size... you WON'T be sorry.

This is by far one of PJ's best albums. It's a new Pearl Jam. Playing album after album, better and better syncronized. It's simply amazing. I've being a Pearl Jam fan since they were born and even went to sleep at night hearing Ten or Vs. But after No Code I let them down because they weren't the same. Recently I heard one the songs of the album on the radio and decided to give them a chance. Well. I've just listened to the album 3 times in a row. Chapeaux to the band.

Don't think twice about getting the album. Just buy it. You will love it.

Yeah yeah, Pearl Jam may have came out first...but Creed and Nickelback sound hell of a lot better. Plus, Pearl Jam.. what a dumb name! And the lyrics/vocals are a complete failure to the brilliance of modern rock heroes Chad Kroeger and Fred Durst.

BTW: 'Jeremy' is a terrible song!

Yeah yeah, Pearl Jam may have came out first...but Creed and Nickelback sound hell of a lot better. Plus, Pearl Jam.. what a dumb name! And the lyrics/vocals are a complete failure to the brilliance of modern rock heroes Chad Kroeger and Fred Durst.

BTW: 'Jeremy' is a terrible song!

ok, might be showing my age but still listen to this on a regular basis.

I don't knowif it was just my copy or what, but the 2007 vinyl reissue that I got has serious audio issues, like the left track cutting out intermittently on a frequent basis, seems like either i just got a bad copy or it was a cheap cash grab by Sony/Epic

Although, I am up to date with the ipod/mp3 era, I wanted to go back and buy some of the classic cd's I once owned. This is one of the best albums in my opinion.