Brendan was a hell of a producer before he lost the plot. Those first four albums he did with Pearl Jam have some gorgeous sound work on them.

And Mirrorball!!! and everything he did with STP!! And Rage!! Audioslave!

I dont know what happened in his mind in his latter years.

it was probably when all the royalty money from iTunes store started flowing his way that he turned into Jabba the Hutt

I think I got it off Napster or some shit like that so I really don't know the source. But it's really awesome.

There are several! It was played first (I believe) at Bridge School in 2001, and then on the last night in Mansfield in 2003 during the full band pre-set. However, the one I suspect you're referring to is the version from Oklahoma City in 2003 that features Mike on electric and, I think, was played on a whim while Stone's guitar tech was tending to some technical difficulties he was having. It's a little rough, but near-sterling on the totem pole of Pearl Jam performance quality, and the spontanaiety and pure pleasure of the whole thing totally carry it. A gem from that tour. I looked to see if it was on YouTube and sure enough, not only is it on YouTube, but it was uploaded by Ridleybradout as part of his "Definitive Live" project. Have a listen!

I haven't listened to a full PJ record besides Gigaton in at least a year (I think), but I threw this on today. I'm starting to think this really is my favorite from them, even though the number of favorite songs are probably higher on Yield and Binaural, at least. Eddie sounds almost uncomfortably close to you when singing during Sometimes, and that opening four may be one of my favorite sets of music they have on record.

I have so much love for No Code. Its firmly 4th on my list, but if i was to sit down right now and listen to a full Pearl Jam album it would probably be my go to. At the time i remember being so shocked that a song like Sometimes was opening a Pearl Jam album. I had it cranked so loud that Hail Hail nearly blew me out of my bedroom!

Same except it was from a midnight madness sale of the album so when I got home at 12:45 and that happened the level of panic was palatable. My heart still skips a beat on that jarring transition, which is THE thing that sets the tone for this album - constantly challenging, unexpected, but ultimately rewarding. Always sits in my top 3-4 albums and spent many a year at #1 for me.

Also, despite the fact that it swings from one thing to the next without warning, there’s a certain lived in, old comfortable slipper vibe to it that makes it feel so familiar even while taking all these turns. I can’t think of another album for me that’s pulled that off (maybe Exile on Main Street?).

I was 18 when No Code came out, and I F'n hated it except for Hail, Hail & Red Mosquito. Yield came out 2 years later and solidified my belief that this album was just a major turd in between what are still my 2 favorite PJ albums. But, after all these years, No Code is very comfortably at #3 for me, behind the two I mentioned. And in the greater context of their career, I'm glad they made this kind of album when they did. Seems like many bands at the time were looking to the next big thing, while PJ was looking to chill and take a step back, work with an icon, continue without much regard for where their peers were going... good stuff.

And dammit, i was at Mansfield and don't even remember that

I love that version so much.

boom crushes it on that version too.

Great harmony vox as well.

PJ could do a country tinged record and id be happy as a cowboy in spurs.

Was never a big fan of Driftin, but yea, that was really good.

I was at that OKC show, and Driftin was a nice little surprise.

That is totally the version that I was talking about! I had it burned on a random CD (not sure where that is now) but I never knew the source.

Thanks, KD!

Really enjoyed that.

According to the PJ 20 book there were times where the band told him he wasn't needed for certain songs(seems to be the more experimental tracks) and he would step away. Also Stone and Eddie called him before the Yield sessions and said they were going to self produce the album but Brendan talked them out of it. It is a fine album but a tad overproduced IMO.

it's been a better day today

Never heard that before. Very interesting.