i wonder if the overly processed and unnecessary uh huh huh huh's really throw people off the rest of the song. The yeah yeah yeah chorus is catchy and uplifting and fits the song well, the music is really good, ed sounds good. The Fixer is a quality song.

it was nice to see him use craft to account for a decline in his raw talent, which is what you'd want to see an aging artist do.

I don't think that's the case for me, at least. To me, it sounds like a transparent (and botched) attempt at a pop radio hit-- like they deliberately set out to write something that would go well with a game highlight montage on ESPN. The whole thing feels artificial and hackneyed, from the lyrics all the way down to that tacky bridge. And yes, it's all glossy and shimmery and bright in a way that doesn't play to (what I feel are) this band's strengths. I don't think it's much 'quality'.

In other words it's awful.

i love The Fixer...i dont care if they tried to make a hit or whatever....is a great song.

i agree it doesn't play to the band's strengths, but in this case I think it was successful. I don't know that I'd want to see more of it, since glossy pj is usually the stuff I don't like, but here it works. For me, anyway

it was successful, in that eddie vedder wanted to write a lame pop song that would get radio play. now go back to writing cool rock n roll songs

is wrong to think that ,musically at least, Johnny Guitar sounds a little bit like something that could have been on Vs?

It's an album that I had no desire to ever listen to after I saw them tour it, therefore it has no staying power whatsoever.

If you remove Unthought Known it's very passable.

In what way do you hear that?

well im not sure, but the guitars sound funky enough, kinda remind me of Dissident or Glorified G..and the vocal melody too specially at the end, Ed kinda losen up a little bit...hate the fade out though,

that song is far from being the main problem on this album. it's symptomatic of what's wrong in there but it's hardly a clunker. (imo)

UK is a decent song with a few really nice moments

Agreed. It's the only song on Backspacer I find myself coming back to again and again. It's the only song on the album that I get into when I hear it on bootlegs (or don't get into...see below).



Ever heard a live version? Most of them are cringe-inducing because Ed can't sing it most nights (which is probably also why they don't play "Breakerfall" much). The last version I heard was from South America and he didn't even scream most of it...he spent the entire song avoiding the high notes.

I am proud to have heard the best live version of "Gonna See My Friend" at Ridgefield '09. They were ON that night and that song ruled as an opener.

I have heard very few live versions of any of these songs, but FoN always seemed like one that would be easy to sing. What do you suppose the problem is? What makes that one a challenge for him?

i gave it 2 stars b/c "the end" is pretty great.

I like The Fixer. I dig the 'ohh wowo wowo'....I have no idea how to write that out. Reminds me of The Police that part.

I just love this album. I couldn't tell you where it will stack up years from now (and it needs to not be the 'new' one and songs need time to age before I can be sure, but it is entirely possible when all is said and done this will be my 4th (probably where I rank it now) or even 3rd favorite Pearl Jam record. I can't even imagine them ever producing an album at this point I like more than Ten or Vitalogy but this still remains, 3 and a half years after the fact, the pearl jam album I listen to the most these days.


GSMF, Johnny Guitar, The Fixer, Just Breathe, Force of Nature, and The End are all just below the very top tier of pearl jam songs for me (I might even put Force of Nature in there). There are days I think Got Some is just as good as those songs. While Unthought Known and Amongst the Waves are not great, there are parts of both songs I love (the verses in Amongst the Waves, which I think are top notch, and the way UK starts to build after the first two verses, the gems and rhinestones verse, the 'no one's rival' verse. I was not super enamored with the demo of speed of sound (although I think it's probably better) but I think there is a good song underneath an overly busy presentation. Really supersonic is the only song I could care less about.



4-5 Star songs on every album


Vitalogy: 10/10 (every one of the formal 'songs')
Ten: 9/11 (everything but deep and release)

Vs 6/12: go, animal, daughter, rearview mirror, small town, indifference
No Code: 5/13 (hail hail, in my tree, red mosquito, present tense, who you are--that's a new one for me. it's grown on me in the last few years)
Yield: 4/13 (Brain of J, Given To Fly, Wishlist, Do the Evolution)--some days I'd put ATY in there
Binaural: 5/13 (NAIS, Insignificance, Grievance, Rival, Parting Ways)--but the songs I don't care for on this album drag it down
Riot Act: 3/15 (Can't Keep, Save You, I am Mine)
S/T: 5/13 (Life Wasted, WWS, Comatose, Parachutes, Come Back)
Backspacer: (6/11): GSMF, Fixer, Johnny Guitar, Just Breathe, Force of Nature, The End)


Yeah, although the high spots on Yield, Vs, and S/T are higher for me than the high spots on Backspacer, in terms of how many songs I just really love listening to Backspacer is really high up there.




I went through my 'pearl jam is in decline' phase from 1996-2006. These last 7 years have been like a second honeymoon. I just wish they were making more music.

I pretty much agree with your thoughts on Backspacer..is such a unique and different album yet its 100% pearl jam.
It seems they took their idea of rocking out with a different approach than the previous one, but there were hints of this sound in avocado too ( Unemployable).
What is impossible for me is just to think this one can be their third best record..there is no way this record is better than Vs or Yield or Binaural, just to name a few.

I agree that is way more focused than RA.