I love Force of Nature so much. I might just LAL the whole album later.

Snap...Force of nature is possibly the finest song of the second half of their carreer

It may very well be. And, so as not to damn with faint praise, it holds its own against many of the classics from the first half.

I agree, but also wonder why I often forget about it?

i rarely listen to Pj anyways, usually stick on a boot if I do, but even last week someone asked me to pick 8 Pj songs for a thing, and a brief blurb about why i chose them or what they were about, and FON never even occurred to me..

probably because it's not given classic status by the wider community, so it's easier to gravitate towards songs that are.

Great Songs
Force of Nature
Got some
Just breathe
Unthought known

Very Good
Gonna see my friend
Johnny Guitar
The End
The fixer

Decent
amongst the waves

No Thank You
Supersonic
Speed of sound


Good solid album. The opposite album to Vs IMHO!!!

Colourful light fun not usually words you would use for a PJ album.

Didn't understand the Backlash. Especially after avacado

Cause some fans don't want PJ to sound un-PJ-like (but it's okay to sound like the PJ from Vitalogy through Riot Act), and cause some folks wouldn't know irreverance if it was a wrecking ball hitting them in the nuts.

Or, you know, because most of it is just shitty, uninteresting music.

Good:
Gonna See My Friend
Got Some
Force of Nature
The End

Shitty, uninteresting music:
Fixer
Johhny Guitar
Just Breathe
Amongst the Waves
Unthought Known
Supersonic
Speed of Sound

I have to disagree. I think one of the most beloved aspects of the band is/was their ability to produce records that were unexpected or different from the last one. The difference between Vitalogy, No Code, and Binaural AND let's say S/T and Lightening Bolt is simply the quality of the output/result.

That said, of the last 3 records, Backspacer is my favorite by far. Backspacer would have been the perfect release directly after Riot Act. From moody to upbeat and energetic. I like Backspacer because it provides something the band rarely produces. Quick, punchy, catchy songs. The choruses really stand out for me.

So the other day I went through LB. Today I went through BS.

Disclaimer: Ed really does sound like he has a cold throughout this entire album, which makes his vocals a very unpleasant listening experience for me. I feel like I'm catching his germs through my ears. I'll say this right at the top so I don't have to mention it again.

Gonna See My Friend - The intro seems like it needs to be more furious. But I guess that would make it more straight-up punk than pop punk. Anyway, this is a fun song. Lots of energy. Jeff is really killin' it.

Got Some - I like the music. Killer intro. But some of these lyrics seem detrimental. "Have you heard of diplomatic resolve?" "Got some if you need it?" Oh boy. I'm of two minds on this one.

The Fixer - I think this song is a blast. Really enjoyable pop rock. Another that gets a disproportionate amount of hate. More lyrical problems through. "We got a put a little fixin' on it?"

Johnny Guitar - "Johnny, he be havin' lots of women." "He be havin'," Eddie? This album has such weird lyrics. It seems like he's trying to "talk young" or something. Very off-putting. Like "Got Some", I think the music is solid, but Eddie makes me second-guess everything.

Just Breathe - I hate this song so much. Eddie's voice is horrific. I know I said I wouldn't mention that "cold" thing again, but Jesus. This is unlistenable. On top of that, the music is intensely uninteresting fluff. This song is cough syrup. Gross. Next.

Amongst the Waves - This song is fine. It's not bad. It's not remarkable. It's...fine. I will say it is a welcome respite from the weird youth-pandering of the preceding tracks, at least. Okay, three minutes in and there's still a minute to go? This song is too long.

Unthought Known - This is basically "Lightning Bolt". Both are unconvincing build-ups to fake catharsis. I feel nothing. But it's not really bad or anything. It's just...there. Again.

Supersonic - Another upbeat and energetic pop rock song...and another totally unremarkable track. I can feel myself forgetting it before it even ends. Like a lot of these, it's not BAD or anything - it's just not all that great either. It just sorta hovers in the middle, leaving little impression.

Speed of Sound - Boy, this album sure is mediocre. It's almost like they decided they needed to create a certain "kind" of song for each track number, and set out to build one. "We need a rocker here, we need a ballad here," etc. Because this is a totally boilerplate mid-tempo ballad that seems like it was composed only because they needed a mid-tempo ballad.

Force of Nature - Mike's distorted guitar at the beginning is really lame in that LTRP play kind of way. Oh my god, it hasn't even been a minute and I've already lost interest. It's weird that on an album with which they are clearly trying to break from their established sound/aesthetic and make something a bit different, they sound more like they're on autopilot than ever before. Okay, that's enough of this. Next.

The End - I swear I can feel my nose getting stuffy.

I think the whole thing about how different Backspacer is from standard PJ is somewhat overstated. It's not some huge left turn; it's still clearly Pearl Jam being Pearl Jam, just leaner, cleaner and... twinklier

Gonna give this a listen this morning inspired by Evenslow's detective work.


Gonna See My Friend: A love how upbeat and energetic the whole song is - from the opening seconds the song just feels alive. It crackles in all the best ways. Great bridge, too. Love Matt's drumming leading into it, and the transition into the final verse. Eddie does sound a little screechy and hoarse in parts, but it sounds so infectious I don't care. Backspacer has always felt like a 2 AM celebration to me - the celebratory moments at the end of a hard and exhausting journey.

Got Some: This song comes out of the gate in such a great way (both Got Some and GSMF are just stellar in their opening moments). Eddie is the one who really stops this song from reaching its potential. Some of his worst lyrics and, as I've said many times before, he just sounds a bit too thin. SBWM would have been a disaster if Eddie sounded like this, and Got Some needs the snap and bite he has in that performance. I do like the ahhhaaasss that lead into the final verse out of the bridge.

This is a song (man I rarely say this) where I almost would prefer Lightning Bolt production everywhere but Eddie. I feel like the mix takes away from some of the power in the performance. Lightning Bolt, if nothing else, is loud.

The Fixer: God I love this song. It's been too long since I gave Backspacer a good stereo headphones listen. Probably Pearl Jam's happiest song? But it rarely feels cheesy to me. Just earnest. And earned. Even the twinkly moments work so well for me, and I've always been a fan of these lyrics. Playful without ever being stupid or having nothing to say. The only two issues I have are the 'yeah yeah and uh huhs' going into the first verse and out of the bridge, which do feel just a little phony. And the main gutiar riff is really good - it could be a bit dirtier and more pronounced in the mix. Another one of those songs that is genuinely challenging in the context of the catalog in that it pushes back against what Pearl Jam is 'supposed' to be.

Johnny Guitar: I think Eddie's ability to sustain an extended vocal melody really starts to come into its own on this album. A song like SBWM would be impossible without going through a song like Johnny Guitar. That bridge is so good. I wish it was longer. And the lyrics are a clever exercise in self-parody. Both this and Gonna See My Friend are weird anti-songs that sound like genre songs that invert thematic expectations. Good outro to. This is a song I wish they played around in the musical space longer. I kind of forgot how much I liked the music in this one.

Just Breathe:So nakedly personal. Similar territory to Sirens and Future Days, but this may be better. Eddie's guitar part is lovely and some nice lyrical moments. I like the oohhhhh going into the second verse, which gently glides into the bass addition. "I'm a lucky man to count on both hands the ones I love" is one of my favorite Eddie lyrics. The only thing that keeps this song from being an all timer is how nasaly he sounds (not sure why that choice was made), and the overly adorned verses feel a bit out of place with the rest of the song. I don't dislike it per se, but it is slightly jarring. It might just be how much louder it is than the rest of the song. The extra instrumentation adds enough emphasis to the chorus. It doesn't need the extra volume

Here we go - the middle stretch.

Amongst the Waves: I love Eddie's lyrics in the verses, and the music in the verses is great - like a spring rain or a warm, foggy morning. I'm not sure there is a single pearl jam song that is let down by the chorus as much as Amongst the Waves. It's not terrible, but it is generic. (I don't like the high/thin transition part mike? plays going into the excellent second verse). The song either really needs this to be an explosive chorus, and this never lifts off, or just ignore the chorus and stay in the bouncy introspective space of the verses - they move along briskly enough and have enough internal dynamics that you could make the song a long uninterrupted meditation. Stormy solo by Mike (far from his best, but not bad by any means), but it plateaus into the last chorus, and while there are production flourishes to tell you that this is the cathartic climax it doesn't feel like it. There are so many convincing emotional moments elsewhere in this song (the choruses of Force of Nature, the best moments of Unthought Known) that are exactly what this song needs to be a classic, but never gets there.


Unthought Known: Lightning Bolt largely removed this from my playlist. Everything I got and needed from this song I get in Lightning Bolt, to a much greater degree. I don't really like what Eddie's playing, but the 'look for love and evidence' part of the song where the rest of the band starts to come in still feels exciting - even sitting at my desk. It's a great build. And some nice lyrical moments. "feel the sky blanket you with gems and rhinestones. see the path cut by the moon for you to walk on' is a nice lyric couplet and Eddie delivers it so well (where is that in Amongst the Waves). The piano is a nice addition we don't get much of, and works well in the song. My issue with Unthought Known, as opposed to Lightning Bolt, is that both songs build to a climax after their first verse that they largely sustain throughout the song - but Unthought Known's doesn't feel quite as big (the nothing left part isn't great), and Lightning Bolt feels like it keeps building and building. Unthought Known plateaus off. The 'dream the dreams...' part is a nice lyrical moment. This song could have used a great I am Mine/Force of Nature/Wishlist uplifiting solo. It's a little too unadorned in parts. More than any song on Backspacer it feels unfinished


Supersonic: The platonic form of spritzy pop. The first few moments caught me off guard. Hey - maybe this is better than I remember. But then it goes into the Ramones pop/punk verse and I remembered how much I don't like this kind of music. I suppose its not bad for what it is, but I just don't care about this at all. Not a bad solo - it's got the same grimy feel as a lot of Johnny Guitar -, but utterly out of place in a song this glossy.

Speed of Sound: I prefer the cacophony of the studio version to the unadorned demo. This really presages a lot of the themes in Lightning Bolt (along with The End). This one took me a long time to wrap my mind around, and it's not a song I usually seek out, but I do like it. It's such a messy song, almost absurdly so, given the demo, but the messiness of it elevates the song in a weird way I cannot fully articulate. This is one of the songs that really opens up once you stop fighting what you expect it to be. Nice lyrics. Some nice performance moments from Eddie in this one. He sounds better here than I remembered.

I forget that this song is actually pretty good way too often.

Wow, this album does really fly by. Just two tracks left.

Force of Nature: This is one of my favorite pearl jam songs. full stop. Best song on the album. But the beginning is disappointing. The guitar riff works but it really need something to adorn it, and whatever mike is playing at the start just doesn't work. It's not a good first impression. And the first verse is the weakest of the verses. But once the chorus starts the song really takes off and goes to some wonderful places. I love how stubborn and quietly defiant it is. The coloring that Mike gives the second verse is so good. Really rewards a careful listen. Where is this in the first verse. I love the second chorus so much. One of my favorites in the whole catalog. "Somewhere there is a siren singing a song only he hears" is one of my favorite lyrical moments he's ever given us.

I wonder if this would have benefited from a solo - the stuff mike plays in amongst the waves and supersonic (the stormy, dirty feel of them) could have worked well given the dark space the singer is in during the bridge. Again, great color work by mike in the third verse. I love how the music supports Eddie here. It is an inspirational song, but Eddie plays his part steady and stalwart and lets the music elevate the message. I love the part Mike is playing in the outro so much. His finest moment on the last two records, probably.


This is a great fucking song.

The End: I like the End but it feels out of place on Backspacer, which should have ended with Force of Nature. It should have been a lightning bolt song (or maybe a hidden track, even though that's annoying). Great naked performance. I love the quiet growl on the way he sings 'slide' in the 'slide on next to me' lyric. Not a huge fan of the lyrics, but they're so sincere and the performance is so raw and scared I forgive it. That final gasp was so powerful the first time I heard it. Actually it was here as well, since it's been a long while since I've heard it.

Oh my god! The Spotify Backspacer concludes with Betterman - Live!


Is that where that bit came from and I'm super late to the party (I'm a new spotify user) or is that just a wonderful cosmic joke?

Okay, Backspacer is back in the number 4 spot. What a great record. It's brevity is a real strength

Force of Nature is indeed a great song! Love the soaring feeling.

The beginning guitar riff feels like a boxing/Rocky anthem.