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Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Mon June 23, 2014 9:27 pm
A Return To Form
Joined: Tue January 29, 2013 11:24 pm Posts: 107 Location: London, UK
Jesus, where to begin?
This is far and away the worst PJ album. Backspacer is much more relaxed and fun, and Lightning Bolt has better songs and more variety. This, however, is neither fun, nor a good mix of songs. Its shite.
I gave this a spin yesterday in fact, just to keep hoping that something will come of this record. But no.
/10
Life Wasted - 5 (open goal...missed by a meandering nothing of a song...) World Wide Suicide - 6 (decent but forgettable) Comatose - 3 (all e-ter-na-teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeghghghghghg) Severed Hand - 4 (10 different ideas that don't hang together) Marker in the sand - 3 (as above) Parachutes - 6 (this is kind of nice - but I still wish it went somewhere) Unemployable - 5 (i like the beach boys vibe of the verse, but the chorus sucks) Big Wave - 3 (epic fail of a song) Gone - 2 (so much potential here squandered by the worst chorus of all time - its like Ed just got bored and decided to repeat "gone, so long" until we're all asleep) Reprise - 1 (seriously?) Army Reserve - 6 (a decent song) Come Back - 10 (fucking classic. gorgeous. perfectly played and sung. where the fuck did this come from?!?) Inside Job - 6 (almost a 7. good song. bit try hard. but good)
So - the flaw?!?
PJ try too hard to please fans - by thinking we all want another VS. But i don't think we do. After this, I think we'd all kill for another...well....anything else!!
Last edited by samiad on Mon June 23, 2014 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Tue June 24, 2014 12:48 am
AnalLog
Joined: Sat February 23, 2013 1:55 am Posts: 1812
Vs was a brilliant reaction to Ten Vitalogy was brillant reaction to 1993 No Code was a brillant reaction to a band being in over their heads Yield was a brillant good bye to the 20th century Binaural was a brilliant hello to the 21st Riot Act was a landscape of all that came before it Pearl Jam lives forever in vacuum all by it's self, makes it really interesting that this is their self titled record. It has no connection to the past and doesn't point to a future. Think back on the zobbie theme of the insert this makes sense. Something organic ie Alvocado gives way to something like the living dead. No great songs, No bad songs
Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Tue June 24, 2014 3:21 am
AnalLog
Joined: Fri January 04, 2013 1:05 am Posts: 1179
i comfort my ego by thinking that i like this album because of the time it takes me back to and the memories i associate with it but last week, my girlfriend put it on while i was gardening (we have speakers outdoors) and found that, despite all that's been said about it and despite the fact that i agree with most of these statements (questionnable pacing, shitty sound, some horrendous lyrics, plain ole bad songs) i like this record. it works for me. i'm not an audiophile as much as i'd like to and even if i can acknowledge the sonic weaknesses of S/T, i'd rather hear this than most of Backspacer. it has some pretty good songs that i enjoy more than songs i'd rate higher, if it makes any sense. Comatose, Severed Hand, Parachutes, Big Wave, Army Reserve and the music to both Life Wasted and Inside Job - all great. its biggest flaw is that it doesn't leave you wondering when the record's over. it's not a tricky album by any means. it's not the portrait of a band that has crossed a new barrier. in that sense, i'd liken it more to Yield than any of their other albums in the perspective that it somewhat went back to something more instinctive (Yield did that on the surface only, though). it was an album for them to enjoy playing live without all the hassle of counting time or learning new scales.
Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Tue June 24, 2014 5:16 am
Rank This Poster
Joined: Thu January 03, 2013 1:10 am Posts: 3839
A big thing I noticed when re-listening to S/T a few years ago was the complete inability on the band's part to either put together verses and choruses that made any sense being in the same song together, or worse, to undercut a promising song with a shitty section. WWS is a great example of the latter; it builds really well in the verse and pre-chorus only to have that moronic "it's a world. world over." , be what it was building to. Other songs like Marker and Army Reserve have great verses that just lose me when they transition into their choruses, even though in isolation they're not bad. What's left are some tired re-hashes (Severed Hand, Gone), a few near-misses, and one out-and-out stunner (Parachutes). I do agree with stip in the sense that it truly goes off the rails in the back half. If the quality of the first seven songs had been maintained, it still would have been their worst record by a considerable margin, but I don't think it would have quite the reputation it does now.
Last edited by digster on Tue June 24, 2014 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Tue June 24, 2014 10:54 am
A Return To Form
Joined: Mon September 16, 2013 10:51 am Posts: 151
Its definitely the mix for the biggest flaw. This should be an album you can crank up but it cannot take it.
Also as discussed before, there is something wrong with the drums on alot of the tracks. The snare is off or loose, and it takes the momentum from the songs
Can anyone advise if the vinyl mix turned out better? Or if there are better mixes available? This is a noted album for the effects of the loudness wars and how it can take away from the enjoyment of an album. Surely the band are aware of this, and if Ed is the audiophile he claims to be they would correct it
Post subject: Re: What is Each Album's Major Flaw?: Pearl Jam
Posted: Tue June 24, 2014 11:24 am
The worst
Joined: Thu December 13, 2012 6:31 pm Posts: 39524
digster wrote:
A big thing I noticed when re-listening to S/T a few years ago was the complete inability on the band's part to either put together verses and choruses that made any sense being in the same song together, or worse, to undercut a promising song with a shitty section. WWS is a great example of the latter; it builds really well in the verse and pre-chorus only to have that moronic "it's a world. world over." , be what it was building to. Other songs like Marker and Army Reserve have great verses that just lose me when they transition into their choruses, even though in isolation they're not bad. What's left are some tired re-hashes (Severed Hand, Gone), a few near-misses, and one out-and-out stunner (Parachutes). I do agree with stip in the sense that it truly goes off the rails in the back half. If the quality of the first seven songs had been maintained, it still would have been their worst record by a considerable margin, but I don't think it would have quite the reputation it does now.
I love the danceable insanity of the WWS chorus, but otherwise that's a good point regarding the chorus. Especially on army reserve and marker (which is a great chorus but a pretty abrupt change from the verses)
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