My early teenage life is returning with a vengeance. First, I spent some time last weekend listening to the Nirvana box set from last year and then on Tuesday, Pearl Jam dropped a bomb…
I read somewhere that artist’s self-titled albums are sometimes considered their definitive work – the encapsulation of the artist’s career. If that’s the case, Pearl Jam has steady-footing for longevity.
Pearl Jam’s Pearl Jam strides out of the gate with three fast-rocking numbers, “Life Wasted” , “Worldwide Suicide”, and “Comatose” , which would not feel out of place on one of the group’s earliest albums, you choose which one. “Worldwide Suicide” is a bitter requiem simultaneously honoring those fallen in our current war and shaming those responsible for sending these soldiers to war. Since politics is something Pearl Jam has frequently dabbled in (see “Bushleaguer”), it isn’t out of place if indeed this album is a summary of their career.
The album doesn’t let up as it rolls into the fourth song, “Severed Hand”, which is a fast-paced song with a slow(er) motion chorus that puts a bad light to drug abuse. The following song, “Marker in the Sand”, is the first one to slow down substantially, most prominently in its’ plaintive, existential chorus.
Thinking of slowing down, Pearl Jam proceeds into “Parachutes” next – a gorgeously lulling song for a band of “grunge” origins. In “Parachutes”, an organ compliments the dual guitar (one acoustic, one electric) rhythm. I’m unsure if it was intentional or not, but it seems the band also pays quick homage to Sir Paul McCartney (and “Band on the Run” in particular) with a wah-wah bit on the electric guitar in “Parachutes” towards the end. Regardless, the song is beautiful and one of my favorites on the album.
“Gone” is another moving ballad, this one lamenting the passage of time and escaping from familiarity – “Gonna leave it all behind me/This town”.
The highlight of the album, for me, comes with the shortest song that, incidentally, is listed as a reprise of the first song – “Life Wasted (Reprise)”. Outside of sharing lyrics and chord structure, the song is a spare tune featuring Vedder singing alongside an organ and it brings to mind Vedder’s duet with Neil Young for the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit.
Other notable songs on the album include the sad, anti-war “Army Reserve” and the lost lover lament “Come Back”.
It’s amazing that after over a decade of countless singers trying to imitate (and never surpass) Eddie Vedder, that this group still holds any resonance with me. This album also serves to remind me why I truly dislike the label of “Alternative” music – Pearl Jam and Nirvana were both labeled as “grunge rock” and saviors of the “alternative music” movement in the early 90’s. Pearl Jam, more than Nirvana, never really jibed well with that label because their music was often straight-forward rock (or maybe a bit experimental). Nevertheless, Pearl Jam is proof that the band is still relevant and can still write elegantly layered songs.
GRADE: B+
Posted by iain at May 5, 2006 02:28 PM