Pearl Jam's Backspacer

[funkdiggity]

I really dug the Pearl Jam dlc. Musically it was probably the first thing they've done in about a decade that I cared for at all. Some of the rockier tracks sounded a little forced to me, but not so much that I couldn't enjoy them, and I liked how pop the album sounded as a whole. Hearing a little bit of a new wave influence in a few of the tracks was a pleasant surprise as well. I liked the quieter songs even better though. I think Pearl Jam (or at least later Pearl Jam) is one of those bands who are at their best when A) they aren't trying too hard, and B) they aren't distracting themselves worrying about what big artistic/political statement they're trying to make this week. Since Backspacer is all about scaling things back, I think it mostly works pretty well for them. I really didn't think they had music this fun and upbeat in them.

Gameplay wise there isn't a lot to say about these songs. In fact I'd probably describe the charts on all three instruments in the same manner: these tracks are all really solid. For the most part they're pretty by-the-numbers charting, but every song has a few flourishes thrown in to keep things interesting. I enjoyed myself a lot, but unless you're a fan you probably don't need the whole album. Myself I'd probably go with The Fixer, Speed Of Sound, Force of Nature, and Just Breathe. But really, these songs all play pretty similarly, so just go with whatever one sounds best to you.

[bigfish]

i guess i will throw my 2 cents in here and agree with you to some extent. Pearl Jam really does seem like it tries to do a lot of things on this album, and doesn't quite hit the mark on any of them.

Johnny Guitar and Supersonic are perfect examples of trying just a little too hard to prove they can still rock. This is very meh.

Just Breathe, The End, and Speed of Sound seem like failures at recreating the poetry of Black, Yellow Ledbetter, or Light Years. Falling short musically and poetically. Was really disappointed in these tracks.

The Fixer seems like a desperate attempt to keep up with the Joneses. Trying to fit into the mainstream of todays radio airplayability. Yeah that's right i'm making up new words as i go. I really disliked this song when i first heard, but it has grown on me quite a bit and i find it stuck in my head quite often.... so that says something for it.

Amongst the Waves, Unthought Known, and Force of Nature are all pretty solid and most reminiscent of Pearl Jam's previous mid-tempo stuff. I enjoyed these quite a bit.

Gonna See My Friend and Got Some are a couple really good rockin tracks, that i don't think feel forced at all. I highly recommend these two.

If you were going to cherry pick this album i would start with the last 6 i mentioned. As a whole this album didn't make me love Pearl Jam again, and i was really hoping it would. It throws about a half a dozen really solid tracks out there, but nothing that will be memorable 5 years from now.

[luxe]

Even though Ten is a greater album, almost every song on Ten is in the same key, same tempo, etc. OK lots of bands are like that, they just have a sound, so if you listen to a lot of songs at once it starts all sounding like you know what's gonna happen next. But as far as PJ goes, Ten has greater songs but in terms of playing (singing) them all in one sitting I'd take Backspacer over Ten. I'm sure that will not be an opinion shared by many but I just like the variety and even if the songs aren't towering pillars of awesome, they're very fun to sing. The Fixer, yeah, it's very catchy. I liked several of the other songs too including Supersonic, Force of Nature, Got Some, and Gonna See My Friend.

[bigfish]

I don't know if i would say that Ten is all in the same tempo.or key for that matter. But it definitely has the same style and "feel" throughout. I think this is very typical of most bands first couple albums. I think it's because in the formative years that's all the really knew.

Green Day is a really good example. Dookie is full of great tracks, but there just isn't a lot of variety there.

Nirvana's Nevermind is another good example of a formula that stuck throughout the album.

White Zombie.... hell i couldn't really even tell where one song ended and the next began.

I think it's great that bands and musicians grow and evolve with their music. But i think theat Pearl Jam has been just missing the mark with every album since Vitalogy. Every album has had a couple really stand out tracks, a handful of really solid ones, and about half an album of failed experiments. I guess in that respect you could say this album is much better than the last few, in that that it is mostly solid throughout with a couple misses, but nothing truly standing out either.

[tackhead311]

my 2 cents on PJ i think fish is on to something. They have always been my least fav of the big 3 of grunge. i always find 2 to 3 tracks awesome, 1 to 2 good and the rest meh per cd on average. Backspacer i read reviews and i heard how they going to rock i just dont hear it. i do love the fixer track though but its pretty much meh for me.i think as usaul the strength of PJ is live cause dam they kick ass live. i dont think Pj can ever get what that got going on live into a studio record but im glad there still around making good music .

[luxe]

Definitely point taken on the "trademark sound" thing. I agree with pretty much everything said here - I was just talking about playing the songs in RB on vox, and for me Backspacer just kinda wins on that front.

Also I love Eddie Vedder's voice and I could probably listen to him sing one note for days. But I really hope they don't do something like that. Heh.

[funkdiggity]

I'd aggree that Fixer is a pretty naked grab at getting some airplay, but that doesn't bother me too much. I don't have a problem with formulaic pop music if the formula being used is a good one, and if the song itself is well executed. That chorus is catchy as hell, I'm not going to fault them for writing something like that ;D

I realize Ten is a Great Album and everything, but really, if you take out the four awesome singles, you're left with a cd that sounds pretty samey, and the muddy, dated-before-it-was-even-released production/mixing doesn't help matters on that front. Ten's singles aside, there's a lot of Pearl Jam material I'd rather listen to instead, Backspacer included. I think the Ten through Vitalogy stuff is certainly their most accessible music, but those but Binaural/Yield, and the 5 billion live albums, are where their best work is IMO.