In celebration of this week's release of the band's eighth(!) studio album, we here at via//chicago decided it was due time to celebrate one of our long time favorite bands - Pearl Jam. Today and tomorrow we will take a look back at the previous entries in this band's exciting discography, starting off with the classics and working our way through the under-appreciated albums of more recent years. After that I'll spend a day or two tossing up some tracks that fairweather fans of the band may have missed and a couple live songs that demonstrate just how awesome of a live presence this band still is. Finally, I'll wrap up this celebratory week with a track-by-track look at the new self-titled album. So break out your flannels and Docs, get your 1992 on, and join us in celebrating the band once known as Mookie Blaylock.
The Discography (Part One: Ten through Yield)
Ten (1991)
This was the classic that introduced the band to the world and, for better or worse, kickstarted the "grunge" revolution of the early 1990s. Nirvana may have had the bigger cultural impact, but let's face it - Pearl Jam was the band that launched a thousand musical imitators. The classic rock influence was clear from the get go, but that didn't lessen the impact of these often raw and visceral songs - in fact it made this batch of songs all the more timeless. Some of these songs may have gotten played out by alternative radio over the last fifteen years, but placed within the context of this powerful album they haven't lost a bit of the impact. Not to mention the other nine killer tracks that make up this amazing debut. From the uplifting and anthemic to the powerfully emotional, Ten is still Pearl Jam's most cohesive album and definitive statement.
Rating: 9.5/10.0
Essential Cuts: "Jeremy", "Black", "Why Go", "Release", "Alive", "Once"
Vs. (1993)
Despite the expectations of many critics and fans, the band knew they were never going to be able to top Ten on it's own terms so they used this opportunity to develop the band's sound and progress in several new directions at once. Gone are many of the more polished and deliberate moments of the debut, replaced with an ever-so-slightly looser and more organic feel. Some of the experiments fell a bit flat ("Rats", "Leash"), but others effectively showed off new elements of the band's sound (the passionate "Blood", the poppy "Glorified G"). Less motivated fans may have bemoaned the album's lack of a new "Jeremy" or "Black", but those who listened a bit more closely grew to appreciate the more nuanced sound on display.
Rating: 9.0/10.0
Essential Cuts: "Blood", "Animal", "Elderly Woman...", "Glorified G", "Daughter", "Rearviewmirror"
Vitalogy (1994)
Casual fans will tell you that this album is when the band's downhill slide began, pointing to the admittedly hard to love experiments like "Aye, Davinita" and "Bugs" as proof of the band's lack of direction. But those fans are allowing those red herrings to take their attention away from the true beauty and power of this third album, in full evidence on "Corduroy" and "Immortality" - two of the best songs the band has ever put to tape. "Better Man" seems to be the only song from this album to still get many repeated spins on alt-rock radio, but that one isn't even one of the album's five best songs. "Not For You" and "Spin the Black Circle" reflected a new found fire in the band's belly, while the ballads "Tremor Christ" and "Nothingman" added a true sense of delicacy and beauty to the album.
Rating: 9.3/10.0
Essential Cuts: "Spin The Black Circle", "Tremor Christ", "Corduroy", "Immortality", "Not For You"
Merkinball (1995)
It may have been just a two song single comprised of toss-offs from the Mirror Ball sessions with Neil Young, but what an amazing pair of songs. "I Got ID", familiar to many fans as "I Got Shit", is a brooding rocker that features one of Vedder's more fiery vocal performances. "The Long Road" is another solid track that gives a hint of things to come on the band's next full-length.
Rating: 9.6/10.0
Essential Cuts: "I Got ID", "The Long Road"
No Code (1996)
At the time this album was widely believed to be quite a big failure for the band, haters were quick to point to the relatively sluggish sales and weak performance of lead single "Who You Are" - but they were missing the point. At this point the band was hoping to shed the "most important band in rock" baggage and get back to focusing on the music they wanted to write. Once expectations for another "Jeremy" or "Alive" had fallen by the wayside, the band moved on and explored some interesting new directions. Not to say that this album was a complete success however, Vedder's spoken word "I'm Open" and Gossard's Neil Young aping "Mankind" would probably have been better suited to B-side status. But songs like "Off He Goes" and "Red Mosquito" more than earn their place in the Pearl Jam Hall of Fame. If you were one of those who left the fold after Vitalogy, pick this one up and find out what you've been missing this past decade.
Rating: 8.6/10.0
Essential Cuts: "Hail Hail", "Off He Goes", "Red Mosquito", "Habit", "Sometimes"
Yield (1998)
Even though mainstream expectations for this album were relatively low, fans seemed to be chomping at the bits for this album mainly due to the amazing lead single "Given To Fly". An easy choice to kickstart the promotion for this disc, "Fly" soars to a powerful climax both lyrically and musically - reminding fans that this band was still able to pack an emotional punch when needed. Other tracks like "Brain of J" and "Do the Evolution" rocked harder than anything since the Ten era, while "In Hiding" and "Wishlist" pulled forth a more subtle emotion through sincere, simple beauty. The band also made a brief return to the world of music videos with the Todd McFarlane helmed animated clip for "Do the Evolution", a chaotic sprint through evolution and armageddon that bravely matches the intensity of the song itself.
Rating: 8.9/10.0
Essential Cuts: "Brain of J", "Wishlist", "Given To Fly", "Do The Evolution", "In Hiding"
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