An MTV Unplugged performance is the moment I remember really becoming a fan of Pearl Jam. It was another MTV appearance that provided a first inkling of what their second album was going to be. I didn't quite know what to make of Animal at first. "I'd rather be with an Animal..." I'm still not completely sure I get what that means -- though to be honest, I've never really thought about it.
"Ten" had a polished sound that was a bit closer to pre-alternative hard rock than the rough, punk-influenced style that would soon become the norm as the Seattle Sound took hold of Alternative Rock radio. For their second record, Pearl Jam stripped away the polish and delivered a set with just as much intensity as "Ten" but with a ragged edge that recalled Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The lyrics also carried a weight that was a logical step from those on the first record. "Ten" was a bit more personal, but now there were social and political themes coming into play as well as the first signs that the band was struggling to cope with their rise to stardom.
This record has a special place in my heart -- This record came out during my junior year of college just ahead of my 21st birthday. We had a new record store on campus that opened their doors at midnight to begin selling copies of the new record. After a few "adult beverages" (sorry, Mom, I did drink a few beers BEFORE I turned 21), we decided that we needed to hop in line for our copies. This means that my first listen to the disc would have taken place sometime around 1:30 AM and probably just as I realized how little sleep I was going to have before my 8:00 AM class the next day. Ugh.
The album kicks off with Go -- a clear statement of intent for where Pearl Jam was going to take us. An exhilarating track with lyrics that maybe don't quite hold up today. As I mentioned, this record came out just before I turned 21. My birthday fell on a Sunday during Homecoming weekend...which (again, sorry Mom) was a weekend that featured a few too many "adult beverages". At 11:45 PM on that Saturday, one of my friends said "C'mon, we're heading out so I can buy you your first beer as an adult." (Side note -- in the town where I went to school, you could legally enter the bars at 19). So we loaded into his van, and I remember that we queued up Go as we were driving to the bar. For that reason alone, it's one of those songs that takes me back every time I hear the opening chords.
Animal follows -- a solid 1-2 punch. Then we get to Daughter, which is quite possibly one of the best songs Pearl Jam's ever written. It's fantastic, but one that I got VERY tired of for a while.
Political commentary comes to the forefront on Glorified G -- a song about guns. Personally, this one's always seemed a little clunky to me but does succeed in cranking the energy back up after Daughter.
Dissident is next. Probably the most "Ten"-like song on the album. In the context of the album, it sounds great -- not one I like quite as much when it pops up on shuffle. It is one that I've not heard live, however, so is one of those "white whale" songs -- every PJ fan seems to have a list of those that they are waiting to check off their list.
W.M.A. is another politically charged track and a real departure from the band's sound. It can play a bit pretentious and self-serious, but the driving rhythm of the song pulls you in. It's also a perfect bridge from Dissident to the fury of Blood, which is one of those tracks that sounds like it shreds Eddie's vocal chords.
Up next is Rearviewmirror...a stone cold classic. This is one that frequently closes out sets at live shows and always ignites the audience. It's one of the few that feels as urgent on record as it does live.
Then we get Rats -- an odd song. One of those that took a while but ended up a favorite. This gives way to Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town. Up to this point, most Pearl Jam songs had 1 or 2-word song titles, so this one just looked different on the track listing. It sounds different, too. An acoustic song that has always sounded like something that would be more at home on an R.E.M. album. It's also one of the first hints into the range of styles Pearl Jam could hit and still sound like Pearl Jam.
Leash -- not a bad song but possibly the most dated sounding song on the album. It felt like a bit of a cliche in 93 and definitely feels of a time now. Which isn't to suggest I don't like it.
The closer is Indifference...another departure. A moody, atmospheric downer of a song...if Blood is Eddie starting to rage against the rigors of being in one of the biggest bands in the world then Indifference is that early morning meditation of the same guy -- awake in the wee hours of the morning while some nameless groupie sleeps beside him...he's not sure what it all means, but it definitely does not appear to be making him happy. This is one that got a fair bit of play on my stereo in college (much to the chagrin of my roommates). It seemed to show up every time I was in a less than cheery mood, which was frequent as junior year gave way to senior year.
I've stayed away from referring to this one as "Vs." That is one of the things I remember debating with this album. The CD cover just says "Pearl Jam"...there's no title on the front or back cover...no hint in the liner notes that I could ever find. For a while, we just called it "Pearl Jam", or the new Pearl Jam (at least until "Vitalogy"). For awhile our theory was that it was called "Five Against One", which would have been appropriate, if not a bit sophomoric as a nod to self-gratification.
"Ten" is probably the better album objectively speaking, but this will always be my favorite Pearl Jam album. It's one of those records that, for me, completely transports me back to the fall of '93 every time I hear it. It was a time where I was starting to realize that adulthood wasn't too far off, which was both thrilling and terrifying. The aggressive songs on this album captured that feeling perfectly and embedded in my consciousness in a way that few other albums have.While some of these songs are a bit forced when taken individually there isn't one that merits the skip button when playing the album start to finish.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Monday, August 27, 2018
Happy Anniversaries
My original plan had been to skip over "Ten" since my previous post on Pearl Jam's MTV Unplugged episode and how it cemented my fandom covered a good number of tracks on the album. That was before I realized that "Ten" turns 27 years old (!!!) on the same day that "No Code" turns 22. The former freaks me out a bit more than the latter. I can't slight "Ten" on its birthday, so my plan to walk through "Vs." will have to wait for another day.
I won't spend much time on the songs performed during the Unplugged episode -- it's not like any of them are deep cuts. Even Flow, Alive, Black, Jeremy, Oceans and Porch represent some of PJ's most iconic tunes and even the casual fan knows at least 4 of them...and can probably remember a time when they were so ever-present on MTV and radio that you could not escape them.
So let's spin through the remainder of the album...we get things started off with an instrumental intro called "Master/Slave", then immediately dive into "Once". This is one of the songs (along with "Alive" and the b-side "Footsteps") that was included on the demo cassette that Jack Irons gave to Eddie Vedder back when the band was looking for a singer. As the legend goes, Eddie wrote and recorded lyrics and sent the cassette back and the rest is history. I've always loved this song, even if the lyrics feel a bit clunky 27 years on.
After "Even Flow" and "Alive", we get "Why Go"...with one of the most distinctive bass lines of any song. This one epitomizes the general sense of anger and frustration that is found throughout the whole album. At this stage, you'd have to have thought that Eddie was perhaps the most intense person walking the face of the Earth. I was always somewhat lukewarm on this one -- until I saw it played live. Basically any song from "Ten" gets a huge reaction at a Pearl Jam concert, but there seems to be a higher gear for this one.
(Quick aside -- I'm listening to the album while I'm typing and McCready's closing solo for "Alive" just wrapped up. After all this time -- still get goosebumps)
And we're skipping some more -- "Black", "Jeremy", "Porch" and "Oceans"...the heart of the album...which brings us to "Garden". For many years, the tail end of this album didn't do much for me. Garden was a bit too metal for my tastes in the early 90's. I'm already sensing a pattern in my commentary but seeing it live...
"Deep" is the penultimate track...another one that hewed a bit too close to metal for my early 90's tastes, but has grown on me over time.
Speaking of growers..."Release" closes things out. I have no idea why now, but back in 1991-92, I never really cared for this one. It might have been the droning nature of the song or Eddie's vocal delivery. Or maybe I was just stupid in those days. I'm going to use the "but having seen it live..." comment just one more time.
September 3, 2011 -- East Troy, WI. It rained...ALL. F***ING. DAY. I was pretty excited to be at night 1 of the "PJ20" celebration...there was a buzz that Chris Cornell was there and that we'd be treated to a Temple of the Dog reunion. A number of bands were playing on smaller stages before the main event -- Dhani Harrison's band was there, Glen Hansard, Liam Finn, Joseph Arthur....we didn't make much time for these bands, but I do recall catching a bit of Finn opening his set with a cover of "Habit", and heard Arthur play "In the Sun", which is a great song. I also remember a bunch of guys walking around with t-shirts that said "World Wide Mustache Ride", which made me laugh.
A day or two before the show, my brother-in-law had somehow talked LiveNation into swapping our lawn seats for pavilion seats -- which in hindsight was brilliant because it gave us a little cover from the rain while the openers played their sets -- Mudhoney, Queens of the Stone Age, the Strokes. All of them were OK, but it felt like to took forever to get to Pearl Jam's set.
But finally, the band took the stage, and the opening notes of "Release" kicked in and I really cannot come up with the right words to describe the immediate burst of energy that came from the crowd. You had several thousand rain-soaked people all singing in unison -- it was one of those moments that I'll really never forget. To say it was electric does not do it justice. Eddie sang "I'll ride the wave..." and with hands in the air, the entire crowd answered..."WHERE IT TAKES MMMMEEEEEE". It gave me chills -- still does nearly every time I listen to the song. I was about a month and half away from my 39th birthday on the night of that show but from that opening track until the end of the show, my 20-year-old self came back for a visit.
I won't spend much time on the songs performed during the Unplugged episode -- it's not like any of them are deep cuts. Even Flow, Alive, Black, Jeremy, Oceans and Porch represent some of PJ's most iconic tunes and even the casual fan knows at least 4 of them...and can probably remember a time when they were so ever-present on MTV and radio that you could not escape them.
So let's spin through the remainder of the album...we get things started off with an instrumental intro called "Master/Slave", then immediately dive into "Once". This is one of the songs (along with "Alive" and the b-side "Footsteps") that was included on the demo cassette that Jack Irons gave to Eddie Vedder back when the band was looking for a singer. As the legend goes, Eddie wrote and recorded lyrics and sent the cassette back and the rest is history. I've always loved this song, even if the lyrics feel a bit clunky 27 years on.
After "Even Flow" and "Alive", we get "Why Go"...with one of the most distinctive bass lines of any song. This one epitomizes the general sense of anger and frustration that is found throughout the whole album. At this stage, you'd have to have thought that Eddie was perhaps the most intense person walking the face of the Earth. I was always somewhat lukewarm on this one -- until I saw it played live. Basically any song from "Ten" gets a huge reaction at a Pearl Jam concert, but there seems to be a higher gear for this one.
(Quick aside -- I'm listening to the album while I'm typing and McCready's closing solo for "Alive" just wrapped up. After all this time -- still get goosebumps)
And we're skipping some more -- "Black", "Jeremy", "Porch" and "Oceans"...the heart of the album...which brings us to "Garden". For many years, the tail end of this album didn't do much for me. Garden was a bit too metal for my tastes in the early 90's. I'm already sensing a pattern in my commentary but seeing it live...
"Deep" is the penultimate track...another one that hewed a bit too close to metal for my early 90's tastes, but has grown on me over time.
Speaking of growers..."Release" closes things out. I have no idea why now, but back in 1991-92, I never really cared for this one. It might have been the droning nature of the song or Eddie's vocal delivery. Or maybe I was just stupid in those days. I'm going to use the "but having seen it live..." comment just one more time.
September 3, 2011 -- East Troy, WI. It rained...ALL. F***ING. DAY. I was pretty excited to be at night 1 of the "PJ20" celebration...there was a buzz that Chris Cornell was there and that we'd be treated to a Temple of the Dog reunion. A number of bands were playing on smaller stages before the main event -- Dhani Harrison's band was there, Glen Hansard, Liam Finn, Joseph Arthur....we didn't make much time for these bands, but I do recall catching a bit of Finn opening his set with a cover of "Habit", and heard Arthur play "In the Sun", which is a great song. I also remember a bunch of guys walking around with t-shirts that said "World Wide Mustache Ride", which made me laugh.
A day or two before the show, my brother-in-law had somehow talked LiveNation into swapping our lawn seats for pavilion seats -- which in hindsight was brilliant because it gave us a little cover from the rain while the openers played their sets -- Mudhoney, Queens of the Stone Age, the Strokes. All of them were OK, but it felt like to took forever to get to Pearl Jam's set.
But finally, the band took the stage, and the opening notes of "Release" kicked in and I really cannot come up with the right words to describe the immediate burst of energy that came from the crowd. You had several thousand rain-soaked people all singing in unison -- it was one of those moments that I'll really never forget. To say it was electric does not do it justice. Eddie sang "I'll ride the wave..." and with hands in the air, the entire crowd answered..."WHERE IT TAKES MMMMEEEEEE". It gave me chills -- still does nearly every time I listen to the song. I was about a month and half away from my 39th birthday on the night of that show but from that opening track until the end of the show, my 20-year-old self came back for a visit.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Starting off with Pearl Jam (unplugged)
As you might have guessed, I'm not really into music that's "relevant" in 2018. What can I say, I'm old. Decided I'd kick things off with Pearl Jam -- why you ask? Well, as I'm starting this up, it's 8/25/2018 -- I just saw two INCREDIBLE Pearl Jam shows at Wrigley field on 8/18 and 8/20. If you've never experienced Pearl Jam live, you really should. I get that they are not everyone's cup of tea -- but in the 9 shows I've seen, I've left every single one feeling like I'm floating on a cloud. There's a passion there -- from the band and the fan base -- that is just tough to match. Even my wife, who has been to two shows and is most definitely NOT a PJ fan, agrees that a Pearl Jam concert is something different from your average concert. 8/24 also marks the 9th anniversary of my first Pearl Jam show -- it was a long time coming for me -- I was a fan, got tired of the band, rediscovered them, and then listened to a few bootlegs my brother-in-law let me borrow, and decided to check them out. The concert also fell during a memorable time in my life...this was a time when we were expecting our first child. I also welcomed two new nephews (born one week apart) that have both become "buddies" with my kid. This was also a time when the economy was still in a pretty turbulent state and there was a fair bit of stress as a result -- especially with a little one on the way. The catharsis offered by that first Pearl Jam concert was something that hit at the right time and is a big reason why I've held on to the memory longer than I tend to for your average concert. A great thing about Pearl Jam (something I wish all bands would do) is that they record and sell bootlegs of their concerts -- so it certainly helps that I can go relive the show anytime buy queuing it up on my iPhone.
So with Pearl Jam on the brain, I'm going to start off with the event that turned me into a Pearl Jam fan. As with most fans cultivated in the early 90's, the starting point as far as albums go is "Ten", but rather than dive into that, I'm going to talk a bit about the band's appearance on MTV Unplugged. At the time, that show was just gaining steam as one of the best showcases for bands. It had been around for a while -- early episodes featured a host (Jules Shear) and usually two bands per episode. Eventually, this turned into a single band playing a show that was recorded. Pearl Jam had been around a bit by the time their episode premiered but hadn't completely clicked for me. I was in full blow college music snob mode. My favorite bands at this time were R.E.M. and the Replacements. I was also convinced that any music I listened to had to fit a certain genre (this was stupid, by the way). Pearl Jam felt too "classic rock" to fit my alternative rock leanings when I first heard "Alive" and "Even Flow"...although I did like both songs. Then they were lumped into the alternative bucket, so I felt like it was OK to watch the Unplugged episode...
We were greeted with Eddie quoting a bit from the first song on the broadcast -- "State of Love and Trust". The band then tore through a song with just as much ferocity that didn't fit the typical unplugged performance. And right there, I was hooked. This was the first time I had seen the band outside of the official music videos -- and here's this little guy sitting on a stool, hair tucked up into a White Sox hat. He seems kind of quiet and shy as he talks, then as he starts singing, there's this intensity. His voice and histrionics became such a cliche as the band exploded that it's easy to forget just how commanding Eddie Vedder's presence was back then. Even though he's sitting down, he looks like he's about to explode off the stool -- there's this smoldering anger behind his singing and then his eyes almost roll back into his head. It was honestly captivating...
From here, the band tears through songs that would soon become overplayed. "Alive" was already on its way there. "Black", particularly this very unplugged version, would soon be so overplayed that I avoided the song for years. "Jeremy" was months away from being the omnipresent hit it became, and at this point was a clear high point from "Ten" and this performance. "Even Flow" was also on it's way to becoming nearly impossible to escape. None of these songs was reimagined for the unplugged format -- the band pretty much played them as they appeared on the album -- but even stripped down, these songs cooked in a way the proper album didn't.
The show closed with "Porch". I think by this point I was pretty close to pogoing around my parents' basement while I was watching this. Back in these days, I'd tape shows on VHS and then dub the audio to a cassette tape. This one kicked around my car for a long time. The cassette copy of "Ten" that I had was soon replaced by a CD, and the "Singles" soundtrack arrived (with "State of Love and Trust" and "Breath and a Scream").
The show closed with "Porch". I think by this point I was pretty close to pogoing around my parents' basement while I was watching this. Back in these days, I'd tape shows on VHS and then dub the audio to a cassette tape. This one kicked around my car for a long time. The cassette copy of "Ten" that I had was soon replaced by a CD, and the "Singles" soundtrack arrived (with "State of Love and Trust" and "Breath and a Scream").
Eventually, this would see a proper release in DVD form with the reissued version of "Ten". This remains perhaps my second favorite episode of unplugged -- right behind R.E.M.'s first appearance in support of "Out of Time". The DVD includes a different opener - "Oceans" which is a song I really hated in the 90's but completely love now. It really fits the unplugged atmosphere, and I'm surprised they trimmed it out for broadcast. Then again, anything but SOLAT wouldn't have had that sledgehammer intensity that grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go.
Welcome
Welcome to "Off He Blogs..." It has no reason to exist other than the fact that I was in the mood to ramble on about some music that I've been listening to. So my plan is to pick a band that I love, talk about some albums, maybe song-by-song, maybe not. We'll see.
Probably traversing ground that's been covered (and covered BETTER) than I can, but going to give it a go anyway. If you happen upon it, hope you find something you enjoy.
Cheers.
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