From a debut album that wasn't ultimately that strong to one that was one of the great records of all time.
Disc 153 is...Ten
Disc 153 is...Ten
Artist: Pearl JamYear of Release: 1991
What’s Up With The Cover?: I've often asked this question with "Ten". Basically, the band reaches up to clasp hands, but all we see is their hands and the tops of their heads. I never really liked this album cover, although it does speak to the visceral energy of the music, so I guess it is fitting. Also, if you fold it out, you can see the whole picture, which is a bit better, and if I was a teenage boy, would've made a pretty good wall poster.
How I Came To Know It: Yet another album my friend Greg introduced me to when we lived together in the early nineties. This one was always a cease fire during the folk/grunge wars, because I really liked it, and was never unhappy to hear it.
How It Stacks Up: I have ten Pearl Jam albums. "Ten" has the biggest reputation of all of them, and that reputation is well deserved. I'd say it is tied for first, or maybe a close second, depending on my mood. If you've been following along, you know that back at Disc 46 I said "Vs" was second best, or tied for second" - which can only mean if "Ten" is tied for second, it is tied with "Vs." If "Ten" is best, with what album is it tied. Well...
Wait a minute - you're trying to trick me, like Sgt. Schultz on Hogan's Heroes! Well, the answer is "I know nothing" - you'll just have to wait until I roll it to know what album I put above or on par with "Ten".
Rating: 5 stars.
"Ten" is an interesting name for an album with eleven songs. Why not call it "Eleven" at that point? In terms of greatness it certainly goes to eleven. In terms of energy level it goes to eleven, and it unquestionably goes to eleven in terms of reputation.
"Ten" is often put in the backseat when discussing the great albums of this period behind Nirvana's "Nevermind". While I do love "Nevermind", I believe "Ten" is marginally the better album. Yes - that is saying a lot, but this record delivers a lot.
In terms of a side A, I'm not sure there is anything stronger. The opening track "Once" starts with a brief stint of mood music, but quickly launches into driving melodic guitar, and Vedder's soaring vibrato vocals. These are sounds we take for granted from Pearl Jam, but I'll put on my old guy hat and say that it was a revelation back in 1991 when you first heard it.
From here, we launch into the smash it "Even Flow" then the smash hit "Alive", then "Why Go", "Black" and ending up with a third massive hit "Jeremy".
Unlike a lot of albums that seize the public's attention, the hits on "Ten" are actually deserving of being hits. "Jeremy" is actually my least favourite of all of them, mostly because it has been so overplayed over the years. Despite this, it came up twice as I was driving around, and I couldn't skip it either time - even on the second listen when it would have been a legal CD Odyssey play.
As for "Alive" it is simply one of the most important songs in my life - an anthem, a defiant cry against anything bad that has ever happened, or that ever might in my life. An existential cry of freedom that energizes me today as much as it ever did when I was twenty one, and first heard it.
When I hear Eddie crying out "I'm still alive" I join in. When I haven't heard him cry it out in a while, the song will just come to mind when I need it, and I'll sing it to myself. Other than Rush's "Freewill", I can't think of a song that energizes or empowers me more.
On top of inspired lyrics and vocals, "Alive" has one of the great song ending guitar solos I've ever heard. In fact, all the guitar work on "Ten" is top notch, and when the guitar takes off, lead axe man Mike McCready never lets the solo get away from the tune - a common sin of many mediocre rock bands.
The lyrics on these songs, and the others perfectly match the energy of the music, and I always find "Black" particularly emotionally resonant, but I won't share any because they just don't have their same energy without the music.
This as much as anything is testament to Pearl Jam's power as a band - they are each great musicians in their own right, but they are something greater than their component parts when they come together.
"Ten" is an album of boundless energy, but it never lets that energy carry itself away or muddy its sound. It never seems screechy, or just loud for loud's sake. It is a controlled fury throughout, always on the edge of losing it, never doing so.
My friend Kelly remarked recently that it must be hard to have your first album be your greatest. Pearl Jam certainly set the bar high, but in the years to follow they wisely didn't let this record fossilize their sound. They consistently went in new directions with their music and at least once, they reached the same level of excellence. There is a reason they've gone from someone else's band, that I just happened to like, to one of my favourite bands of all time.
For now, I'll cease waxing poetic and just sign off by saying. "Ten"- still going to eleven two decades later.
Best tracks: Pretty much every song on here is awesome, except maybe "Release" which ends with some excessive stoner noodling that would put Greg Keilor of Blue Rodeo to shame.
Of the remaining kick ass ten tracks, I'll take Even Flow, Alive, Black, and Garden
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