Disc 327 is...Pearl Jam (Self-Titled)
Artist: Pearl Jam
Year of Release: 2006
What’s Up With The Cover?: Although this album is Pearl Jam's self-titled album it is often called "The Avocado Album". I like this cover, principally because the shade of blue I find very calming. I'm not such a fan of the avocado. I can't stand avocado, nor do I rock the guac. Sadly, like mushrooms, chefs seem to love avocado in various dishes (burgers, salads, pasta - you name it). On the plus side, it helps cut down my menu choices, which is just as well. But I digress...
How I Came To Know It: I am an avowed Pearl Jam fan, so I bought this album immediately upon its release. Sometimes there is no story beyond my compulsive need to complete the collection.
How It Stacks Up: I have ten Pearl Jam albums, which I believe is all of them. "The Avocado Album" is good, but far from my favourite. I'll say it is about 7th out of 10.
Rating: 3 stars.
I recently reviewed Rush's album "Vapor Trails", a later release which felt like a dividing line between the great Rush albums and the lesser ones. Pearl Jam's self-titled effort fills the same spot in my mind. The record is very good, bordering on excellent, and as I listen to it for a third time while I write this review, I still find myself wavering between three and four stars.
When this record came out, I recall it getting quite a bit of hype and (presumably) radio play. After albums like "Yield" and "Riot Act" which had a softer, more introspective edge, I think people enjoyed the band returning to a sound more akin to their early records. Like most great bands, Pearl Jam will always be frustrated by fans only interested in their first few great records, missing out on all of their musical growth that followed.
As for me, Pearl Jam has yet to take me somewhere musically that I didn't enjoy. I want my favourite musicians to try new things and not be afraid to lose some commercial appeal in the process.
So I was a little disappointed to see an effort to return to the old sound, but that could just be me being overly proprietary as a fan who 'never left them'. Besides, this record does still push boundaries in places, even if those places are not the songs that would eventually chart. And the songs that do chart ("Life Wasted", "World Wide Suicide" and "Gone") are all pretty good.
"Gone" is one of those songs that is quintessentially Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder's deep-throated vocals soaring over the groove, telling a story of deep yearning (in this case the yearning to get out of town). It makes me want to get in my car and just drive until I forget all my cares. Of course, since I live on an island that would eventually be dangerous.
Speaking of diving into the sea, "Big Wave" is a groovy, fast moving song that captures all of the joy that Eddie Vedder feels toward surfing. Many years ago when we had our kitchen countertops replaced the guy who did the work was a massive Pearl Jam fan, and he told me that Vedder credits the inner peace he achieved through surfing as key in helping him kick his heroine habit. Hearing him sing about the experience of catching a big wave makes me believe it. It also makes me want to try surfing.
Pearl Jam also show their love for early fifties doo-wop with the gorgeous deep cut, "Come Back." I often note doo-wop influences on acts that are slightly older (Blue Oyster Cult, ELO, Neil Young) but it is great for a comparatively younger act like Pearl Jam to demonstrate a strong sense of musical history. Their remake of "Last Kiss" is the most famous example of this, but for my money the experience is never better than "Come Back." As a sparse production keeps slow tempo to Vedder he sings to his lost love, ensuring her that although they are parting there will always be "an open door for you...to come back."
The song is less about the lyrics and more about Vedder's uncompromising delivery. Much as I like "Gone", if I had been the soulless record exec in charge of this album, "Come Back" would've been the third release.
Lyrically, these songs don't hold up without Vedder's voice, although I do like the existential sentiments in "Inside Job", in which Vedder sings "How I choose to feel...is how I am." So true, but so hard to convince people of.
This album has a good mix of tempo, and the songs are memorable. All in all, it comes within a hair of achieving four stars, but since I was tough on "Vapor Trails", I'm going to be equally tough here, and stick with three. Maybe I'm being a hard marker, or maybe it's just the avocado leaving a bad taste in my mouth.
Best tracks: Life Wasted, Marker In The Sand, Big Wave, Gone, Come Back
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