By Eleni P Austin
Has it really been 22 years since Pearl Jam released their debut, Ten? It seems like only yesterday when the Seattle five piece (along with Soundgarden and Nirvana) introduced the Pacific Northwest Grunge scene to mainstream America.
There’s a bit of a “Cinderella” element to Pearl Jam’s origin story. Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament rose from the ashes of Mother Love Bone. (They had released their debut before their lead singer, Andrew Wood died from an overdose, effectively ending the band.) Hooking up with Gossard’s childhood friend, guitarist Mike McCready, the trio wrote and recorded a five song demo.
They gave it to Jack Irons, hoping the original drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers would join the band. Irons passed, but handed off the demo to basketball buddy, Eddie Vedder of San Diego. Following a productive surfing session, Vedder wrote lyrics to all five songs and added his vocals. The slipper fit and Pearl Jam was born.
Although Ten arrived a full month before Nirvana’s epochal sophomore effort, Nevermind, it was the Aberdeen trio that garnered the lion’s share of press and sales. Pearl Jam didn’t really break through until 1992, by then their sales had surpassed Nevermind. If Nirvana was seen as the Beatles of the scene, Pearl Jam were content to be viewed as the Grunge equivalent of the Who.
By the release of their second album, Vs., Pearl Jam seemed hell bent on defying conventions. At a time when MTV made or broke bands, Pearl Jam steadfastly refused to film promotional videos. They were the first band to play the Indio Polo Grounds (with American Music Club and Eleven), essentially setting the stage for the massive Coachella Festivals.
Five years after the music industry stopped mass producing vinyl LPs, Pearl Jam insisted their third effort, Vitalogy be available only on vinyl a week before the CD was released. The LP debuted at #60 on the Billboard charts.
When they discovered Ticketmaster was unfairly tacking on service charges to already inflated ticket prices, they fought back. Taking their case to the Department Of Justice, the band declined to perform in venues that sold tickets through Ticketmaster. They didn’t win the battle, and they lost a lot of money. But they retained their integrity.
By 1996, original drummer, Dave Abbruzzese was out and old pal Jack Irons was in. The band collaborated with Neil Young on his Mirror Ball album, and released their most experimental effort to date, No Code. Infused with World Beat rhythms and influenced by Eddie Vedder’s work with Qawwali master, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the album was artistically satisfying but not commercially successful.
The band spent the next ten years recording and touring. Jack Irons quit, and ex-Soundgarden drummer, Matt Cameron found a permanent home. The studio albums flowed; Yield 1998, Binaural 2000, Riot Act 2002 and Pearl Jam in 2006.
Not only did Pearl Jam encourage fans to record their live shows, the band itself began professionally recording each show. Between 2000 and 2001 they released 72 live bootlegs!
A key to this band’s longevity is creative space. Each band member has taken time for side projects and solo efforts. When Soundgarden reformed, recorded an album and toured, Matt Cameron was able to participate. Pearl Jam’s last effort, Backspacer, (2009) was buoyant and joyful.
Now the band has returned with their 10th studio album, Lightning Bolt. The opening track, “Getaway” manages the neat trick of being a full-throttle rocker with a potent message about blind faith… “Everyone’s a critic looking back up the river, every boat is leaking in this town/Everybody’s thinking that they’ll all be delivered, sitting in a box like lost and found.”
With two tracks, the band dives headlong into the mosh pit. “Mind Your Manners” proves these fortysomething millionaires are still hardcore punkers at heart. The instrumentation is a collision of live wire percussion and skittery guitar riffs that boomerang around the frenetic melody.
Eddie Vedder’s familiar familial angst is on full display in “My Father’s Son.” A pile-driving back beat and Punk Rock riff-age neatly package his bitter denunciations… “Now father you’re dead and gone and I’m finally free to be me/ Thanks for all your fucked-up gifts for which I get no sympathy.”
Pete Townshend and the Who remain a profound inspiration for Pearl Jam and it’s evident on two songs, “Swallowed Whole,” and “Lightning Bolt.” The former blends chiming acoustic riffs, flailing power chords and anthemic choruses that echo the “Who’s Next” era of the seminal British band.
The latter opens with percussion that crackles and thunders along with arching, windmill arpeggios. The track downshifts on the instrumental bridge to highlight tinkling piano notes that recall Quadrophenia’s feverish “5:15.”
The best tracks here are the ones that stretch the boundries. “Infallible” locks into an elastic see-saw rhythm and infectious melody that will burrow into your brain. The lyrics offer up this philosophical nugget… “By thinking we’re infallible, we are tempting fate instead.”
“Yellow Moon” owes a debt to the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The modal melody is pensive and haunting, powered by cascading piano fills and soaring guitar. Vedder’s vocals pay homage to the moon in a devotional Qawwali style. It’s simply beautiful.
Finally, “Let The Records Play” is Pearl Jam at their most playful. Like the bastard child of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Aerosmith’s version of “Big Ten Inch Record,” the track positively swaggers. Anchored by a chunky backbeat and wah wah guitar, the lyrics celebrate the joy of listening to vinyl.
Other interesting tracks include the contemplative “Sirens.” Moving with the grace and majesty of an ocean swell, the melody crests peaks and crashes. “Pendulum” blends carefully calibrated percussion with quicksilver guitar and Vedder’s stentorian vocals. On “Sleeping With Myself” a jaunty, Ukulele melody belies lyrics of heartbreak and lonliness.
The album closes with “Future Days,” a lovely benediction powered by intertwined piano, acoustic guitar and sweet violin.
Somewhere along the line, Pearl Jam has evolved from young Grunge guns challenging authority and kicking against the pricks. Now they are the elder statesmen of Rock & Roll. The gravitas suits them.
