On parle meme de PJ dans le Financial Time!
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c9259e72-8824 ... abdc0.htmlPearl Jam, Shepherds Bush Empire, London
By Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
Published: August 13 2009 22:50 | Last updated: August 13 2009 22:50
Nirvana were grunge’s leading band, but Pearl Jam sold more records. The rivalry led Kurt Cobain to snipe that Eddie Vedder and Co were corporate rock, an unpardonable insult in grunge-speak, though it now sounds as quaint as calling someone a bounder.
Almost 20 years and 60m record sales later, Vedder’s throatily emotive vocals still ring out. A cynic observing the vigour with which the 44-year-old roared the line “I’m still alive” from their signature hit “Alive” might have detected a note of gloating about Cobain’s sorry fate. But that would have been a false impression.
Vedder, a rumpled man’s man, like a cross between Russell Crowe and Robert Plant, is a heart-on-sleeve bawler of the old school. There’s nothing cynical about him, nor his band’s brand of powerful hard rock, which was given a fine work-out at this uncharacteristically intimate club gig, a warm-up for the stadiums they’ll be reverting to in a world tour supporting next month’s new album Backspacer.
Typically conservative, they debuted only four new tracks in their two-hour-plus set. “The Fixer” zipped by with nicely chugging guitars and poppy “yeah yeah yeah” choruses. “Got Some” lapsed into generic riffage, while “Brother” found guitarist Mike McCready showing off his skills to better advantage with a howling Hendrix-style solo. “The End” was a brawny but contemplative number about mortality performed alone by Vedder on acoustic guitar. He dedicated it to “Yusuf” – presumably, since Vedder is a fan, Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens.
Whereas Nirvana drew on the confrontational clamour of punk and Black Sabbath, Pearl Jam have always felt greater kinship with classic rock. A pair of guests at the Empire underlined the affinity: a waxy-looking Ronnie Wood played guitar on a version of “All Along the Watchtower”, while Simon Townshend, brother of Pete, guested on a Who cover.
The reverence for the past may once have inspired criticism from Cobain, but it sits well with Pearl Jam in middle-age. Old favourite “Even Flow” was given a thumping Led Zep stadium rock treatment, complete with drum solo. “Present Tense”, from 1996’s No Code, was a gruff big ballad with an uplifting seize-the-day message. The last grunge band standing march on. ★★★★☆