http://capenews.net/blogs/maclones_musi ... pearl-jam/Album Review: Backspacer by Pearl JamI was 11 or 12. It was about December 11th or 12th. For some reason I went upstairs into the attic. I never went upstairs into the attic, ever.
There it was laid out before me like a never-ending sea of wrapping paper, boxes and bows. Christmas morning had come early. I found the whole enchilada. Of course I couldn’t share my great discovery in fears that mom and dad would flip and take it all back, but Christmas had come early — well except for the fact that I couldn’t play with anything, but still.
That’s sort of how I felt yesterday afternoon. It was so unexpected. It was so uneventful. I looked down at the Crackberry and the little red light was flashing, meaning I had a new email.
My buddy Brett, who I’ve seen a couple of Pearl Jam shows with and is the keeper of all things Pearl Jam live (he’s hooked me up with DVDs of live stuff for a couple years now) had sent me an email.
FW: new pj album
I’ve been a diehard Pearl Jam fan since Eddie Vedder and the boys broke onto the scene in 1992. I remember the first time I heard a Pearl Jam song. I remember vividly listening to Ten from start to finish and I remember the first time I ever saw them perform live up on the lawn at Great Woods for Lollapalooza. I’ve seen them 15 times since then and have a big collection of live recordings, and of course every studio album.
It was Christmas. I tried to fight the urge to download it. I wanted to wait until the official release date of Sept. 22. There’s something cathartic about unwrapping that cellophane and eyeballing the liner notes as you listen to the CD without being able to leave the parking lot of the store.
My self control lasted about seven hours. I got home from work, watched a movie with Lyra and then went online. My online acquaintances were all listening to it, and loving it.
Screw it, I gave in and downloaded the thing. I’m glad I did.
Christmas came early, and I love my present. Of course my ears are biased, but you know this already. Still, the first time I heard Binaural I didn’t love it. It was okay, and had some good points, but it wasn’t a home run. Riot Act is hit and miss for me too. The last release, the Avocado album, is good, but not as good as this.
This is the record I’ve been waiting for for 11 years. It’s fantastic.
I’ll let the experts tell you about Pearl Jam’s newfound positive attitude. I don’t have the expertise to tell you about song structures or coda.
I know what I like, and this I like, quite a bit. Even the songs I’d consider fluff or filler are redeemable, unlike some of the aforementioned albums.
“The Fixer” has been available, and on the radio, for a few weeks. It’s fun and light. It’s an accessible song for the masses that I’m sure will become a longtime staple in the live mix.
“Got Some” we heard on Conan O’Brien’s debut show back in June. I loved it then, and really dig a good clean sounding version that I can understand. It’s a classic Pearl Jam rocker.
The other songs I’d heard early were “Supersonic” and “The End.” The former is a fun pop-punk sounding tune that makes your feet bounce, the former is Vedder as the crooner with angst. It’s haunting and ends abruptly, closing the album out much faster than you want it to. It’s almost a shock. That’s it, but I want more.
But it’s the tunes I hadn’t heard that made me smile the most. “Johnny Guitar” is a fun story told with an up-tempo beat.
That’s followed by “Just Breathe” which sounds like it should have been on Vedder’s Into The Wild soundtrack. It comes midway through the album as the band takes a break from rockin your socks off, and then they drop this gem. It’s a beautiful song that made me want to run upstairs to wake my wife up to listen to. “I wonder every day as I look upon your face, uh-huh/Everything you gave and nothing you would take, uh-huh/Nothing you would take, everything you gave/Did I say that I need you? Did I say that I want you?/If I didn’t I’m a fool, God knows this more than me as I come clean.”
It’s a song about soulmates. It’s beautiful.
“Amongst The Waves” follows, and all I can say is that I cannot wait to hear this performed live. It needs to be follow “Given to Fly.” The chorus just soars.
“Unthought Known” sounds an awful lot like “Wishlist pt II” early into the song. It then slowly builds, getting more and more robust as the piano kicks in, then the drums, and Vedder’s voice builds from a whisper to almost a scream before evening out. I dig this song a lot.
“Speed of Sound,” I’m hoping it grows on me. “Force Of Nature” is okay, it’s just a little generic for my taste.
“Backspacer” isn’t a classic like “Ten” or “Vs.,” but it’s certainly a fun and entertaining album. In this day and age of hyping the hell out of things before they’re released, it sure was nice to have the big payoff and be satisfied.
I’m glad I didn’t wait to open this present.
** for those of you worried about me violating copyright laws, don’t worry. I respect copyrights. I am still buying the full CD, because I want all the artwork and the liner notes, etc. I own a pressing of every Pearl Jam disc they’ve released, and still plan on making a trip to the record store to get this one. If you live in Falmouth or Hyannis, I suggest you pick it up at Spinnaker’s and support your local record shop. They need your business, and when these places die off we’re all in trouble.