Pearl Jam Search and Destroy

I've got the last three albums and quite like them, but I wouldn't be bothered about replacing them if they were stolen / destroyed, etcetera. My mates all loved them when we were 15 or so, and I hated them back then 'cos they were "dirgy grunge bollocks".

However, I absolutely ADORE Given To Fly and would probably replace Yield for that song alone actually.

So... Search - Given To Fly. Destroy - Everything else, but by accident rather than on purpose.

As for Classic or Dud, they're kidn of beyond that, in my eyes, being neither one nor t'other, but just THERE. They'll probably be around forever.

"They'll probably be around forever." Im kinda hoping so

Yeild is their weakest albulm, often along with Soundgardens down on the upside lumped into the "grunge for grown ups category", certainly no real 'edge' there at all, but still good, damn good

Possibly an effort to regain fans after the experimentation of No Code- "I wish I was a radio song the one that you turned up", actually Wisjlist is a nice tune ruined a bit by the corny line about the moon reflecting off his corvettes hood, the whole albulm is so full of hooks and I love the 'bassy' production-if you cant enjoy "All those those yesterdays" then you need help. The biblical type imagery in Given to fly is cool and surprising for Vedder is not normally so clever with his lyrics. Other highlights- Brain of J, Faithful, No Way, Do the evolution, In hiding 'fan fucking tastic'

That would be 'Yield' and 'Wishlist'

No Code is my favourite: lo fi(ish) scribbles, weird-toned rockouts, country rock excursions, brittle and haunting doodles... Vs is a pulverising rock record, Ten has aged VERY badly, Vitalogy is a good rock record but is trying too hard to be DIFFICULT... Yield is my least favourite, and Binaural kicks like a mule, but i haven't played it in a long time...

Search the Merkinball 7", two songs recorded with Neil Young, both veh veh haunting.

Yes, they were never as bad as many might have made out. I liked No Code when it first came out but that and Ten seem to be the ones I'd be least inclined to listen to today. Yield is really nice - a lot of the tracks are growers and "Wishlist" is my dad's favourite song - he likes it for the "messenger and all the news is good" line :-) Personally, I have many memories from that particular album... really makes me think of travelling around.

Elsewhere, I remember everyone saying "Vs" was the best album, but I'm not so sure. I always rated Vitalogy as it seemed quite focused and dark. There were some terribly crap rockers on that album but the ballads were lovely. "Betterman" is my fave song by them.

Ten has aged badly, though it is not devoid of anthems (Jeremy, Alive) and surprisingly experimental tracks (Oceans).

No Code is okay but sometimes a bit sickeningly introspective/6th form poet angst. Dunno, it does have a nice feeling of being lost and bewildered.

i'd take no code over binaural any day - no code was their big chance, and after that they blew it, reigning eddie back in and getting back into the hair metal... shreds of it still appear on yeild, and their DIY nress of all the live cds is a big slap in the face to corporate pigs, and yeah, they are btter than all that train and nickleback shit, but nowhere near what they were when eddie sang, Don't it make you smile.

In 1992, I listened to Ten on a daily basis and might have called it the best album ever. But now I can't remember the last time I heard it...

But from Vs on, I think they keep getting better and better (minus one minor backwards step with Yield). I absolutely thought No Code was their pinnacle record for several years -- until Binaural, that is. There are few bands I listen to that have been kicking around this long and keep getting more (pardon the pun) "alive." Ten was the work of some worn-out old rock monster, where Binaural sounds like the work of a fresh and young band, full of ideas that take them in several directions and which they execute ferociously.

Search: -. Destroy: Pearl Jam

Absolutely godawful hoary old rock, the kind of stuff that punk should have kicked out 25 years ago. Dreadful vocals from the odious Mr.Vedder, and terrible preachy, didactic tone to their lyrics.

I'm disappointed to hear people so happy with Binaural because it came out after I stopped caring enough to even buy albums I thought I wouldn't like that much, and I don't know if I can work up the motivation to try again after not listening to Pearl Jam for so long.

The uptempo things on Yield probably helped put me off some - I thought that by then they were a lot better at ballads etc., and the faster things just didn't have enough bite.

Searching albums I would probably only save No Code and then Vitalogy (though note I'm not selling the old ones I still own, hm). Songs to search: Wishlist, Who You Are, Red Mosquito, Spin the Black Circle, Immortality

Destroy: Last Kiss, Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me and on a bad day anything else where they try to be 'weird' or 'avant-garde' or 'experimental' (I usually have a soft spot for Bugs though).

Vitalogy and to a lesser extent No Code have the best packaging of any mainstream records I ever bought.

what on earth was that foxymophandle thing about anyway? It always seemed like the strangest thing ever and made no sense.

I'd probably add "Not For You" to the "search" list. I seem to recall them playing this on SNL a week or two after Cobain killed himself and it gave me chills. (Then again, I was 16. Led Zeppelin gave me chills.)

Re: the SNL appearance - I remember at the end of the show when the credits were rolling, EV opened his jacket to reveal a "K" scribbled in sharpie marker over his heart. I thought it was touching.

Also, this hasn't been discussed (in this thread anyway), but when Pearl Jam makes a video, they MAKE A VIDEO. "Do The Evolution" is definitely one of the best music videos of the 90's -- and the song is one of the only things that keeps Yield from being a complete regression.

Forget about studio albums. Go right to Seattle 11/6/00. It's loud and passionate and wonderful. It's Pearl Jam in their element on a really good night.

Yeah, I'll throw myself onto the "Do The Evolution" bandwagon. Sounds like the sort of thing that comes on about 11pm in a really dingy rock club in some minor town. Which is a good thing.

'dont it make you smile' ILM enjoying pearl jam if somewhat reluctantly- Nate, your memory serves you well, feel no guilt! "Not For You" is a blistering song even more so as a live track- absolute classic. dog latin re no code: "Dunno, it does have a nice feeling of being lost and bewildered." yeah somehow in spite of Vedder's lyrical efforts it does capture that feeling exactly "present tense" especially so. As for foxymophandle, surprise surprise I quite like it. The song is actual dialog from a Psychology educational video about schizophrenia (from the 70's or 80's). In the movie, there is an old woman ranting about her stupid mop. She is actually a schizophrenic old lady. or if you want it from the horses mouth

Vedder: Yeah, I had taped something off the TV when I was maybe 17 or something and I think it was people who had mental problems who were being let out of the hospitals early because the states were taking away funding for mental hospitals. So they were setting these folks out without the necessary care but it was still very intriguing the way their mind worked and what they would say. And we experimented and tried to incorporate it into what to date is our most emotional and moving song. Stone: We incorporated it by using snippets of the audio tape.

I have 20 odd PJ records but only 1 from the bootleg series but managed to get to quite a few concerts on their European tour last time round. I admit I need help.

Search: "Alive", "Black", and on certain days "Better Man" and "Jeremy". These are the only Pearl Jam songs I'm interested in hearing these days.

damn, i hope eddie shared the royalties with the folks he stole the lyrics from