Pearl Jam songs that charted without being officially released as A-sides

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some of these blur the line a little between single and popular deep cut, but i tried to keep it to any song that wasn't specifically promoted to radio, lot of their best songs became hits this way

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Corduroy 12
Better Man 7
I Got Id 7
Black 6
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town 5
Do The Evolution 3
Yellow Ledbetter 2
Glorified G 1
Leaving Here 1
Red Mosquito 1
Tremor Christ 0
Crazy Mary 0
Supersonic 0


bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:19 (twelve years ago) link

"leaving here", probably because it isn't theirs

contenderizer, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:21 (twelve years ago) link

"Leaving Here" is pretty awesome

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:21 (twelve years ago) link

Elderly Woman is one of only about 3-4 Pearl Jam songs worth hearing.

Poliopolice, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:23 (twelve years ago) link

Even without its video, I think Do the Evolution is one of their best tracks. Gotta vote for it here.

Johnny Fever, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:23 (twelve years ago) link

"Do the Evolution", for the choir breakdown. "I Got Id" was pretty good, too, though.

cwkiii, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:24 (twelve years ago) link

"Corduroy" is the crown jewel of their catalog afaic, but "Yellow Ledbetter" and "In Hiding" and "Leaving Here" and "Do the Evolution" are all personal favorites

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:24 (twelve years ago) link

Elderly Woman is one of only about 3-4 Pearl Jam songs worth hearing.

Curious, what are the other 2-3?

Johnny Fever, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:24 (twelve years ago) link

you know I still love "Better Man" for the same reason I did in '94: verse chorus verse, concise, smart.

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:27 (twelve years ago) link

this is "Black" vs "Better Man" for me

I actually don't know a bunch of these

Victory Chainsaw! (DJP), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:28 (twelve years ago) link

Elderly Woman is one of only about 3-4 Pearl Jam songs worth hearing.

Daughter, Better Man... that might be it for me.

Poliopolice, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:29 (twelve years ago) link

Corduroy, the best song they ever did.

kornrulez6969, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:29 (twelve years ago) link

you know I still love "Better Man" for the same reason I did in '94: verse chorus verse, concise, smart.

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, June 15, 2012 2:27 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's funny how Eddie wrote that song for a previous band, and didn't even bring it to Pearl Jam for like 4 years, just had that surefire hit in his back pocket, didn't release it as a single when they finally did record it.

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:32 (twelve years ago) link

Caught myself singing along to Eldery Woman when it was on the radio the other day, so that.

to welcome jer.fairall, pie is served. (jer.fairall), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:33 (twelve years ago) link

verse chorus verse, concise, smart

A lot of the bangers from Vitalogy onward are exactly like this, one of my favorites being "The Fixer" from the most recent album.

Johnny Fever, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:34 (twelve years ago) link

"Better Man" has a pretty non-formulaic bridge/outro thing though

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:37 (twelve years ago) link

It's when Pearl Jam tries to rock out that they become really bad and painful to listen to.

Poliopolice, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:41 (twelve years ago) link

Naw, that's their best look. When they meander around in floaty atmosphere I get bored.

Johnny Fever, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:41 (twelve years ago) link

lol I'd forgotten which song "Corduroy" actually was

I like these guys a lot whenever I actually get around to listening to them

Victory Chainsaw! (DJP), Friday, 15 June 2012 18:45 (twelve years ago) link

'I Got Id' for Neil Young's scorching guitar solo.

agnosy, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:46 (twelve years ago) link

This has got to be Corduroy. Though I like most of the songs listed.

Marty Innerlogic, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:50 (twelve years ago) link

'tremor christ' imo

omar little, Friday, 15 June 2012 18:50 (twelve years ago) link

so glad ppl here agree with me about corduroy

69, Friday, 15 June 2012 19:09 (twelve years ago) link

Corduroy, the best song they ever did.

― kornrulez6969, Friday, June 15, 2012 2:29 PM (1 hour ago)

Julie Derpy (Phil D.), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:32 (twelve years ago) link

everyone who rides for corduroy OTM

wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:50 (twelve years ago) link

I HAIIIII WOOOOBADOOOOOO HUUUUUEEEHHHAAA

la musica de harry frogbs (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:51 (twelve years ago) link

seriously sitting here staring at whiney's post, and then the list of songs, back and forth, trying to figure out which vedder garble he's transcribing

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:53 (twelve years ago) link

must be hunger strike

mookieproof, Friday, 15 June 2012 19:54 (twelve years ago) link

eddie grew as a person, in "hunger strike" he didn't mind eating bread from the mouth of decadence but by the time of "corduroy" he'd rather starve than eat your bread.

or, possibly he developed a gluten allergy.

wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:55 (twelve years ago) link

omg m@tt

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 19:55 (twelve years ago) link

i am not decadent tho

mookieproof, Friday, 15 June 2012 19:58 (twelve years ago) link

A lot of the bangers from Vitalogy onward are exactly like this, one of my favorites being "The Fixer" from the most recent album.

precisely why I prefer those later albums

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:00 (twelve years ago) link

Corduroy, but these are almost all good/great.

Gotye Sports (It's In The Name) (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:36 (twelve years ago) link

I got so happy when they played "Red Mosquito" at one of the last shows I saw.

a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:38 (twelve years ago) link

I still like "I Got Id" but the last few times I heard it I found myself wishing it didn't include the Neil Young solo.

billstevejim, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:40 (twelve years ago) link

I think Dad McCready coulda owned it harder.

billstevejim, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:41 (twelve years ago) link

nah that's such a big cathartic squeal

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:41 (twelve years ago) link

i would rather starve than stealin bread

billstevejim, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:43 (twelve years ago) link

xp I know it's an unpopular opinion.. I think Neil solos fit better in his own stuff.

billstevejim, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:44 (twelve years ago) link

he sings about bread a lot

billstevejim, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:44 (twelve years ago) link

DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO
DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO

mississippi joan hart (crüt), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:46 (twelve years ago) link

i'm actually (lowers voice to a whisper) kind of hot and cold about neil guitar myself, but i think it works on that song.

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:46 (twelve years ago) link

"black" - for the pain

da croupier, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:48 (twelve years ago) link

yeah I'm voting "Black", just dig that song too much

Victory Chainsaw! (DJP), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:51 (twelve years ago) link

"Corduroy" always struck me as their take on INXS's "The One Thing", which is obv yet another reason why it's awesome

Victory Chainsaw! (DJP), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:51 (twelve years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYfkKnHBT5g

this remains the weirdest thing

da croupier, Friday, 15 June 2012 20:54 (twelve years ago) link

"Corduroy" always struck me as their take on INXS's "The One Thing", which is obv yet another reason why it's awesome

― Victory Chainsaw! (DJP), Friday, June 15, 2012 4:51 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

woah, never occurred to me before

bronytheus (some dude), Friday, 15 June 2012 20:57 (twelve years ago) link

"I Got Shit" is a great song and is very underappreciated. I think it's my favorite single (CD or 7") by them.

van smack, Friday, 15 June 2012 22:12 (twelve years ago) link

..and "Glorified G" is horrific -- one of their worst songs.

van smack, Friday, 15 June 2012 22:12 (twelve years ago) link

I will go out on a limb and say "Glorified G." Lyrics a little juvenile, but love the bridge an outro. Was my favorite song on the first CD I ever bought... "Vs" way back in Jan 94.

LimbsKing, Friday, 15 June 2012 23:23 (twelve years ago) link

AWOOBA DOO AWOOBA DOO AOWAAHHHHH

la musica de harry frogbs (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 15 June 2012 23:29 (twelve years ago) link

lotta good songs here

call all destroyer, Friday, 15 June 2012 23:32 (twelve years ago) link

i *love* the sound on i got id, what a weird and blown out recording

call all destroyer, Friday, 15 June 2012 23:35 (twelve years ago) link

Yeah, Corduroy and Elderly Woman (and Ledbetter) are awesome but this is like the only time I'll get to vote for 'I Got Id'.

Seems like Immortality and Dissident should be in here. Did they get official single release.

freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 16 June 2012 01:51 (twelve years ago) link

a yabba dee a yabba dee whoooooaa

la musica de harry frogbs (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 16 June 2012 01:59 (twelve years ago) link

"red mosquito" vs. "corduroy" oh man, nope, can't do it

Whiney vs. (BradNelson), Saturday, 16 June 2012 02:57 (twelve years ago) link

like i never need to listen to a pearl jam album or song again in my life but those are two good songs right there

Whiney vs. (BradNelson), Saturday, 16 June 2012 02:59 (twelve years ago) link

lot of great tunes on this list, voting red mosquito.

one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:01 (twelve years ago) link

i'd been listening to their covers of public image and they're really charming -- you can tell at least eddie is a big fan of the song, and you can tell that's how he hears lydon's accent in his head.

Philip Nunez, Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:37 (twelve years ago) link

gave most of these songs a good listen this afternoon, just to see if anything had shifted, but no. twenny years down the line, and they're still not the band for me. "corduroy" is p great, but i don't dig the bread part. "i got shit" is amazing, no qualifications.

contenderizer, Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:41 (twelve years ago) link

"Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" gets my vote even though i can hardly listen to Pearl Jam these days, i need a few more years removed before i don't turn the dial when they come on the radio.

Bee OK, Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:42 (twelve years ago) link

i've drifted away from these guys for awhile now (since 'yield' i've heard nothing), but i have to admit they're a great band for the most part.

omar little, Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:49 (twelve years ago) link

Seems like Immortality and Dissident should be in here. Did they get official single release.

― freebroheem (loves laboured breathing), Friday, June 15, 2012 9:51 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

yeah those were both proper singles. i owned the physical singles of both!

bronytheus (some dude), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:52 (twelve years ago) link

a yabba dee a yabba dee whoooooaa

― la musica de harry frogbs (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, June 15, 2012 9:59 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

dude how many times do i have to tell you, "Evenflow" is not an option itt

bronytheus (some dude), Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:54 (twelve years ago) link

my favorite non-single PJ track might be 'smile' from no code.

omar little, Saturday, 16 June 2012 03:57 (twelve years ago) link

Nicely done xp

robert mcnamara in reverse (loves laboured breathing), Saturday, 16 June 2012 04:08 (twelve years ago) link

other Pearl Jam non-singles from the first 3 albums that I have heard on the radio* at least once that have not charted:

Once, Why Go, Porch, Garden, Deep, Release, Rearviewmirror, Rats, Nothingman, Whipping, Habit, Mankind

*not counting when some stations played the whole album on the air before they were released -- definitely heard Vitalogy and No Code this way for the first time, maybe others

bronytheus (some dude), Monday, 18 June 2012 14:42 (twelve years ago) link

Red Mosquito, no contest. Mike's guitar + that waltz beat, I can't get enough of it.

that being said, I Got Shit destroyed me when it came out, I really love it and it's still a def favorite. A lot of these are fkn great. I'm pretty lukewarm on Corduroy and Better Man these days, more bc they're overplayed than anything else.

They re-arranged Better Man at the Bridge Benefit a couple of years ago, sounded great. It was like a whole new song, no-one sang a long because they couldn't figure out how it went, lol

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 18 June 2012 16:53 (twelve years ago) link

i got shit, no question.

Sisig Steve (stevie), Monday, 18 June 2012 18:06 (twelve years ago) link

Just listened to elderly woman again, really pretty song, top 10 REM songs of the 90s

wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 18 June 2012 18:22 (twelve years ago) link

"elderly" vs. "id"

the former for being a breezy respite (w/ country-ish guitar!) from their typical angst m.o.
the latter for spending the night with a shovel and drunk-like focus digging that hole deeper
will need to think more.

shaane, Monday, 18 June 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago) link

is Whiney doing "Yellow Ledbetter"? voted that one over "Black" b/c lol freshman year of college basically

Euler, Monday, 18 June 2012 19:43 (twelve years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Thursday, 21 June 2012 00:01 (twelve years ago) link

I like the version of "Better Man" with the added verse from their Touring Band dvd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h0dNA_FPrs
the last minute & half

van smack, Thursday, 21 June 2012 00:17 (twelve years ago) link

Re-arranged 'Better Man' from Bridge School Benefit 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5RrcruaK6Q

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 21 June 2012 01:41 (twelve years ago) link

the first verse feels a bit weird but I love the melody of the chorus

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 21 June 2012 01:42 (twelve years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Friday, 22 June 2012 00:01 (twelve years ago) link

Corduroy and Better Man *snooooorrrrrrrrrrre* cmon you guys

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 22 June 2012 01:45 (twelve years ago) link

<3

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 22 June 2012 01:45 (twelve years ago) link

well, "Corduroy" is just kinda the best

here's my lumber, so jack me maybe (some dude), Friday, 22 June 2012 02:28 (twelve years ago) link

smdh

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 22 June 2012 02:33 (twelve years ago) link

hey, i full on love more than half of these songs, but i agree with consensus here.

here's my lumber, so jack me maybe (some dude), Friday, 22 June 2012 02:55 (twelve years ago) link

i have never been a corduroy guy

call all destroyer, Friday, 22 June 2012 02:55 (twelve years ago) link

even when it came out as a single I didn't really get why everyone went apeshit over it. It's a fine song, but *shrug*

Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 22 June 2012 03:18 (twelve years ago) link

i remember taping Vitalogy off the radio when a station played it the week it came out on vinyl but wasn't on CD yet, and "Corduroy" was my instant favorite and i was so happy when it became a hit, pretty much my favorite Pearl Jam radio song now.

here's my lumber, so jack me maybe (some dude), Friday, 22 June 2012 03:29 (twelve years ago) link

haha you fucking kids

mookieproof, Friday, 22 June 2012 03:31 (twelve years ago) link

nothing for "tremor christ"? that would be my all time favourite PJ song if it weren't for "corduroy".

charlie h, Friday, 22 June 2012 03:54 (twelve years ago) link


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