...oh yeah, DUH, gotta talk about the band itself...Pearl Jam started out as a Seattle club band called Mother Love Bone (one of the *classic* underground grunge bands, although the only stuff I have by them is a song on the Singles soundtrack); after their lead singer died of a heroin overdose, they joined up with Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and did a one-album project called Temple of the Dog. Guesting on the track "Hunger Strike" was some punk surfer kid named Eddie Vedder...and the rest is history. There's a lot of speculation about Eddie and whether he's a major drug user or not (a real sore subject with hard-core PJ fans, DO NOT ask them about it!!) -- he certainly looks and talks like he's constantly stoned, and I expected him to be more of a Jim Morrison figure than Nirvana's Kurt Cobain...but I think it's more to do with the sudden success of the band (grievances with Ticketmaster notwithstanding), and I don't think Eddie's a druggie, he's just painfully shy...

"Ten"

1. "Once" (3:51)
2. "Even Flow" (4:53)
3. "Alive" (5:40)
4. "Why Go" (3:19)
5. "Black" (5:43)
6. "Jeremy" (5:18)
7. "Oceans" (2:41)
8. "Porch" (3:30)
9. "Garden" (4:58)
10. "Deep" (4:18)
11. "Release" (9:04)

Well, with the song "Jeremy" on this one, you'd think this CD would be a shoo-in, right? The truth is, I was leery about buying this CD at first. I'd heard "Even Flow" by this time and liked it somewhat, but still wasn't too fond of their sound. Finally I took the chance and bought the damn thing. I shouldn't have worried--it instantly became one of my favorites. Other great songs on here are "Black", "Porch", and "Deep". I even grew to like "Alive" after awhile, once I actually listened to the lyrics. :)

"Alive" (single)

1. "Alive" (5:40)
2. "Once" (3:51)
3. "Wash" (3:34)

Just a Pearl Jam single with two unreleased songs. By the way, ever notice how damn SHORT their song titles are? Just one or two words, never more than 10 letters each.

"Jeremy" (single)

1. "Jeremy" (4:49)
2. "Footsteps" (3:53)
3. "Yellow Ledbetter" (5:04)

Ok, I don't get this cover art at all. "Jeremy"'s about a teenage boy who offs himself, right? SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE COVER???

"Even Flow" (single)

1. "Even Flow" (4:54)
2. "Dirty Frank" (5:32)
3. "Oceans"--remix (2:32)

I sure have a lot of Pearl Jam singles, don't I? I must be a true fan then. :) Oh, I don't suppose I mentioned that Eddie Vedder & crew did an awesome show on MTv's Unplugged.

"Vs."

1. "Go" (3:12)
2. "Animal" (2:47)
3. "Daughter" (3:54)
4. "Glorified G" (3:25)
5. "Dissident" (3:35)
6. "W.M.A." (5:58)
7. "Blood" (2:49)
8. "Rearviewmirror" (4:43)
9. "Rats" (4:14)
10. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (3:14)
11. "Leash" (3:07)
12. "Indifference" (5:01)

This CD was one of the most eagerly awaited releases of the 90's, in fact I bought it brand new a day or two after it came out. A bit of a disappointment actually. With the exception of the two standout tracks "Animal" and "Rearviewmirror", nothing really grabbed me here. It's not bad, of course, it's just that most of the songs sound a bit...well, whiny. Once again, the one-letter titles hold sway...with one obvious exception. :)

"Go" (single)

1. "Go" (3:13)
2. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"--acoustic version (3:18)
3. "Alone" (3:35)

The band was less prolific with B-sides this time around, I think this was the only single from Vs. that contained a non-album track. I could be wrong, though...

"Dissident/Live in Atlanta" (3CD digipack)

Essentially, this is the "Dissident" CD single with 22 bonus tracks. :) The live stuff was recorded on 4/22/94 at Atlanta's Fox Theater, and is considered by PJ fans to be one of their best recorded concerts ever. Dunno about that but it's CERTAINLY better than that Live on Two Legs piece of crap! (Even though I haven't heard that album yet, I just KNOW it sucks...)

"Vitalogy"

1. "Last Exit" (2:55)
2. "Spin the Black Circle" (2:48)
3. "Not for You" (5:52)
4. "Tremor Christ" (4:12)
5. "Nothingman" (4:35)
6. "Whipping" (2:34)
7. "Pry, to" (1:03)
8. "Corduroy" (4:38)
9. "Bugs" (2:45)
10. "Satan's Bed" (3:30)
11. "Better Man" (4:29)
12. "Aye Davanita" (2:57)
13. "Immortality" (5:29)
14. "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" (7:44)

With the suicide death of Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam has finally moved to the forefront of the "Seattle Invasion". Their genius shines through on this album, which is a bit more progressive and downright experimental at times. The best songs here are "Better Man" and "Corduroy" (on the other hand, "Hey Foxymophandlemama" is a little hard to swallow...) One SERIOUS beef I have about this CD is the totally ridiculous packaging...the CD comes in a cardboard case that folds out, with a sleeve you're supposed to slide the disc in and out of. When my friend bought it, he wound up putting a BIG HUGE SCRATCH on the disc the first time he pulled it out!! Needless to say, it's best to buy a separate jewel case for this one...

"Not For You" (single)

1. "Not for You" (5:51)
2. "Out of My Mind"--live (4:36)

Yet another CD single. How many does this make now??

"Merkinball" (EP)

1. "I God Id" (4:53)
2. "Long Road" (5:59)

This single came out as a "teaser" while the band's new album was taking so long to finish. At first I wasn't sure about buying it, in case the songs appear on the new album, but finally did when I figured the B-side probably would not. As it turned out, I was right...

"No Code"

1. "Sometimes" (2:40)
2. "Hail, Hail" (3:41)
3. "Who You Are" (3:50)
4. "In My Tree" (3:59)
5. "Smile" (3:52)
6. "Off He Goes" (6:02)
7. "Habit" (3:35)
8. "Red Mosquito" (4:03)
9. "Lukin" (1:02)
10. "Present Tense" (5:46)
11. "Mankind" (3:28)
12. "I'm Open" (2:57)
13. "Around the Bend" (4:35)

I'm really starting to get pissed off at Pearl Jam's idea of creative CD packaging. Like Vitalogy, this CD comes in a cardboard sleeve instead of a standard jewel box, and as a result, every single used copy I've seen has been scratched to FUCK. Finally, I ran across a copy that was in reasonably good condition (although I had to buy a separate jewel case, yet again.) Then, after getting it home, I decided to check out the lyrics sheet. Turns out they put the lyrics on these postcard-like things, a separate one for each song. A cute idea...but the problem? There were only EIGHT of them in the sleeve! I don't know if that's the way it originally came or if the dipshit who originally owned this CD lost a couple of them, but it just PISSES me off that this band can't do anything NORMAL for once!!

And the music? Well...um, they seem to be at the same stage in their career as U2 was when they recorded The Unforgettable Fire--abandoning the rock songs for slower, moody ballads and experimental tunes. "Hail, Hail" is a standard PJ rocker, but other than that, there are no songs that jump out and shake you, like on their previous albums. Hate to admit it but I think my interest in PJ is beginning to wane...

"Yield"

1. "Brain of J." (2:59)
2. "Faithfull" (4:18)
3. "No Way" (4:19)
4. "Given to Fly" (4:01)
5. "Wishlist" (3:26)
6. "Pilate" (3:00)
7. "Do the Evolution" (3:54)
8. "" (1:06)
9. "MFC" (2:27)
10. "Low Light" (3:46)
11. "In Hiding" (5:00)
12. "Push Me, Pull Me" (2:28)
13. "All Those Yesterdays" (7:45)

Well, well. After hearing that this CD was supposed to be Pearl Jam's "return to the basics" after the failed departure of No Code, I went out and bought this one right away...but, hate to say this but Joshua Tree it is not. Okay, the first four songs start out promising (especially "Given to Fly", the only song I heard before I bought it), but then the album slips away and never recovers. The slow songs in particular sound tired and worn out instead of inspirational, and the wanna-be rocker "Do the Evolution" manages nothing more than a clumsy shuffle. Ahh, so sad to see these guys lose it...maybe they should sing more songs about kids blowing their brains out in front of their classmates...

"Binaural"

1. "Breakerfall" (2:19)
2. "Gods' Dice" (2:26)
3. "Evacuation" (2:56)
4. "Light Years" (5:06)
5. "Nothing as it Seems" (5:22)
6. "Thin Air" (3:32)
7. "Insignificance" (4:28)
8. "Of the Girl" (5:07)
9. "Grievance" (3:14)
10. "Rival" (3:38)
11. "Sleight of Hand" (4:47)
12. "Soon Forget" (1:46)
13. "Parting Ways" (3:48)

...huh? what? Another Pearl Jam album here? What for? Oh yeah...I was just curious to see if their post-Yield material still sucks, and yes, it does. (Only cost me a few CDRs, anyway.) The band just sounds so TIRED, and Eddie's voice is completely shot. A handful of songs (including "Rival" and "Insignificance") carry a faint echo of the band's former brilliance, but only barely so. At least they've ditched the stupid, non-standard packaging and reverted back to plain old digipacks now...(except they couldn't help indulge themselves with stupid mastering tricks, this time adding five minutes of silence to the last track, with a 20-second burst of high-hat noise at the end.)

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