THE REVIEW: I hate to rant about music. How much anyone loves or hates a certain band or album is completely subjective. With Pearl Jam there is no question that I’ve been a huge fan since day one. Maybe that is why I’m so pissed about the new self-titled album, Pearl Jam.
There are as many opinions about each Pearl Jam album as there are fans of Pearl Jam. My opinion is that these guys haven’t made a good album since Vitalogy. They’ve made decent albums since, however none boast epic songs.
One issue that has grown more and more annoying is how intolerable Eddie Vedder’s vocals have become. Either sounds as if he is struggling with enunciation. Without the lyrics in your hands you’d have a hell of a time trying to figure out what he is saying half the time. The melody lacks gusto and lyrics are simply lacking. The instrumentation on the other hand is brilliant. Too bad they didn’t have the young Vedder who wrote Ten to pen songs today. Just listen to the solo on “Comatose”—such a shame to go to waste as Vedder sings what sounds like “feeling rising/ something I’m not very proud of”—which aren’t the real lyrics. But it makes about as much sense as the real lyrics.
The closest Pearl Jam gets to something worth singing along to is “World Wide Suicide”—just keep the lyrics close at hand our you’ll find yourself stumbling. “Parachutes” is the best song on the album—mostly because it has a hum-able hook—even if you can’t understand a word Vedder is moaning about. Vedder is lucky he is Eddie Vedder the guy who wrote Ten or he’d would’ve disappeared long ago.
“Severed Hand” has no melody and a song about a severed hand is intolerable. The complete opposite is “Unemployable” which boasts a sweet-saccharine melody which suits Vedder much better than his screeching mumble. Again, maybe my ears are deceiving me but I can’t understand him. It sounds like he is singing “ahhhh/ ooohhh/ weeeeee/ noooooo.”
FRANKLY: Somewhere there is a message and it all gets lost in Vedder’s incessant and intolerable vocals. Everyone wants to believe that Pearl Jam can get back to their old, brilliant selves. I’m part of that. I want to believe they are still great and here again is another huge disappointment. All of their urgency and power has been sucked out. Maybe it’s because they are all rich and life isn’t as nearly insufferable as it was when they worked on their first three albums. Whatever it is, something is missing.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.