A One-Paragraph Review of Every Pearl Jam Album
Discography Digest: Pearl Jam
[This is the second entry in a series in which I listen to an artist’s entire discography of studio albums in chronological order over the course of a week.]
Pearl Jam’s debut album is called “Ten”, and it was released on August 27, 1991, which was my tenth birthday. I was destined to be a Pearl Jam fan, but — like everyone on the Hero’s Journey — I rejected the call. During the 90s, I was much more interested in Radiohead, Oasis and Pavement — and, let’s be honest, terrible Christian rock — than Pearl Jam. Since then Pearl Jam has endured as one of the only 90s bands to never stop or fade. The survived the 90s in a way that few others did (see: Radiohead and the Foo Fighters).
Eddie Vedder has been in my line of view recently as well. He’s become the unofficial troubadour of my beloved Chicago Cubs, and my parents even met him at Cubs Fantasy Camp. Thanks to the run-in, I know own a custom Ed Ved guitar pick that he gave my dad. (Yes, my dad is cooler than me.)
Several of my good friends are huge Pearl Jam fans, so I decided to do the same thing that I recently did with David Bowie: listen to the entire studio discography in chronological order. No live albums. No Ed Ved solo work.
Have I been casually ignoring one of the defining bands of my generation? We’ll see.
Ten (1991) — As a ’90s adolescence, I already knew the first half of “Ten” really well, and these songs — primarily “Alive” and “Black” — really hold up. “Ten” is really lopsided. If the first half is a 10 (get it?!), the second half is a 7. It’s hard to separate some of these songs (“Jeremy”, “Alive”, “Even Flow”) from my 90s nostalgia. Although I wasn’t a big Pearl Jam fan, this album is full of monster hits that are built into my Alternative Nation DNA.
The idea that this is a grunge rock staple is strange. It’s stuffed with beefy, sludgy dude rock with big rock-god guitar solos. They clearly didn’t come from the punk and hardcore background that’s usually associated with grunge.
Favorite song: “Even Flow”
Vs. (1993) — “Ten” is more famous, but “Vs.” is much better. They’re simply writing better songs. It’s louder and more aggressive, but it’s also more refined. Is “Animal” a fan favorite? It should be. “Daughter” was always my favorite Pearl Jam hit, and damn if it still isn’t fantastic. Although they danced around politics on “Jeremy”, “Vs.” is a really political album, and they’re not doing it subtly. Although “Glorified G” is a bit heavy-handed, it’s enough of a scorcher to work.
Favorite song: “Daughter” (That trio of “Animal”, “Daughter”, “Glorified G” is killer.)
Vitalogy (1994) — They keep getting better. Seriously, why does everyone talk about “Ten”?! Fewer hits here, but it’s their most interesting album yet. “Corduroy” is the best song yet. They’re willing to get weird, which is nice after their first two self-serious albums.
Favorite song: “Corduroy” with an honorable mention to “Not for You”
No Code (1996) — By 1996 grunge was dying, but nothing has blossomed in its place. “No Code” reflects this transition. It’s all over the place but not in a way that feels purposeful. It’s less political and more spiritual than earlier efforts.
Favorite song: “Who You Are”(?)
Yield (1998) — A bit mellower, more fun and more straightforward rock. By 1998, most other early-90s alt-rock bands had broken up or fallen in to irrelevance. The dream of the 90s was definitely over. “Yield” really suggests that Pearl Jam can endure in ways that their peers didn’t. Pearl Jam definitely has a very specific comfort zone. When they step out of it, it’s either really good or pretty bad. “No Way” is the former. How was “Do The Evolution” a hit when I was 16 without me really noticing? That song is a wild blast. So far, this is the album that I’m most likely to really go back and listen to again when I’m done with this.
Favorite song: “Do the Evolution” with an honorable mention to “Pilate”
Binaural (2000) — This is a Pearl Jam album. This sounds like a Pearl Jam album. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, it’s the sort of thing you’ll like if you like that sort of thing. In a fairly uneventful album, “Insignificance” is a clear standout. Also, Ed Ved discovers the ukulele on this album. A sign of things to come.
Favorite song: “Light Years”
Riot Act (2002) — Finding something new to say about each album is pretty difficult, because they’re really remaining pretty similar at this point. It’s the first album of the Bush administration, and the politics is back with “Bu$hleaguer”. It’s interesting to hear an anti-Bush song from 2002. Feels like another world.
Favorite song: “I Am Mine”
Pearl Jam (2006) — The opening seconds of this album suggest that they’ve captured a new energy. This album is loud. It’s fast. It’s tight. It’s fitting to be self-titled, because it’s a return to their wilder roots. After a few meandering albums, this is a shot in the arm. Light years beyond the last few albums.
Favorite song: The 1–2 punch of “Life Wasted” followed by “World Wide Suicide”
Backspacer (2009) — I wasn’t expecting to like this. A late Aughts album by an aging rock band doesn’t sound terribly appealing. “Backspace” is pretty generic, but it’s enjoyably, enthusiastically generic. I’ve decided that I really like Pearl Jam when they have fun. They tend to be pretty serious, but I think they work best when they’re fast and wild. They’re not reinventing anything here, but songs like “Force of Nature” are just terrific rock tunes. That said, don’t end an album with a song called “The End”, especially if you aren’t breaking up. The Beatles own this.
Favorite song: maybe “Johnny Guitar”
Lightning Bolt (2013) — When listening to 10 Pearl Jam albums in three days, it’s impossible not to judge everything on the same scale. That’s part of this exercise. In that regard, “Lightning Bolt” is pretty uneventful. However, when you view it as the tenth album by a group of late-fortysomethings who’ve been a band for nearly a quarter century, it’s a really impressive album. They’ve mellowed with age, but their still a terrific rock outfit.
If you told me that it was their last album ever, I’d think, “Yeah, ‘Future Days’ is a beautiful way to close things out.” It’s also the kind of song that Vedder couldn’t have written when he was 25. It’s the kind of love song that you can’t write without having some years under your belt.
Favorite song: “Mind Your Manners” with the aforementioned honorable mention to “Future Days”
Final Analysis
- Most Essential: tie “Vs.” and “Yield”
- Least Essential: “Binaural”
- Overlooked Gem (Album): self-titled
- Overlooked Gem (Song): “Life Wasted”
- Best Moment: Kicking into “Do the Evolution”. After a gradual mellowing, Pearl Jam throws some lightning.
Closing Thoughts
Did this make me a big Pearl Jam fan who missed out on 25 years of fandom? Honestly, no. They’re still not a band that really resonates with me, but I get why others love them.
Although they’ll never be a favorite of mine, I love a bunch of these songs. There’s some really wonderful stuff here — usually when they let it rip as an upbeat, tight rock band. One of my first observations was that “Ten” seemed to be born out of ’80s metal more than ’80s punk. The surprising thing is that they do well when they lean into their punk influences.
- It’s worth noting that several of their biggest hits and fan favorites — “Yellow Ledbetter”, “State of Love and Trust”, “Last Kiss” (their highest charting radio hit) — aren’t on any of their studio albums.
- They have fewer overtly political songs than I’d expected. They’re known to be very politically active, and — especially after some of the songs on “Vs.” — I expected to see that in more of their songs.
- They’re the rare band to split songwriting credits. Most bands either give songwriting credits to every band member on every song (see: R.E.M.) or have one or two members write everything (see: The Rolling Stones). I’d be interested to dive deeper into Pearl Jam to identify each member’s writing style.
- Eddie Vedder isn’t neither a very good nor a particular interesting vocalist. His voice is best when he scream-sings in the upper part of his register, which might be why I prefer the band’s loud, uptempo songs the most. On ballads or otherwise lower-tempo tunes, Vedder’s voice holds the songs back.
- “Ten” is overrated, and “Vs.” and “Vitalogy” are underrated.
- Lastly, I really want to see them live. I get why they’re a huge touring band, because these songs seem like they’re made to be heard live. It wouldn’t surprise me if the live experience is the missing component to fully entering Pearl Jam fandom.
