Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Pearl Jam
Label: Epic Records
Release: 1991
Rating: 4/5
The late eighties and early nineties in the US belonged to a movement called grunge. The genre found its capital in rainy Seattle, in Washington state. A huge number of bands came out of that city, all playing music with similar stylistic leanings. Jimmy Hendrix deserves a lot of the credit for the growth of the Seattle grunge scene, with many bands citing him as a major influence. Canadian Neil Young also pitched in big time, and he’s still considered the godfather of grunge to this day, even though nobody called it that back then.
Enter Pearl Jam, who dropped their debut, Ten, in the early nineties. Ten became a hit, but only after Nirvana had paved the way for them. The album was packed with nothing but bangers like Alive, Jeremy and Even Flow, which are still considered classics today. While plenty of successful bands released their best songs as singles and left the albums themselves weaker, Pearl Jam put even better songs on the record next to the hits, which is quite a feat considering how great Jeremy, Alive and Even Flow are.
So what’s so special about Pearl Jam? Well, first off, there’s Eddie Vedder, whose charisma is unmatched in the grunge world. Not even pretty boy Chris Cornell can compare, no matter what the hordes of female fans say. And Eddie doesn’t just have charisma, he’s got a voice that can go toe to toe with almost any hard rock singer. Then there’s the charismatic bassist Jeff Ament, who was the main attraction on stage alongside Vedder. Another big difference is that the band’s sound rests mostly on polished melodies and arrangements, with less of the punk rawness you hear in other grunge bands.
The album is pure gems. I can’t hear a single weak spot. Of course I have my favorites, like any other fan. For me the standouts are Oceans, Black, Alive and Even Flow, but the rest of the tracks aren’t far behind. Every song is perfectly crafted and none of them drag on too long. Maybe with their relentless verse-chorus structures the songs are sometimes a bit too simple for us prog heads, but every now and then it’s downright refreshing to hear something more direct.
Pearl Jam may not be as technically polished as, say, Soundgarden or Alice in Chains, but they more than make up for it elsewhere. They excel above all in great melodies and inventive chords. They also don’t feel the need to blow the listener away with every single track, and they can play slower and more thoughtfully too. That balance between tenderness and pure rage is what makes them so important. When they play it mellow (producer Rick Parashar occasionally helps out on those parts with piano and organ), it feels like the most natural thing in the world, and when they let loose, it feels just the same. Among the musicians, Eddie Vedder stands out with that distinctive voice of his, which still makes women’s knees buckle today. Vedder is convincing with his lyrics too, weaving in plenty of socially critical themes, unlike the self-pity we teenagers loved so much in Nirvana, or rather Kurt Cobain. Vedder’s themes are still relevant, and even if his metaphorical language sometimes drifts into obscurity, his poetry always sounds right.
With Ten, Pearl Jam came close to matching Nirvana in popularity, but in terms of musicianship they outdid all their fellow sufferers. Their mix of sensuality, rage, aggression and melody puts them right on the throne of grunge for me, and Ten is the very definition of quality music in the genre. Ten is a legendary album that still sounds fresh and interesting after more than fifteen years. Sadly, Pearl Jam never again repeated that kind of consistency, though their later projects always had plenty of interesting stuff. Ten is a cult album that helped spread grunge all over the world, and unlike Nirvana, who these days come across as just a sad teenage band, Pearl Jam meant and still mean consistency and inspiration. Alongside Soundgarden’s Superunknown, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Alice in Chains’ Dirt and Stone Temple Pilots’ Core, this is the most important album in the development and popularization of grunge.
Line-up
Eddie Vedder – vocals
Stone Gossard – guitar
Mike McCready – lead guitar
Jeff Ament – bass
Dave Krusen – drums
guests: Rick Parashar – piano, organ, percussion; Walter Gray – cello
Production
Rick Parashar and Pearl Jam
Tracklist
1. Once
2. Even Flow
3. Alive
4. Why Go
5. Black
6. Jeremy
7. Oceans
8. Porch
9. Garden
10. Deep
11. Release
