Do We Need A New Pearl Jam Album?
September 8th 2009 00:49
When a band has been around as long as Pearl Jam - almost 20 years - there has to be a few factors at play when they announce they are releasing a new album.
Let's go back to the start. When they released "Ten", this was an album they had all their lives (until that point) to create. No pressure, all the time in the world, their lives in front of them, and they no doubt had tracks that had to be culled to fit into their first release. They were full of fire, idestructable, ready to take the world!
To their surprsie, they pretty much did take the world, so what then? They toured, they released new tracks, they toured, they released new tracks.
Every time they toured again, it would be after a new release, so they re-jigged the setlist and played tracks from the latest release (having played in bands myself, that is what you do. not only to try and sell the new records, but also because you have played those older tracks a squillion times and it's nice to play something different). The response they get from the new tracks - pretty good, people are moving, clapping, a little jumping where appropriate. Then the song ends, and they play Even Flow, and everyone goes apeshit. The feeling you get when people are singing a song you wrote back at you is exhilarating to say the least, and the energy coming at you from the crowd can only be reciprocated and channelled into your performance.
As the years went on, they released more albums, and toured again. The tough part about having such an extensive back catalogue is to balance the setlist, and this is something pearl Jam obviously try, as they have a different set of tunes every gig. There are obvious ones that get a play every night (usually the new tracks from the recent release), and then a lucky dip from the past.
The last time I saw them, it was after the release of Pearl Jam (the avocado on the cover). It was a lacklustre show, lacking the fire I had witnessed in previous tours (this was the 4th time I had been to a show of theirs). Towards the end of the show, Eddie even teased the crowd about not being in church, and that even though it's sunday, it was okay to get up and jump around. The unfortunate thing was - they didn't make us want to do these things. There would be no question of a sweaty night ten years prior, when the latest tracks were Hail, Hail, or something from 1994's Vitalogy (Spin the Black Circle, Last Exit, Betterman etc), but these tracks didn't have the "oomph" that PJ were known for back then. it was a shame, and now they are about to hit our shores again, I just didn't worry about getting myself a ticket.
So - the Rule of 28 - this was enforced with Pearl Jam because of an inferior product. I will eat my hat if their new album contains tracks that I want to listen to repeatedly (a la Go or Rearview Mirror). They have been writing and releasing music since 1991, putting them all in their 40's at least. This is not a hindrance, but music is about passion, and expressing something from inside you, so why does a multi-millionaire with a family need to release that burning from within? Now it's just because they don't know what else to do, and that is NOT a cool reason to make music.
Do we need a new pearl Jam album? Nah. Do they need to release a new album? Nah. Who am i to tell these guys what to do with their lives? Nobody. But i am the same nobody as the other nobodys who won't buy their record, because they prefer their old stuff much better.
Let's go back to the start. When they released "Ten", this was an album they had all their lives (until that point) to create. No pressure, all the time in the world, their lives in front of them, and they no doubt had tracks that had to be culled to fit into their first release. They were full of fire, idestructable, ready to take the world!
To their surprsie, they pretty much did take the world, so what then? They toured, they released new tracks, they toured, they released new tracks.
Every time they toured again, it would be after a new release, so they re-jigged the setlist and played tracks from the latest release (having played in bands myself, that is what you do. not only to try and sell the new records, but also because you have played those older tracks a squillion times and it's nice to play something different). The response they get from the new tracks - pretty good, people are moving, clapping, a little jumping where appropriate. Then the song ends, and they play Even Flow, and everyone goes apeshit. The feeling you get when people are singing a song you wrote back at you is exhilarating to say the least, and the energy coming at you from the crowd can only be reciprocated and channelled into your performance.
As the years went on, they released more albums, and toured again. The tough part about having such an extensive back catalogue is to balance the setlist, and this is something pearl Jam obviously try, as they have a different set of tunes every gig. There are obvious ones that get a play every night (usually the new tracks from the recent release), and then a lucky dip from the past.
The last time I saw them, it was after the release of Pearl Jam (the avocado on the cover). It was a lacklustre show, lacking the fire I had witnessed in previous tours (this was the 4th time I had been to a show of theirs). Towards the end of the show, Eddie even teased the crowd about not being in church, and that even though it's sunday, it was okay to get up and jump around. The unfortunate thing was - they didn't make us want to do these things. There would be no question of a sweaty night ten years prior, when the latest tracks were Hail, Hail, or something from 1994's Vitalogy (Spin the Black Circle, Last Exit, Betterman etc), but these tracks didn't have the "oomph" that PJ were known for back then. it was a shame, and now they are about to hit our shores again, I just didn't worry about getting myself a ticket.
So - the Rule of 28 - this was enforced with Pearl Jam because of an inferior product. I will eat my hat if their new album contains tracks that I want to listen to repeatedly (a la Go or Rearview Mirror). They have been writing and releasing music since 1991, putting them all in their 40's at least. This is not a hindrance, but music is about passion, and expressing something from inside you, so why does a multi-millionaire with a family need to release that burning from within? Now it's just because they don't know what else to do, and that is NOT a cool reason to make music.
Do we need a new pearl Jam album? Nah. Do they need to release a new album? Nah. Who am i to tell these guys what to do with their lives? Nobody. But i am the same nobody as the other nobodys who won't buy their record, because they prefer their old stuff much better.
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