Much to my surprise, Pearl Jam’s latest album, Backspacer, arrived in my work mailbox yesterday. After listening to it practically non-stop since I picked it up nearly 24 hours ago, I’m ready to critique it…I think.
Overall, I like the album. There are some songs that were complete misses for me, but most of the songs were good to simply awesome. I’m not going to break it down song-by-song, necessarily, because I’m not deep enough into it really be fair in that approach, but the easiest way to summarize this album is that it’s probably the most refreshing dose of Pearl Jam since Yield.
Unlike the masses, I’ve enjoyed all of Pearl Jam’s albums over the last 10 years, but this album has such a rejuvenated vibe to it. Maybe it’s a lack of political overtones that littered many of the songs from the last couple of albums, leaving room for Ed & Co. to write songs focusing on the introspective storytelling that helped build their early albums. Maybe I should write to Obama thanking him for winning the election, so we could have a freshly-focused PJ album.
Anyway, I’ve heard a lot about the first 3 songs being one the most in-your-face starts they’ve ever thrown at the listener…I’m not sure I agree with that, but it’s a very catchy, fast-paced introduction to get the listener to continue through the experience. Got Some and The Fixer will satisfy the mainstream immediately. Gonna See My Friend – which opens the album is a solid rocker, but I would place it below nearly every previous album opener they’ve put out, fast-paced or slow. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad song by any means, and it definitely gives you a good idea of what you’re in for over the next 36-and-a-half minutes, but it’s not going to blow you away.
I’m not really into Johnny Guitar, but maybe because it’s sandwiched between the easy-to-enjoy The Fixer and the first song that blew me away on the album, Just Breathe. Just Breathe has Into the Wild all over it, but I’m glad it made it’s way onto this album, or any album. It’s a simple love song…and simply beautiful.
Then you enter this heavy-reverbed and grand chorus-soaked two-song set of Amongst the Waves and Unthought Known, which are nice and reminiscent of Yield-era PJ. Easy to enjoy, and impossible to hate, but I’m still trying to figure out if they’re going to leave a mark.
One pleasant surprise for me was how much I liked Supersonic after not really “getting it” when I saw it live in Chicago. Part of it was unfamiliarity, and part of it was it not seeming tight, but on the CD, I absolutely love it. It’s like a mini tribute to the Ramones, with an awesome groove breakdown in the middle. One of my favorite songs on the albums, and I can guarantee a lot of people are going to be getting pulled over for speeding while listening to this one.
Speed of Sound is the biggest miss on the record for me. The demo that Pearl Jam released seemed so much more fitting for the lyrics. For those who didn’t get the demo, this might seem okay, but my liking for this song was sucked out the minute the faster tempo drums kicked in. Too forced and entirely out of place. It sort of kicks off the downside of the album for me, as Force of Nature and The End – both lauded in the PJ community – haven’t resonated with me at that level. Good, but nothing amazing. Maybe they’ll grow on me…
In the end, while this album won’t touch my top 10 all-time, it was definitely worth the money, and the enjoyable parts definitely outweigh the few parts that I could’ve done without. It’s challenging enough that you’ll want to listen to it more than once to get acquainted with, but it’s also easy to digest. Like wine…it’s good and easy to drink, but better when you get deeper into it…unfortunately, most people don’t have that much dedication.
7/10
