Backspacer

Way back in 1994, when I was a young man with more hair and less belly, I had three loves that consumed me: a girl, tennis, and Pearl Jam in oft-changing order.  Like all 17 year-olds, my opinions on these passions were both myriad and definitive.  I soon discovered early in my 20’s that two of these loves were nothing more than childhood fantasies, but one has held on through multiple decades, cities, and children.

During that senior year of high school, Pearl Jam issued their third and greatest album, Vitalogy.  The first album that didn’t rely solely on the raw emotion of Eddie Vedder’s vocals, Vitalogy had a mature, more progressive sound that vaulted them beyond an already aging “grunge” scene.  By this time many bands had copied their sound from Ten era Pearl Jam—did you not think that Stone Temple Pilot’s Plush was a new PJ song?—and the lower-fi sound of Vitalogy combined with its zaniness permanently altered the band’s direction.

Fast forward to Pearl Jam’s ninth album, Backspacer, and you have a band in dire need of another sea change.  If Vitalogy launched them on their post “grunge” path, then two albums later, Yield—with the emotion of In Hiding and the whimsy of Wishlist—brought them to that path’s summit.  The four albums since have been a steady decline into prosaic rock with less and less of the brilliance that marked much of the 90’s.  Each successive album has seen the balance shift just a bit more to the former.

Pearl Jam albums usually begin with a bang.  Go, Last Exit, Brain of J, Breakerfall, and Life Wasted all ignited their albums with their own version of musical combustion.  When Pearl Jam albums don’t start with a bang, they seduce you with textured subtlety before kicking your ass with track two à la Sometimes into Hail, Hail.  On Backspacer we are given Gonna See My Friend, a mailed in rock song with archaic Axl Rose style doubling vocals and endless guitar riffs.

Track four, Johnny Guitar, is completely lost on me.  I notice the double entendre in the opening stanza and I’ve read that it’s Thin Lizzy-esque (that’s good?), but it may be the only Pearl Jam song that makes me angry.  Now Johnny He Be Havin Lots of Women/The Reason He Be Smiling Known To Him.  Ouch.  Later in the album we get four tracks to close it out that all evoke, well, nothing.  Past albums had one or two throw-away tracks like these (Sleight Of Hand, Help Help, Army Reserve) but like I said, the balance is shifting.

Backspacer has occupied my headphones for over a week now and I haven’t even touched on why.  If you take away Gonna See My Friend, the unexplainable Johnny G, and the four bland closing tracks, you are left with five songs that are all very good.  That’s five of eleven songs that I plan on listening to a lot.  In my head I pretend that they are an EP of a wholly different issue.

Got Some sounded strong on Conan’s first Tonight Show.  The album version is worthy of its esteemed number two position, with Eddie breathlessly hammering out quick verses about shitting or getting off the pot.  I touched on the album’s first single, The Fixer, in an earlier post.  I still can’t get enough of it.  So simple and uplifting, this is the only “pop” song on the album and Pearl Jam would do well to take a turn in this direction.

If The Fixer represents one possible solution to what ails Pearl Jam, then Just Breathe represents another.  It could easily nestle in alongside the songs from Eddie Vedder’s brilliant solo work for Into The Wild.  A folkier, softer sound has been a Pearl Jam dream of mine since hearing the perfect combination of I Am Mine and Down from the Riot Act Sessions.  That was seven years ago and Just Breathe is the band’s first return here.

My Backspacer EP closes with Unthought Known, Unfinished Dad’s song of the week and the strongest song on the album.  It takes nearly 20 minutes and seven tracks for us to get to a genuine “Eddie” moment.  When he you hear the vocals Feel the sky blanket you…with gems & rhinestones scraping off of his vocal chords, you get your first and only chills of the album.  Somehow it is worth it.

You may say that an album on which half of the material is memorable is a good one.  For most bands I would agree.  For the band that gave us Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield I just can’t.  So I find myself at the same crossroads the band occupies.  On my left is the road towards “indie” rock and new loves like Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens.  On my right is Pearl Jam’s road and they are the last “rock” band on it.  Sadly, in my heart I know I’m going left.

Comments

[Eddie Vedder]

Well, I'm going right and you need to buy a new map.

[Iqra]

Hey, interesting read, greetings from Singapore by the way. I like your post even though i don't really agree with it but i thought the end was a nice way to end backspacer though. abruptly. plus johnny guitar had a nice riffs imo. anyway i think sufjan stevens is great too.

[kevgel]

I totally agree with your post, I cant understand their direction on this. But Give Matthew Good's new disc a spin(website for now) and the new AIC is going to be the 2009 winner.

[You Know Who]

The dude is nuts

[Jill]

I read this entire post but I didn't understand any of it.

[rob p]

When I first heard the entire cd it didnt do much for me but ive been listening to it for a month now and its really good. I still feel the same way you do about Johnny Guitar but think you gave up to soon on the last four songs on the album. Maybe the dont play well by themselves but as one continuous album they fit right in. Speed of sound and force of nature arent instant classics but i could say the same about The Fixer. Collectively this cd stands up there with Yield, No Code and Binuaral.