: Ben L. Connor
: Pearl Jam Every Album, Every Song
: Sonicbond Publishing
: 9781789526097
: 1
: CHF 5.20
:
: Musik
: English
: 160
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

Pearl Jam are the last men standing from the great alternative rock explosion of the 1990s. They introduced themselves with one of the biggest-selling and most iconic albums of the decade, and their follow-ups broke sales records worldwide. To date, they have sold over 30 million records worldwide, as many as iconic artists such as The Doors, Tom Petty, and Rush. Just as those artists did, Pearl Jam built an intense cult following who feel personally connected to the band; they tour constantly and are renowned for the quality of their live shows. While maintaining a huge network of fans, they have also collaborated with other rock legends and helped boost the profiles of new artists. They fight for social justice causes even when that costs them in other areas. And through it all, they keep releasing amazing music.
Yet for many, they remain an artefact of that decade, the epitome of the angsty generation x stereotype. By going through their entire discography track-by-track, covering their origins in the Seattle scene, and their musical development, this book will argue that Pearl Jam are not only one of the greatest bands of their generation but one of the greatest bands of all time.


Ben L. Connor is a freelance writer who works as a teacher of psychology and sociology. He has spent over thirty years studying music and culture. He has written teaching curricula for the study of the media and popular culture and presented seminars on the impact of the internet on fandoms. In his spare time, Ben enjoys writing fiction and movie reviews, as well as collecting music books and magazines, particularly those concerning the nineties alternative rock scene. This is his first book. He lives in Canberra, Australia.

Introduction


Why Pearl Jam?

If you’re over 50 years old or under 30, chances are you are asking this question. Pearl Jam are one of the biggest-selling bands of their generation, with a devoted fan base and critical plaudits. They are one of the best live acts still active. They managed to survive the boom-and-bust of 1990s alt-rock while keeping their personal and musical integrity, and now fans and peers revere them as classic rock icons. And yet, for many, they remain artefacts of thegrunge era: archetypal mopey Gen-X iconoclasts. If that’s what you think, then this book is for you: to hopefully change your mind. If you’re already a Pearl Jam fan, then this book isalso for you! – to offer a new perspective on their music, and to shine a light on some of the hidden corners of their discography. Of course, you might disagree with my opinions on some songs, so feel free to disregard.

Their discography is so vast that I won’t waste any more time on introductions. I will be going through their catalogue album by album, track by track. For every album that was re-released with bonus tracks, I will address those songs alongside the albums they’re attached to. Every other non-album track, B-side and outtake, I will cover when they were released on compilations, so as to better convey the arc of Pearl Jam’s career. Any leftovers will be covered at the end. I will not address every released alternate, live or demo version of each song in separate entries: with a couple of notable exceptions. Pearl Jam have not yet had a complete reissue campaign wherein every non-album track has been amended to the albums, which would enable record buyers to easily collect everything the band recorded. The order I’ve settled on should make clear where to find all the non-album tracks.

The story of Pearl Jam does not begin with their debut album, but with the bands the members came from, and the wider music scene around them. So, I will take some time to address the music of Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple Of The Dog. I will give a track-by-track analysis of Temple Of The Dog’s sole album, because it features the entirety of Pearl Jam’s current lineup, and also because, it’s just so good, it deserves the attention.

Green River and Mother Love Bone

The roots of Pearl Jam go deep, and to understand the band, it’s useful to know the context of the late-1980s Seattle music scene. Pearl Jam didn’t burst forth overnight, fully formed from the brain of a marketing executive (as some accused them of being). The individual members had all paid their dues in other bands, and those bands are worth hearing for any Pearl Jam fan.

The founders of Pearl Jam – bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard – got their start in the band Green River. They took that name from the song by Creedence Clearwater Revival: a band whose lack of pretension and dogged work ethic made them an acceptable influence to cite in the boomer-phobic post-punk era. The other members of Green River were vocalist/guitarist Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, and drummer Alex Vincent.

Green River’s first release was theCome on Down EP in 1985. After this, Turner left and was replaced by Bruce Fairweather. This lineup recorded another EP –Dry As A Bone (1987) – and the albumRehab Doll (1988) for the Seattle-based indie l