Published on Apr 30, 1997
When you think of the grunge movement, one name originally comes
to mind – Pearl Jam. With their debut album
Ten, they won the hearts and acclaim of millions of fans,
and set a standard for the alternative world.
So I guess you’d expect me to hold this album up on a pedestal
and praise this album to the point of nausea.
Well, get your flame mail ready, ’cause it ain’t gonna happen.
While this album has some very solid performances and is worthy of
some praise,
Ten is not the masterpiece many people want to make this
album out to be. It is, in fact, spotty.
Eddie Vedder and crew deserve great praise for their two hits,
“Alive” and “Jeremy,” songs which defy the rules of radio success
because of the common lack of rhymes. Maybe this is what makes
these songs so appealing – the fact that they break the mold. The
dual guitar attack of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready is a powerful
force that hasn’t been heard often in rock music, and Jeff Ament’s
bass work is subtle but as powerful as a sledgehammer.
Two other songs stand out as solid efforts from Pearl Jam.
“Evenflow” is another song released as a single with a scorching
guitar line. However, the surprise here is “Release,” a song whose
power is in its gentleness. Vedder’s vocals build from a soft hum
to a wail that chills to the bone. Some versions I’ve heard on
low-quality bootlegs from their first tour are quite powerful –
even blowing away this version.
But the rest of
Ten is quite stagnant. “Why Go” is a little too wild and
uncontrolled, while “Black” tends to ramble.too much. A good
portion of the second half of the album is made up of sheer filler,
songs which are nothing special. In fact, if it weren’t for the two
hits,
Ten would merely be an average debut album, not the
multi-million seller it became.
So what caused
Ten to build from sluggish sales to the phenomenon it
became? One word: airplay. Another word: overkill. While bands like
Soundgarden and Nirvana earned their dues and took their time
building up a fan base, Pearl Jam seemed to come from nowhere and
overtake their competition. (And please don’t flame me to remind me
about Green River and Mother Love Bone – if it hadn’t been for
Andrew Wood’s overdose, Pearl Jam would never have happened… and
they were together only for one album, for Chrissake.)
But with the advent of alternative popular radio (and a huge
media push from Sony Music), Pearl Jam went from nobodies to
headliners. (I had the opportunity to interview Pearl Jam before
their breakthrough – and I passed it by. Chalk up one of the few
mistakes I’ve made.)
While the singles on this one are worth the effort and are
justification enough to purchase this one,
Ten is not the par excellence fans of Pearl Jam make it out
to be. It’s worth checking out, just be cautious on many of the
tracks.