“Dolby’s Pre-Release Pearl Jam Song Power Rankings”


25 “Why Go” (Ten)

For the longest time I was in this phase where I just couldn’t stand the production on this album: the big, Bon Jovi drums and all the separation between the instruments. Over time, though, the wild, reckless approach to songwriting hits me on a lot of these numbers and they get across the lawless, free sense of the late ’80s and the pre-Nirvana world, which of course seems pretty foreign to us now.

..

24 “Satan’s Bed” (Vitalogy)

It’s funny to think that according to legend this was the exact period when Pearl Jam was the closest to breaking up, with rhythm guitarist and prominent songwriter Stone Gossard reportedly wielding the most umbrage with the group’s functions as anyone, because it’s also an incredibly fruitful period in Pearl Jam’s history where they seemed to just rattle off incessantly infectious and exciting rockers like this one. To me, this song is indicative of the band’s collaborative songwriting approach, with Vedder sort of just chucking the words out there like used index cards, but that’s part of Pearl Jam’s magic too and has helped them pile up such a voluminous catalogue over the years.

..

23 “Off He Goes” (No Code)

“Off He Goes” fits squatly into “ballad” territory, in all likelihood, at least by Pearl Jam’s standards, but it’s got an incredible gravity about it conveyed in the personal lyrics and a certain energy as well, despite the slow tempo and soft instrumentation. I’ll never forget what Jeff Ament said about it in Pearl Jam Twenty, too, that it was a song pretty much everybody could relate to: that to me is the ultimate selfless disposition and also the key to enjoying the song’s artistic prowess to the utmost extent.

..

22 “Release” (Ten)

“Release” is the unforgettable closeur on the band’s first album Ten and tends to get muddled under the heap of other classic songs on this album, but still rears its head with considerable regularity in their live show, sometimes even opening the show off with its pristine guitar riff and simple, celestial lyricism.

..

21 “Blood” (Vs.)

I think Pearl Jam made it abundantly clear right away on Vs. that they weren’t mailing anything in: right away that album cover hits you with its confrontational splendor and the drums’ scrappy way of coming in, dissipating and then pounding back in on opener “Go” sets the tone for a breakneck, gripping grunge gauntlet. “Blood” more than fits the bill for this overall rubric, maniacally flailing its sonic arms back and forth in crazy, manic syncopation that seem to suggest that the album’s initial name of “Five against One” implied that the “one” at hand still wouldn’t back down to anyone, outnumbered or not.

..

20 “Nothing as it Seems” (Binaural)

Over time, Pearl Jam developed a reputation for pretty unruly lead singles, or they should have, with the blistering, caustic “Spin the Black Circle” and then this one which is sort of the opposite: an obstinately down, brooding mid-album slab of sludge with a furiously captivating guitar solo, gorgeous melodic sense and some truly haunting lyrics: “Putting in and putting in / Don’t feel like methadone”; “Operations overthrown / A whisper through a megaphone”.

..

19 “Black” (Ten)

Though it doesn’t get as much credit perhaps as some of its album mates, “Black” is undeniably among the original pantheon of immediately classic, early Pearl Jam tunes, tackling similar lyrical themes of crushing loss, emotional desolation and the power of one moment to shift an entire life. The words that keep coming to the surface from this one are “I know you will be a star / In somebody else’s sky / But why can’t it be mine?”

..

18 “Given to Fly” (Yield)

As far as I know Pearl Jam ended up losing the case against Led Zeppelin the latter had filed claiming that this song lifted from “Going to California” (the similarity is nominally considerable but only if you make the directed effort to notice it) and I still consider it perhaps their best lead single off any album of their career, with energetic riffs and structures and uplifting lyrics about man transforming into the divine, or taking on divine characteristics of the primitive and animalist, which is maybe even more heroic and probably is in Pearl Jam’s doctrinal outplay.

..

17 “Mind Your Manners” (Lightning Bolt)

Overall I have fairly good things to say about Lightning Bolt and yet admittedly it’s rare that I gravitate back to it and listen to the whole thing. This track, in particular, though, wields an undeniable energy and that raw, confrontational Pearl Jam swagger we grew to know on their early work and have embraced whenever possible ever since.

..

16 “Immortality” (Vitalogy)

One of my mini-spiels or mini-factoids about this song is the poignancy of the fact that I think the first time they performed it was April 6, 1994, or somewhere around there, which would of course fall snugly between Kurt Cobain’s carbon date and when they discovered his body out in that shed. I don’t think enough can be said, either, about the class with which Pearl Jam carried themselves, in the face of harsh criticism and discursive rancor from Kurt Cobain, and with rallying to support him and his family after his death. Ultimately, this is a classic tune that, though slow and lugubrious, still carries a high-powered, synergistic guitar solo or two, in quintessential grunge form.

..

15 “Garden” (Ten)

Boy is this song SNEAKY, almost literally: for the longest time I’d cast aside Ten out of aversion to the opening track “Once,” and then there are so many mid-album classics to sift through, but I love the haunting, otherworldly and expansive feel conveyed by this tune, with Mike McCready’s incessant riff perpetuating things into a gripping, memorable but methodical chorus.

..

14 “Leash” (Vs.)

I don’t think Pearl Jam was familiar with the CONCEPT of regular quarter notes in the recording of this album, a predilection to the syncopated and wild that may have been spawned by newly enlisted producer Brendan O’ Brien, whom they’d retain for the next five albums as well for producing and/or mixing duties. The full-on rock assault is there, the intimidating lyrical squall but more than anything the sense that the band was having fun writing and recording music, which is probably the bulk of what’s gotten them this far and allowed us all to enjoy them all these years.

..

13 “Yellow Ledbetter” (rearviewmirror/“Jeremy” single)

Probably up there pretty high in the “best b-sides of all time” race, “Yellow Ledbetter” appeared only on the “Jeremy” single in the ’90s but still found its way onto radio through perhaps rogue procedures on the part of DJ’s, and then landed on the band’s best-of compilation rearviewmirror (greatest hits 1991-2003). It’s easy to see why, with its gorgeous and addictive guitar riff intro and Eddie Vedder’s world-weary lyrics of clear and present danger and the resignation of at least temporarily not giving enough of a fu** to deal with it just right now.

..

12 “Brain of J” (Yield)

Like with “Satan’s Bed,” “Brain of J” for some reason to me just smacks of songwriting plurality and the assembly line approach to production of albums, ironically igniting things even more than if just one person were writing the songs like in the laborious cases of Nirvana or The Smashing Pumpkins, by comparison. These songs bounce out of the speakers at you and are almost entrancing for their puerile, effortless qualities.

..

11 “Breakerfall” (Binaural)

A sister raucous opener to “Brain of J” on Yield’s sister album Binaural, another excellent LP, “Breakerfall” takes a typical Eddie Vedder blueprint of exercising sympathy for a woman in the dating world, here moving from wedged too far within a volatile dating conundrum out to a romantic vacancy of the single female, for whom “Only love will breakerfall”.

..
10 “Whipping” (Vitalogy)

For the first three albums I think Eddie Vedder had to get his tough guy high jinks out of his system and so before we graduate to “I’m in hiding” and “There’s just one word I still believe in / It’s love” we get “Don’t need a helmet / Got a hard hard head” and of course the simple but might chorus of “They whipping”, permutated into those closing repetitions complete with the “ah!” exclamation toward the end, in beautiful form.

..

9 “Porch” (Ten)

“Porch” seems to be more wild, confrontational mania set to exciting, pioneering grunge song interfaces, perhaps lifting the “porch” reference from “Yellow Ledbetter” or from the same incident he’s referring to there, but either way bubbling forth with much more tension, rage and energy than that song’s able to muster and sewing side b of Ten together in unruly form.

..

8 “Wishlist” (Yield)

A fan favorite to a considerable extent, “Wishlist” was classic right from the start, garnering much deserved radio play and even a singalong, impromptu, one time by my prospective Mexican roommate in Cicero who was responding to my compliment of his vinyl copy of Yield. It’s like their thoughts are too big for their size and I think Vedder in particular has always had something of the unrealistic idealist in him, but at least on “Wishlist” he gave definite form and groundwork to his silly, pie-in-the-sky dreams.

..

7 “W.M.A.” (Vs.)

About as funky as Pearl Jam gets, “W.M.A.” is wild, spooky and relentless, lunging out right smack in the middle of Vs. and doing full justice to that LP as a whole with cocksure swagger and compelling lyrics like “Do no wrong / So clean cut / Dirties his hands / It comes right off / Policeman”. And as much as I credit their unorthodox project, the “Daughter” annexation on Live on Two Legs featuring part of this song really doesn’t do the original version full justice.

..

6 “Amongst the Waves” (Backspacer)

I have this cheesy song “Free” by Jack Johnson and Donovan Frankenreiter that I sort of with tongue in cheek call my “nice day” music or my “day off” music but it’s hard to imagine anything fulfilling these needs better than this Pearl Jam tune, which came along on ’09’s Backspacer which I don’t think anybody expected to produce a classic tune, a song which albeit unfurls as universal and certainly not bound to any specific time frame in rock, other than maybe any setting where a lot of drugs were available.

..

5 “Alive” (Ten)

Maybe lyrically, this is the focal point of Eddie Vedder’s career, seeing as he lets us in on the calamity of never knowing the true father which per report actually pertains to him in real life (“What you thought was your daddy / Was nothin’ but uhh”). Still, what patches this classic radio rocker together is the infectiously simple chorus that even a monkey could memorize, and the anthemic zeal that such a thing transmits, in car or in concert.

..

4 “Parachutes” (Pearl Jam)

Ah, what to say about “Parachutes”? I really needed this song in 2006, finishing up my bachelor’s degree over the summer that this came out, uneasy about the future and starved for hypnotic, satiating melodies like this. It’s a great straight-ahead, midtempo rocker not unlike “Thin Air” and “Off He Goes” but for some reason I feel like this song really put Pearl Jam over the hump: it’s just got this feel about it like an electricity in the room that was channeling through every man in that studio, playing those instruments, manning that sound board and forever internalizing this phenomenal creation of lyric and melody.

..

3 “Even Flow” (Ten)

I’ve been on such a Ten kick lately that I don’t even need the live version of this song: surely they nailed the studio run-through but in all fairness that Live on Two Legs reincarnation of this classic is the definition of ferocious, sped up, swaggered out and complete with a great Vedder-ism leading into the guitar solo: “Lemme introduce you to Michael.”

..

2 “Do the Evolution” (Yield)

And not to beat a dead horse but the live version of this one on Two Legs comes thoroughly recommended likewise, as does I think the cartoon music video which was the first cinematic spot the band had shot I think since “Black.” The politics of this song ring true as ever today, sure, but it would be nothing without that twisted, maniacal guitar riff pummeling the entire expedition and nailing your head to the dashboard, in reactive motion.

..

1 “Jeremy” (Ten)

I’m probably not going to win any “eccentricity” points putting “Jeremy” on top of this list but come on, it’s obviously the quintessential Pearl Jam song, from the horrifyingly pernicious subject matter, the watery, picturesque guitar sound, the undeniable energy and groove and of course who could denounce those “Ooh-ooh-ooh”’s following the second chorus. The entire band seemed to be getting their hands dirty on this one and it’s a song so big that it’s hard to imagine a trio pulling it off, with its thickness and its relentless vibe, all at once. Either way, for all the accusations against other bands of being Pearl Jam ripoffs, it’s certainly hard to imagine any group of musicians hearing “Jeremy” and thinking they had any chance in he** of duplicating it, or its energy or haunting depravity.

175 thoughts on ““Dolby’s Pre-Release Pearl Jam Song Power Rankings””

  10. Unquestionably believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people think about worries that they just do not know
    about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole
    thing without having side-effects , people could take a
    signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

    My page :: network marketing (Demi)

  17. First off I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question which I’d like
    to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself
    and clear your mind before writing. I’ve had trouble clearing
    my thoughts in getting my ideas out there. I truly do take
    pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted simply just trying to
    figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints?
    Kudos!

    Here is my blog medical billing certification – jtbtigers.com –

  18. hello there and thank you for your exam related information (Stan) ?

    I have definitely picked up something new from right here.
    I did however expertise a few technical points using this website, since
    I experienced to reload the website a lot of times previous to I could get it to load correctly.

    I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances
    times will sometimes affect your placement in google and could damage
    your quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
    Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and
    can look out for much more of your respective fascinating content.
    Ensure that you update this again soon.

  22. I don’t even understand how I finished up right here, but I assumed
    this post was once great. I do not know who you are however definitely you
    are going to a well-known blogger for those who are not already.
    Cheers!

    Take a look at my webpage nortel exams (Augustus)

  73. I am commenting to make you know of the exceptional experience my cousin’s daughter had viewing yuor web blog.
    She came to understand a good number of issues, including how it is like to have a very effective giving character to get
    the others easily have an understanding of selected very
    confusing topics. You really exceeded our own expected results.
    I appreciate you for presenting the productive,
    healthy, informative and even unique thoughts on the topic
    to Janet.

    My website; nortel study guide (Callum)

  89. Дата бою Усик — Джошуа. Про те, що зустріч двох супертяжів відбудеться 25 вересня, було оголошено в липні. 13 липня генеральний директор компанії К2 Promotions Олександр Красюк заявив, що сторони досягли попередньої Энтони Джошуа Александр Усик 2021.25.09 Усик Джошуа – британець може

  91. Джошуа и Усик провели открытую тренировку Александр Усик Энтони Джошуа DAZN Українець Олександр Усик (18-0, 13 КО) зможе нокаутувати британського чемпіона Ентоні Джошуа (24-1,22 КО). При цьому для нашого співвітчизника не стане проблемою перевагу суперника в габаритах

  98. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but,
    I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog
    you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

    Feel free to surf to my web blog exam Tips

  104. You are so interesting! I don’t believe I’ve truly read through
    anything like this before. So nice to find somebody with some original thoughts on this
    subject matter. Really.. thank you for starting this up.
    This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!

    Also visit my page hp2-056 exam (http://www.instapaper.com)

  133. Hello, i feel that i noticed you visited my site so i got
    here to ?go back the desire?.I’m attempting to find issues to enhance my
    site!I assume its good enough to make use of a few of your ideas!!

    Here is my web site … microsoft certification books (Regan)

  166. Does your website have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but,
    I’d like to send you an e-mail. I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
    Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing
    it improve over time.

    My web site: pass mcitp (Hildegarde)

  172. I do not even know how I finished up right here, but I assumed this publish
    was good. I don’t recognize who you’re however certainly you’re going to a famous blogger if you are
    not already. Cheers!

    Check out my blog … answer cpc exam (Anglea)

  173. hello my lovely stopforumspam member

    What are the Types of Loans in Ohio depending on the purpose
    Specific purpose payday loans in Ohio. Funds received in debt may be spent only for a specific purpose specified in the loan agreement.
    Non-purpose loan. The debtor may spend the money received at his discretion.
    Most popular specific purpose payday loans in Ohio are:

    House loan. The most common, of course, is a mortgage when the purchased property acts as collateral for a loan. Sometimes a youth loan is issued, with lighter conditions for debtors. Still quite common is a housing loan that does not imply purchased housing in the form of collateral.
    Car loan – payday loans in Ohio to a car or similar vehicle. The key is often the purchased goods, making the terms of the loan better. Also, loan conditions are improved: car insurance, life and health insurance of the borrower, and receiving a salary to the account of the creditor bank.
    Land loan. To purchase a plot for construction or agricultural activities.
    Consumer. For purchases in modern supermarkets, equipment stores, you can take a personal loan right at the point of sale. Often, specialists located there can contact the bank and get a regular or fast payday loans. Borrowed funds automatically pay for the goods, and the consultant explains when and how to re-pay the debt.
    Educational loan. It is issued to students, as well as to applicants who have passed the competition, to pay for tuition at universities, colleges, etc.
    Broker loan. For the circulation of securities, payday loans in Ohio are issued to an exchange broker, se-curities are purchased securities.
    Others. Objectives not related to those listed, but agreed and approved by the creditor.

  174. Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say great blog!|

  175. Hello, I read the articles on your website and liked it too, but you can write articles through notepad, you can also use notepad web. Good thinking.

Leave a Comment