Has Pearl Jam Lost Its Touch?
The album: “Yield” The band: Pearl Jam
Since Pearl Jam released “Vitalogy” in 1994, I’ve heard people comment that the later released albums just haven’t sounded like them. “Yield,” the band’s most recent effort, makes me wonder if Pearl Jam is truly the band heard on those albums rather than the “rock gods” of “Ten” and “Vs.” fame.
The new album is long and rather bizarre, and I suspect that it will mean different things to the long-time follower and the casual radio fan.
The devout follower will likely enjoy the scattered bits of musical rage and emotion in songs such as “Do the Evolution,” which is unlike anything I’ve ever heard from the band, yet satisfyingly grinding and rough-edged. Vedder campily sings: I’m at peace with my lust/I can kill ‘cause in God I trust/It’s evolution, baby.
The song is filled with little suprises, such as the church choir and jarring percussion, and ends dramatically with Vedder’s distorted screams.
“Push Me Pull Me” starts with a guitar-created explosion and progresses into weird sound effects and Beatniky lyrics. Then there’s a Vitalogy-esque interlude that includes steel drums and an unintelligible chant. The bonus track that appears after the last song can be described as “Pearl Jam does tango.”
Imagine the band in Argentina after a little too much wine.
The first single, “Given to Fly,” used to be a great song, when Led Zeppelin sang it under the name “Going to California.” Despite the blatant plagiarism, Vedder’s vocals are passionate, and the chorus cascades grandly without supplying any defined hooks.
The non “Ten”-era listener might be partial to the airy, sentimental songs such as “All Those Yesterdays” and “In Hiding,” with their emotionally-pointed lyrics and cookie-cutter arrangements.
The rest of the material is fairly solid. The only major disappointment is “Wishlist,” which leans way too close to a Neil Young tribute.
Pearl Jam has to be admired for its attempts to stray from mainstream commercialism; I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to hear “Jeremy 2” anytime soon.
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