RSS
Home
Pearl Jam's Albums: #4
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
I wrote that little bit on Backspacer yesterday and immediately afterward found myself in anxious anticipation for its release. Since Pearl Jam albums only arrive every three and a half years at this point, it is only that often that I am this revved up for a new musical release. I know some of you understand exactly what I mean when I state that I am most-amped for the spiritual enlightenment and guidance this LP will give me. Other bands and music have the power to do so, but none do it as often as Pearl Jam.
Today's album fits the vein described in that first paragraph. On theskyiscrape.com, Stip described Backspacer as sort of an older brother to this LP, the real resolution of the inherent conflict of Pearl Jam. Where Backspacer is the result of the band's experiences in the first decade of the 21st century, today's album is the equivalent of the 1990's. The two decades are extremely different and so much has happened in the past ten years that its is difficult to compare the world, let alone music and other forms of art. But regardless, the pain so present, aching and powerful in albums like yesterday's Vitalogy finally found some sort of escape on Pearl Jam's most hopeful approach yet (perhaps until I hear Backspacer), 1998's Yield.
4. Yield, 1998 - If I were only going for cohesion, this would be my number one Pearl Jam album. When viewed as a singular piece of art, Yield is likely the album that features a common thread more than the rest of the band's LPs. I have heard and read Pearl Jam fans lump Vitalogy in a two-punch combo with No Code, while I have witnessed others shift that combo a few years and bunch No Code with 1998's Yield. This bunching is not necessarily vital, but I can see the appeal in attempting to read between the lines and try to figure out the secret formula of this band. If I had to choose which of these options made more sense, I would definitely side more with the latter, believing Vitalogy to be the end of early-era Pearl Jam, kind of an afterthought and angry reaction to the extreme success of Ten and Vs. The "Merkin Ball," No Code and Yield era is a completely different form of Pearl Jam. It seems to this author as if it makes sense to almost label the two albums as opposites, separates halves, the yin and the yang of the band. If we are to go by this formula, No Code is the mathematical problem, and Yield is the result, the sum, the product. No Code is a drifting, scattershot wild man daredevil, while Yield is a tranquil, spiritually sound shaman. It only seems appropriate to nail down the solution first, and then retreat backwards into the problem later. Today, we find ourselves in the epic, anthemic scope of the band's first resolution of their post-superstar era, the 13-track tale that is Yield, the band's most collaborative, optimistic and uplifting album.
Stone Gossard's "Mankind," from No Code, marked the first time a band member other than Eddie Vedder penned the lyrics to a Pearl Jam song. However, Vedder was still the primary leader and musical director of the band during that time and composed the music for about half of No Code. Yield took a hold of that tear in the group's fabric and ripped it wide open, as the album featured five songs whose words did not come from Mr. Vedder's pen. Stone Gossard provided the lyrics for "No Way" and "All Those Yesterdays," Jeff Ament for "Pilate" and "Low Light," and drummer Jack Irons wrote the minimal lyrics for "Red Dot," also known as "The Color Red." Additionally, Vedder only composed the music for two songs: "Wishlist" and "MFC." Jack Irons composed the aforementioned "Red Dot," Mike McCready and Jeff Ament composed three tracks each, and Stone Gossard penned the music for four songs. Neither before nor after has a Pearl Jam album featured as much balance between the members of the group in its music, lyrics and creative process as Yield. This equality opens up the record and the band's playing, lending the album a simultaneously loose and refined feel, the dichotomy present in the darkness sprinkled throughout a largely positive LP.
While No Code had been the first album featuring a soft, intricately intellectual opening ballad in "Sometimes," Yield returned to the form of Vs. and Vitalogy with Mike McCready's up-tempo punk thriller, "Brain of J." Interestingly, the track was reportedly written and recorded during the No Code sessions, the only one of which from Yield to not come directly from the album's own sessions. This explains the way that while the track works perfectly as an energetic opener, it is at odds with most of the rest of the LP, with perhaps the sole lyrical exception of "Do the Evolution." "Brain of J." fits in the vein of Vedder's best protest lyrics, resembling Rage Against the Machine's "Sleep Now in the Fire," both songs utilizing the villain's position as the first person antagonistic speaker barking orders at the masses. Although the song is of a different tone than the rest of the LP, it ends up serving as a fine introduction to the rest of the songs because Yield is a Taoist tale of redemption, freedom and escape. "Brain of J." is the catalyst for that escape, the reason for the journey itself. The explosion at the end of the song perhaps symbolizes the revolt that takes place throughout the other 12 songs on the LP.
The explosion provides an effective segue into "Faithfull," another McCready song with lyrics by Vedder. This track stands out due to its fascinating concoction of satire, community and introspective insight in the lyrics, along with some delicate singing from Mr. Vedder, a soaring, anthemic chorus and unique song structure. "No Way" follows, Stone Gossard's trademark funk carrying it right along. The guitars dominate the first three tracks of Yield like some chunky garage rock, a severe departure from the eclectic instrumentation of No Code. Like most great garage music, the blues is somehow both the centerpiece of each musical formation at hand, and somehow manages to slip through the cracks, leaving behind too much attachment to the acid rock of the late 1960's or heavy metal of the 1970's. Make no mistake, Pearl Jam still identifies most obviously with Classic Rock, but does so here through a funnel built out of the Ramones, Sonic Youth and the Stooges.
Speaking of Classic Rock, "Given to Fly" shows up next as Yield's fourth song, Mike McCready's third composition to arrive on the LP. The verses' vocal melody has drawn repeated comparisons to Led Zeppelin's "Going to California," but I still struggle to hear it unless I am deliberately focusing solely on that likeness. The song rises above any comparisons due to its mid-tempo glory, McCready's lead guitar shimmering and Vedder's vocals soaring. The song is ever-popular in the Pearl Jam catalogue, one that fans seem to never tire of hearing live. "Wishlist" is another accessible track, one of the simplest songs Eddie Vedder has ever written, and the lyrics, well, the title says it all. That really is all the words are. But while "Given to Fly" recalls wailing 70's stadium rock and the first three tracks combine punk, garage and melody, "Wishlist" almost completely ignores the three decades that came before it, aiming at a sound resembling the Byrds and the Beatles, the way pop/rock would sound if no drastic musical changes had occurred since the 1960's.
The first of Jeff Ament's three compositions on Yield shows up next in the form of "Pilate." Ament demonstrates a wonderful knack for words in his very first lyrical appearance, particularly in the middle eight break of the song: "Stunned by my own reflection, it's look back, sees me too clearly/And I swore I'd never go there again, not unlike a friend that politely drags you down and down and down..." The music could have just as easily been penned by Gossard or future bandmate Matt Cameron, as it resonates with a universal catchiness, but also contains some strange time signatures, a soft breakdown (in the aforementioned middle eight) and fat, dripping guitar work.
Stone Gossard's nasty guitar play works hand in hand with Eddie Vedder's finest tongue-in-cheek moment on the classic "Do the Evolution," Yield's next track. Everything on the song is distorted, including every lick Gossard plays and every note Vedder sings. In fact, Eddie sounds as if he is screaming the song from inside your speakers, one of Brendan O'Brien's greatest touches as a producer of this band. The song is even more garage-like than the first three tracks, not quite punk, not quite hard rock, but not really fitting anywhere between the two either. It reigns as an example of why Pearl Jam outlasted all of its 1990's peers, the band's sound unique and powerful, with an edgy side of black humor and shifting chord progressions and musical patterns. Placing Jack Irons' "Red Dot," or "The Color Red," immediately after "Evolution" further proves that point, as the band was willing to always go out on various limbs, stretching itself further than anyone at the time. The little minute-long ditty is full of Irons' love for world music and offers a small snapshot of the band's rarely seen ability to not take itself too seriously.
Certain sections of Pearl Jam albums deserve special mention in this countdown. I previously mentioned the middle of Binaural, the last four tracks on Pearl Jam and the opening five songs on yesterday's Vitalogy would also fit this mold. Today, the most beautifully special section of the album is a mere three tracks, from track nine, "MFC," through track eleven, "In Hiding." Eddie Vedder's "MFC," one of those songs that just grows and grows in stature, takes off from the nastiness of "Do the Evolution" and silliness of "Red Dot," with a simply concept of just getting away from it all. "MFC" is an acronym for "Mini Fast Cars," and Vedder utilizes the image of the little bastards as a symbol of wonderful escape. He tells the story, seemingly of a couple, and the retreat that appears to save them by song's end. The music combines more classic rock, garage rock and punk with psychedelic lead guitar work by Stone Gossard that also calls country to mind. Jeff Ament's "Low Light" arrives as the next section of the magical trio, a song with music and lyrics that seem to fully appreciate the world around us. It is a meditation in the form of a folk rock song, the piano emotionally overwhelming and powerful in the song's break, the acoustic guitar grounding the track in a rootsy world of real, concrete gifts, as opposed to the greater, loftier ideas of the final track of this trio, "In Hiding." A Stone Gossard composition with lyrics by Eddie Vedder, "In Hiding" is the type of soaring ballad that defines the entire album in its five minutes. As the completion of its trio, the track offers the final solution to the problems presented in each track before it, both on Yield and No Code, the song's speaker realizing that gratitude is readily available through a sort of social fasting process. In "MFC," the solution is physical escape, in "Low Light," it rest in stillness and calm in the middle of the storm of life, and in "In Hiding," the solution becomes clear in deprivation of normalcy, particularly in our interactions with other human beings. Sure, it is merely another escape, but once "aground," "it seems so simple now," as opposed to being a permanent retreat.
"Push Me, Pull Me" is one of Pearl Jam's most interesting and strange tracks, a spoken word poem read over sampling, sound effects and a barren, dry sort of punk rock. The only musical hinge is composer Jeff Ament's pulsing bassline and wild, distant, power chords that echo through the song's chorus. Vedder's lyrics hit the point of Yield home, as he seems to contemplate everything from the meaning of life to his own singular role in the universe. His resolution? "I'm like an opening band for the sun."
Stone Gossard has the last word on Yield in the form of "All Those Yesterdays," a song that breaks away from the garage rock feel of the LP to concentrate more on the melodic, playful vibe of one of Gossard's obvious influences, The Beatles. The track is an interesting choice for the album's finale because on paper it would not make sense, but in the listening experience it has never failed to summarize the album and provide a wonderful exit. The music of the song's outro is built upon one of Stone's most dynamic riffs, a whirling, rising progression that sort of messes with one's head but, along with Vedder's vocals and lyrics, still convinces the listener that life is ultimately a grand gift, so long as we laugh at it. A special shoutout for "Hummus," the album's hidden track, as it serves as an extension of the band's newfound lightheartedness, a jam that feels fun and eerie at the same time and really does rock. It is easily the group's finest hidden song.
Yield is the culmination of everything Pearl Jam endured and fought for throughout the 1990's. The belligerent, defensive nature of earlier LPs is gone, as the band has moved beyond the B.S. that almost wrecked its career. The passionate soul-searching vibe of Ten seems to finally have some peace and resolution. The experimentation and attempt to lose oneself that is spattered all over No Code barely hangs on here, but appears to be something with which the guys have come to terms. Yield, as stated earlier, is a complete record. The band has never sounded so consistent all the way through an LP and this certainly shines as a fine point for the album, but I suppose taste and preference differs from person to person, as some of us do not necessarily want this much consistency. Yield was the first album I anticipated with delight and bought the day it arrived in stores. Each time I throw it in I am somehow taken back to that very first time, alone in my room, lost in life and feeling like that sign on the cover, taken in the middle of nowhere, was somehow giving me a profound sense of direction and guidance. It just took a few more years to find it.
Yield YouTube Playlist: www.youtube.com/view_play_list
For all things Pearl Jam, visit my homepage here: www.examiner.com/x-3940-Indianapolis-Pop-Culture-Examiner
...or check out Mel Duncan's poll of the greatest live PJ shows: www.examiner.com/x-16134-Pearl-Jam-Examiner
Questions, comments, complaints, ideas, etc.? E-mail me 24/7 at cpeelle83@yahoo.com
Related Articles:
Comments
