Of all the lyrics on Ten, these are the few that cause me to cringe:

Once

backstreet lover on the side of the road
i got a bomb in my temple that is gonna explode
i got a sixteen gauge buried under my clothes
i play...

Of course, I could easily pick the lyrics to the whole song. Not a fan of the lyrics on that one.

Alive

Basically most of Alive is poor lyrically, but that doesn't ruin the song for me. Ed's delivery and the anthemic quality saves it

Why Go

Really not a good song lyrically, especially:

she scratches a letter into a wall made of stone
maybe someday another child won't feel as alone as she does
it's been two years, and counting, since they put her in this place
she's been diagnosed by some stupid fuck, and mommy agrees

Porch

what the fuck is this world running to
you didn't leave a message
at least i coulda' learned your voice one last time
daily minefield, this could be my time by your...

A bit cliched.

Like I say, these are just my opinions. I'm not saying the songs suck because of these lyrics (far from it) - I just think they could be improved a bit.

great, now I'm starting Ten. I've got Once playing and I'm just gonna listen to it straight through.....

see what you do to me!

To be honest, I haven't listened to Ten all the way through in probably a year or more. But I had to pull it out today to listen to Porch so I listened to it all. I must also say that in my personal ranking of the albums, Ten is dead at the bottom of the list.

I have to agree that the production is the number one reason that Ten isn't all it could have been. And whomever said it was the trend back then to overproduce, they were very correct (i.e. Warrant, Faster Pussycat, Whitesnake). When you listen to the rough mix of Ten you can hear the songs so much cleaner, crisper, more real to how they sound live. And this is one of my dislikes of Ten is that it doesn't sound how they do live, it doesn't capture that magic like I wish it did.

The second thing I dislike about Ten is Jeremy. I swear I could go to my grave very happy if I never heard that song again. Which of course is very ironic considering it's the song that introduced me to Pearl Jam. You know how a song gets popular and you just hear it so much that you can't stand it anymore? Well, that's how I feel about Jeremy.

Another thing to keep in mind is how the songs were written. Some of them written (at least partly) with the band in Seattle and Ed in Cali. Also, the whole album was written rather quickly, comparatively to how much time it's taken them to write the proceeding albums. I think this is one reason why Ed's lyrics are not as strong as they were on Vs. for example. Plus the fact that as a first album the guys were just regular guys and they didn't have any of the "famous" angst to get out like they did on proceeding albums. The topics of the songs on Ten are everyday topics. With the exception of Black and Porch I don't think there's anything in there that's too deep. Haven't we gotten use to the guys giving us their take on the world at large (RA)? On Ten they were either too young to know or care or they had more pressing issues on their minds (i.e. fear of losing love, homelessness, rape, etc.).

Now, just so I don't sound too overbearing and negative. I will say that when Ten came out it was so groundbreaking that even the then bands that were on top had no idea what was happening at that they would very quickly fall into obscurity. My favorite thing about Ten is that there isn't one song on it that talks about how great it is to fuck. And believe me in the early 90's that was making a statement on it's own.

Could you explain why you say those lyrics are clichéd? My understanding is that a cliché would be something that is said so much in pop culture (of just in general) that it becomes commonplace. Which defines a cliché.
If that's the case, I dont follow how those lyrics are clichéd.

Daily minefield is the literal cliche there. I've heard that a few times before. The theme at the start (of lost love) also seems a bit overused, especially on Ten.

Deep and Why Go.

Ah, ok. Yeah, I've never heard that, actually. I wouldnt say it's one of your more overused clichés. I think Ed has thrown in plenty for other albums as well..."whipped into shape" or "All you need is love"...etc.
I see what you're saying, though I'm not sure that is really such a big failure. It' nearly impossible to be a songwriter and not end up with a cliché or two in your verse.

i really like Ten of course, and i think is one of the bests albums of the 90...the energy is very good and the whole anger there too...
i dont like the production that much,.,,too much reverb for me there...but it works fine with songs like porch or oceans...
the lyrics... really good!! once, alive, why go, black, oceans, release, porch....all great stories,,,it reminded me of some album by the who...
the music,,,,,fucking good...the songs have an energy, an anthemic feel, thats is just very cool...mike is on fire and i do like dave krusen work i think he is really a hell of a drummer and i just adore the chemistry between jeff and stone, who does a fucking good job here.
eddie voice...i just adore his voice...i prefer him in vs or yield but he has a growl here....well he is eddie vedder because of this album.
the only flaw i think is some songs like gardens that arent that good...alone could have fit better i think...

i am gonna listen now so i can participate.

None of those are cringeworthy.

You want cringeworthy lyrics?

How 'bout these choice passages:

"...I'll be usin' up my listerine - like Ovaltine...I'll be goin' out like Baachanal..."

"...I'm about to explode, cuz I can't carry your load..."

"...I grew up tryin' to copy you - Bruce Lee and kung fu..."

If you want to complain about PJ lyrics, please at least pick the right ones to complain about. (And yes, I realize none of those are from Ten and only one is by Eddie).

yea you pretty much didn't make a point there bammer. are there worse lyrics? of course, there always is.

None of the aforementioned Ten lyrics are cringeworthy.

My only complaint is that the Japanese version had 3 extra songs and cost like 30 bucks here.

There's only one thing that I don't love about the album:

I don't particularly care for the master/slave that comes back in after Release is over.

Well in my opinion I think we should watch out saying "bad" lyrics, cause really what we mean is "less creative" lyrics

The biggest flaw of Ten is that.....

It is too popular

What I mean by this is that it became such a pop success, and the songs are so overplayed, that it has gotten to the point where it is almost frowned upon if you're a diehard and like Ten

One of my irritations is the way so many people who like this record assume that its level of popularity somehow influenced me to dislike it. I could give two shits how well it sold. If popularity were an issue, I wouldn't love The Wall or Zep 4.

And I didn't mean "less creative" lyrics. I meant trite. And only in those select few spots. There are some fantastic lyrical moments on the album...a few of the lines in there are among Ed's best. But that doesn't excuse the Middle School poetry of Why Go.

I hope the other "what's the flaw in this record" threads aren't equally consumed by people who feel like they have to defend an album in spite of the thread title.

I agree with the production criticism -- it is absolutely hideous, just saturated with reverb. The worst example of this is Deep, where the intro is so bad, especially compared to some live versions, the guitars have this weird "wah" sound throughout, there's this weird flutter effect in the chorus, and Eddie sounds like he's singing in an empty hallway. Rick Parsen (or whatever the fuck his name) was a horrible choice for this album.

Secondly, Eddie's "oooohs" and "aaaahhhs" and "yeahs!" throughout the album get kinda annoying to me. it works at the end of Porch, I guess, but is far too overused.

Third, where's the guitar solo at the end of Black? I hate that it's somehow left out.

Fourth, Dave Krusen sucks.

Overall, I guess the record's major flaw is that it's just too over-the-top...it sounds like a band trying to be HUGE, instead of the more raw feel to the rest of their catalogue.

Forgot about another cringeworthy moment: the "oh yeah momma mommy!" at the end of Even Flow

well written, friend.

Very well put. It is really difficult to judge creative work without thinking of other work that was done before or after. Just my 2 cents.