i agree that the remixes sound better, but thats the only flaw. the album is perfect lyrically and musically, and his voice sounds great. what other person could sing black with the passion that he does?

Biggest flaw?

There are only 11 songs.

Tim Palmer - Pepper Shaker - Jeremy.

Case in point.

I want to kill him...I cannot listen to Jeremy without hearing the stupid pepper shaker throughout the entire song....

also the cello in there is cool, but too much already...I love the raw feel of it when played live...especially the energy in the early days associated with this song live (Specifically Stone's parts).

-Seth

Cowbell.

Listening to it today the production is the major flaw but I don't remember having any problem with it when it was released. Mind you I was coming to it from the direction of Welcome To The Jungle rather than New Day Rising.

In 1992 I thought it was flawless.

I'm with fishbob. Maybe it's simple (I don't know) but the Alive solo is moving as hell.

Thoughts arive like butterflies is not the greatest line--but one line does not kill a song and the rest of the images in the song are really evocative. Espically 'whispering hands gently lead him away'

I think all three stories of self-destruction in deep are really nicely written. Again--lines you don't like?


Let me echo the complaint that the artwork sucks. And that picture of the five of them is ridiculous

Production is the main problem. Lyrically there are a few cringeworthy moments, probably due to the Ed's relative immaturity (Once's lyrics are a bit too rawk for Pearl Jam; IMO they stick out like a sore thumb in their catalogue). However, the lyrics are generally pretty interesting throughout.

One thing that should be remembered is how Ten was created relatively quickly, and how some of the songs (eg Release) seemed to be created spontaneously. It would have been better if the producer had caught that raw feeling of genesis instead of laying it on thick with overproduction.

That said, I still think Ten has an amazing selection of songs on it. I'm almost emotionally attached to the album so it's difficult to make detached judgements on it... like I've said before in this forum, I always associate Ten with a particular (happy) time in my life, and it always helps to bring back the memories.

Sorry if that sounds a bit too panegyric for a thread that's meant to criticise the album, but it's just the way I feel

I'd say the OP is right on the dot with the flaw: the production.

You're totally right that it works wonders with some songs (Garden, Oceans, Release) but for some songs like Deep, Once, or Porch it's just strange. I seem to be against the majority here in thinking that it works very good for Black. I love the Ten mix of that song, the epic, otherworldly feel works great for that song, especially the intro part. I love the RVM mix but it just doesn't give the same emotion, although it is nice to hear it more raw.

I also think the lyrics are a little...amateur in some parts. I think Eddie's matured a lot over the years, going through deeper, more symbolic writing (No Code, Binaural) and more direct but clever stages (Yield, Riot Act). Ten kind of mixes the two, but I think it's obvious reading some of the lyrics that he was a much younger, angsty guy then. I think stuff like "Black" is amazing, lyrically, but overall some of the stuff is a little hokey.

Ed's voice: Obviously, this is the Eddie Vedder voice that has become totally cliche. When people impersonate him, they're using the Ten-era voice. Even by Vs. he began to sound a little more human and more mature. I love his voice on this record, more than life, but I also like it now that he's more vulnerable with it. Also, his range has increased immensely since then, but I get the feeling on this record that he made up for it then by either A. screaming (because he was young and he could) or B. wailing and carrying every note out forever (because he was young and he could). He loves his "oooohs" and "ahhs" carried out for 20 minutes on this record, which is amazing (the ending part of black is fucking epic) but listen to him perform Release now. Whereas on Ten he would be screaming during the "release me" part, now he can hit those notes and sound amazing without any strain to his voice, and it sounds so much more pure. Also, the Ten-era voice could probably not have done In Hiding too well without screaming.

I dunno, I'm totally rambling now. Ten is amazing, it's a fucking classic and I can still listen to it from beginning to end and enjoy every minute. However, it was made by a band that was young and arrogant as fuck. Seriously, who other than Eddie Vedder and PJ could produce such an album as their first? Despite some lyrical immaturity, it sounds like a veteran band that knows it has all the talent in the world. I love it, but I'm glad they came back down to earth for the rest of their albums (actually, they reached a little bit for this feeling again with Binaural, the production and epic feel are similar, but the lyrics are a little deeper).

I thought a garden of stone was a cemetary?

that's what I thought too but I like CB's take as well

good post c_b.

I think Ten's biggest flaw is "Deep". Every other song is classic. Deep just doesn't compare, and every b-side from this album is much better, imo. I think Breath (even tho I don't think it's the best ten b-side), would fit here and make this album flawless musically.

ANd yeah, the production does kind of suck, making it sound a little dated.

I think Ten is a great record with a few dillemas in there breaking up the flow. Even Flow is weak on the record, Why Go is lyrically adolescent at best (childish at worst), and the overall presentation is more blustery and posturish than later Pearl Jam. It sounds like a generic rock band accidentally made a great record, not like a great band that was capable of the masterworks between 94 and 98.

Jesus...does every song have to have profound lyrics? WTF is wrong with rocking rock songs with great energy & guitar solos.

Honestly I think all you guys who put every single one of Eddie's lyrics through the criticism grinder are really pretentious.

I like the lyrics to why go. The delivery helps but there is so much passion and intensity in the why go home chorus that it works great. And thematically it is a nice fit with the whole idea of betrayed trust and coming to grips with it that runs through the entire album--which I think is more interesting than some of the more introspective and personal stuff that comes later--although I am one of the pretentious lyric grinder guys. I just think this stuff is far superior to, oh, I don't know, lets say, Off he goes. But that's a conversation for a few weeks from now.

This, along w/ Mike's soloing, is why I love Ten and Vs. so much.

Eddie's a great lyricist, and some of his work is just simply amazing. Every song, though, doesn't have to be an epic tale of love lost or some unique political insight.

I have nothing against lyrics that aren't profound, but when they read almost exactly like my 7th graders' poetry projects, that's too much for me.

Anyway, in general the lyrics on Ten are solid. It's not like I'm shitting on the whole record...I'm replying to a thread wherein one is supposed to discuss what they feel to be the flaws in each album. Blustery "rocking rock" songs are not an end unto themselves, in my humble opinion...if they can't offer a little more beneath all the foot stomping or if they're expressing a rage that doesn't have any real solid ground or logic to it, I can't relate and so I get bored. For me, that song falls short.

Why Go is like Animal...some really dumb lyrics exist in each song, but they end up being moderately enjoyable because of Ed's great delivery and the adrenalized music.

i don't understand the constant negative views of ten's lyrics either. I think the lyrics have remained fairly constant throughout the years.

To try to consider the album without comparing it to where pj went from it is so difficult. the lyrics, production/sound, artwork, mike/stone meshing, the drummer(s) are definitely flawed as compared to the other 7 albums, but left on its own 10 has clearly stood the test of time... as flawlessly as possible.

I understand all your criticisms of other people's criticisms, but this is a thread about the flaws of each record. We're supposed to be discussing that.

I definitely don't want every song to be a complete political statement, that's pretentious and boring, but those aren't the songs I'm complaining about. I'm saying Eddie was young, and some of the songs where he's trying to be insightful and deep, which he accomplishes almost 99% of the time, don't have the greatest lyrics here. They were young, I don't blame them, but you're exactly right when you say that for the time this record was everything it could and should have been.