If these are annoying anyone, we can put them into a single thread til Stip wakes from his slumber. Bastard trying to have a real life.


Back with a vengeance

Pearl Jam
PEARL JAM
"Pearl Jam"
(J Records)

Romantics like to pretend that creative inspiration can't have any connection whatsoever to the corporate world. And often, they're right. But what about those instances where musicians who've been stuck in a creative stall for years magically rediscover their muse right when they land a new contract?

That happened with Neil Young, when he came back to Reprise after a dry stint at Geffen. Same with Joni Mitchell, after she was resurrected at Warner Bros. following her own fallow Geffen period.

Now the same thing seems to have happened for Pearl Jam. While their albums recorded for their original label, Epic, soured some years back (around 2000s "Binaural," to be specific), they've rallied for this terrific, self-titled debut on J.

Harder, faster and catchier, the new CD boasts the band's most stoked material and performances since their second and third CDs in the mid-'90s ("Vs." and "Vitology").

The rousing cut "Life Wasted" opens with power chords as bold as The Who, while "Comatose" boasts a punk-meets-classic-rock sound. Think: The Doors go hard-core.

Nearly every song kicks, from "Marker in the Sand," with its serrated guitars, to "Unemployable," whose catchy jangle-pop melody forgives the obviousness of its social "message."

Lyricist Eddie Vedder makes sure to stick in a few more political songs than usual this time, especially the Bush-bashing single "World Wide Suicide." The music benefits from his growling rage. "Suicide" rates as one of PJ's most roiling riffs since the one in 1993's "Rearview Mirror."

The 13-track album pauses only for a few ballads; each makes its impact by taking a few new twists. "Parachutes" has a more complex, psychedelic melody than PJ's usual fare, while "Come Back" boasts a gospel tinge. Could this be their "Bridge Over Troubled Water"?

The members of Pearl Jam may now be well into their 40s. But they haven't sounded this young in years.

Thanks for the reviews, they make interesting reading, good research I am sure most people appreciate your efforts

You're welcome. I really enjoy reading reviews and I have had a bad case of insomnia for a week now, so hunting down articles kills time til that blasted sun arises.

was this in Saturdays NYDN or todays?