Pearl Jam, "Pearl Jam" (J)

Like Santana and Rod Stewart, Pearl Jam has turned to Clive Davis to help resurrect its recording career. Not that Eddie Vedder and the boys needed Davis' guidance. They just need to look to President Bush for their inspiration, and Pearl Jam has come up with its freshest-sounding, most urgent album in years. The self-titled CD sounds almost punk-like, oozing with aggressive, raging guitars and passionately anti-establishment sentiments. Vedder has been a Bush-basher for a while (remember 2002's "Bushleaguer"?), and here he attacks the president on the hit "World Wide Suicide" and rails about the war in Iraq on several songs. Vedder is more graceful on the acoustic pop "Parachutes" and the highly emotional ballad "Come Back." All told, Pearl Jam hasn't sounded this vital in the studio since "Vitalogy" in 1994. The group performs June 26-27 with Tom Petty at Xcel Energy Center.

JON BREAM, STAR TRIBUNE