it seemed like with yield, binaural and riot act, we were getting a more experimental pearl jam album by album.

i love this album, but it seems like the 'experimental' stuff isn't quite there as much as it used to be.

discuss.

I agree.

Not much challenging music in "Pearl Jam" Maybe Clive wanted them to stick to a "safer" sound

I don't think so. I look for the next album to be rather punky or laid back. I think this is album is a little safer to lure people back into the jam.

it's fine with me. i'm sure they will swap back and forth between more traditional and more experimental sound in the albums to come.

on repeated listens i've found some things, like little drum fills or different rhythms that give this album a bit of an edge over "straight up rock"

I agree that the experimental songs as a whole are gone, but i think a lot of people would rather they be relegated to bsides or hidden tracks

I don't think this album could be improved by the addition of an "I'm Open" or "Push Me, Pull Me" ... just my thoughts

band's music ebbs and flows. look at radiohead, they went out on a limb with Kid A and Amnesiac and then came back a bit with Hail to the Thief. PJ will be no different as long as they are recording/writing together, i'm sure they will be more experimential albums. look at the difference b/w yield and binaural. yield was as radio-friendly as any of their albums. push me pull me and pilate are probably the only "experimential" tracks". then look at binaural which was very obtuse. this album is more accessible and i have to believe that they'll follow neil young's credo after he did Harvest and "head for the ditch"

if every albumed straight forward "rockeD" - pj would suck
if every album was "experimental" - pj would suck

this is why pearl jam is awesome. not every album is the same.

I agree....but I hope they'll make more tracks like that in the time to come..!

i have a feeling about this thread. a good feeling.

I think the reprise is as experimental as anything else and interesting intro on Inside Job

It's all something different.


Are Binaural or Riot Act or Yield all that experimental?

Actually, i wouldnt even call pearl jam experimental. They havent really done anything experiemental.

i've noticed a lot of people and reviews lately describing the last few albums as experimental. i don't know what albums they are listening to but i don't hear it, i hear pretty normal rock stuff.

mabye they found what they were experimenting for?

Didn't Stone say something to that effect? Like, that with this album they tried to bring together the best of their experiments? I think with Riot Act they realized they had reached a dead end and needed to stop and take inventory.

I look at this album as the band pressing "reset," and starting over. I would expect them to start branching out again with the next one.

i dont know, some of the song strutures, guitar parts, temp changes, time signatures are pretty non standard.

i think that this songs have more hard work in to them .. .. more colective thinking and effort ... thats what i think..i hope to get more b-sides of this album... maybe theres the "experimental" stuff...

It depends on your definition of the term. I think You Are was pretty experimental. Whatever the hell Stupid Mop is was some kind of an experiment. Arc was certainly experimental. In some ways a song like Severed Hand could be considered experimental, as well as Parachutes, because of their arrangements.

Experimental along the lines of No Code,..

That's what I miss,....

but Pearl Jam's sound is like choosing between Cookies and Creme and Cookie Dough,.,..

They both rule, but Cookies and Creme OWNS!

parachutes? i think not.

anyways, a strange or unique song or two on an album does not make it an experimental album.