oh yeah, i love this song specially because it was the very first song i heard live, and i will never going to forget that beautiful moment.

I love Of The Girl. I am listening to it right now.
I have loved it since the very first time I heard it, which was at Benaroya Hall.

4 stars. I think the analysis of the lyrics at the begining was quite good. I feel this song is like HTI in that it is greater than the sum of its parts. I think the music is great but it is hard to explain why (the bluesy feel I guess). It is my favorite opener.

Four stars for me though right now it's acting more like a five star song for me. Great song, great write-up Junco.

God, I love this song especially live.

I don't really understand the love for this song.

It seems that Pearl Jam was in on the ground floor of a type of ballad that uses short, sharply demarcated vocal lines that result in truncated lyrical content and a characteristic halting quality that limits vocal expressiveness.

It may have been pure coincidence, but following the release of this song, a series of ballads in a similar style by many of the so-called Pearl Jam imitators flooded the airwaves. Not a positive outcome. 2 stars.

Aaaauw, too bad. This song has gone from 6/10 to 9/10 the last year or 2.

Really? i'm not entirely sure of what mainstream America was putting out on the radio at that time, but i imagine a song like Of the Girl would be difficult to replicate...i've always perceived it as an intimate, beauitful atmospheric song - very different to anything PJ had done before, and to what they have done since.

In regards to the vocal melodies, it is worth remembering that this is a Stone song, so Eddie may have been holding back his own ideas for the song, out of respect to Stone? That said, I quite like the meter in the lines, and the pace and rhythm of the vocal melody - and Ed's voice is sounding looovely. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

Pearl Jam knocked this one out of the park. Understated, but loose and wild at once, it maintains one of the greatest abilities of modern Pearl Jam -- the bluesy, slower jams.

Be blessed,

Jared

I'd agree. Out of curiosity what other songs do yu consider to fit into the bluesy, slower jams of modern Pearl Jam?

what songs are you thinking of?

I don't think you can blame PJ for their imitators. But, I'm curious about the imitiations. I don't listen to a lot of radio so I miss a lot of crap (thank god!!). What songs are on this list?

The only musical influence I know coming from this song and much of the softer side of Binaural (and No Code come to think of it) would be Roots and Crowns by Califone (if you don't have this, it's a must). I guess that shows how little I listen to the radio.

Personally, I love the truncated lyrical quality of this song and don't see it as a negative.

Anyway, Of The Girl is my favorite Stone song and one of my favorites off Binaural (making it among my favorite pj songs ever). I enjoy Fatal but don't think the lyrics are as strong as they are here. The melody on Fatal is good.

So it's from 5 for me only I hit the wrong voting button! GRRR

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I've listened to a lot of top 40 radio. At my last job, my co-workers preferred this.

First, the fact that I dislike OF THE GIRL has nothing to do with a vocal style that was popular at the time. I just don't care for the song, particularly the vocal styling, although I appreciate the cool, jazzy swing vibe. None of the groups that I mention below replicate this.

The music that surrounds OF THE GIRL is far more creative than that found in any of these songs, but the detached arching vocal line is common to all. It is a style that I do not care for although that, of course, is just my opinion and millions disagree.

Creed--WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN

The Calling--WHEREVER YOU WILL GO

Nickelback--FAR AWAY

Wow. Top 40? My heart bleeds for you.

I don't hear a similarity in styling between Of the girl and these other songs other than the singer imitate vedder in general and they're baritones. if i used this standard, i'd have to dislike all pj songs.

To my hears, Ed is far more sublte and melodically expressive on Of The Girl than the singers on the 3 songs you mention, but my impression is a matter of taste and we all process what we hear differently.



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oops, i apparently cut out your point which is that these song's DON'T copy Vedder on Of The Girl, so I am confused by your explanation for not liking it but so what! : ) I don't need to understand.

Thanks regardless!

Hmm, i can understand why you wouldn't like Of the girl, but i really think i could name a lot of PJ songs over it that have influenced PJ's imitators and accounted for those types of songs.

If, as you say, a string of ballads emerged shortly after Of the Girl, all sharing some of it's qualities - i'd say that this is purely coincidental. For a start, i imagine bands like Nickelback/The Calling/Creed etc were all influenced by very early PJ, i doubt any even own Binaural.

Two stars: studio version
Three stars: live version

If they let Mike go absolutely crazy with solos on this, it's a much better song, but I have yet to hear a version that makes me go..oh, this song is a four or five. Mike needs a good four to five minutes worth of tearing it up and this song is much improved.

Mike's forte is not particularly the slow bluesy, atmospheric thing. He's no David Gilmour. It's a nice song, 3 stars for me, but hard for it to go higher as it doesn't play to anyone's strength in the band.

I kind of agree. I think that it's hard for this song to be raised higher in a live setting, but at the same time i think all 5 do a really good job at doing 'their bit'. Whilst Mike has the freedom to take it places, he's quite laid back, and it suits the fact it's a 'band' song, more than a solo song (such as NAIS).

Eddie's vocals always sound fantastic on this one live - really good.