with the talk in some other threads about Avocado not holding up and it being a weak album, I'm just starting to really revisit it, and with this tracklist (which omits Gone, and changes only a couple of songs around), it is SO MUCH more tenable as a whole:

1. Life Wasted
2. WWS
3. Comatose
4. Marker in the Sand
5. Parachutes
6. Severed Hand
7. Unemployable
8. Army Reserve
9. Big Wave
10. Come Back
11. Wasted Reprise
12. Inside Job

(mods, please don't merge this; want to see the board's response to the tracklist)

I like that tracklisting. It's nice having the reprise going into Inside Job. Not sure about Big Wave in 9 though. It's a bit brash for the songs surrounding it.

but when you listen to it, going into it, the tempo is consistent enough creating continuity (which the original tracklisting lacks), and going out of it into Come Back, it's similar to the original with Army Reserve being the song prior, so it's a pretty parallel transition

Why on earth would you omit Gone?

inside job
life wasted
wws
severed hand
marker
unemployable
parachutes
gone
army reserve
big wave
comatose
come back
wasted reprise

1. The first notes are solo acoustic (unlike every other song)
2. The first notes are dour
3. The first verse contains unbearable lyrics, regardless of their honesty or intimate conveying of an emotion...

in sum making the song a huge annoying speed bump between two otherwise fast paced songs, throwing off the rhythm of the album

It was better as an Ed song for a Christmas single... I love the AOL Sessions version, but it's not a song that belongs on an album that is otherwise characterized by total band contributions...

like your posts warehouse, but this compromise the integrity of the album, with so many displaced songs, especially with Inside Job starting it off, but severed hand (with its slow build-up intro following WWS) and Come Back as essentially the last track (which it's good, but its lacking as a final track... like the "marker, unemployable, parachutes, gone, army reserve, big wave" solution though

i opened w/ inside job b/c they've done it live a number of times.

I've never had a problem with the tracklisting on the album...or the album for that matter...but one thing I would have liked, if I were to change anything would be for the album to close with the wasted reprise... but now that I think about it, that would ruin the otro of inside job...which I love how that closes out the album... .hmmmmmmm... never mind... dont' change a thing.

I understand the knocks on this song, I just love it for the feelings it made me feel right when the album came out. Mainly, I was having a huge headache w/ the closing of my new house, unforeseen delays w/ eveything and work week from hell. I was so consumed w/ just shit I didn't think I was going to be able to make the East Rutherford II show the day of it. I decided at 6pm to say Fuck It, there is no way I'll let all this shit make me miss a PJ show and I hop in the car and head down to Jersey. So while I am speeding away w/ the Albany skyline behind me, Gone comes on and just rocked me. It will always have a special spot in my heart from then on out.

You are correct, the AOL sessions is the best version and should be mandatory listening for anyone who doesn't like the song.

Pearl Jam EP

1. Comatose
2. Marker in the Sand
3. Parachutes
4. Severed Hand
5. Army Reserve
6. Inside Job

Wasted Reprise
Life Wasted
Suicide
Comatose
SH
Marker
Parachutes
Army Reserve
Unemployable
Big Wave
Come Back
Gone
Inside Job

I Love the Reprise before Life Wasted live.
Life Wasted through Marker are the best 5 consecutive songs on any PJ album
Parachutes is in a great position to bring it down where it is
Army Reserve and Unemployable bring the tempo slowly back up for Big Wave
Gone fits comfortably between Come Back and Inside Job

Just my preference, but I still listen to it in the bands preffered order.

To all those who say this is a weak album, I say fooey on you..
I Love this album and think that it is severly underrated by PJ Fans and the genpop.

I really like this tracklisting. The only change I'd make is deleting Big Wave altogether.

I would open with Severed Hand

Severed hand
Life Wasted
WWS
Comatose

Life Wasted
World Wide Suicide
Comatose
Severed Hand
Marker In The Sand
Unemployable
Big Wave
Gone
Wasted Reprise
Army Reserve
Come Back
Inside Job

This is my list

life wasted
marker in the sand
parachutes
unemployable
wasted reprise
inside job

I don't think you can dump gone, as it is thematically important for the record. You can't open with inside job either, as it represents the resolution of most of the tension the album creates. If you start with that some of the later songs (army reserve, come back, etc) lose their impact.

Wasted reprise into life wasted sounds great, but it is also nice having the reprise reminder later in the cd

If I was retracking it thematically (and as a caveat I love how the record plays now) it would look something like this (I think this works nice musically too, with very solid transitions between songs although the record starts out less explosively)

Life Wasted (no fade for the transition to work musically)
Comatose
Marker In the Sand
Parachutes
Army Reserve
World Wide Suicide
Come Back
Severed Hand
Gone
Wasted Reprise
Inside Job


I'd cut big wave. Fun song and I like it but it's a b-side

Life Wasted sets up the theme that runs through the rest of the album--coming to grips with and moving on from obstacles that threaten to destroy us

First half of the album is the war story--comatose and marker in the sand lay out the close minded self-righteousness that get us there in the first place. Parachutes questions why it has to happen and sets up the love that the war is going to destroy--Army Reserve to WWS to Come Back is the story of what happened to the guy forced to fight a meaningless war and more important to the life that was destroyed by his death

Unemployable deals with similar themes--life cracking under pressure and what have you, although here the problem is economic tension

The final 4 songs are resolutions

Severed Hand--turning to drugs to try and find the space necessary to clear the mind and heal
Gone--same thing but through physical escape (as opposed to mental escape). I have gone second here since it seems like this song is more succesful in the end
Wasted Reprise--the quiet prayer/statement of determination to rise above
Inside Job--the whole cycle plays itself out in one song, has the big cathartic musical finish as well

I actually think the final tracklist was near perfect. I firmly believe the band creates the tracklist using the concept of a two sided record or tape so that each "side" has a distinct feel. Avacado is very true to that form. The first half of the album is totally hard and fast and the second half of the album is more slow and thoughtful.

The only change I would make would be to move Big Wave to the #6 spot right before Parachutes. I think that would give the cd a perfect Yin/Yang feel. Regardless, I think it is a brilliant and triumphant album.

I wasn't really aware that people were dissing the album. I have been listening to it lately and thinking how amazing it is that they could have produced something so great this far into their career. People who don't like it are searching for something they are never going to find.

What the hell is this supposed to mean ? I'm not searching anything when I listen to an album. It just has to kick my ass, musically, lyrically, artistically. This one, though being an okay album with some good stuff, mostly fails in doing any of these things.

Take out Come Back and Big Wave, put them as B-sides on WWS or Life Wasted.