After my disappointing experience with No Code Yield had a lot riding on it, especially since some early reviews I read likened it as a throwback to the first two records (it is at this point you can argue that pearl jam became irrelevant and lost the pulse that it had, when they were now known for their past rather than their future, and the hope of all subsequent records (in the larger music community) was that they would return to that sound). So it had a lot of work to do

Early signs were good. One of the NYC radio stations decided to play Do the Evolution ten times in a row. At first it freaked me out a bit (like the first time I heard habit) since I was worried that Ed destroyed his voice but I loved the song (esp the little riff stone plays after the first verse and the hallelujah chorus). Soon after I heard Given to Fly, which I loved immediately (it was a top 5 PJ song for me for a while, long before DTE) and I had heard that early live version of Brain of J and liked it a lot

There was not a midnight madness chance to get the album so 10 am the morning it released I hopped in my car and drove to the record store. I bought the CD and then also bought a tape so I could listen to it on the drive back. I think I just rewound and kept listening to Brain of J the whole trip back. Loved it, and was hugely optimistic

Unfortuantely, the first 3 songs I heard were my favorite 3 on the record. Yield was not quite as disappointing as No Code. In general I liked it a lot (still do) and there were plenty of standout tracks on the first few listens (the three above, wishlist, mfc, faithful, in hiding) but none of them quite grabbed me the way the best stuff from the first few records did. And there were also the dud tracks. Ignoring red dot, I was unimpressed with pilate, ATY (which has since grown on me a lot), lowlight, and push/pull. Not bad songs, but clearly a sign to me that Pearl Jam’s best days were behind them. I was willing to write off No Code as an ‘experimental’ album but this was billed as a return to rock and it was a bit disappointing—if only for the enormously high expectations I had for the record (Binaural would benefit from this disappointment)

You Never Forget Your First Time: Ten
You Never Forget Your First Time: VS
You Never Forget Your First Time: Vitalogy
You Never Forget Your First Time: No Code

There's a record store in the town I live in called Downtown Records, and after years of business the owner and I actually grew to be friends. He knew my obsession for Pearl Jam, so he'd actually call me at work the day he got the albums in (meaning prior to the Tuesday release date - usually Monday, sometimes Saturday). I was one of his best customers and he always made sure I got a chance to buy the albums early, which I really appreciated.

So on Monday, February 1, I stopped in and sure enough he had a copy of Yield waiting for me. At that point in my life, my first listen to a new Pearl Jam album HAD to be through a pair of headphones (I didn't want to miss anything). After running some errands with my younger brother, I finally got home, broke out the headphones and popped Yield in. All I had heard prior was Given To Fly, which absolutely saturated the airwaves around these parts. It didn't really do anything for me, and given how I felt about No Code, my expectations were low.

Here's how I felt after the first listen of the first 6 tracks:

Brain of J: unimpressed. Seemed like a generic rocker.
Faithfull: didn't know what to think of it. Seemed like a sloppy narrative.
No Way: ditto.
Given to Fly: already knew it, so wanted it to be over.
Wishlist: loved it. The "I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me" line gave me goosebumps.
Pilate: again, I didn't know what the song was about. But the lyrics of the bridge really resonated with me.

Then my CD player read "Track 7" and the DTE riff kicked in. Holy motherfucker. By the song's end, I knew Yield was worth the hard-earned money I spent for this track alone. What a powerful experience. Every time I hear the song, I wish I could feel like I felt after that first listen. It gave the album instant credibility.

But the rest of the album didn't disappoint. I needed the breather that Red Dot provided, because I got wound back up again for MFC (keep in mind that I'm a huge fan of punk and MFC sounded like a perfect little punk song to me). Low Light was good, but I wouldn't grow fond of it until later. In Hiding knocked me on my ass, as did Push Me/Pull Me. Then ATY eloquently closed the album out. The second half of this album was just a magical listening experience.

After subsequent listens, I felt a real cohesion on this album from track 1 through track 13. Pearl Jam didn't make it easy, and I had to work for it, but it eventually paid off. Ed's voice sounded great, Jack's drumming was just stellar (I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this), and some of these songs really started to make sense. Despite my No Code bias, I'm inclined to say that this is probably a better-crafted album, speaking objectively. To me, No Code was about growing up. Yield is about being grown-up, and it's a masterpiece in it's own right.

The third PJ album I got(after Ten and Riot Act). Got it for Christmas, I remember loving Given to Fly, Brain of J, and Do the Evolution right away, later Faithful and No Way grew on me.

Shockingly enough...I didn't hate Wishlist very much back then.

hahaha

Nick, I'm tiring of your hatred for Wishlist.

wishlist grew on my faster than almost any other song on the record. By the second or third listen I was hooked. it sounded great on my speakers and really filled the dorm room with its warmth. I remember beign so excited when the did it on letterman although I was not a huge fan of the performance. There are a few songs that Eddie has never quite been able to get the vocals for right when he does me live and this is one of em (elderly woman, one of my all time favorites, is another example of this)

I don't remember too much about the first time I heard this record. I do remember that I bought it at Blockbuster Video. Brain of J instantly grabbed my attention right from the start but the 3 songs that I fell in love with were Given To Fly, DTE and In Hiding. Still to this day it is my favorite PJ record.

hehe, Freud might have something to say about that

I don't remember specifically, but being that I was at college and whatnot and so had a lot of time to spare, I'm pretty sure I bought it the day it came out. I'm also pretty sure I loved it the first time I listened to it. I DO remember kind of scoffing at DTE first, because that riff was just so odd, and I wasn't sure I liked a song built around that riff. I came around pretty quickly, though.

The main memory I have of Yield was getting my dorm neighbor into it that spring. He was more a frat boy country and metal fan, so I took it as a good thing when he told me that he wnated to borrow the album because he heard me playing it so often. Within a couple weeks he told me loved the record. I took some pride whenever I came back to my room and I'd hear the album playing from his room.

Brain of J was a favorite from the first time I heard it. It is still one of my favorite PJ songs, and probably my favorite on the record.

But, for me, of any of PJs record, I really feel that this is one that needs to be listened to straight through to be really appreciated. Everytime I sit down and am able to put 50 minutes aside to have a listen, when that time is up, I always feel like I just got done listening to a truly great record. Almost ten years on and that feeling has never wavered or changed. I had a great time participating in Yield night a few months ago, and plan on doing so again next year for the 10th anniversary.

Since I was anti-Pearl Jam for a while after No Code came out, I didn't actually buy Yield until 2001. By that point, I only knew the singles and the songs that were on some of the 2000 tour bootlegs that I bought.

On first listen, Yield didn't do much for me. But over time, I grew to enjoy it. I can still do without "Pilate" and "Push Me, Pull Me", but the rest of the album is most excellent.

Yield came out my senior year of HS. I had bought the G2F single so I knew it and Pilate, and liked both, but hadn't heard anything else.

I remember I left campus at lunch and went to buy it. I was going to wait to listen until after school, so i could listen all at once, but then gave in during a free period late in the day.

Brain Of J blew me away. i remember that. But after that, i remember being very underwhelmed. It was then probably one of the first albums that didn't do much for me at first, but would grow on me and ultimately be one of my favorites. It's not my favorite PJ record, but the good songs on it are really, really great.

miss ya Frank... got busy here... or self-imposed busy... or trying to make this whole thing work... an unexpected night off tonight... listenign to the last two tracks of Cold Roses that matter to me-- Friends and Tonight.... looking for trouble... both pretty much capture the sentiment... think i've got a ticket for this ol vic show... loved Yield on first listen... it was more approachable than No Code in the first week but I like No Code more, after all this time... fuck it man... logging in here and elsewhere....

This was the first PJ album after I joined the interwebz, so it was kind of a new experience for me. Seeing the tracklist ahead of time, seeing the setlist for the Catalyst show in November with the new song titles, anticipating.

The news about the first single had been out for some time, Given To Fly b/w Pilate. I knew both tracks would be on the album, so rather than watse my money like I had on teh STBC and Who You Are singles, I decided to just wait until the album. But then the news broke on the day of release that there was a third non-album track on single!! Can you imagine something like that happening today? Could never be kept a secret like that. It was an awesome surprise, and I went down to the local record shop and picked up my copy. I really liked all three tracks (yes, stip, even Leatherman), and it made the anticipation for the next couple of weeks even greater.

I had picked up the new PJ albums on the day of release ever since Vs., but this is the first and only time I actually had a copy BEFORE release. I went down to the same record store that I had bought No Code at midnight madness, and asked if they would be doing that again this time. Apparently, the response wasn't quite worth it for No Code (see my post in that thread), but it was Monday afternoon, and they just sold me the album then anyway. I was really psyched, and felt important.

Yield is the album that cemented for me that PJ was the best band in the world and would continue to be for some time. I had really enjoyed the single, but by the time GTF came on the album, I had already found three songs I liked even better. DTE really kicked my ass the first time, as did In Hiding, which remains one of my favorite PJ songs.

Yield is my favorite PJ album. I was in a dark and lonely time in my life when it came out, and yet I have no associated memories like that with this album. I remember the time, and the places, but not the bad feelings that were my days in the winter of 1998. This album completely released me from that place when I listened to it. Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years...

riot act was my first 'on the interweb' pearl jam record. A very different experience. Although when yield came out I had poked around slightly on a few pearl jam sites. TSIS was one I think--I remember something wtih song lyrics and fan interpretations and I think that was it



well you did do a lot of drugs

My first girlfriend bought me Yield and in true representation of the type of person she was, she wrote in the album sleeve 'this music sucks <3 Toni'. Nice, thanks babe. Mind you this is the same chick that told me she had tickets to see PJ in Perth and then on the night of the concert, about 2hours before it was set to start, revealed that she had lied. Anyway... onto the album...

I don't really remember my first listen so it can't have impressed me too much but maybe that something to do with the 'this music sucks' note inside the album cover. I recall that sometime around this period 'Live On Two Legs' came out and I was absolutely thrashing that when I realised that I had practically ignored Yield, so I sat down with headphones to listen, really listen... Stand-out favourites at the time were: the frist 4 tracks, DTE, MFC (but for some reason not so much now), In Hiding and ATY. I have never been a big fan of Wishlist, the lyrics have always felt a little contrived to me. I think the biggest thing about Yield for me on that first headphones listen was the amount of stuff going on in the background; the 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 in Brain of J, whatever Ed yells out in No Way etc etc. It's the little things that make the album for me.

I went to the library last year and stole their copy.

This is one thing i miss from the Avocado album...there are no moments like this really, and it's a shame because they're evident on Binaural, Yield and even Riot Act a little bit. It's like discovering little secrets, and you feel the band has really put a lot into the songs (ironic since they spent the most time on Avocado). They somehow make the band feel that little bit more real.

this gave me a thread idea

I was in the computer lab at Arogoni Center at Iona College in New Rochelle. Had headphones on and loved it.
It was around 11 a.m. and I remember some of my friends looking at me funny. "Pearl Jam?" They are still around?"
Yield was the first PJ album I bought the first day and the first album that I couldn't wait to be released.
In Hiding was my favorite Yield song that day and still is today.