does anyone agree?

LBC is not my favorite PJ song, but in the context of what songs were available to them to sequence the album, i think it's the strongest, with that ominous organ intro... i would have packed Can't Keep with TMW and slapped Down on there for a 1-2-3 acoustic-y section of the album followed up by You Are and Help Help for their "experimentalness"

lbc
save you
ghost
i am mine
down
tmw
can't keep
get right
you are
help help
1/2 full
arc
all or none


a MUCH stronger 4 track intro, imo

not sure where i'd put cropduster, possibly after i am mine but iam--> down is REAL REAL strong (why didn't the band do that??!)... any alternate versions or recommendations out there for the album?

(i really hate when merges happen... it relegates independent threads to obscurity. it's not like this forum is bussling with tons of posters and threads and activity right now and it's not like the thread of mine got merged into a thread that has any recent conversations going on it... and my original thread could actually get some good Riot Act conversation going, especially for salamander/newbie who said this is his favorite album after S/T... could you please un-merge this)

I agree with LBC being the strongest on the album. Also, some of Ed's vocals are cringeworthy, but I do actually generally like his voice on 80% of the album. As for the tracklist, I'd have mixed it around...

1. Can't Keep
2. Save You
3. Down
4. Love Boat Captain
5. Cropduster
6. Ghost
7. I am Mine
8. Undone
9. Get Right
10. Green Disease
11. Thumbing My Way
12. 1/2 Full
13. Other Side
14. Arc
15. All or None

I think I might actually go into my media player and change Riot Act to that. And put Help Help, You Are and Bushleaguer onto Lost Dogs...

Nah, just wouldn't be the same. Might make playlists though and try them out a couple of times.

Am I the only one who hates this song? To me this is without hands down the worst Pearl Jam song by a long, long way. I almost always skip this track, occasionally I will not skip it but then wish I had.

It not being the same is a good thing....in fact we need more cuts!!!!

01. Can't Keep
02. Save You
03. Love Boat Captain
04. Down
05. I am Mine
06. Thumbing My Way
07. Undone
08. Green Disease
09. Other Side
10. 1/2 Full
11. Arc
12. All or None

I'd maybe replace get right with undone (since get rights lyrics are so abysmal that song just has to be a b-side) and that's a pretty nice mix you have there Ike. It requires that you interpret TMY and all or none more optimistically than I do, but the presence of down and undone on that record defitniely give it a much more hopefull slant that makes it more plausible.

yeah, I like that! My big problem with RA is that it's unnecessarily long. They wrote a lot during that time but made poor b-side choices. While I don't love Down as much as others around here, I do love Other Side and both are waaaay better than Ghose, Cropduster and Get Right. Oh, also don't love Undone. So here's my retracked version of your retracked version....

01. Can't Keep
02. Save You
03. Love Boat Captain
04. Down
05. I am Mine
06. Thumbing My Way
07. Other Side
08. Green Disease
09. 1/2 Full
10. Arc
11. All or None

p.s. I actually like You Are. Just don't think it works anywhere on RA.

i dislike Green Disease, in large part because of it's immaturity... Get Right, it' "bad lyrics" I think ipeople claim it suffers is possibly due to it's listeners inability to interpret abstractions.... I like that song because it's pretty damn good and fast and hard hitting... at least into the chorus... for the longest time both it and green disease were equal in my mind with being bad, but green disease has a high to mid pitch and it sounds a bit "tin-ny" so it's even worse... I mean, hearing Ed rant about Enron and the smartest guys in the room and then go into Green Disease, I mean c'mon, sophomores in high school can do better than that Eddie...

it definitely needs some cuts and some resequencing in my opinion... tmw, i rarely if ever listen to, but i think it has a lot of meaning to a lot of fans, so i'd rather not step on its toes... tmw: ike :: off he goes : stip (ps I feel the same way about Save You, I dislike it very much and think it's such a piss-pore mediocre song with a great riff but shitty shitty shitty lyrics, but i know it's got mad love on the board, thus why it's no excluded)

also, what's up with keeping Can't Keep as the opener?? to me, the fact it wouldn't fit anywhere else on the album doesn't mean it should remain the opener, but begs the question if it even belongs...

lastly, like Stip, Ghost is pretty good in large part to their solo and their Down-esque half time conclusion to the song...

You Are and Help Help I think are both essential RA tracks 'cause of how out of the norm they were for PJ while not being SO out of the norm as to be obvious b-sides. Also, I forgot about Undone as a RA b-side... definitely should be kept on...

4 posts to go to 3000!!!

It's just hard when there are so many songs to NOT get excited about. Some people call those 5-Star songs or whatever, but to my ears, RA has only four songs that get me excited to listen to and they are Save You, I Am Mine, You Are and All or None. I'm not calling them 5-star songs or anything, those are simply songs that taken completely out of the album's context, i would be excited to randomly throw into winamp and listen.

Whatever, we've got LBC lovers around here, You Are haters.... It's just a really unfocused album. It's not overly experimental, it's not rockin' enough to be straight forward, it's not unplugged enough to be chill, and it's drawn out length doesn't make it epic, just tired.

Having said all that, here's my Unriot Act which makes for a nice relaxed listen:

01 Can't Keep
02 Down
03 I Am Mine
04 Thumbing My Way
05 Other Side
06 Undone
07 You Are
08 Help Help
09 Arc
10 All Or None

I am 100% with you on Green Disease. I'm also not a big fan of save you but the great riff and great outro save it. One of those songs where I kind of ignore the lyrics to save the song, but they still aren't as bad to me as get right (and I love the music on that one).

Normally I think I'm pretty servicable at walking through abstractions, but I just can't do it with get right. I'd be intersted to see someone break it down.

I'm probably easier on Riot Act than most people. And I'm not much of a retracker even though I love Badabing's retracking. But although it's not my personal favorite, even on Riot Act, and the Love Boat Captain lyric is almost intolerable, I think that LBC is far and away the best song on the album.

The solos on Ghost are really a low point for Mike...probably the lowest point of his career....go to any music shop anywhere in the world were a 12 year old is practicing his\her scales during their guitar lesson and you'll hear the Ghost solos...really basic/generic solos...


lazy solos, lazy vocals, horrible song...one of only a couple PJ songs I truly hate...

I can't remember this song long enough after listening to it to even hate it. Try humming the melody. I'm not sure that I'd call it a low point for Mike. What was he supposed to do with that melody? You actually have to have something to improvise from.

For years after RA I wasn't able to tell Ghost and Cropduster apart.
Which is the one that goes "The moon is rolling round"?? Hahahaha... just typing lyric made me laugh.

Cropduster and Ghost are two of my favourite Pearl Jam songs...

I couldn't retrack Riot Act, I don't think it needs it. Binaural & Avocado? Yes, go nuts. In fact, I already HAVE retracked those.

Here's my redo...I always thought Riot Act had a great beginning and a great ending but suffered in the middle, mainly due to some tracks that didn't really have any interesting qualities to them, while they had left off some quality B-sides. I understand the whole 'leaving off the track cause it's not like the others' mentality, but when you have a big degree in quality, maybe it's better to rework the tracklisting the suit the best songs as opposed to working with mediocre material cause it fits a similar vibe. So here's mine...I like how it starts off hopeful and defiant (Down and Can't Keep respectfully), and ends with a much more sobering, albeit not hopeless group of songs.

Can't Keep
Save You
Down
Undone
Love Boat Captain
I Am Mine
You Are
Thumbing My Way
Green Disease
Other Side
Arc
All Or None

Can't Keep
Save You
LBC
Undone
Green Disease
I Am Mine
TMW
Down
Bushleaguer
1/2 Full
Arc
All or None

I like the beginning of Riot Act and wouldn't change it. LBC is the strongest, although the lyric has taken a few years to get comfortable with, so I think it should be in the 3 spot where it always has been. Daughter, Who You Are, Alive, etc. I think Undone would sound perfect after LBC and GD keeps it flowing. I Am Mine has the great swell that all great number 6 track should have and I think would stand out more without the listener being tired from Cropduster/Ghost.

Kept TMW for reasons stated above and the Down>Bush>1/2 Full>Arc>All or None might be the best 5 song closer to an album. I like the conflict of Down and Bushleaguer. Themeatically they should probably be switched but musically I don't see Down coming after BL or before 1/2 Full. Can't do Otherside. One of those moments that Jeff and I don't really see eye to eye. I like the looks of this Riot Act.
It's just fun to weigh in.

I agree that Riot Act is bloated and unfocused in the middle. I liked digster's order quite a bit, but here's what I would change:

Can't Keep
Save You
Down
Undone
Love Boat Captain
I Am Mine
You Are
Green Disease
Thumbing My Way
1/2 Full
Arc
All or None