I'm not trying to be a downer at all. The 4 night stand at the Spectrum was amazing. I love all the vids that have surfaced. I wathed the hi-def 'Deep' shot from the second row and thought 'this is amazing. theyve totally still got it. eddie's crazy into it.'




and then i watched (or really just listened) to this.




the scream at the beginning. the scream at the end. the quality of the guitar playing. the deep from the spectrum is great. the deep from soldier field is scary.

Again it's no criticism. PJ are still great, the spectrum run proved that, and in many ways better than ever. The softer sad stuff, like Parting Ways, is just beautiful (look at eddies eyes during the last 2 min - that matches any early PJ).

But ohhhhh - for the early days

well the sound quality in the soldier field vid is about a million times better so its hard to decide.

he probably used to practice the screaming more back then though.


btw, DEEP is a badass song live. underrated.

dumb white people like Johnny Cash were on point well into their 60's, what's Vedder's excuse?

Johnny Cash didn't sing "Blood".

when he covered that faggy Nine Inch Nails song he didn't sing the shit part in the "crown of shit" line ;_;

i hear ya, both versions were really good performances. i actually watched the one from 95 first, then watched the spectrum version expecting to be disappointed after seeing how intense the one from 95 was. I actually wasn't disappointed at all, but there is certainly a difference between the two. The main difference I think is that the band just isn't as angry now, so their performances aren't as emotional.

Wish i could've been at both the shows!

He can't scream like that anymore, and I think that's probably for the best. It's nice hearing Ed sing the chorus to this song - he still has the power in his voice, he's just using it in a different way. Over the last 10 years we've seen him trying to scream like it's 1995, and the result is hit or miss, or usually just a little awkward...over the last 2 or 3 years (and especially since his solo tour) he's really been realising the power in his singing voice, and I'm so glad for it.

I agree. I actually prefer the newer version of Deep, or at least Eddie's performance anyway. He has lost any hint of contrivance in his voice. Basically, he doesn't sound like he is trying so hard. Instead (like you said) he is letting his voice do its thing, and it works really well.

Also, Jeff looking at least slightly less ridiculous on stage is totally worth any other costs of the band aging.

what a fucking band. this is unreal.

I think eddie sounds terrible with that scream at the begining of the 95 deep--but I also don't like how he sounds on that tour. Truth be told, I think I actually prefer the way he screams now--I love the texture in his voice. The old screams, especially in the 94-95 era were way too harsh for me. I prefer eddie from that era for ballads and anthems, but fast stuff I'm not so sure about.

See, I'm the exact opposite. Give me 1991-95 for the screams and 2000-present for the ballads. Or just give me 1998 and call it a day!

1998 is the nexus.

that's am opinion i could get behind but i still think that Ed sounds good/different nowadays. he has a much wider spectrum to sing in as well.
i think i prefer old Eddie to early Eddie for his capability to put on a great show and nail most of the songs but i miss the early band for its stage antics and misdemeanors (not that it would be right to do it today though).

1998 Evolution


2009 Evolution

I think 2009 wins. He sounds like a dog on the 98 version, and the guitars even sound nicer on the 09 one.

im with reeder here

I totally miss the old days. They are definitely more sound and tighter now, as anyone would be with experience, but the raw innocence of PJ in the 90's will always be the best!!!!