Album: Ten
Artist: Pearl Jam
In my teenage years, I was mostly obsessed with cheesy house and jungle music by night and classic pop (Beatles, Kinks, The Who, etc), plus whatever MTV threw up, by day. Some of my friends at school started listening to grunge and my initial response was indifference, or at worst slight distaste at its sludgy, joyless sound. That said, spending lots of time in other people's bedrooms listening to music meant I had to be open-minded and, over time, I came to appreciate the way it updated the classic rock of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, injecting some of the intensity of hardcore punk too. Pearl Jam were by no means the best or most innovative grunge band, but Ten has outsold (with close to 20mn copies) all other grunge albums bar Nirvana's Nevermind. You could argue that, without the success of Nirvana in late 1991, grunge would never have caught on in the same way it did and that Ten would have remained largely below the radar. This is reflected in the fact that Ten didn't start selling fast until 1992, almost a year after its initial release. One big part of the appeal of Pearl Jam to teenagers was Eddie Vedder, not just his looks but the solemnity and drama in his vocals, which now sound a bit earnest and overwrought but don't stop me enjoying the album. Ten's three singles -- Jeremy, Even Flow and Alive -- tend to overshadow the record, which is a bit patchy in parts (Oceans is almost unlistenable) but is powerful and energetic for the most part. Alive is my favourite of the three singles, with Mike McCready's and Stone Gossard's guitar sound particularly impressive.
There's a lot to like about Pearl Jam as music industry outsiders, unafraid to highlight issues and take on vested interests, like Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam also continue to put on great shows for their committed fans. Though I'm not among their number, I asked one close to me for her thoughts:
"Pearl Jam was a sound unlike anything I'd heard before and in the summer of '92 me and my friends lapped it up. Singing the songs soulfully gazing into the distance was one of main occupations. And we regularly recreated the album cover in photos (hands reaching to each other and the sky).
The growly voice of Eddie Vedder (it helped that he was gorgeous!), the insistent drums and the screech of the guitar were sounds that became so familiar that listening to the album now I am instantly transported back to my teenage years. Most likely holed up in someone's bedroom reeking of joss sticks and wearing one of my favourite skirts with bells on and my trusty green DMs. Jeremy is possibly my favourite / most played song from the album. I don't think I understood it at the time though and I don't remember knowing that it was about a boy committing suicide in class. But maybe I did know and have forgotten, for sure some of my friends who were more committed musos would have known."
Artist: Pearl Jam
Born: Seattle, Washington
Released: August 1991
Genre: Grunge
In my teenage years, I was mostly obsessed with cheesy house and jungle music by night and classic pop (Beatles, Kinks, The Who, etc), plus whatever MTV threw up, by day. Some of my friends at school started listening to grunge and my initial response was indifference, or at worst slight distaste at its sludgy, joyless sound. That said, spending lots of time in other people's bedrooms listening to music meant I had to be open-minded and, over time, I came to appreciate the way it updated the classic rock of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, injecting some of the intensity of hardcore punk too. Pearl Jam were by no means the best or most innovative grunge band, but Ten has outsold (with close to 20mn copies) all other grunge albums bar Nirvana's Nevermind. You could argue that, without the success of Nirvana in late 1991, grunge would never have caught on in the same way it did and that Ten would have remained largely below the radar. This is reflected in the fact that Ten didn't start selling fast until 1992, almost a year after its initial release. One big part of the appeal of Pearl Jam to teenagers was Eddie Vedder, not just his looks but the solemnity and drama in his vocals, which now sound a bit earnest and overwrought but don't stop me enjoying the album. Ten's three singles -- Jeremy, Even Flow and Alive -- tend to overshadow the record, which is a bit patchy in parts (Oceans is almost unlistenable) but is powerful and energetic for the most part. Alive is my favourite of the three singles, with Mike McCready's and Stone Gossard's guitar sound particularly impressive.
There's a lot to like about Pearl Jam as music industry outsiders, unafraid to highlight issues and take on vested interests, like Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam also continue to put on great shows for their committed fans. Though I'm not among their number, I asked one close to me for her thoughts:
"Pearl Jam was a sound unlike anything I'd heard before and in the summer of '92 me and my friends lapped it up. Singing the songs soulfully gazing into the distance was one of main occupations. And we regularly recreated the album cover in photos (hands reaching to each other and the sky).
The growly voice of Eddie Vedder (it helped that he was gorgeous!), the insistent drums and the screech of the guitar were sounds that became so familiar that listening to the album now I am instantly transported back to my teenage years. Most likely holed up in someone's bedroom reeking of joss sticks and wearing one of my favourite skirts with bells on and my trusty green DMs. Jeremy is possibly my favourite / most played song from the album. I don't think I understood it at the time though and I don't remember knowing that it was about a boy committing suicide in class. But maybe I did know and have forgotten, for sure some of my friends who were more committed musos would have known."
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