"Backspacer": Trading Experimentation and Politics For Good Ol' Rock 'n Roll!
Written: Sep 29 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Stellar songwriting and production. The band sounds looser than they have in ages.
Cons: None I can think of...some might say it's too short.
The Bottom Line: "Backspacer" is the most relaxed, loose-sounding effort of Pearl Jam's entire career, and it's a nice change from the band's usual clenched-teeth style. One of 2009's finest rock albums.
speeddemon531's Full Review: Backspacer by Pearl Jam
Once your career nears or hits the two-decade mark, it's very easy to start spinning your wheels. If you compare the recent work by...almost anyone to the music with which they came on to the scene, there's a pretty sharp difference in quality. Everyone from R.E.M. to Madonna seem to have gotten to whatever the musical version of the "fat and happy" stage is.
For a while, it seemed like Pearl Jam was headed in that direction as well. After exploding onto the scene at the height of the grunge era, Eddie Vedder and co. seemed to have lost the plot at the start of this decade with albums like "Binaural" and "Riot Act"-two sets that found their way into my collection...and very quickly found their way out. There was just too much noise and not enough melody for me.
2006's self-titled offering showed a ray of hope, even if I haven't been enticed to listen to it lately, and Vedder's solo "Into the Wild" soundtrack was quite good-but it was an Eddie Vedder album, not a Pearl Jam album. With the arrival of "Backspacer", the band's ninth studio album, the million dollar question in my eyes was: does Pearl Jam still have it?
Well, folks-the answer appears to be "yes". "Backspacer" is a concise (11 songs in 36 1/2 minutes), tight, well-written and well-played album. Musically speaking, the band has never sounded as eclectic while operating within a mainstream pop framework. The songs here aren't deliberately obtuse like some of the band's more experimental work. The hooks are strong as hell (the way to my heart is through a good melody and hook), and for the first time in a while, the band sounds joyful. I mean, let's face it: PJ's last two albums were very political and downcast as far as lyrical content. It's nice to hear them lighten up and sound loose and relaxed.
"Backspacer" gets off to a running start with the uptempo 1-2-3 combination of "Gonna See My Friend", "Got Some" and first single "The Fixer". Particularly on the second of those three songs, Vedder sounds as intense as he did on PJ classics like "Go", speed-singing the lyrics atop caffeinated guitar licks from Stone Gossard and Mike McCready. "Supersonic" is another speedy, punk-inspired rave-up (well, except for the tempo-shifting instrumental midsection). These songs aren't totally dissimilar from the work PJ has done on their last few albums-just...tighter and more polished. You can credit the band for sharper songwriting and playing, but you've also gotta give props to producer Brendan O'Brien, who is back in the fold for the first time since '98's "Yield".
For my money, though, the album's best tracks are the mellower ones. "Just Breathe" is a slowly unwinding semi-acoustic ditty that would have been right at home on "Into the Wild". It brings back fond memories of one of my absolute favorite PJ songs, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town". The anthemic "Amongst the Waves" (written by Gossard...hmmm, I thought Eddie was the surfer) has one of those triumphant, fist-waving choruses that have become a Pearl Jam trademark, even though it doesn't rock *quite* as hard as the album's more uptempo offerings. "The End" is another pretty piece featuring Eddie's soulful wail backed by a delicate acoustic guitar and a string section.
"Backspacer" is pretty much the encapsulation of everything good about Pearl Jam. There are hard rockin' anthems, as well as songs like the thoughtful "Speed of Sound" (is that a PIANO I hear? That's a first on a Pearl Jam record), which is sure to follow in the footsteps of mellower smashes like "Better Man" and "Daughter". Vedder (one of the best pure singers to come out of the grunge era) is in fine voice throughout, the songs are immediate and not ponderous, and the end result is quite possibly the most consistently enjoyable album from the '90s rock titans since their initial heyday.
So much for "fat & happy". Maybe the likes of R.E.M. and Madonna should take note.
"Backspacer" by Pearl Jam Released 2009 on Monkeywrench/Universal Records Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Track Listing: Gonna See My Friend/Got Some/The Fixer/Johnny Guitar/Just Breathe/Amongst the Waves/Unthought Known/Supersonic/Speed of Sound/Force of Nature/The End
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.