Ten is my favorite Pearl Jam album and one of the best albums ever. It, along with Nirvana’s Nevermind and Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger completely revolutionized recorded music. Grunge burst on the scene in 1991 and Pearl Jam was at the forefront. Ten is a landmark album that only gets better with age. It’s all that more astonishing when you consider that Ten is Pearl Jam’s debut album.

Pearl Jam was created out of the remnants of the Seattle band, Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone lost their lead singer, Andrew Wood tragically to drugs. The remaining members of the band added a new lead singer in Eddie Vedder and their first recording together was the album Ten. And the rest, as they say, is history. The sound was totally unique for the time. It was one part rock and one part punk and it lit a fire under the then current music scene.

The album starts of with the rocking song Once. It’s a great opener and really sets the tone for the album. The song slowly builds out of nothingness. A quiet drumbeat starts in the background and it evolves into a serious guitar riff.

The next two songs are often thought of together. Even Flow and Alive come up next. Alive served as the first single of the album and Even Flow was the second. Alive hit the music scene like a ton of bricks. The intro of Alive is truly unique and it lets the listener know that you are about to be rocked. Even Flow quickly follows and it’s almost an extension of Alive. It’s not quite played with the same vigor as Alive, but it’s still a great song.

Next up is Why Go. The drumming by Dave Krusen really gets to shine through on the song. Of course, Eddie Vedder gets to wail on the vocals like only he can do. Again, Why Go is a very aggressive rock song that really packs a punch.

My favorite Pearl Jam song is next up---Black. Black serves as one of the tributes that Pearl Jam would do for Andrew Wood (the Soundgarden collaboration, Temple Of The Dog, was the other). The song is flat out beautiful. Pearl Jam scales back the hard guitars and anger that exists in their other song. The song builds and builds until it reaches its epic end. It truly is a masterpiece.

Jeremy is the sixth track and it is probably the most popular and famous Pearl Jam song. It chronicles the troubles of a teenager and he’s untimely death. The video was over played on MTV and I think it caused the song to loose much of its power. Fortunately, when Pearl Jam plays it live, they now play it much slower with allows for a greater impact on the audience. The song is still a powerful ballad and a tremendous display of Vedder’s writing abilities.

Oceans is the next song on the album and it’s a little bit unusual. Vedder’s vocals are distorted throughout the song. It might be distracting to some, but I think it actually adds a special element to the song. On a side note, there was actually a video filmed for Oceans, but it was never shown because of various disputes Pearl Jam had with MTV and producers. However, it can actually be seen on the new Pearl Jam DVD (Touring Band 2000) that was just recently released.

Track eight is Porch. It’s a straight-ahead rock and roll song that is reminiscent of punk songs in the past. You can almost hear the Ramones coming through on the song. There isn’t too much to it except for hard guitar, banging drums and loud vocals. It’s good for what it is, but it’s a three-minute tune that really just fills up a track on the album.

Garden follows Porch and it’s another slow/ballad type song that is really beautiful. Vedder has a great voice and many times it isn’t clear when he is yelling throughout the entire song. Garden allows Vedder to really explore his vocal range and the results create a memorable song.

Deep is the next track and it’s one of the weaker songs on the album. It doesn’t have the heart and passion that so many of the other songs on the album have. It also doesn’t have the musicianship. It probably would have been the last song on the album. However, I think Pearl Jam wanted to end the album on a high note. Which you will read shortly, they most certainly succeeded in. Deep is not a bad track, but every album has a “worst” song and this is probably it.

The last song on the album is Release and it is a fabulous song. It’s a slow and prodding song that really hits you in the heart. It is beautifully written and beautifully played. It’s a great ballad that seems to go on and on. Keep in mind this isn’t a bad thing. You almost don’t want the song to end. It’s one of Vedder’s most personal songs and it’s a great way to end a great album.

Mainstream popularity may have passed Pearl Jam by, but that’s fine by me. They are still releasing great albums. VS, Vitalogy, No Code, Yield, Binaural and Riot Act are all excellent. The multitude of live discs that they have released shows their commitment to their fans, as well as the goal of putting on great performances. Ten is a great debut album from a fabulous band that still have a lot to give to their fans. If you buy this album, you will not be disappointed.

Pearl Jam is:

Jeff Ament--bass
Eddie Vedder-vocals
Mike McCready--lead guitar
Stone Gossard--guitars
Dave Krusen--drums



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out