So it’s easy to reminisce about the grunge scene in all it’s plaid glory. Name drop Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and there’ll no doubt be a few appreciative nods. Arguably you might hurl Pearl Jam into the mix and despite this grunge attribution, Pearl Jam have always been a group with pretensions of being a classic rock act and ‘Pearl Jam’ may yet sway you to that effect.
Much like the comeback of Mudhoney proved earlier in the year, you’re never too old to have a political conscience and Eddie Vedder has a pretty vocal one whichever way you look at it. The track listing reads like the billboard collection at a war protest and the general tone is set before it’s hammered home with All American bluster. Titles like opener ‘Life Wasted’, ‘World Wide Suicide’ and ‘Army Reserve’ don’t mask allegiances but then the music doesn’t pull many punches either. ‘Life Wasted’ sees Vedder bark like a desert coyote whilst the duel guitar work of Stone Gossard and Mike Mcready duke it out in a slugfest of riffage. ‘World Wide Suicide’ and ‘Comatose’ see Vedder sound off like a caged lion to some down tuned speed guitar as ‘Marker in the Sand’ comes across like a funked up country ditty. Despite the renewed political venting, Pearl Jam resort to some oddly needless balladry in the rocking chair strummings of ‘Parachutes’ and ‘Come Back’ that’s all very heartfelt and sincere but it’s more Lion King than the snarling King of the Jungle.
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There remains the same anti establishment sentiment and whilst Vedder is blatant in his observations he withdraws from naming names. ‘You’re always saying there’s something wrong/I’m starting to believe it’s your plan all along’ from ‘Life Wasted’ doesn’t take a genius to work out. It’s a sad indictment of our world that conflict can be the catalyst for such a powerful social resurrection and ‘Pearl Jam’ provides a throwback to the spirit of ’91 where there was a generation just as angry and disillusioned. It’s not quite them against the world all over again because this time they’ve a few allies and this ‘Pearl Jam’ should secure them a few more.
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