Thumbing my way (Pearl Jam) (LP 3457 - 3461)

Pearl Jam  Binaural (CD, Epic Records, 2000) ****  

Pearl Jam  Riot Act (CD, Epic Records, 2002) *****  

Pearl Jam  Pearl Jam (CD, J Records, 2006) ****

Pearl Jam  Backspacer (CD, Monkeywrench Records, 2009) ****  

Pearl Jam  Lightning Bolt (CD, Monkeywrench/Repulblic Records, 2013) ****   

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: You Are (Riot Act)

Gear costume: The Fixer (Backspacer)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: New decade, but same great rock sound from Pearl Jam. Musical fashions come and go, but Pearl Jam just keep true to their vision. There were refinements along the way (Matt Cameron took over from Jack Irons on drums and I like both of them), but essentially the Pearl Jam sound is like no other band.

Binaural continued the thrust from Yield to great effect. There are still the quirky moments (here it's Eddie and a ukelele), but essentially, they are a rock band doing what they do on Binaural.

 

Riot Act is a better album for my money. The guitars bite more and the attack is more focused, plus Eddie's voice is recorded brilliantly. Lots of career highlights on Riot Act: a good commercial track like I Am Mine, and I especially like Bu$hleaguer for its spoken delivery approach. They are still willing to try new things on Riot Act which is great. 

Pearl Jam signals a kind of reappraisal. Bands tend to aim for a rejig with eponymous titles. In this case it's a return to basic rock principles without any of the experimentation that featured from Vs. to Riot Act. 

I actually like a lot of those quirky side roads but a whole album of full-on Pearl Jam is also a welcome thing. Pearl Jam does a good job in rebooting their classic sound. This approach continued with their final album of the decade - Backspacer. 

The cover kind of hints at a lighter approach and the music inside delivers. They sound like they are having fun again! By this stage I pretty much know what I'm going to get with a Pearl Jam album. The guys deliver on this short sharp album (the shortest in their catalogue).

Final album in this edition is Lightning Bolt. Another excellent Pearl Jam recording. I can't find a weak album in their catalogue. My least favourite album of theirs would be No Code and it's certainly no dud.

Where do they all belong? I have yet to catch up with their last two studio albums - Gigaton and Dark Matter. Both were well reviewed but I just haven't got around to them yet. Mainly, I think, because I've moved well away from buying CDs, and gone back to records exclusively. Live Pearl Jam albums are next.