Customer Reviews

04/6/00 - Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd heard a lot about the hamburg show and a couple of the others but they weren't in when i went looking. i chose this because it had some new stuff, and also had some personal favourites (black, nothing man, once). i can assure you that i was not disapointed, right from the start this is an awesome set and was surprised that it hadn't been given a bigger write-up. yellow ledbetter, footsteps, state of love and trust, once, rearviewmirror, light years and of the girl all sounded great. and betterman sounded fresher than it has in a while. the banter on stage is great as well, and hearing eddie pay out on oasis is worth the price of the cd alone. my only complaint is that black seems a little flat tonight... not to worry though, there many more bootlegs to satisfy that thirst. although it isn't the most diverse list on the 25 it still stands up strong. but with a band like pearl jam, what more would you expect

At best, a great setlist bogged down by a seriously sloppy effort. You might want to skip this one. There are several superb European performances, including Verona, Milan, Katowice II, and Cardiff. However, I guess it all boils down to personal preference. What the heck, a mediocre Pearl Jam show still smashes most of the music out there (raise me a star)!!

The first set of this night is fantastic. It has a nice pace, a few missteps (Wishlist) but overall the band is right on cue. A humorous exchange begins between Eddie and the audience when he argues with Stone about song selection. The second set is not as listener friendly, with slow periods and drifting which sound to me at times like "going through the motions". Yet even there, sections and songs stand out. Yellow Ledbetter and Black highlight the last hour. Overall, I found it very satisfying and look forward to buying more of this series.

I was at this concert, and buying this album was like stepping back in time. This is almost like having Pearl Jam play live in your living room. All the regular songs are on here and the Live only Favourites like Yellow Leadbetter, F**king Up, State of love and Trust and Footsteps. It is the best concert I've been to so this album has to be one of the best albums I own. The Quality is second to none, and Eddie's voice is like a well oiled machine, as is the Guitars/Drumming. Buy it. You will not be dissapointed

This is the third bootleg that I've purchased so far (the other ones were Katowice II and Hamburg) and I must say that Manchester beats both of them. Many are raving about Hamburg, but Manchester is by far more consistent. I've never heard Eddie's voice sound cleaner and more powerful, especially in Footsteps, Nothingman and Yellow Ledbetter. This CD also has the best versions of Even Flow, Grievance, Insignificance, Last Exit and Rearviewmirror that I've heard so far. Breakerfall, Go, and Do The Evolution are more aggressive than usual. But the best song has to be an awesome rendition of Garden, a song they hardly ever play anymore. Also, the sound quality on this CD seems to be better than any of the other bootlegs I've heard. Only complaints: Eddie screws up the words on Even Flow and Wishlist, and there's no Daughter tag. Bottom Line: if you want the best of Mike's solos, buy Hamburg. If you want the best of Eddie's voice and the most coherent setlist, buy Manchester.

Disclaimer: Owner of all 72 official PJ bootlegs. Of all the bootlegs in this series, at least 60 out of the 72 are well worth the money and preserve great Pearl Jam performances on disc. But some shows just had to be below average, and this show in Manchester is one of the worst bootlegs in the series. The problems tonight are a generally careless and sloppy performance, plus many musical errors, and it appears that the band just didn't care what kind of impression they were making. For example, "Evacuation" and "Even Flow" are woefully uncoordinated, with lazy playing by Stone Gossard and Mike McCready that really throws off Matt Cameron's concentration. "Daughter" and "Wishlist" both start poorly and end inconclusively, when the band members simply give up one by one instead of putting together a strong ending. The villain tonight is Stone, who commits many obvious and painful errors that he shouldn't be making on songs he's been playing for ten years. Stone absolutely demolishes the final chorus of "Once," throwing the whole band into a state of confusion. Mike could have saved this show if he felt like it, but he didn't. Mike is barely present for much of the show, and probably spent many songs sitting on a road case and smoking, just standing up once in a while when he got to do a showcase solo. The lowest point is an insultingly lazy take on "Garden" in which everybody sounds like they don't even feel like doing the song. This track barely makes it through to completion. Pearl Jam has really served the fans well by releasing all these bootlegs. Most are great, and a few are below average but forgivable for such a long tour. But this one is definitely near the low end in quality.

There is alot of buzz about the Verona, and Katowice II bootlegs, but Manchester is just as good, if not better. I bought the Verona one, this one, and the Stockholm show. The song selection on all three is great, but this one surpasses all of those that I have heard. Eddie sounds great, and his mood is less moody here than he is reputed. He even is playful. The banter with Stone is great!

Manchester even has a few tour rarities to listen to. Nothingman, Garden, and Leatherman are all tracks that don't show up often on the tour.

Eddie's voice seems to peak at this show. Not that he sings badly on any of the others, but he sounds extra good here. The tunes are plays flawlessly by Stone, Jeff, Matt and Mike. This is just a great show. And it appears that others are beginning to think so too, when I bought this the availability was 2-3 days, now it's 1-2 weeks. Get this before it's gone.

I bought this CD simply because I was there in the concert hall and it was my first Pearl Jam concert. PJ seldom comes to Malaysia or Singapore, if not never. But I was lucky to be there in Manchester and managed to get a ticket before it sold out.

About this CD, all the songs are truly magnificent and it has the second best (my opinion) rendition of Black. I find the best to be in a bootleg CD of their concert in Atlanta, GA back in 1995. But most memorable of all, I cried during the concert when Eddie was singing Yellow Ledbetter. It was simply.....beautiful.

For new fan of PJ, get this album and you'll end up as a fanatic like me! I'm sure you'll love it.

Warning, if you are only buying one of the live Pearl Jam sets, don't make it this one. That being said, this is a very good, cd, but not one of the best. The song list leaves something to be desired, however the band sounds particulary sharp, and turns several songs into 8 minute jams, which is suprising given thier recent sounds in Yeild and Binaural. If you are looking to add a differant sound of Pearl Jam to your collection, buy. If not, look elsewhere.

This entry from the European Bootleg Series is a real polarizer. People either seem to love it or hate it, which is easy to understand. The show has a caustic, rough edge to it that can be interpreted as sloppiness, etc. There are miscues by the baker's half dozen, but the crowd loves it. The tension and excitement carries into the music; you get the feeling that at any moment Stone Gossard's guitar is going to explode into shrapnel. I think it's great, and I wish I could have been there. 5 stars.