Customer Reviews

Alive / Once / Wash

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Review edit:
This review was originally written for the Alive EP, which is an import available right here at Amazon.com for around $25. If you are viewing this review from the page for the U.S. Alive single, I give that 5 stars and suggest that you get the Alive EP insted if you can. Now, on to the review of the Alive EP.

First of all, you might be wondering what this EP contains. Essentially, you get:

1) The "video version" of Alive - different from the album version, because the video featured a live performance of the song. 2) The "video version" of Even Flow - different from the album version because it features Dave Abruzzezze on drums instead of Dave Krusen, who played drums on Ten. Also, it starts with a scream by Eddie and finishes with some additional vocals dubbed into the song at the end. (Of course, both Alive and Even Flow are audio tracks; there are no videos included on this CD)
3) Dirty Frank - Pearl Jam meets the Chili Peppers... a really cool song, and the lyrics are a hoot!
4) Wash - a great song all around, very slow and reflective. Of all songs on Ten, it's probably closest to Release and Oceans.
5) A cool insert with handwritten lyrics to Dirty Frank, lyrics to other songs in both English and Japanese, pictures, and some other cool stuff.
So, should you buy this CD? Well, I was lucky enough to find a copy of it in a used CD store for $4. But I don't think that it's worth $25, hence the 3 star rating. If you really must have Dirty Frank and Wash, studio versions of these songs are available on other singles from Ten... I think Dirty Frank is on Even Flow, and Wash is on the regular Alive. You can also get the live version of Wash on the Pittsburgh official bootleg.
Anyhow, get this CD if you can afford it and really don't mind spending $25 on 4 songs.

This has been like the Golden Fleece to me since I got into Pearl Jam about 7 or 8 years ago. This is the only place you can find (that I know of) the version of "Even Flow" from the music video. The live/rerecorded versions of the first two singles Pearl Jam released are among the best music I have heard. Both of them far surpass their studio counterpart, and both can be found on this cd. this is an absolute must for any completist, or even if you just loved PJ's first record, Ten. The other tracks, Wash, a beautiful balad, and Dirty Frank, A Chilli Peppers-esqu rocker, are worth the price of the record alone.

It's my opinion that if you don't already have copies of "Wash" or "Dirty Frank," this CD is well worth the twenty-five bucks. The re-recorded version of "Even Flow," which was used in the music video, is a step above the Ten version as far as intensity goes. Eddie's vocals are so much more energetic, Abruzzese beats out Krusen on the drums, and Stone does this awesome palm-muted guitar riff after the second and third choruses that just drives it home. The "Alive" version is from the music video too and it's good. "Wash" and "Dirty Frank" are cool collectibles.

If the nineties has an anthem for a generation, it's "Alive". Yes, without the chorus the lyrics aren't very uplifting (which makes the chorus ironic), but isn't that so of nineties youth? The guitar work is raw and grinding, the vocals growling and emotional. This song gave me chills the first time I heard it. Get this disc, close your eyes, and just let it flow. Eddie Vedder once described this song as torture, but I think it's as close to greatness as five guys can musically get.

Well, "Alive" is easily Pearl Jam's best song ever, and it's truly one of the most powerful and inspirational songs Eddie Vedder has ever written. It's strength lies in its apparent simplicity - while subsequent songs are more subtle and thematically complex, and therefore better-written, the simple three-word chorus of "Alive" has an engaging effect on any listener. But the underlying meaning of the song is so twisted, it really provides insight into the screwed-up life Vedder has had. In fact, I wrote a paper for a class this year on the ways this song has been misinterpreted by so many people over the years. Anyway, it's good that "Once" is included on this single, but "Wash" should've been replaced by "Footsteps," which was actually released as a B-side to "Jeremy." "Footsteps" is the third and final part of Vedder's three-part sort of rock opera which he wrote as a demo for Gossard and Ament before he joined the band. "Alive" and "Once" are the first and second parts. Anyway, there's a lot of history behind this song, and it's Pearl Jam's first and greatest masterpiece.

I don't buy singles very much at all...but I believe this is one of the best singles that are available. This is the only single where I can honestly say I like all the songs on it. "Alive", "Once", and "Wash" are wonderful songs. But if you've already heard "Alive" and liked it, I would recommend buying their full-length CD "Ten" instead, because lots of songs on it are good.

i cannot complain about the cd in general, but the ... price seems a bit high just to get the rerecorded even flow, the only track not available elsewhere.

This just so happens to be on of my favorite songs ever! The lyrics are great (what Vedder Lyrics aren't?) and the guitar jam at the end is awesome, especially in concert! Pearl Jam!!!!!! Nuff said>

Ha! I've completely forgotten all about this four track CD single that Pearl Jam had released after their first album came out. Remember, that before Eddie Vedder and gang had started putting out live 2-CD recordings of virtually each and every one of their tour performances, us Pearl Jam fans HAD to rely on pieces like this to hear them play live. How DID we manage? "Alive", "Even Flow" and "Wash" are good to hear. Didn't care for "Dirty Frank" all that much. Aimed toward the completists.

It has great sound, only four songs.