Backspacer [Enhanced, Import]

Pearl Jam | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Import
• Label: Universal Music Group
• ASIN: B002IVLH60
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from Eddie Vedder and the boys, their ninth album overall. For Backspacer, the lasting Grunge rockers decided to do it big. They left label J Records and decided to release to album themselves, since the certainly have enough money to do that. They also hooked up with '90s Alternative Rock producer du jour Brendan O'Brien (Korn, Bruce Springsteen), the first time that the band has worked with O'Brien since 1998's Yield. The music on the record features a sound influenced by Pop and New Wave.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better Loud than Too Late, September 25, 2009

By 

Brandon J. Smith (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Backspacer (Audio CD)

This is Pearl Jam's best album of the 2000s. Continuing where Pearl Jam left off, the band matches the energy of their last outing with better, tighter songs. The lyrics (notably, all are credited to Vedder) are exceptional. No longer bound by anti-Bush righteous rage, Vedder seems to feel freed to sing songs with more empathy and positive energy. There are still plenty of songs about troubled souls and surfing, but the overall tone is warmer and filled more with empathy than anger.

The band's playing is excellent as always, and Brendan O'Brien's return to the fold is welcome - this album, even more than the Ten Redux cd, is proof positive that O'Brien is THE man to produce Pearl Jam's albums. He adds a few touches of keyboards and strings here and there to augment the standard guitar/bass/drums rock format, and the result is a sound perfectly suited to Pearl Jam's strongest batch of songs in years.

Pearl Jam fans who have been waiting for a new great album but weren't quite convinced by their previous cd should give this one a shot, and fans who have stuck with the band all these years will not be disappointed. This is Pearl Jam for 2009 and beyond.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Way it Should Be done! Best rock record in a long time!, November 11, 2009

By 

Ryan O "Olah" (Phiadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backspacer (Exclusive Version w/ 2 Concert Downloads) (Audio CD)

This is how bands should make and sell cd's. This is the version which comes with download codes to get two complete PJ shows (like an additional 60 some songs!!!!!)


First the Backspacer album itself. Incredible. Production and songs are amazing. The first two songs have a more hardcore edge. Fixer opens up into an amazing anthem sound. Poetic lyrics, amazing singing, hard rocking guitars, excellent drumming and bass. This is the best band of the last twenty years, and this album proved it to me. This album is a MUST listen to. The entire album as a whole flows great together. Especially from Just Breathe to The End. It is concise and tight, and not a moment is wasted. Awesome.

Again, this is the version where you get to choose from 10 or 12 concerts and can download those COMPLETE concerts. So for one price you get the album, and two complete shows. This is a deal you cannot beat. After hearing the live shows, I have been converted into a complete Pearl Jam maniac!!!! Believe me, this album is and band is ALL THAT!!!!!

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best since 'Yield', September 29, 2009

By 

General Martok (Ann Arbor) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backspacer [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

A quick note -

*this album is available for purchase at a regular price at any Target location.
*this album is available for download at a regular price on itunes.
*this album is also available for purchase at any locally-owned record/cd store.

Otherwise you will have to pay the expensive price listed here because Target is the only big-box chain store which sells Backspacer in the United States. Amazon must have fandangled a way to buy it from overseas and then resell it to you here, though that is just a guess.

On to the music.

It is wonderful. The album is again produced by Brendan O'Brian. As a whole the disc feels more upbeat than 2006's self-titled offering. With that being said we still get plenty of Eddie's growl and plenty of songs that rock. If you are already a fan of the band, you ought to stop reading this review and go purchase this now. You will not be disappointed.

The songs on the album are as fresh and inspired as you would expect a new recording to be from a band as creative as Pearl Jam. I feel that Binaural, Riot Act, and Pearl Jam are all excellent albums. But Backspacer is the most 'fun' to listen to of that group. The songs are tight, concise, and inventive. I doubt anything on the album is much longer than four minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised Target had a supply of Backspacer available for purchase on vinyl, and that is what I bought. The disc is nice and heavy, probably along the lines of 180 grams. It doesn't seem quite as hefty as some of my 200 gram records. Regardless, the sound quality is excellent. This is about all I have to say. I feel an album needs many years to really grow on me and allow me to accurately compare it alongside the material that came before it. But I can easily give this recording a five-star rating, and recommend it heartily to Pearl Jam fans, and fans of good music in general.