Customer Reviews

Pearl Jam Twenty

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Allow me to make one thing perfectly clear right up front...while I love Pearl Jam and consider myself a big fan, I also don't have the kind of encyclopedic knowledge that I know some people have for the band. I can't honestly tell you how much of the material in this book, the little tidbits and snippets and nuggets of information from the band, their fellow musicians, and their friends is already known and how much of it is revelatory and new.

What I can tell you is my own impression of the book, and that's that this is a fantastic book that any fan will love. It is a great companion piece to the year-long celebration that has been PJ20. It begins with a great, long foreword by Cameron Crowe primarily about the role Pearl Jam has played in rock music and how they have managed to survive by, in his words, actively seeking less. There's a great note from Bono to Crowe that's quoted in the intro asking why Eddie won't just let the band release a summer album full of hit singles. This is followed by a short focus on each (current) band member (excluding Boom, who gets a bit shorted in general), which includes a very brief biography--essentially their birthday, where they were born, and a quick summary of their early musical resumé--and answers to a few background questions, the same questions asked of each member, about how they got started in music and what their earliest influences and most memorable experiences were. This is all pre-PJ information.

The book then jumps into the biography of the band, beginning with the years 1962-1989 and the evolutions of Green River, Shadow, Bad Radio, and Soundgarden. At this point the book is still largely a straight narrative by the author, with occasional quotes thrown in. These are accompanied by some great early pictures of the various band members. Once the book gets into 1990 the narrative style shifts into an emphasis on specific dates or general time periods ("last week of October," etc.) and more of a tale told by the band and its friends. Generally each time period, at least early on in the book, has a short description saying a major event that occurred at that time followed by at least one quote from a band member or friend of the band, which range from Chris Cornell to Ann Wilson to Dave Grohl, Pete Townshend, Ben Harper, and others. Some of these sound like they are contemporary reflections, while others sound like they are quotes from the time. Either way it works just fine. I found these quotes, again with the disclaimer above, to be very informative and exciting and at times funny, like when Eddie is describing how, without having met Mike, he tried to have Mike kicked out of the band during his first meeting with Jeff and Stone in LA prior to sending them his Mamma-Son demo tape, solely because he liked three-piece and four-piece bands better than five-piece. Later in the book these quotes become fewer and far between and the sections are more just a quick description of an event that occurred, although still informative.

As to the organization of the book, each chapter is a different year, from 1990 to 2010. Within these chapters are the aforementioned chronological narratives combined with, when applicable, special sections that highlight particular events. Mostly these are the stories and releases of the different PJ studio albums, but there are also sections on TotD, their Neil Young collaboration Mirror Ball, Roskilde, Lost Dogs, and Into the Wild. There is no 2011 chapter to describe the PJ20 events. Again there is a greater emphasis on the band's earlier years, with 1990 - 2000 taking up about 210 pages and 2001 - 2010 taking up about 120. Some of the chapters are pretty short, particularly the "non-album-year" ones. The book is absolutely filled with photos, either in the background behind the text, as full-page photos, multi-page photos, or small pieces that are stuck into blank space on the pages. And that's a great picture of Stone with Anthony Kiedis in drag at the beginning of Chapter 1999.

If you are a fan I think you will love this book. It is the band telling its story largely in its own words, and the insights and stories that come out of that are well worth the price. The photos often help to tell that story. If you want to see the band finally opening up about their own legacy, I have a feeling you'll see all that in Cameron Crowe's upcoming Pearl Jam Twenty film (I've got my ticket). If you want to read about it at your own pace and get a probably more detailed narrative than what the film will be able to show, then be sure to pick up this book. It is a great companion to the wild ride that has been Pearl Jam's first 20 years, and a worthy addition to your collection of PJ20 memorabilia.

If you have any specific questions about the book or its content, be sure to shoot me a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can. I didn't want to overload everybody with a really long review. Thanks!

I am a big fan and I have two of their other coffee table photo books. I was very surprised when I received this book. It is the same price (cheaper here on Amazon) as the other two but is twice as big. Not only is it incredibly thick, it is packed with information. Its not just photos, there is an entire time line and lots of articles. Its going to take me awhile to tackle this one. Love it!

Best book I've ever bought -- I've already read every page. What a great gift to PJ fans this book (and this year) has been.

I read this door-stop in one sitting - great read for the hard-core fan, taking the reader pre-Mookie Blaylock to today.

If you are a fan of Pearl Jam you will love this book. It's oversized with great pictures and artwork. The book is done in an oral history style with interviews from band members, other Seattle based bands, like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains members, as well as from Cameron Crowe. The book is broken down into chapters that describe one year in the band's history. Example is 1990 will tell all of the history of Eddie meeting up with the other members of the band and the formation of Pearl Jam from the ashes of Mother Love Bone. Overall it's a great book and I highly recommend it.

You have got to buy this if you are a fan. I still have goosebumps from reading this. By far the authoritative word on Pearl Jam, ever.

+5 also Amazon. The first copy I got had a couple of smudge marks. Amazon replaced it in day.

Who would have thought? It's awesome to relive 20 years of this band. Really high quality book, lots of pictures and backstory on the band and its music.

This is a must have for all Pearl Jam fans. Excellent retrospective of one of greatest-ever American bands. In an era when many bands lose original members then add pieces just to keep the money rolling in,the nucleus of this band has remained together for 20 plus years.

I LOVE Pearl Jam!!! I should say I love music and Pearl Jam is my favorite band. That being so this is an amazing find for a Ten Club Member(Pearl Jam's fan club)or just someone who enjoys following the evolution of creativity. This book is a catalog and timeline of the band as they have toured the world and changed music history.

Pearl Jam 20 book is an incredible and most comprehensive book about Pearl Jam I have ever read and has given me more appreciation for the band members and their music - and I am a die hard fan! The book chronicles the formation of the band from the inception of Green River to the present. The best part of the book is that there are so many quotes that it feels like you are backstage and the band is reminiscing with you telling you their personal journeys in their own words. The sections about each individual album are so insightful. The pictures are amazing many from their personal collections. If you are a die hard fan you will appreciate all the work that Cameron Crowe went into making this book. Even if you think you know everything about Pearl Jam you will find something you did not know when you read this book. It is an essential for anybody who is a fan and also for those who are just discovering the world of Pearl Jam!