Customer Reviews

Riot Act

5 star:		(237)
4 star:		(91)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Sigh.

Every post grunge-era Pearl Jam album resurfaces these kind of talks. Why isn't X better than Y? Why couldn't they have done X like Y? Why isn't Ed/Mike/Stone/Jeff/Current Drummer better than they were on Y?

Honestly, I'm surprised people want to talk in circles about something like this.

I can remember when Vitalogy came out, listening the hell out of it, while many of my friends/contemporaries/whatever said that it stuck. "What's with all the punk stuff? Why did they put crap on there like "Bugs" and "Foxymop"? It ruined the album." At the time I can remember thinking that these once flannel-clad individuals, who just a few years prior had gobbled up any shred of music made available by the band, were now turning a deaf ear because there is a two minute musical/vocal track where Eddie repeats P-R-I-V-A-C-Y, and a couple great little experimental tracks (one of which, was placed conveniently at the end of the album for easy skip-over). This astounded me, because nearly all my friends hated Vitalogy, and I thought it was their strongest work to date. If you went in and cut out all of the experimental stuff, you still have one of the best 45 minutes or so of rock produced in the '90s. But no matter. This was the beginning.

No Code followed up a few years later. Barely a blip on the pop culture radar. "Who You Are" came and went as a first single, and nobody was left around for the following two radio releases "Hail Hail" and "Off He Goes," which rank (to me) as two of their best. No matter, thought I, their my band now. "Not For You" indeed.

Yield came and went, no biggie. No videos, no promotion. Maybe the best rock album to come out in the late '90s, totally ignored, except for some hardcore PJ fans & some great reviews.

Then came the tour, which I had the opportunity to see a couple of shows. People said things to me like "They're still together?" and "I sure wish Eddie would write something more like Yellow Ledbetter." Meanwhile, I was more than satisfied w/ performances of "Evolution" and "Given To Fly".

Between "Yield" and the next album was the "good intention paving the path to hell" single that was "Last Kiss". Sure the proceeds went to the Kosovo refuges, and it was kept from the #1 spot on Billboard only by "Livin' La Vida Loca", but the die was cast, and the band was reluctantly thrown back into the spotlight. Still, no video, no promotion.

Binaural came out in 2000. Good songs. Overproduced? Under-produced? Maybe. Still, "Grievance" and "Insignificance" alone made the album better than good. "Eddie's voice doesn't sound as strong," and "Why doesn't he belt something out like he did on Vs," and "Where's my Limp Bizkit album" were heard at the record stores. The 2000 tour that followed was one of the best to date, maybe the best. Unfortunately the tragedy in Europe occurred, and briefly brought the band back into the spotlight. "Pearl Jam was playing a festival in Europe? Must be the only place they can sell tickets anymore," I heard.

Now comes "Riot Act". Once again, same old story, same old song and dance. 15 songs, some funky, some experimental, some traditional, and still the same comments. "Well, 10 years ago, they'd have never done an album like this," and "Why can't Ed sing like he did on X, Y, or Z?" Well, there's your answer. 1991, by my last check, was nearly 12 years ago. In 1991 you had some great bands, like Nirvana and Faith No More, and Soundgarden, and PJ. You also had a ton of crap and pop on the radio (hair metal, NKOTB, etc). The more things change the more they stay the same. 2002 we get a new Nirvana single (not their best-effort, but I'll sure as hell take it), a new album w/ vocals by Chris Cornell (backed by RAGE...what a concept!), as well as a brilliant single by Pearl Jam, and a new album that (what a frickin' surprise) doesn't bow down or bend over for anyone. What brilliance! Pearl Jam doing something their own way? Whodathunkit? And still we hear..."Eddie, why can't you sing like you did on X? I miss those days."

Well, I wish the Beatles would put out another "White Album", but it's not going to happen.

Pearl Jam is here. They're still putting out damn good music. They didn't kill themselves, they didn't succumb to drugs, they didn't marry super models and fancy cars and run them both off cliffs. They haven't done commercials for soda, or for car companies, and they've yet to release a over-hyped, over-marketed greatest hits collection in order to pacify all those who should have been buying their albums all along.

To Quote a track from Riot Act: "I've seen it all before... bring it on, cause i'm no victim ...."

If you're anything like me, you were one of those "cool kids" who heard of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Nirvana before anyone else that you knew, and exposed all your friends to this new wave of Seattle music primarily based around Sub-Pop Records in the early 90's. Then, once Pearl Jam got popular, they changed up their style a bit and got way too popular for such anti-mainstream grunge fans of the early alternative music era. It happened to me, and now I'm regretting being so damned pretentious.

Pearl Jam is proving that you can grow up, and your music can grow up with you. As a huge fan of "Ten", I moderately liked "Vs.", but after they got such a huge following, my angsty teenage grunge fan self didn't even give "Vitalogy" a chance, let alone any of their other subsequent albums. Then after hearing 'I Am Mine' on the radio a few months ago, I decided to give "Riot Act" a chance, and I was blown away by how much my musical tastes have changed, and how much I've grown over the past decade. Pearl Jam has embraced adulthood, the band members themselves now being a group of thirtysomethings, and it's once-teenage core fanbase now being a group of twentysomethings. Their current style reflects that change so much that it's amazing.

I had the good fortune to see them live last night. I was not disappointed. And now after hearing many songs I didn't know before, along with liking my copy of "Riot Act", I'm going back to find out what I missed after all these years. Give this album a chance, not with the mentality of "This is the band that wrote Evenflow and Jeremy", but with the mentality of "This is a more mature, introspective Pearl Jam, and they can change just like I do". You'll enjoy the album a lot more that way.

While "Riot Act" isn't the best album they've put out, Pearl Jam has undeniably risen above the mindless swill dominating radio today. In between the bubble gum pop, the borderline psychotic rap-rock and the over the top wailing that passes for rock, it is refreshing to listen to an album that actually has some thought put into it. Pearl Jam really stretches its legs musically on this album, and while not always successful, this is still a complex, varied album that is fascinating to listen to.

It kicks off with "Can't Keep" a brooding, rumbling number with some really interesting vocals. Like many of Pearl Jam's songs, it is open to interpretation, but on the surface at least, it seems to touch on their recurring theme of living for the day and within the moment.

Next is "Save You", a scorching number about trying to save someone from himself. There is a strong overtone of overcoming addiction, although drugs are never specifically mentioned; it may be significant that Mike is pictured opposite the lyrics in the liner notes, as he has had his own battles with addiction.

Third is "Love Boat Captain" which is perhaps the most personal song the band has ever produced. Dealing explicitly with the nine fans that died at the Roskilde festival during the summer of 2000, Ed does some of his best writing in this song. He deftly juxtaposes the wisdom of the old with the despondence of the young, and finds love as the vehicle to find your way through. A genuinely beautiful song, with unusual arrangements and a great message.

"Cropduster", is a rather grim song and definitely not one of my favorites. Ed sings about the chance nature of life on Earth, which even if you agree with him, doesn't offer any redeeming message; which is odd for him. There's some interesting rhyming on this track, and I like the way the chorus is arranged, but it's nothing special.

The fifth track, "Ghost" has some great lyrics, but the music is rather uninspired. It deals with something many of us have felt post 9/11: the need to run away in order to reground ourselves, to evaluate and come to grips with the information we are bombarded with daily. The music is kind of repetitive, although Mike (or Stone) does kind of go off at the end.

The next three songs form the emotional and musical heart of the album. The first is "I Am Mine" which I'm not going to discuss, because it's been on the radio for months now. The next track is "Thumbing My Way", which is an absolutely beautiful song. It really shows how far Pearl Jam has come that such a mellow track can still be so powerful. In it Ed considers coming to grips with past regrets; while it not always easy, he ultimately offers hope with the line "no matter how cold the winter...there's a spring around the bend." The last of the three is "You Are" which couldn't be more different from "Thumbing My Way" and its gentle melody. The guitar is unlike anything I've ever heard, and was apparently accomplished by running Mike's guitar through a drum machine. At any rate, it is a fascinating, haunting song with simple but intense lyrics ruminating on love.

"Get Right" is another lyrically straightforward song from Matt about conforming for other peoples' benefit. That said, Ed's vocals are top notch and unusual; a very straightforward delivery without any of his trademark graveled speech. The guitars are also fantastic; a really driving beat with some great McCready riffs.

Next is "Green Disease", which is a really catchy tune, with rather insipid lyrics. I just don't understand how men who have so much money of their own can have so much resentment towards other wealthy people. Moreover, their understanding of economics seems to be limited at best, and comes across as naïve.

"Help Help" is an absolute head scratcher; Ed sings the whole thing in a falsetto voice, and while there are some interesting things going on with the drums and guitars, none of it could be described as melodic.

The twelfth track is "Bu$hleaguer" about you know who. There's some pretty clever rhyming on this track, but frankly, the song is beneath Pearl Jam. It comes across as bitter and mean-spirited, and isn't at all in their tradition of having strong opinions without shouting other peoples' down.

Fortunately, they redeem themselves on "1/2 Full", which is maybe my favorite song on the album. It's Pearl Jam meets electric blues, and the opening would make Stevie Ray Vaughn smile. Ed's voice is in fine form and Matt's drumming powers the song.

"Arc" is just Ed wailing against a backdrop of keyboards. It's kind of interesting to listen to (vaguely reminiscent of the Muslim call to prayer) but not a song by any stretch.

Finally, there's "All or None" which is in keeping with Pearl Jam's tradition of ending albums on a contemplative note. Another mellow track, it sounds like it was written to be played in a small, smoke filled club, late at night. It seems to be about breaking out of the patterns of the past, and moving on to something better, but as usual, that's open to interpretation.

Ultimately, "Riot Act" is an album with a lot of peaks and valleys, but that's what makes Pearl Jam such a powerful band. They're willing to put themselves on the line, to throw musical curveballs, and try new things. In this case they have produced an album of great emotional depth and enormous musical breadth. There are some toe tappers, there are some head scratchers, and there are some really powerful and personal lyrics. You can listen to this album just to have some great music on in the background, or you can listen to it in order to challenge yourself and what your life is all about. And that... is what Pearl Jam...is all about.

Pearl Jam, at one time synonymous with hard rocking teen angst. Lets face it, almost every time someone mentions P.J. the first things that come to mind are Jeremy's suicide, the haunting notes and lyrics of "Garden" and love gone wrong àla "Black." It's unfair and unfortunate that, while the band grows from album to album, the majority of the listeners do not. Disappointment sets in every time a record is released...(Insert "I can't wait till they make another `Ten' again." Remarks here.)... Granted, even though the once hard rockers from the City of Grunge have gradually slowed the tempo, other facets of their music shine through.

Their latest release, "Riot Act", is the accumulation of a decade of maturity. It is also proof that the cliché is true...Things DO get better with age. "Riot Act" runs the entire gamut that most fans expect. From the McCready, guitar driven track, "Save You", to the Vedder quasi-spoken word "Bu$hleaguer." Even latest and greatest drummer Matt Cameron penned a couple tracks, "You Are", and "Wanted to Get Right." The addition of a piano {"Can't Keep"} and organ {"Love Boat Captain"} round out a few nice sounding songs.

This album, contrary to what has been said, isn't just for hardcore Jam fans. If you have liked any of their previous works, then you will enjoy this record greatly. Many of the tracks on "Riot Act" sound like they could have been on any of the other albums. There are also many that are like you've never before. {"Arc" comes to mind here.}

Bottom line, this is a great record. Pearl Jam again has turned out a masterpiece. For those of you that don't own it already.....run, don't walk....break speed limits........steal a car if you must to get out and buy this album...

Anyone who turns on their radio in this century and thinks music stinks, should pick up this PJ album. Pearl Jam Rocks, as always, as they pay tribute to the nine people who died at a Pearl Jam concert. This album is a somber, yet AWESOME pearl jam that everyone should own and listen to! Love Boat Captain, Thumbing My Way, and All or None are just a few to name that scream that YES Pearl Jam is still out there and Rockin! Some of these songs will bring a tear to your eye. A+


Buy it, You won't regret it, I promise!

i was losing hope in albums around this time period/ but riot act really saved my hopes here/ pj proved that theyre still relevant and have given something for old school music lovers like me to cherish, bravo pearl jam/ songs are better live though

Pearl Jam are not trying to write new Jeremy or ALive, they just evolve in their prefferd directions and don`t care about others at all. Riot Act, their 7th studio album (after Ten, Vs, Vitalogy, No Code, Yield and Binaural), isn`t an effort, because they are so good and trained after this years that they don`t have to try to make a good album - they just do. Many crititcs have again tried to analize Vedder and his fears and battles, wich really pisses me off - this is a quintet, damn it! So don`t belive bad marks in "professionals" magazines such as Rolling Stone - they have too much issues with this group to be objective. I will try to be objective, although I am a great fan. So, being very objective - they`ve outdone (if that is even possible) themselves again.

1. Can`t keep - No Code style song, nice vocals and catchy tune. Intro song, you know. 4/5

2. Save you - Oh my god. Killing riffs, great lyrics, wild and uncotrolled - new Evolution. An easter egg - includes lines from their VS song, Don`t go. 5/5

3. Love Boat Captain - Dedicated to nine fans that died during their concert, Love Boat Captain is wavy, great paced and overall beautifull song. 5/5

4.Cropduster - Binaural style song, with great lines (this world is an accident...)and great music, written by Matt Cameron, drummer. 5/5

5. Ghost - now, I can`t really identify this one. Maybe a strange hard alter-rock song with distorted guitars and nice refrain. Written by Jeff Ament, the bassist. 4/5

6. I Am Mine - not much to say. A fantastic old-school song, first single and already legendary lyrics - I know I was borng and I now that I`ll die, the In between is mine. 5/5

7. Tumbling my way - The closest Vedder will ever get to Dylan - and very very close indeed, I must say. A powerfull and beautifull song with to-die-for lyrics and definetly a song that will not get so much attention that it deserves. 5/5

8. You are - experimental guitars, abstract lyrics, but it still sounds great and interesting. 5/5

9. Wanted to Get Right - Cameron`s song, nothing special, great McCready solo although. 3/5

10. Green Disease - Oh yeah - Vedder`s love towards nature (he even smokes American Spirit cigarettes, no chemical additives)and hatred towards money and corporation explodes in this song...I just like it very much - it is not very catchy, but it has power. 5/5

11. Help Help - Ament`s song, experimental - just give it time, it will grow on you. 4/5

12. Bushleaguer - You will hear about this song a lot and probably hear it a lot - Anti-Bush tune, Vedder chants 3/4 of words. It is a pollitical attempt, but still has great music (Stone). 4/5

13. 1/2 Full - song that just keeps going, great and inovative riffs, again great lyrics. 4/5

14. Arc - Well...this one [is no good]. It can be understood as a provocation, but...just...doesn`t have a point, doesn`t fit in an album concept. They should just left it out. 1/5

15. All or None - Oh yeah - blues!!! I just love it - Vedders sounds very soft, everything is soft, but still not too much - aa grunge blues song. Just love it. 5/5

Pearl Jam don`t have to evolve, they just have to do what they do best - write great songs. And, yes, this album is full of them. Go get it. You won`t be dissapointed.

Its quite amazing the way Pearl Jam consistently comes out with new albums every two years, each one having something completely new and different to offer. This album is sombre, soulful and very honest.. Eddie's voice sounds even more *personal* and even though I just had 3 hours to listen to it, I already love it. The guy sings from within. The songs which immediately strike as beautiful (5 star songs) are "Cant Keep", "Love boat Captain", "I am mine", "Thumbing my way", "All or None" (this is the 5th time I am listening to the same song).. the rest are great too and would slowly grow with time. Pearl Jam always end the album with extremely touching and beautiful songs (Release, Indifference, Immortality, All those yesterdays, Parting Ways and now All or None).

Musically its close to later works like Binaural; but Riot Act is different from Binaural, though the difference is in the feel of the album and not the music. Starting from Ten, they have kept evolving (the real transformation was during the "No Code" release) to create more mature music which grows on you as you listen to it.

In this era of a chaos of thousand nu-metal groups crowding the music scene without absolutely any innovation in their music, Pearl Jam stands out as fresh as always.It helps the reader when the reviewer gives an idea about his taste.. Tool, Kyuss, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Opeth, The Verve, etc... are some of the other bands I love.

I think Riot Act won't disappoint newcomers and fans are going to LOVE it. SO RUN TO THE STORES AND BUY THIS ALBUM and see one of the best bands evolving before your eyes!!!!

Of the major Seattle bands that agitated the charts a decade ago, the only one still alive is Pearl Jam. The quintet's seventh studio album, Riot Act, is a defiant answer to world events over the past couple years and to a stagnant music scene. Lead singer Eddie Vedder still writes the bulk of the lyrics - and the presidency of Bush II, Sept. 11 and its aftermath, and corporate malfeasance have provided plenty of fuel for his fires - but what's surprising here is the amount of input from drummer Matt Cameron and the lack of material from founding member and primary rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard.

Cameron, who joined Pearl Jam in 1998 after his own band, Seattle sound architects Soundgarden, ultimately crumbled, contributes music and lyrics, and even some chunky rhythm guitar of his own on "You Are" - a rare PJ love song. Gossard, the primary songwriter on the band's first few albums, contributes only one tune here, though it's a beauty - haunting album-closer "All Or None," a desperate examination of personal sabotage.

The best songs, as usual, are Vedder tunes - melancholy acoustic "Thumbing My Way," catchy but vitriolic diatribe against corporate greed "Green Disease," and first single, "I Am Mine," written last fall in the smoldering ruins of Sept. 11. Exploring themes of independence, grief and loss, Vedder has never expressed himself as eloquently as he does on Riot Act. His recent divorce clearly haunts him - he'd been married since 1995, but had been with the woman years before the head-spinning success of 1991's Ten - and his frustration with political events in the United States over the past year is also evident.

Though Vedder's heavy-handed pretentiousness hasn't entirely gone away - see spoken-word misfire "Bushleaguer" - Riot Act is still PJ's best album since 1994's Vitalogy. Lead guitarist Mike McCready, largely absent from the past few albums, is all over this one like an animal unleashed, especially on the searing anti-drug missive "Save You."

Nirvana may be making a ghost appearance on the charts, and Chris Cornell is back on the scene, but Pearl Jam is the real Seattle deal - as vital as they were in 1992, and more urgent than ever.

It has been well over 2 years since the seminal alternative rock band released `Binaural.' In that time, many Pearl Jam imitation acts have gained momentum (i.e. Creed, Nickelback) but those derivatives don't add up to the real thing. Also adding to the events, rock music witnessed the loss of Alice In Chains vocalist Layne Staley to an overdose in April 2002. This leaves Pearl Jam as the only band standing in the `grunge' movement of the early 1990s.

Now with the early 90s making somewhat of a comeback, with Nirvana's long-awaited `best of' compilation hitting stores, and former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell teaming up with the 3 remaining members of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave, `Riot Act' adds to the comeback. In many ways this is as comeback for Pearl Jam, for this marks their strongest set of songs since 1994's experimental `Vitalogy.'

Despite a title that sounds violent and one that suggests aggressive music, `Riot Act' is not aggressive the way most people would envision it. A lot of the songs are very melodic and straightforward, with its share of experimentation, showcased in songs like the dark, trippy `You Are' and the chant `Arc.'

The only `riotous' aspect of this album are Eddie's Vedder's introspective lyrics. Always known as an effective vocalist, Vedder may not howl as much as he used to, but his voice has improved with age. His lyrics are full of angst and personal situations. In `Love Boat Captain' he makes a reference to the 2000 Roskilde Festival in Denmark, in which 9 fans were trampled to death. Other lyrics are consumed with rage, regret and self-doubt, like in `Ghost' Vedder wails "It doesn't hurt when I bleed/But memories they eat me." Also an outspoken political activist on views raging from a woman's right to choose and support for Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Vedder attacks current President George W. Bush in the half-rock, half-spoken word song `Bushleauger,' saying that `He is not a leader.' The album's final track, `All Or None,' ends the album off in a bleak and pessimistic manner, with a somber jazz-groove written by guitarist Stone Gossard, and Vedder's lyrics and vocals being resonant as ever (`It's a hopeless situation/And I'm starting to believe/That this hopeless situation/Is what I'm trying to achieve').

Pearl Jam is a band that has considerably matured as time goes on, and will certainly become legends. `Riot Act' is another addendum to their influential and remarkable output, and proves that Pearl Jam has the longevity a lot of their alternative rock peers and followers do not have.