Customer Reviews

Ten

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I am a brand new convert to Pearl Jam since the death of my son on June 4, 1999. He was an avid Pearl Jam supporter and would always tell me how great they were. Since his death I have listened to every Pearl Jam album/song that I can find and I believe that he was correct. Pearl Jam has surpassed all of my expectations.

I am a total Classic Rock fanatic! I hated the Seattle Sound, and everything that went with it, even Pearl Jam. I thought Pearl Jam was just another trendy, bandwagon for college students, flash in the pan, etc. That is, until my friend asked me to go to a Pearl Jam concert in Salt Lake City in 1995. I was reluctant, but bought a ticket anyway, mostly because I had nothing better to do. After seeing the raw power that Pearl Jam possesses onstage (but still not a fan, but one with a much more open mind), I decided to buy this album. It is by far the best rock album since Van Halen I, in my opinion. Sure, people can argue that the only message in Van Halen's early music was about sex, drug's, and good ole fashioned rock n' roll, but I still love them. But Ten has (at least to me), many different messages, and Eddie has an amazing way of expressing them. Since I bought this album, Pearl Jam has achieved the top five of my favorite bands, which include: Van Halen, Steely Dan, The Police, and U2! Thanks to Seth, I went to Salt Lake and witnessed the genius of Pearl Jam!

It's hard to believe that this cd is closing in on a decade now. I remember when I heard Alive for the first time on the radio... I decided to buy the disc before the song was over. Everyone that has been alive themselves for the last 9 years knows ALIVE, JEREMY, & EVEN FLOW, but the magic of the band is captured in the waves of RELEASE, the intensity of Porch is unmatched by anything that Pearl Jam's peers have produced, and BLACK, what can be said about this song that has not already been said? It is in my eyes the ultimate PJ song. BLACK is to ballads what Shakespeare is to litterature. Gut wrenching in it's emotional brilliance. Eddie Sings with such a tortured soul on this track that a person can't help but feel it, but it's more than just the words... the musicianship of Ament, Gossard, and McCreedy give this backbone... the only thing wrong with the song, and CD is that it has to end. That is unless you are like me, and just hit the repeat button!

I thought this cd would be hard to find, and was suprised to see it on Amazon. It's the Japan version of the album. (SONY SRCS5634). The #12 bonus track is the Beatles "I Got a Feeling". The #13 hidden track is the same hidden track on the US release: an instrumental version of "Once".

This does not have the 3 extra tracks (Wash, Dirty Frank, Alive(live)) that is on the other imports.

I love this album. It's not terribly original, but who says all great music needs to be original? It really is a triumph of craftsmanship over innovation - sure, they're essentially reinventing the wheel (you can tell the band listened to a LOT of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Who, and AC/DC), but they reinvent it well, so no reason to complain.
Featured on this album are four large hits that have gone on to be just alternative radio staples. The massive hit "Jermey", a song about teen suicide, is probably the biggest, and while it's the weakest of the four, I will not deny the song has staying power, or a climactic, moving refrain. "Jermey spoke in... class today!" and all that. Eddie's vocals on the song in general are some of the best in rock history, ranging from all-out screams to pseudo-scatting to some subdued, melodic singing. That's why so many bands today take it upon themselves to blatantly steal from this group's book (Creed, Puddle of Mudd, Nickleback). Eddie Vedder. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready aren't exceptional guitarists, but they play cool riffs, and really step up to the plate on another pair of the classics, "Evenflow" and "Alive". The former is pure Hendrixian guitar wankery, but WHAT guitar wankery! That solo just screams to be BLASTED. Anyway, nothing wrong with stealing from Hendrix. Hendrix is awesome. And the latter features a superb guitar solo as well, this one slower than the last. Heavily inspired by Led Zeppelin, but I like Zeppelin (can't say I love 'em, but I like 'em). It sure helps that they're about meaningful topics: homelessness and child molestation, respectively. I love Nirvana (they're better than Pearl Jam in virtually every respect, in fact), but I think sometimes their lyrics are a bit self-centered. I never get that feeling from Pearl Jam. Anyway, the fourth hit is my personal favorite: the chilling "Black", which builds from quiet unplugged electric guitar playing to a huge, emotional climax - something a lot of other Pearl Jam songs do (see also "Alive"; "Jermey"; "Betterman"). I love the ending, where Eddie just screams his head off and the rest of the band does that cool, "Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo" stuff. Fantastic song! "Once" and "Why Go" get bashed a lot for being dated, but I like both: "Once" is pretty funky; and "Why Go" is a nice little rocker, though I'll admit Vedder overscreams, a trap he REALYL fell into on the next album, Vs. Both are better than anything by Creed, at any rate. And while it took a while for me to realize it, "Oceans" is another highlight of the album. this one's got a surprise influence: The Velvet Underground, one of my favorite bands. I think the structure and drumming owe a lot to "Heroin", one of my favorite songs. So I'm perfectly fine with it.
After "Oceans", the album gets weaker. While "Garden" and "Release" have damn fine choruses ("I will waaaaaaaaaaaaalk in your gaaaaardeen..." and "RELEASE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!", respectively - much like U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam construct perfect refrains, which are often more memorable than the verses), neither rank among the best; and I can't remember an ounce of "Porch" or "Deep", but I don't recall being annoyed by either. But the beautiful b-side "Yellow Ledbetter" (you can find it on the "Jermey" single, I think), my favorite Pearl Jam song other than "Black", should've been included in their place.
From here on out, it was all downhill for Pearl Jam. Even the next album (Vs.) had a lot of amateur screaming and a few poorly written tunes. These guys never equalled their debut album, a milestone in the grunge movement.

When I first heard pearl jam, on mtv all those long years ago, it awoke something in me that hadn't been touched since I had first listened to the doors, an almost magical connection with the feeling and meaning of the music. The raw emotional appeal of the words and lyrics caught me and I still listen to it regularly to this day. Basically, it has a lot of catchy guitar riffs, cool guitar licks, wild solo's, a sweet yet angry singer with a lot of soul...This alblum just rocks. Get it, sing along with it...feel it.

If you thought the US version was good, the Beatles song will blow you away. If you aren't familiar with it, its from the Let it Be album (also great). However this should only be for Pearl Jam hardcores or those willing to spend a little extra money. Seems like double the price is too steep for one song, but I think it was worth it.

Nivarna and Sound Garden are great bands but couldn't go the distance. Pearl Jam have been around for the whole of the 90's and are still going strong. The album is great from start to finish and has such hits as Even Flow (best heard live) Alive, black, jeremy, garden and a great song to finish on release.. This album is a must have in the cd collection. Once you here it you wil understand why they are the best rock band of the 90's..

Ok, so it's the same pearl jam album we all have had since 1991 right? Wrong. With the addition of "Dirty Frank" and "Wash" this CD is a must have, even if you do already have the domestic release. I came across it at a local record store, but that was a pretty lucky find.

I love this album, you have to have a live version of alive if you are a true pj fan, but somethings weird... just listen to dirty frank, then listen to "give it away" by the red hot chili peppers, hmmm...