whoever downloads, digests and most thoroughly reviews
this "vintage" Pearl Jam demo gets a fancy piece of vinyl from me for a trophy (or a fancy cassette: your choice, i've got cool trophies available in both formats.) i'll be looking forward to some earnest, scholarly, scathing whatever. may the worst person win!
An even flow of heat fills my Merona boxer briefs as the opening notes of Pearl Jam's ode to homelessness lead into a slightly more jangly (funky? no) guitar sound than I remember from the days when I used to get frustrated trying to figure out the lyrics before giving up and chilling out with Annie Lennox.
ReplyDeleteLet's skip to the real meat, Vedder's sexual exploits beginning with "Girl", a moody number reminiscent of Alan Jackson's roadside Hank Williams ghost lament "Midnight in Montgomery". (www.alanjackson.com. If Pearl Jam would have the sound of an engine revving over all their songs they might begin to kick the amount of ass they think they are kicking). Vedder notices that the creature he is about to throw over the back of a chair is "just a girl." Witness the rest of the band attempting to be spacey as Vedder climaxes with "you're my little alibi."
"Goat"=Elvis + Danzig. Eddie bleats.
A slightly sleepier version of "Alive." Reminds me of an interview I saw with Britney Spears during the recording of "Oops!...I did it Again" when she talks about staying up all night drinking Pepsi to achieve a similar vocal rasp.
Swing by the end of "Black" to catch the falsetto show but then run along to "Improv", which seems to be a standard rendition of "Yellow Ledbetter" but for some reason they always told people they were improvising during this song (the one Pearl Jam fan I knew in high school held this belief strongly). The guitar solo brings to mind a Tori Amos-style interpretive sway.
"Daddy" reveals the full range of the band's talent (djembe) as Eddie talks about his father (again) and reveals that despite being illiterate, he "didn't have a PhD." The redemptive chorus declares "the one thing he could do right is swear---I declare."
Be sure to pick up the reissue of Ten.
Oh my, Jared...the once thick ice has thawed from my heart, and you are the hair-dryer set on "hi"!!!
ReplyDelete(that was Barry)
ReplyDeleteSend him a trophy!
ReplyDelete