I admit, I hated 'Ten' for the first full year of it's release. It took some time to sink in. I was too accustomed to Weird Al, Madonna and 'Sweet Dreams'... I was still submerged in the 80s, and the blistering power of Pearl Jam was simply too much for me. Yet as I grew familiar with the Seattle quintet, so did my appreciation of their music. It was not until 93's "VS" that I realized that Pearl Jam had become my favorite band of all-time. I have been ardently following their career ever since.

Song by song review:

1. Once - With a profoundly suspenseful and edgy guitar to backdrop the first emergence of Eddie's vocals, this song is immediately famous. Plus it's got a haunting oceanic intro to boot...

2. Even Flow - Arguably Pearl Jam's most famous song, Even Flow is easily deserving of such status. It explodes into a narrative about a Homeless man, and manages to maintain the ripping intensity for 5 solid minutes.

3. Alive - Another contender for the most famous song by Pearl Jam, this song roars for nearly 6 minutes. Starting somewhat slow, this song builds to a climactic guitar solo that rivals any Zeppelin or The Who.

4. Why Go - Similar to "Even Flow" in it's blinding energy, this song is a standout among standouts. A guttural, hypnotic guitar underscores Eddie's portrayal of a conflicted girl's tortuous homelife.

5. Black - Originally slated to be Pearl Jam's fourth single from the album, following 'Alive', 'Even Flow', and 'Jeremy', this could have become the biggest. A six minute operatic of love and loss, this song is among the most moving in Pearl Jam's catalogue. Deep, gentle guitars accentuate Eddie's somewhat subdued singing.

6. Jeremy - Spawned one of the most famous music video's of all time, coming in at #6 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of 'best videos of all time'. This song carries a strength in every stroke of the strings, that you can't help but be emotionally drained and exhilerated by the end of this harrowing, disturbing epic.

7. Oceans - One of the two best songs Pearl Jam ever wrote, the other being track 11 of the same album. This song is beautiful beyong comparison, with guitar and drumwork that match the songs title. As we lilt through this song of reunion, we glide along the waves that Eddie so poignantly describes.

8. Porch - Perhaps the most forgettable song on this album, Porch somewhat departs from the overall feel that the rest of the album creates. This is not to say that it is a bad song, as we find Eddie at what could be his angriest. Nearly rapping his way through a lot of lyrics in under 4 minutes, this song is not without it's merit.

9. Garden - Underappreciated, this song is quietly suspenseful in it's beginning, until the pressure is too much, and the floodgates open. The tumultuous uprising is textured and melodic, yet like the tide goes down once more before a climactic finale.

10. Deep - Just like the title, this song opens with a gaping guitar slide and solo that breaks down the barrier between subtlety and power. Truly deserving to be placed in this perfect album.

11. Release - Eddie Vedder's personal tribute to his dad. The guitar matches his soulful wails, begging for the love of a lost father. Finishing out with the same melody that began 'Once', this CD leaves you the way it left you, only now you are an elevated human being.

Man, I love these guys...

75 of 85 found the following review helpful:


LP sounds great (CD is a victim of the "loudness wars")  Mar 30, 2009 By TF "TF"
Ten was & still is one great album. The "Redux/Remastered" version gives us a mix closer to Vs. & Vitalogy (i.e., the reverb/echo is gone). I really appreciate having both mixes because the original sounds closer to a concert and the Redux is closer to what we are used to from the later albums. Kudos to Brendan O'Brien's work.

Now the bad news - both the remastered CD and Redux version CD are hyper-compressed to make them sound louder - while reducing the overall music dynamics. Take a look at the comparision between the original Ten and the 2 newer discs at http://forums.pearljam.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=94732&sid=9e79a91b0c7b267c5b8ccf46f04071c9&start=45 (thanks to Dave Mack for the link).

As you can see, the newer versions look like a "brick" (i.e., white noise). If you think that music should look like a brick, then stop reading now. I really need to know who decided to do this to the CD versions. Bob Ludwig from Gateway Mastering handled the master and his position on the ridiculous "loudness war" is clearly stated here http://www.gatewaymastering.com/gateway_LoudnessWars.asp

Brendan O'Brien's work is so good he had to know that compressing the mix to get it louder just ruins the overall sound. I have to believe it was the producers and that Pearl Jam simply trusted them to put it together.

Maybe Pearl Jam really only listened to the LP. The good news is that the LP versions are not hyper-compressed (the LP had a separate master compared to the CD); however, the LP versions does not ship w/ the Unplugged DVD, which is an amazing and long sought after session. The DVD sounds great and as with most DVDs, it is not hyper-compressed.

For more information regarding the "Loudness Wars", check out the above links and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:


Errr...it beats me  Jun 11, 2006 By Aaron Thomas Eggleston "Guitarist, Programmer, Keyboardist"
We'll never learn. For years it has always been, "Oooo Nirvana's great but Eddie Vedder sucks!" Or, it'll be, "Pearl Jam is awesome, but Kurt Cobain doesn't know how to write better songs."

This is what happens what the media lumps bands together under an umbrella label. In this case, it's grunge. But frankly, comparing Nirvana and Pearl Jam is like apples and oranges. Pearl Jam is obviously more influenced by classic and blues oriented rock, listen to the leads on this album. It sticks out like a sore thumb. But Nirvana was essentially a punk band. I'm sure everyone agrees that Cobain's point wasn't to write complex guitar-oriented rock. He had a very primitive, organic way of playing that was unusually unique. Cobain was a good writer in his own right, and different from the epic rock sound that Pearl Jam had. So both bands are very much credible.

Apart from all that, Ten is a GREAT album. As far as combining simply good songs and accessibility, Pearl Jam didn't get any better than this. It is not my favorite PJ album, but one can't deny the opening riff of "Once." When you hear it, it's like, "Oh God, what's happening??" Evenflow and Alive are simply well-written songs. Why Go is ferocious and energetic. Jeremy is a song that nearly anyone could relate to, and there's a haunting beauty to it that totally contradicts its subject matter-that's good writing. Black and Oceans are simply raises the bar very high, so high there's probably few bands that could match that kind of desire and power.

So in it's own right, Ten could be arguably one of the best albums of the 90s. True, it sold a ton of copies, but you can't knock an album that everyone just gets into. Just because it has sold 12 million in the US and Rolling Stone calls it one of the best doesn't mean it must suck...some albums are just GOOD.

If you're new to PJ, this is the perfect place to start.

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