You
could safely assume that seeing the band three days before hearing their new
album would color my judgment to some degree.
You could also safely assume that if the album was terrible I would let
you know, regardless of how great the concert that preceded it was. Luckily, I can give you a glowing
recommendation of Lightning Bolt
without trying to sugarcoat anything. It
is really a terrific album, the best since the “Avocado Album” of 2006 (I know
that only skips over 2009’s uneven effort Backspacer
but it’s still been seven years).
This is
not to say that the album is perfect. It
feels a lot like Vitalogy to me. The majority of the album is incredible, but because of that, the low points stand out more. The low
points aren’t even that bad, hell they are still better than 90% of “rock”
music being released today, but compared to the rest of the album they aren’t
up to snuff, and feel like they would be more comfortable as B-Sides or bonus
tracks released at a later date. While
we’re here, we’ll cover the low points and work our way up. “My Father’s Son” just sounds disjointed and
unpolished. While the band has done a
decent job of showcasing tracks like this in the past (“Dirty Frank” and
“Bu$hleaguer” come to mind, though those two feel a bit more refined) it feels
like this track was rushed. To have it
be the third track on the album is an odd choice as well, as you would expect it
to be buried deeper in the album. The
only other song that isn’t up to par is “Sleeping by Myself” which is not a bad
song by any means, but the fact that it appears on Eddie Vedder’s solo album Ukulele Songs and is then re-purposed as
a Pearl Jam song on Lightning Bolt is
a little disappointing. Did the band not
have enough songs to get twelve good ones without its inclusion? Or was it that Eddie felt so strongly about
this song that he wanted it released to the many fans of Pearl Jam that had not
heard his solo version of it? I would be
more accepting of the latter, but still, another original up to the caliber of
the rest of the album would have been preferred.
On to
the good, of which there is much to discuss.
Probably the best opening song on any Pearl Jam album since “Go” from Vs. is contained on this album in
“Getaway”. The band wears many, many
hats on this record, from the poppy opener to the punk influenced first single
“Mind Your Manners” to the complete other end of the spectrum. “Sirens”, one of the best Pearl Jam ballads
(right up there with “Just Breathe”) sucks all of the energy out of you…in a
good way. It’s the standout track for me
on an album full of solid ones. “Mind
Your Manners” is great and gets better with every additional playthrough, and
tracks such as “Lightning Bolt”, “Infallible” and “Pendulum” keep the momentum
going. The album does slow down considerably
towards the end, ending with a whisper instead of a shout, which many people
might mistake as frontloading the album with all the good stuff. I disagree with that way of thinking, as there
is a natural progression to the album, which is apparently the exact opposite
of their current slate of live shows.
They hit you hard first and let you down easy (whereas on tour, they
tend to ease themselves into the heavier stuff in each set). There is nothing wrong with tracks such as
“Yellow Moon” or “Future Days” (with the latter being a great closer in
general), and I would gladly listen to them over and over again.
This is
not the best album of Pearl Jam’s career, but when you start out as strong as
they did, all you can really do is try and live up to those earlier
successes. With Lightning Bolt, Pearl Jam has gotten as close to replicating that
as ever.
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