03 Mar 2007
Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam
The release of a new Pearl Jam album always makes me feel a little apprehensive since the band are notorious for being experimental and unpredictable in their sound, doing things their way with little obvious regard for outside criticism. Futhermore their previous effort, Riot Act, was quite a sedate and restful affair that suggested the unthinkable: PJ are getting old. Hinting at a new start, their latest effort is self-titled; it seems to say simply: We are Pearl Jam. This is Pearl Jam.
When Andrew Wood, frontman of the promising new Seattle band Mother Love Bone, died from a heroine overdose the outfit disbanded and the media spotlight turned towards the other promising new act: an angsty, energetic punk band called Nirvana. As far as that goes, the rest is history. However, MLB guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament decided to continue making music and, teaming up with Green River guitarist Mike McCready, drummer Dave Kruesen and a San Diego surfer/gas station attendant Eddie Vedder, started work on a new record under the name Pearl Jam. The new material was performed live on the same bill as Nirvana themselves and the album was an immediate hit, selling around a million more copies than Nevermind.