Riot Act by Pearl Jam
Possibly Their Best...
Its strange to think Pearl Jam was once herded under the grunge umbrella
alongside pathos-spewing acts like Nirvana and Alice in Chains. The
Seattle groups eighth album (give or take the 72 bootleg-style double CDs
they released in 2001) has more in common with classic rock institutions
like Crazy Horse and the Band than the snarling forces that were trying to
tear away at their legacies. Appropriately, Riot Act is built on thematic
pillars--love, death, politics--and fueled by dense, uncompromising power
chords. It takes yet another step away from the courteous tones of the
bands cornerstone LPs, Ten and Vs, and proudly flaunts egotism (I know I
was born and I know that Ill die/ The in-between is mine, Eddie Vedder
sings on I Am Mine) and a dark underbelly (Green Disease). But its far
from insufferable: If any band can make self-obsession sound hospitable,
its Pearl Jam. And when Vedder sneaks in the line All you need is love on
the rollicking Love Boat Captain, he proves that despite his furrowed-brow
demeanor, hes a born entertainer. --Aidin Vaziri
Somewhere over the years Pearl Jam fans seem to have lost interest in
the band. They haven't yet to make a horrible album, but with the
saturation of copycat bands like Creed, Nickleback and Live, they seem to
have been lost in the crowd.
"Can't Keep" is a groovin' rocker with a big sound and Middle Eastern
overtones. Then the album has "Save You", which is simply Pearl Jam's
most rocking, energetic and exciting song in a while, along with the other
Big Rock tunes on the album like "Got Right" and "Ghost". "1/2 Full" has an
amazing, smoking guitar solo that you can't help but to rock out to.
Vedder has some songs that take a stab at President Bush in the lyrics like
in "Help Help" with "the more you read, we've been deceived, every day it
becomes clearer". Vedder has always been known for his out-right political
lyrics and this album contains it's fair share of them. The band has stayed
true to each other and their beliefs over the years.
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