Remember the early ’90s, when rock music was pushing boundaries and selling records? In today’s age of media-created gimmicks that pass as genres of music, are there any traditional rock bands out there that are bringing something fresh and exciting to the table? There are always a few, but I don’t see any of them burning up the Billboard charts these days (and appearing in bad Cameron Crowe films). For all of the hyperbole that has been attached to the grunge movement, let’s look at it for what it was: a creative backlash that gave us a handful of brilliant records before being suffocated by a mountain of Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezras and Candleboxes.
For a few years, the direction of popular music was wrenched away from the iron grip of Phil Collins and hair metal, but it was only a matter of time before the major labels washed it all away with a flood of bland copycats. Looking at the sorry state of rock today, it’s pretty obvious that the movement has been soundly defeated. Nü metal is the new hair metal, and Phil Collins continues to plague us all. Luckily, there’s still one band standing, and Pearl Jam will be bringing its no-frills, quality rock n’ roll show to HSBC Arena on May 2.
In the post-grunge years that saw alternative rock lose all of its significance and end up in the toilet, Pearl Jam has continued to release album after album of interesting, guitar-driven rock songs. Their latest album, Riot Act, has come under fire for not being “experimental” enough, because these days a band just can’t evolve unless it adds a DJ and a talentless rapper, and puts a K in their name where there should be C. Like any other Pearl Jam record, Riot Act is fueled by a basic formula. Alternating between fuzz-box rockers that showcase the guitar interplay of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready and fragile ballads that feature the reserved, eloquent bass lines of Jeff Ament, the record is anchored by the wizened voice of Eddie Vedder. The bandleader’s lyrical offerings have become less dramatic and more touching over the years, evidenced by Riot Act’s most beautiful track, “Thumbing My Way.”
Entirely written by Vedder himself, the piece is a perfect example of an artist’s evolution; gone are the early, passionate tear-jerkers like “Black” and “Release,” and the furious, youthful songs like “Blood” and “Animal.” They’ve been replaced by a quieter sense of humility and hopefulness that comes with getting older. On “Thumbing My Way,” Vedder sings softly, with a hint of trepidation, delivering the lines “All the rusted signs we ignore throughout our lives/ choosing the shiny ones instead /I turned my back, now there’s no turning back/No matter how cold the winter, there’s a springtime ahead.”
Riot Act is filled with moments like these, tracks with minimal production that serves as a backdrop for tender, heartfelt sentiment.
When listening to the breadth of Pearl Jam’s catalog, it’s apparent that the band’s evolution has happened naturally, like any great rock band of the past. The ubiquitous debut album Ten (1991) took the best parts of ‘70s arena rock and injected it with soulful melody and vigorous honesty. The ensuing Vs. (1993) and Vitalogy (1994) records saw the band ditching the glossier sounds of Ten, exploring more complicated song structures (“W.M.A.,” “Tremor Christ”) and bizarre vignettes (“Bugs,” “Aye Davanita”). Both albums were bursting with artistic energy, political commentary and a quest to successfully meld the poppy with the peculiar.
Pearl Jam started to lose hold of the popular consciousness with No Code (1996), which is a shame, because it’s their best, most soul-searching record to date. The soft serenity of songs like “Sometimes” and “Off He Goes” has an almost spiritual quality; the stirring track “I’m Open” is the most ethereal thing the band has ever created. No Code finds Pearl Jam at its creative peak, writing music that’s calmer, more focused, and just as inventive at its three most famous albums.
1998’s Yield, 2000’s Binaural, and Riot Act have continued in this progression towards simpler expression, resulting in their continued recession from the mainstream, and the general opinion that the band’s best days were behind them—that Pearl Jam was just spinning its wheels. The band continues to write stripped, introspective songs that are light years away from Ten or Vs., but its evolution has been so subtle that the casual listener must not have really noticed.
These days, to say a band has “grown” means that they have smacked you in the face with an intense stylistic change, like Radiohead’s Kid A or Beck’s Odelay. Without a doubt, people who are still looking for Pearl Jam to record another Ten will be disappointed, but it’s not because the band has embraced electronica or is working with The Neptunes. It’s because the group has truly grown as people, something that unconsciously and naturally affects its music, and can only be seen over a long period of time. The music hasn’t morphed in precocious ways; its production techniques are basic, and it’s plain that these guys are not trying to reinvent rock. In deep contrast to a decade ago, when it was at the forefront of a musical revolution, Pearl Jam gives off the air of five blue-collar guys who just love writing their simple rock songs.
A big reason for Pearl Jam’s survival is its voluntary escape from the spotlight after Ten’s success. The band’s announcement that it would no longer make videos or release singles was unexpected at the time, and it has been the band’s saving grace, providing a buffer from the pressure that destroyed all of its contemporaries (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, etc.). More than a decade after the band’s big splash, Pearl Jam attacks the stage as a group of veteran musicians and songwriters, one that pays little attention to musical trends and consistently churns out rock albums that are full of melodic and emotional depth. If you’re at the arena on Friday, remember that Creed’s latest album has sold six million copies, and thank god that Pearl Jam’s still alive.