Pearl Jam is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members
Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder.
Prior to his wo ...
(bass guitar),
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
...
(rhythm guitar),
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...
(lead guitar), and
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
(lead vocals, guitar), as well as
Matt Cameron
Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...
(drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist
Boom Gaspar
Kenneth E. "Boom" Gaspar (born February 3, 1953) is an American musician. He has performed as a keyboardist with American rock band Pearl Jam since 2002.
Biography
Early life
Boom Gaspar grew up in Waimānalo, Hawaii. He started playing music ...
has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers
Jack Irons
Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven.
Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Irons ...
,
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician who is best known for being the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam, and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hover ...
,
Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter.
Biography
Life and career
Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...
, and
Dave Abbruzzese
David James Abbruzzese () (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Dave Krusen in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, '' ...
are former members of the band. Pearl Jam outsold many of their contemporaries from the early 1990s, and are considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, being dubbed as "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s".
Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band,
Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and lyrics helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/ea ...
, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, ''
Ten'', in 1991. ''Ten'' stayed on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going
13× platinum in the United States. Released in 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, ''
Vs.'', sold over 950,000 copies in its first week of release, setting the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release at the time. Their third album, ''
Vitalogy
''Vitalogy'' is the third studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded ''Vitalogy'' while touring behind its previous album '' Vs.'' (1993). The music on the record is ...
'' (1994), became the second-fastest-selling CD in history at the time, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.
One of the key bands in the
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or participating in interviews. The band also sued
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entert ...
, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
Pearl Jam had sold more than 85million albums worldwide by 2018, including nearly 32million albums in the United States by 2012, making them one of the
best-selling bands of all time. Pearl Jam was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 2017 in its first year of eligibility. They were ranked eighth in a readers' poll by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine in its "Top Ten Live Acts of All Time" issue.
Throughout its career, the band has also promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-
abortion rights
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
sentiments to opposition to
George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues.
History
Formation and early years (1984–1990)
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
...
and
Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder.
Prior to his wo ...
were members of grunge band
Green River Green River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
* Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River
*Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte
*Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
during the mid-1980s. Green River toured and recorded to moderate success but disbanded in 1987 due to a stylistic division between the pair and bandmates
Mark Arm
Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...
and
Steve Turner. In late 1987, Gossard and Ament began playing with
Malfunkshun
Malfunkshun is an alternative rock band formed in 1980 by Andrew Wood and his brother Kevin Wood. The band formed around the same time as other Washington state bands such as The U-Men (1980), Melvins (1983), Green River (1984), Soundgarden ...
vocalist
Andrew Wood, eventually organizing the band
Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and lyrics helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/ea ...
. In 1988 and 1989, the band recorded and toured to increasing interest and found the support of the
PolyGram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
record label, which signed the band in early 1989. Mother Love Bone's debut album, ''
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
'', was released in July 1990, four months after Wood died of a
heroin overdose
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a lethal ...
.
Ament and Gossard were devastated by the death of Wood and the resulting demise of Mother Love Bone. Gossard spent his time afterwards writing material that was harder-edged than what he had been doing previously.
After a few months, Gossard started practicing with fellow Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, whose band, Shadow, had broken up; McCready in turn encouraged Gossard to reconnect with Ament.
After practicing for a while, the trio sent out a five-song demo tape in order to find a singer and a drummer. They gave former
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
drummer
Jack Irons
Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven.
Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Irons ...
the demo to see if he would be interested in joining the band and to distribute the demo to anyone he felt might fit the lead vocal position.
Irons passed on the invitation but gave the demo to his basketball friend,
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
singer
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
. Vedder was the lead vocalist for a San Diego band,
Bad Radio
Bad Radio was a four-piece, American funk rock band that formed in San Diego, California in 1986. The band is most notable for having featured future Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder as its lead singer from 1988–1990. The band was a popular li ...
, and worked part-time at a gas station. He listened to the tape shortly before going surfing, where lyrics came to him.
He then recorded the vocals to three of the songs ("
Alive
Alive may refer to:
*Life
Books, comics and periodicals
* ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler
* '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka
* '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...
", "
Once", and "Footsteps") in what he later described as a "mini-opera" entitled ''Mamasan''. Vedder sent the tape with his vocals back to the three Seattle musicians, who were impressed enough to fly Vedder up to Seattle for an audition. Within a week, Vedder had joined the band.
With the addition of
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician who is best known for being the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam, and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hover ...
on drums, the band took the name Mookie Blaylock, in reference to the then-active
basketball player
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
.
The band played its first official show at the Off Ramp Café in Seattle on October 22, 1990.
They opened for
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
at the
Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theater ...
in Seattle on December 22, 1990, and served as the opening act for the band's ''
Facelift
A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () "wrinkle", and () "excision", the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are mul ...
'' tour in 1991. Mookie Blaylock soon signed to
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
and renamed themselves Pearl Jam.
In an early promotional interview, Vedder said that the name "Pearl Jam" was a reference to his great-grandmother Pearl, who was married to a Native American and had a special recipe for
peyote-laced jam.
[Neely, Kim. "Right Here, Right Now". ''Rolling Stone''. October 31, 1991.] In a 2006 ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' cover story however, Vedder admitted that this story was "total bullshit", even though he indeed had a great-grandma named Pearl. Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with "pearl", and that the band later settled on "Pearl Jam" after attending a
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
concert, in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15–20 minutes in length.
''Ten'' and the grunge explosion (1991–1992)
Pearl Jam entered Seattle's
London Bridge Studio
London Bridge Studio is a recording studio near Seattle that has hosted and recorded many influential artists, producers and engineers since 1985. Founded by brothers Rick and Raj Parashar and now currently owned by producers Geoff Ott, Jonatha ...
s in March 1991 to record its debut album, ''
Ten''.
[Pearlman, Nina. "Black Days". '']Guitar World
''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...
''. December 2002. McCready said that "''Ten'' was mostly Stone and Jeff; me and Eddie were along for the ride at that time."
[Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". ''Spin''. August 2001.] Krusen left the band in May 1991 after checking himself into rehabilitation for
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
; he was replaced by
Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter.
Biography
Life and career
Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...
, who had previously played with
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians is an alternative rock jam band that originated in Dallas, Texas, in the mid-1980s. The band is widely known for their 1988 hit "What I Am" from the album '' Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars''. Their music contain ...
. After playing only a handful of shows, one of which was filmed for the "Alive" video, Chamberlain left to join the ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' band.
Chamberlain suggested
Dave Abbruzzese
David James Abbruzzese () (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Dave Krusen in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, '' ...
as his replacement. Abbruzzese joined the group and played the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting ''Ten''.
Released on August 27, 1991, ''Ten'' (named after Mookie Blaylock's jersey number)
contained eleven tracks dealing with dark subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. ''Ten''
's musical style, influenced by classic rock, combined an "expansive harmonic vocabulary" with an anthemic sound. The album was slow to sell, but by the second half of 1992 it became a breakthrough success, being certified gold and reaching number two on the ''Billboard'' charts.
''Ten'' produced the hit singles "Alive", "
Even Flow
"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Even Flow" was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, '' ...
", and "
Jeremy". Originally interpreted as an anthem by many,
Vedder later revealed that "Alive" tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a son discovering that his father is actually his stepfather, while his mother's grief turns her to sexually embrace her son, who strongly resembles the biological father. In this lyric, even though Vedder originally looked at "being alive as a curse," as the sadness the speaker in the song suggests, "...But as fans quickly turned the title phrase into a self-empowering anthem," particularly at Pearl Jam concerts, Vedder said, "they lifted the curse. The audience changed the meaning for me," he told VH1 Storytellers in 2006.
The song "Jeremy" and its accompanying video were inspired by a true story in which a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates. ''Ten'' stayed on the ''Billboard'' charts for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going
13× platinum.
With the success of ''Ten'', Pearl Jam became a key member of the Seattle grunge explosion, along with
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
, and
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
. The band was criticized in the music press; British music magazine ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' said that Pearl Jam was "trying to steal money from young alternative kids' pockets." Nirvana's
Kurt Cobain angrily attacked Pearl Jam, claiming the band were commercial
sellouts
"Selling out", or "sold out" in the past tense, is a common expression for the compromising of a person's integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles by forgoing the long-term benefits of the collective or group in exchange for personal gai ...
,
[Al & Cake. "An interview with...Kurt Cobain". '' Flipside''. May/June 1992.] and argued ''Ten'' was not a true alternative album because it had so many prominent guitar leads.
Cobain later reconciled with Vedder, and they reportedly were on amicable terms before Cobain's death in 1994.
Pearl Jam
toured relentlessly in support of ''Ten''. Ament stated that "essentially ''Ten'' was just an excuse to tour," adding, "We told the record company, 'We know we can be a great band, so let's just get the opportunity to get out and play.'" The band's manager, Kelly Curtis, stated, "Once people came and saw them live, this lightbulb would go on. Doing their first tour, you kind of knew it was happening and there was no stopping it."
Early on in Pearl Jam's career, the band became known for its intense live performances. Looking back at this time, Vedder said that "playing music and then getting a shot at making a record and at having an audience and stuff, it's just like an untamed force...But it didn't come from jock mentality. It came from just being let out of the gates."
In 1992, Pearl Jam made television appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' and took a slot on that summer's
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
tour with
Ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
,
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
, and Soundgarden, among others. The band contributed two songs to the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
of the 1992
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...
film ''
Singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
'': "
State of Love and Trust" and "
Breath
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular ...
". Ament, Gossard and Vedder appeared in ''Singles'' under the name "Citizen Dick"; their parts were filmed when Pearl Jam was known as Mookie Blaylock.
''Vs.'', ''Vitalogy'' and dealing with success (1993–1995)
![President Bill Clinton with Pearl Jam](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/President_Bill_Clinton_with_Pearl_Jam.jpg)
The band members grew uncomfortable with their success, with much of the burden of Pearl Jam's popularity falling on frontman Vedder.
While Pearl Jam received four awards at the
1993 MTV Video Music Awards for its video for "Jeremy", including
Video of the Year and
Best Group Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...
, the band refused to make a video for "
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
" in spite of pressure from the label. This action began a trend of the band refusing to make videos for its songs. Vedder felt that the concept of music videos robbed listeners from creating their own interpretations of the song, stating that "Before music videos first came out, you'd listen to a song with headphones on, sitting in a beanbag chair with your eyes closed, and you'd come up with your own visions, these things that came from within. Then all of a sudden, sometimes even the first time you heard a song, it was with these visual images attached, and it robbed you of any form of self-expression."
"Ten years from now," Ament said, "I don't want people to remember our songs as videos."
Pearl Jam headed into the studio in early 1993 facing the challenge of following up the commercial success of its debut. McCready said, "The band was blown up pretty big and everything was pretty crazy."
["Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". '']Total Guitar
''Total Guitar'' is a monthly music magazine based in Bath, the United Kingdom, that has been in circulation since 1994.
The magazine is owned by Future plc, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to technology mag ...
''. November 2002. Released on October 19, 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, ''
Vs.'', sold 950,378 copies in its first week of release and outperformed all other entries in the ''Billboard'' top ten that week combined. The album set the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release, which it held until broken by
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
' 1998 album, ''
Double Live''. ''Vs.'' included the singles "
Go", "
Daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...
", "
Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
", and "
Dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...
". Paul Evans of ''Rolling Stone'' said, "Few American bands have arrived more clearly talented than this one did with ''Ten''; and ''Vs.'' tops even that debut." He added, "Like
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...
and
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
, Vedder makes a forte of his psychological-mythic explorations... As guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready paint dense and slashing backdrops, he invites us into a drama of experiment and strife." The band decided, beginning with the release of ''Vs.'', to scale back its commercial efforts. The members declined to produce any more music videos after the massive success of "Jeremy" and opted for fewer interviews and television appearances. Industry insiders compared Pearl Jam's tour that year to the touring habits of
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
, in that the band "ignored the press and took its music directly to the fans." During the
Vs. Tour
The Vs. Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its second album, '' Vs.''
History
Pearl Jam promoted ''Vs.'' with tours in the United States in the fall of 1993 and the spring of 1994. The fall 1993 tour focused o ...
, the band set a cap on ticket prices in an attempt to thwart
scalpers
Scalpers is a chain of men's fashion stores founded in Seville, Spain, in 2007. In 2018, Scalpers reported €42 million in sales, with 132 stores and other points of sale and 314 employees. In the same year it reported that 8.5% of its sales w ...
.
By 1994, Pearl Jam was "fighting on all fronts", as its manager described the band at the time.
[DeRogatis, p. 60.] Reporter
Chuck Philips
Charles Alan Philips (born October 15, 1952) is an American writer and journalist. He is best known for his investigative reporting in the ''Los Angeles Times'' on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and ...
broke a series of stories showing that Ticketmaster was gouging Pearl Jam's customers.
Pearl Jam was outraged when, after it played a pair of charity benefit shows in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, it discovered that ticket vendor
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entert ...
had added a service charge to the tickets. Pearl Jam was committed to keeping their concert ticket prices down but
Fred Rosen of Ticketmaster refused to waive the service charge. Since Ticketmaster controlled most major venues, the band was forced to create from scratch its own outdoor stadiums in rural areas in order to perform. Pearl Jam's efforts to organize a tour without the ticket giant collapsed, which Pearl Jam said was evidence of Ticketmaster's monopoly. An analysis of journalist Chuck Philips' investigative series
in a well known legal monograph
concluded that it was hard to imagine a legitimate reason for Ticketmaster's exclusive contracts with venues and contracts to cover such a lengthy period of time. The authors said, "The pervasiveness of Ticketmaster's exclusive agreements, coupled with their excessive duration and the manner in which they are procured, supported a finding that Ticketmaster had engaged in anticompetitive conduct under section 2 of the Sherman Act."
The
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
was investigating the company's practices at the time and asked the band to create a memorandum of its experiences with the company. Band members Gossard and Ament testified at a subcommittee investigation on June 30, 1994, in Washington, D.C. Pearl Jam alleged that Ticketmaster used anti-competitive and monopolistic practices to gouge fans. After Pearl Jam's testimony before Congress,
Congressman Dingell (D-Mich.) wrote a bill requiring full disclosure to prevent Ticketmaster from burying escalating service fees. Pearl Jam's manager said he was gratified that Congress recognized the problem as a national issue.
The band eventually canceled its 1994 summer tour in protest. After the Justice Department dropped the case, Pearl Jam continued to boycott Ticketmaster, refusing to play venues that had contracts with the company. The band tried to work around Ticketmaster's exclusive contracts by hosting charities and benefits at major venues, because the exclusive contracts often contained a clause allowing charity event promoters to sell their own tickets. Music critic
Jim DeRogatis
James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of '' Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', '' Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for ...
noted that along with the Ticketmaster debacle, "the band has refused to release singles or make videos; it has demanded that its albums be released on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
; and it wants to be more like its '60s heroes,
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, releasing two or three albums a year." He also stated that sources said that most of the band's third album ''
Vitalogy
''Vitalogy'' is the third studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded ''Vitalogy'' while touring behind its previous album '' Vs.'' (1993). The music on the record is ...
'' was completed by early 1994, but that either a forced delay by Epic or the battle with Ticketmaster was to blame for the delay.
Pearl Jam wrote and recorded while touring behind ''Vs.'' and the majority of the tracks for ''Vitalogy'' were recorded during breaks on the tour. Tensions within the band had dramatically increased by this time. Producer
Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to:
*Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer
*Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...
said, "''Vitalogy'' was a little strained. I'm being polite—there was some imploding going on."
After Pearl Jam finished the recording of ''Vitalogy'', drummer Dave Abbruzzese was fired. The band cited political differences between Abbruzzese and the other members; for example, Abbruzzese disagreed with the Ticketmaster boycott.
He was replaced by
Jack Irons
Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven.
Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Irons ...
, who had connected Vedder to the rest of the band some four years prior. Irons made his debut with the band at Neil Young's 1994
Bridge School Benefit, but he was not officially announced as the band's new drummer until its 1995 ''Self-Pollution'' satellite radio broadcast, a four-and-a-half-hour-long pirate broadcast out of Seattle which was available to any radio stations that wanted to carry it.
''Vitalogy'' was released first on November 22, 1994, on vinyl and then two weeks later on December 6, 1994, on CD and cassette. The CD became the second-fastest-selling in history, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of AllMusic said that "thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, ''Vitalogy'' stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album." Many of the songs on the album appear to be inspired by the pressures of fame. The song "
Spin the Black Circle
"Spin the Black Circle" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 8, 1994, as the first single from the band's third studio album, ''Vitalogy'' (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics writt ...
", an homage to vinyl records, won a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
in 1996 for
Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards until 2011.
The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards (1989). The category was ori ...
. ''Vitalogy'' also included the songs "
Not for You
"Not for You" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on March 21, 1995 as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''Vitalogy'' (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily written by voca ...
", "
Corduroy
Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fu ...
", "
Better Man", and "
Immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
". "Better Man" (), a song originally written and performed by Vedder while in Bad Radio, reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock chart, spending a total of eight weeks there. Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from ''Vs.'' due to its accessibility.
The band continued its boycott against Ticketmaster during its
1995 tour for ''Vitalogy'', but was surprised that virtually no other bands joined in. Pearl Jam's initiative to play only at non-Ticketmaster venues effectively, with a few exceptions, prevented it from playing shows in the United States for the next three years. Ament later said, "We were so hardheaded about the 1995 tour. Had to prove we could tour on our own, and it pretty much killed us, killed our career."
In the same year Pearl Jam backed
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
, whom the band had noted as an influence, on his album ''
Mirror Ball''. Contractual obligations prevented the use of the band's name anywhere on the album, but the members were all credited individually in the album's liner notes.
Two songs from the sessions were left off ''Mirror Ball'': "
I Got Id
''Merkin Ball'' is an extended play (EP) by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The EP contains two songs: A-side "I Got Id" (also known as "I Got Shit") and B-side "Long Road", both written by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder. The E ...
" and "Long Road". These two tracks were released separately by Pearl Jam in the form of the 1995 EP, ''
Merkin Ball
''Merkin Ball'' is an extended play (EP) by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The EP contains two songs: A-side "I Got Id" (also known as "I Got Shit") and B-side "Long Road", both written by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder. The E ...
''.
''No Code'' and ''Yield'' (1996–1999)
Following the round of touring for ''Vitalogy'', the band went into the studio to record its follow-up, ''
No Code
''No Code'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996 through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, '' Vitalogy'' (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicize ...
''. Vedder said, "Making ''No Code'' was all about gaining perspective."
[Marks, Craig. "The Road Less Traveled". '' Spin''. February 1997.] Released in 1996, ''No Code'' was seen as a deliberate break from the band's sound since ''Ten'', favoring
experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...
ballads and noisy
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
ers. David Browne of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' stated that "''No Code'' displays a wider range of moods and instrumentation than on any previous Pearl Jam album." The lyrical themes on the album deal with issues of self-examination,
[Hilburn, Robert. "Working Their Way Out of a Jam". ''Los Angeles Times''. December 22, 1996.] with Ament stating, "In some ways, it's like the band's story. It's about growing up."
Although the album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' charts, it quickly fell down the charts. ''No Code'' included the singles "
Who You Are" (), "
Hail, Hail
"Hail, Hail" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and guitarist Mike McCready. "Hail, Hail" was released in October ...
", and "
Off He Goes". As with ''Vitalogy'', very little touring was done to promote ''No Code'' because of the band's refusal to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas. A
European tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...
took place in the fall of 1996. Gossard stated that there was "a lot of stress associated with trying to tour at that time" and that "it was growing more and more difficult to be excited about being part of the band."
![MikeMcCready1998](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/MikeMcCready1998.jpg)
Following the short tour for ''No Code'', the band went into the studio in 1997 to record its follow-up. The sessions for the band's fifth album represented more of a team effort among all members of the group, with Ament stating that "everybody really got a little bit of their say on the record...because of that, everybody feels like they're an integral part of the band." On February 3, 1998, Pearl Jam released its fifth album, ''
Yield''. The album was cited as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound.
Tom Sinclair of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' stated that the band has "turned in an intermittently affecting album that veers between fiery garage rock and rootsy,
acoustic-based ruminations. Perhaps mindful of their position as the last alt-rock ambassadors with any degree of clout, they've come up with their most cohesive album since their 1991 debut, ''Ten''." Lyrically, ''Yield'' continued with the more contemplative type of writing found on ''No Code'',
[Mulvey, John. "Interview with Pearl Jam". '']NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. May 13, 2000. with Vedder saying, "What was rage in the past has become reflection." ''Yield'' debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' charts, but like ''No Code'' soon began dropping down the charts. It included the singles "
Given to Fly
"Given to Fly" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Mike McCready, "Given to Fly" was released to radio on December 22, 1997, as the first single from th ...
" and "
Wishlist". The band hired comic book artist
Todd McFarlane
Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
to create an animated video for the song "
Do the Evolution" from the album, its first music video since 1992. A documentary detailing the making of ''Yield'', ''
Single Video Theory'', was released on VHS and DVD later that year.
In April 1998, Pearl Jam once again changed drummers. Jack Irons left the band due to dissatisfaction with touring and was replaced with former Soundgarden drummer
Matt Cameron
Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...
on an initially temporary basis, but he soon became a permanent replacement for Irons. Pearl Jam's 1998
Yield Tour
The Yield Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its fifth album, '' Yield''.
History
Pearl Jam promoted ''Yield'' with tours in Oceania, and North America in 1998. Following the tour of Australia and before its s ...
in North America marked the band's return to full-scale touring. The band's
anti-trust lawsuit against Ticketmaster had proven to be unsuccessful and hindered live tours. Many fans had complained about the difficulty in obtaining tickets and the use of non-Ticketmaster venues, which were judged to be out-of-the-way and impersonal. For this tour and future tours, Pearl Jam once again began using Ticketmaster in order to "better accommodate concertgoers." The 1998 summer tour was a big success, and after it was completed the band released ''
Live on Two Legs
''Live on Two Legs'' is the first major live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 24, 1998 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States.
Overview
''Live on Tw ...
'', a live album which featured select performances from the tour.
In 1998, Pearl Jam recorded "
Last Kiss
"Last Kiss" is a song released by Wayne Cochran in 1961 on the Gala label. It failed to do well on the charts. Cochran subsequently re-recorded his song for the King label in 1963. It was revived by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, who took ...
", a cover of a 1960s ballad made famous by
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. It was recorded during a soundcheck and released on the band's 1998
fan club Christmas single. The following year, the cover was put into heavy rotation across the country. By popular demand, the cover was released to the public as a single in 1999, with all of the proceeds going to the aid of refugees of the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
.
The band also decided to include the song on the 1999 charity compilation album, ''
No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees''. "Last Kiss" peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' charts and became the band's highest-charting single.
''Binaural'' and the Roskilde tragedy (2000–2001)
Following its full-scale tour in support of ''Yield'', the band took a short break, but then reconvened toward the end of 1999 and commenced work on a new album. On May 16, 2000, Pearl Jam released its sixth studio album, ''
Binaural''. It was drummer Matt Cameron's studio recording debut with the band. The title is a reference to the
binaural recording
Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments. This effect is ...
techniques that were utilized on several tracks by producer
Tchad Blake
Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician.
A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arc ...
, known for his use of the technique. ''Binaural'' was the first album since the band's debut not produced by Brendan O'Brien, although O'Brien was called in later to remix several tracks. Gossard stated that the band members "were ready for a change."
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
fans, Pearl Jam delve elsewhere." He added, "The album reflects both Pearl Jam's longstanding curse of self-importance and a renewed willingness to be experimental or just plain odd." The album is lyrically darker than the band's previous album ''Yield'', with Gossard describing the lyrics as "pretty sombre."
''Binaural'' included the singles "
Nothing as It Seems", one of the songs featuring binaural recording, and "
Light Years
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
". The album sold just over 700,000 copies and became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status.
![PearlJam-DC2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/PearlJam-DC2000.jpg)
Pearl Jam decided to record every show on its 2000
Binaural Tour
The Binaural Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its sixth album, '' Binaural''.
History
Pearl Jam promoted ''Binaural'' with tours in Europe and North America. Before the tour started on May 23, with a show ...
professionally, after noting the desire of fans to own a copy of the shows they attended and the popularity of
bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...
s. The band had been open in the past about allowing fans to make amateur recordings, and these
"official bootlegs" were an attempt to provide a more affordable and better quality product for fans. Pearl Jam originally intended to release them to only fan club members, but the band's record contract prevented it from doing so. Pearl Jam released all of the albums in record stores as well as through its fan club. The band released 72 live albums in 2000 and 2001, and twice set a record for most albums to debut in the ''Billboard'' 200 at the same time.
Pearl Jam's 2000 European tour ended in tragedy on June 30, with an accident at the
Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Nine fans were crushed underfoot and suffocated to death as the crowd rushed to the front. After numerous requests for the crowd to step back, the band stopped playing and tried to calm the crowd when the musicians realized what was happening, but it was already too late. The two remaining dates of the tour were canceled and members of the band contemplated retiring after this event.
A month after the European tour concluded, the band embarked on its two-leg 2000 North American tour. On performing after the Roskilde tragedy, Vedder said that "playing, facing crowds, being together—it enabled us to start processing it."
On October 22, 2000, the band played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its first live performance as a band. Vedder took the opportunity to thank the many people who had helped the band come together and make it to ten years. He noted that "I would never do this accepting a Grammy or something." After concluding the Binaural Tour, the band released ''
Touring Band 2000
''Touring Band 2000'' is the second DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, culled from performances from the North American legs of the band's 2000 Binaural Tour. It was released on VHS and DVD on May 1, 2001.
Overview
DV ...
'' the following year. The DVD featured select performances from the North American legs of the tour.
Following the events of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
, Vedder and McCready were joined by
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
to perform the song "Long Road" from the ''Merkin Ball'' EP at the ''
America: A Tribute to Heroes'' benefit concert. The concert, which aired on September 21, 2001, raised money for the victims and their families.
''Riot Act'' (2002–2005)
Pearl Jam commenced work on a new album following a year-long break after its full-scale tour in support of ''Binaural''. McCready described the recording environment as "a pretty positive one" and "very intense and spiritual." Regarding the time period when the lyrics were being written, Vedder said, "There's been a lot of mortality...It's a weird time to be writing. Roskilde changed the shape of us as people, and our filter for seeing the world changed." Pearl Jam released its seventh album, ''
Riot Act'', on November 12, 2002. It included the singles "
I Am Mine
"I Am Mine" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "I Am Mine" was released on October 8, 2002, as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, '' Riot Act'' (2002). The song peaked at number six ...
" and "
Save You". The album featured a much more
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
-based and experimental sound, evident in the presence of
B3 organist
Boom Gaspar
Kenneth E. "Boom" Gaspar (born February 3, 1953) is an American musician. He has performed as a keyboardist with American rock band Pearl Jam since 2002.
Biography
Early life
Boom Gaspar grew up in Waimānalo, Hawaii. He started playing music ...
on songs such as "
Love Boat Captain
"Love Boat Captain" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by Vedder and keyboardist Boom Gaspar, "Love Boat Captain" was released on February 24, 2003, as a single ...
".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of AllMusic said "''Riot Act'' is the album that Pearl Jam has been wanting to make since ''Vitalogy''—a muscular
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
record, one that still hits hard but that is filled with ragged edges and odd detours." The track entitled "Arc" was recorded as a vocal tribute to the nine people who died at the Roskilde Festival in June 2000. Vedder only performed this song nine times on the 2003 tour, and the band left the track off all released bootlegs.
In 2003, the band embarked on its
Riot Act Tour
The Riot Act Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Pearl Jam to support its seventh album, ''Riot Act''.
History
Pearl Jam promoted ''Riot Act'' with tours in Australia, Japan, and North America in 2003. The tours were the band's fi ...
, which included tours in Australia and North America. The band continued its official bootleg program, making every concert from the tour available in CD form through its official website. A total of six bootlegs were made available in record stores:
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Tokyo,
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...
, two shows from
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
, and
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...
. At many shows during the 2003 North American tour, Vedder performed ''Riot Acts "Bu$hleaguer", a commentary on President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, with a rubber mask of Bush, wearing it at the beginning of the song and then hanging it on a mic stand to allow him to sing. The band made news when it was reported that several fans left after Vedder had "impaled" the Bush mask on his mic stand at the band's
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
show.
In June 2003, Pearl Jam announced it was officially leaving Epic Records following the end of its contract with the label. The band stated it had "no interest" in signing with another label. The band's first release without a label was the single for "
Man of the Hour
"Man of the Hour" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "Man of the Hour" accompanies the closing credits of the 2003 film ''Big Fish'', and is the first track on the film's soundtrack album. It was r ...
", in partnership with
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. Director
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
approached Pearl Jam to request an original song for the soundtrack of his new film, ''
Big Fish
''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Car ...
''. After screening an early print of the film, Pearl Jam recorded the song for him. "Man of the Hour", which was later nominated for a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, can be heard in the closing credits of ''Big Fish''.
The band released ''
Lost Dogs
Lost Dogs are an American musical supergroup formed in 1991, comprising vocalists, songwriters, and guitarists from multiple Christian alternative rock bands. Their current lineup includes Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos, the Swirling Eddies) ...
'', a two-disc collection of rarities and
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
, and ''
Live at the Garden
''Live at the Garden'' is the fourth DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on July 8, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was released on November 11, 2003.
Overview
The DVD documents Pearl Jam on ...
'', a DVD featuring the band's July 8, 2003
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
through Epic Records in November 2003. In 2004, Pearl Jam released the live album, ''
Live at Benaroya Hall
''Live at Benaroya Hall'' is a two-disc live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on October 22, 2003 at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington and released on July 27, 2004 through BMG.
Overview
The concert—which to ...
'', through a one-album deal with
BMG. 2004 marked the first time that Pearl Jam licensed a song for usage in a television show; a snippet of the song "
Yellow Ledbetter
"Yellow Ledbetter" is a song by the American band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Mike McCready, "Yellow Ledbetter" was an outtake from the band's debut alb ...
" was used in the
final episode of the television series ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
''. Later that year, Epic released ''
rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)
''Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)'' is a two-disc compilation album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 16, 2004 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. I ...
'', a Pearl Jam greatest hits collection spanning 1991 to 2003. This release marked the end of Pearl Jam's contractual agreement with Epic Records.
Pearl Jam played a show at Easy Street Records in Seattle in April 2005; recordings from the show were compiled for the ''
Live at Easy Street'' album and released exclusively to independent record stores in June 2006. The band embarked on a Canadian
cross-country tour in September 2005, kicking off the tour with a fundraising concert in Missoula, Montana for Democratic politician
Jon Tester
Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressi ...
, then playing the
Gorge Amphitheater before crossing into Canada. After touring Canada, Pearl Jam proceeded to open a
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
concert in Pittsburgh, then played two shows at the
Borgata
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a hotel, casino, and spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The casino hotel features 2,798 rooms and is the largest hotel in New Jersey. Borga ...
casino in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. , before closing the tour with a concert in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. The official bootlegs for the band's 2005 shows were distributed via Pearl Jam's official website in MP3 form. Pearl Jam also played a
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
to raise money for
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
relief on October 5, 2005, at the
House of Blues
House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. On November 22, 2005, Pearl Jam began its first Latin American tour.
Move to J Records and ''Pearl Jam'' (2006–2008)
![Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam in concert in Italy 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Eddie_Vedder_and_Pearl_Jam_in_concert_in_Italy_2006.jpg)
The work for Pearl Jam's follow-up to ''Riot Act'' began after its appearance on the 2004
Vote for Change
The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed ...
tour. The time period between the two albums was the longest gap between Pearl Jam's studio albums to date and the new album was its first release for a new label.
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 1 ...
announced in February 2006 that Pearl Jam had signed with his label,
J Records
J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...
, which like Epic, is part of
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
(then known as
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
), though J has since folded into
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
. The band's eighth studio album, ''
Pearl Jam'', was released on May 2, 2006. A number of critics cited ''Pearl Jam'' as a return to the band's early sound,
and McCready compared the new material to ''
Vs.'' in a 2005 interview. Ament said, "The band playing in a room—that came across. There's a kind of immediacy to the record, and that's what we were going for." Chris Willman of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said that "in a world full of boys sent to do a man's job of rocking, Pearl Jam can still pull off gravitas." Current socio-political issues in the United States are addressed on the album. "
World Wide Suicide
"World Wide Suicide" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "World Wide Suicide" was released through digital music stores on March 14, 2006 as the first single from the band's eighth studio album, '' P ...
", a song criticizing the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
and U.S. foreign policy, was released as a single and topped the
''Billboard'' Modern Rock chart; it was Pearl Jam's first number one on that chart since "
Who You Are" in 1996, and first number one on any chart in the United States since 1998 when "
Given to Fly
"Given to Fly" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Mike McCready, "Given to Fly" was released to radio on December 22, 1997, as the first single from th ...
" reached number one on the
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
chart. ''Pearl Jam'' also included the singles "
Life Wasted
"Life Wasted" is a song by the American rock music, rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Life Wasted" was released on August 28, 2006 as the second single from the ba ...
" and "
Gone".
To support ''Pearl Jam'', the band embarked on its
2006 world tour. It toured North America, Australia and notably Europe; Pearl Jam had not toured the continent for six years. The North American tour included three two-night stands opening for
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...
. The band served as the headliners for the
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
festivals, despite having vowed to never play at a festival again after
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
. Vedder started both concerts with an emotional plea to the crowd to look after each other. He commented during the Leeds set that the band's decision to play a festival for the first time after Roskilde had nothing to do with "guts" but with trust in the audience.
In 2007, Pearl Jam recorded a cover of The Who's "
Love, Reign o'er Me
"Love, Reign o'er Me", subtitled "Pete's Theme", is a song by English rock band The Who. Written and composed by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was released on 27 October 1973 as the second single from the band's sixth studio album and second roc ...
" for the
Mike Binder
Mike Binder (born June 2, 1958) is an American filmmaker, stand-up comedian, and actor.
Life and career
Binder, descended from Russian-Jewish immigrants, grew up in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. During the summers of 1966 through 1975, he a ...
film, ''
Reign Over Me
''Reign Over Me'' is a 2007 American buddy drama film written and directed by Mike Binder, and produced by his brother Jack Binder. The film stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle with Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Saffron ...
''; it was later made available as a
music download
A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...
on the
iTunes Music Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...
.
The band embarked on a
13-date European tour, and headlined
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
in
Grant Park, on August 5, 2007. The band released a CD box set in June 2007, entitled ''
Live at the Gorge 05/06
''Live at the Gorge 05/06'' is a seven-disc live box set by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on June 26, 2007 through Rhino Entertainment/Warner Music Group. The box set documents the band's 2005 and 2006 shows at The G ...
'', that documents its shows at
The Gorge Amphitheatre
The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near Columbia River in Central Washington, west of George. The venue is manage ...
, and in September 2007 a concert DVD, entitled ''
Immagine in Cornice
''Immagine in Cornice'', Italian for "picture in a frame", is a live concert film documenting the 2006 five-concert tour of Italy by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on September 25, 2007.
Overview
The film documents P ...
'', which documents the band's Italian shows from its 2006 tour was released.
In June 2008, Pearl Jam performed as the headline act at the
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in ...
. The Bonnaroo appearance took place amidst a
twelve-date tour in the Eastern United States. In July 2008, the band performed at the
VH1 tribute to The Who alongside
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
,
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
and
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...
. In the days prior to
Election Day 2008, Pearl Jam digitally released through its official website a free documentary film, entitled ''
Vote for Change? 2004'', which follows the band's time spent on the 2004 Vote for Change tour.
Reissues and ''Backspacer'' (2009–2012)
In March 2009, ''Ten'' was reissued in four editions, featuring such extras as a remastering and remix of the entire album by Brendan O'Brien, a DVD of the band's 1992 appearance on ''MTV Unplugged'', and an LP of its concert of September 20, 1992 at
Magnuson Park
Magnuson Park is a park in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. At it is the second-largest park in Seattle, after Discovery Park in Magnolia (which covers ). Magnuson Park is located at the site of the former N ...
in Seattle.
It was the first reissue in a planned re-release of Pearl Jam's entire catalog that led up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011.
A Pearl Jam retrospective film directed by
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...
titled ''
Pearl Jam Twenty
''Pearl Jam Twenty'' (also known as PJ20) is a 2011 American documentary directed by Cameron Crowe about the band Pearl Jam. Preliminary footage was being shot as of June 2010. Crowe completed filming in April 2011, after using 12,000 hours of ...
''
was also planned to coincide with the anniversary.
In 2011, ''Vs.'' and ''Vitalogy'' were reissued in the spring time in deluxe form.
Pearl Jam began work for the follow-up to ''Pearl Jam'' in early 2008.
In 2009, the band began to build on instrumental and demo tracks written during 2008. The band's ninth studio album, ''
Backspacer
''Backspacer'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009. The band members started writing instrumental and demo tracks in 2007, and got together the following year to work on an album. It w ...
'', was its first to be produced by Brendan O'Brien since ''Yield''.
''Backspacer'' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard music charts, the band's first album to do so since ''No Code'' in 1996,
and has sold 635,000 copies as of July 2013, according to
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
.
The music on the record features a sound influenced by pop and
new wave.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of AllMusic said that "prior to ''Backspacer'', Pearl Jam wouldn't or couldn't have made music this unfettered, unapologetically assured, casual, and, yes, fun." Regarding the lyrics, Vedder said, "I've tried, over the years, to be hopeful in the lyrics, and I think that's going to be easier now."
"
The Fixer" was chosen as the album's first single. Pearl Jam did not re-sign its record deal with J Records, and the band released the album through its own label Monkeywrench Records in the United States and through
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
internationally. Pearl Jam reached a deal with
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
to be the exclusive
big-box store
A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...
retailer for the album in the United States. The album also saw release through the band's official website, independent record stores, online retailers, and iTunes.
In an interview in September 2009 McCready revealed that Pearl Jam was scheduled to finish the ''Backspacer'' outtakes within six months, and told San Diego radio station
KBZT
KBZT (94.9 FM, "Alt 94-9") is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station broadcasts an alternative rock format. Its studios are located in San Diego's Stonecrest area, and the transmitter ...
that the band may release an EP in 2010 consisting of those songs, while Vedder instead suggested that the songs may be used for the band's next studio album.
In August 2009, Pearl Jam headlined the
Virgin Festival
The Virgin Fest, known as the Virgin Mobile FreeFest in the United States, was a rock festival held in the United States and Canada, a spin-off from the V Festival held in the UK. In North America the Virgin name, and more recently the Virgin M ...
, the
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a music festival held annually in San Francisco, California, at Golden Gate Park. The festival is produced by Another Planet Entertainment, Superfly Presents, and Starr Hill Presents. It is the l ...
, and played five shows in Europe and three in North America. In October 2009, Pearl Jam headlined the
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas on two consecutive three-day weekends. Inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series of the same name, the festival is produced by Austin-base ...
. Later in October on
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
night, the band played in what was the last performance at the
Philadelphia Spectrum
The Spectrum (later known as CoreStates Spectrum, First Union Spectrum and Wachovia Spectrum) was an indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Opened in September 1967 as part of what is now known as the South Philadelphia Spo ...
. An additional leg consisting of a tour of Oceania took place afterwards.
In May 2010, the band embarked on a month-long tour starting with the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...
. The tour headed to the East Coast and ended May 21, 2010 at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in New York.
A European tour took place in June and July 2010, where the band performed in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
for the first time at the
Odyssey Arena
The Odyssey Complex, formerly Odyssey Centre, is a sports and entertainment complex located within the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The complex originated in 1992 and came into fruition in June 1998. It opened in December 2 ...
in Belfast.
In late October 2010, Pearl Jam performed at the 24th Annual
Bridge School Benefit Concert at the
Shoreline Amphitheater
Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater located in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The venue has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot ...
in
Mountain View, California
Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376.
Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...
.
A live album, titled ''
Live on Ten Legs
''Live on Ten Legs'' is a live album by American rock band Pearl Jam released on January 17, 2011. Composed of songs recorded during the band's 2003–2010 world tours, it is a companion piece to their 1998 live album, ''Live on Two Legs''. A ...
'', was released on January 17, 2011.
It is a compilation of live tracks from their 2003 to 2010 world tours, and is a follow-up to ''
Live on Two Legs
''Live on Two Legs'' is the first major live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 24, 1998 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States.
Overview
''Live on Tw ...
'', which consisted of songs recorded during their 1998 North American tour.
In March 2011, bassist Jeff Ament told
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
that the band had 25 songs and they'd be heading into the studio in April to begin recording the follow-up to ''Backspacer''.
On May 16, 2011, the band confirmed that they would play the Labor Day weekend at the
Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 37,000-capacity amphitheater located on County Highway D in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977 and it features a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion and a sprawlin ...
,
East Troy, Wisconsin
East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,687 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The village is located southwest of the East Troy (town), Wisconsin, Town of ...
, followed by
ten shows in Canada.
On September 8, 2011, the band released a new song titled "Olé".
On November 18, the band released ''
Toronto 9.11.11
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
''—a free live album available through the launch of
Google Music
Google Play Music is a discontinued music and podcast streaming service and an online music locker operated by Google as part of its Google Play line of services. The service was announced on May 10, 2011; after a six-month, invitation-only b ...
. On November 21, 2011, as part of their PJ20 World Tour, Pearl Jam visited
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
for the first time to a 30,000 crowd of fans at the
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
. The following month, the band announced a
tour of Europe, which started in June 2012.
''Lightning Bolt'' (2013–2017)
![Pearl Jam New York 2016 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Pearl_Jam_New_York_2016_02.JPG)
On July 11, 2013, the band announced that their tenth studio album ''
Lightning Bolt'' would be released internationally on October 14, 2013, and on the next day in the United States, along with releasing the first single "
Mind Your Manners".
The band played a
two-leg tour in North America during October and November,
followed by headlining the final
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
festival in Australia and New Zealand in 2014.
The second single, "
Sirens
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology
Places
* Siren (town), Wisconsin
* Siren, Wisco ...
", was released on September 18, 2013.
After selling 166,000 copies in its first week, ''Lightning Bolt'' became Pearl Jam's fifth album to reach number one on the Billboard 200. At the
57th Annual Grammy Awards
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...
in February 2015, the album won the award for
Best Recording Package.
In November 2015 the band played a
nine-date tour of Latin America.
In January 2016, the band announced a
tour of the United States and Canada, including appearances at the
New Orleans Jazz Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...
and
Bonnaroo
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...
.
In April 2017, Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the ceremony they were inducted by comedian
David Letterman. In August 2017, the band announced the release of the live album and concert film ''
Let's Play Two
''Let's Play Two'' is a live album and concert film by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The album was released on September 29, 2017, with the concert film being released on November 17, 2017. The footage and songs were recorded at th ...
'', from the band's shows at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...
the previous year.
Touring and ''Gigaton'' (2018–present)
![PearlJam-London2022-02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/PearlJam-London2022-02.jpg)
The band launched a
2018 tour with shows in South America in March 2018, including shows at the
Lollapalooza festival
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual ...
events in Brazil, Chile and Argentina, with the latter being cancelled due to heavy rain the night before.
followed by performances in Europe and North America.
The tour included two shows for homelessness-related charities in the band's hometown of Seattle.
Prior to the first shows of the tour, Pearl Jam released a new song, "
Can't Deny Me
"Can't Deny Me" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam. The song was released on March 10, 2018 as a digital download exclusively on Pearl Jam's ''Ten Club'' fan club, and was released as a single via streaming and digital do ...
".
In December 2019, Pearl Jam confirmed that they would be
touring Europe in the summer of 2020. On January 13, 2020, the band announced that their eleventh studio album, ''
Gigaton
''Gigaton'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released March 27, 2020. It was preceded by the singles "Dance of the Clairvoyants", "Superblood Wolfmoon" and "Quick Escape". It is the band's first studio album in six ...
'', would be released on March 27, 2020. In conjunction with the release of their eleventh studio album, the band also announced tour dates in North America during March and April 2020. However, the North American leg was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, with the aim to reschedule them for a later date. In September 2020, the band confirmed that their ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' live set would be released on vinyl and CD for the first time the following month.
In May 2021, Pearl Jam announced the release of a digital collection of nearly 200 concerts dating from 2000 to 2013. The collection of 5,404 individual songs, entitled ''Deep'', is accessible by members of the Pearl Jam Ten Club. On September 18, 2021, the band played their first show since 2018 at the
Sea.Hear.Now Festival in
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 , where former
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
guitarist
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...
made his debut as a touring musician with the band.In May 2022, Matt Cameron was forced to miss his first shows in 24 years since joining the band due to testing positive for the
COVID-19 virus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a p ...
. Josh Klinghoffer and
Richard Stuverud
Richard Allen Stuverud Jr. (born September 26, 1969) is an American drummer from Seattle, Washington. He lives in Oakland, California where he writes, arranges and produces songs. He plays drums in the Oakland based bands, REQ'D, Slow Phase and L ...
filled in on drums for Cameron.
Musical style and influences
Compared with the other
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...
bands of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's style is noticeably less heavy and harkens back to the
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
music of the 1970s. Pearl Jam has cited many
punk rock and classic rock bands as influences, including
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
,
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
and the
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
. Pearl Jam's success has been attributed to its sound, which fuses "the riff-heavy stadium rock of the '70s with the grit and anger of '80s post-punk, without ever neglecting hooks and choruses."
Gossard's rhythm guitar style is known for its sense of beat and groove, while McCready's lead guitar style, influenced by artists such as
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
, has been described as "feel-oriented" and "rootsy."
Pearl Jam has broadened its musical range with subsequent releases. As he had more influence on the band's sound, Vedder sought to make the band's musical output less
catchy
Catchiness is how easy it is for a song, tune, or phrase to be recalled. It is often taken into account when writing songs, catchphrases, advertising slogans, jingles etc. Alternatively, it can be defined as how difficult it is for one to forget ...
. He said, "I felt that with more popularity, we were going to be crushed, our heads were going to pop like grapes."
By 1994's ''
Vitalogy
''Vitalogy'' is the third studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded ''Vitalogy'' while touring behind its previous album '' Vs.'' (1993). The music on the record is ...
'', the band began to incorporate more punk influences into its music. The band's 1996 album, ''
No Code
''No Code'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996 through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, '' Vitalogy'' (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicize ...
'', was a deliberate break from the musical style of ''
Ten''. The songs on the album featured elements of
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
,
worldbeat
Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural c ...
, and
experimentalism
Experimentalism is the philosophical belief that the way to truth is through experiments and empiricism. It is also associated with instrumentalism, the belief that truth should be evaluated based upon its demonstrated usefulness. Experimentalism ...
.
After ''
Yield'' in 1998, which was somewhat of a return to the straightforward rock approach of the band's early work,
they dabbled with experimental
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
on the ''
Binaural'' album of 2000, and with
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
elements on the 2002 ''
Riot Act'' album. The band's 2006 album, ''
Pearl Jam'', was cited as a return to their early sound.
Their 2009 album, ''
Backspacer
''Backspacer'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009. The band members started writing instrumental and demo tracks in 2007, and got together the following year to work on an album. It w ...
'', contains elements of pop and
new wave.
Critic Jim DeRogatis describes Vedder's vocals as a "
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...
-like vocal growl." Greg Prato of AllMusic said, "With his hard-hitting and often confessional lyrical style and Jim Morrison-esque baritone, Vedder also became one of the most copied lead singers in all of rock." Vedder's lyrical topics range from personal ("Alive", "Better Man") to social and political concerns ("Even Flow", "World Wide Suicide"). His lyrics have often invoked the use of
storytelling
Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...
and have included themes of
freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
,
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
, and sympathy for troubled individuals. When the band started, Gossard and McCready were clearly designated as rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. The dynamic began to change when Vedder started to play more rhythm guitar during the ''Vitalogy'' era. McCready said in 2006, "Even though there are three guitars, I think there's maybe more room now. Stone will pull back and play a two-note line and Ed will do a
power chord
A power chord (also fifth chord) is a colloquial name for a chord in guitar music, especially electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly played on ...
thing, and I fit into all that."
Legacy
While Nirvana had brought grunge to the mainstream in the early 1990s with ''
Nevermind
''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, '' ...
'', Pearl Jam's debut ''Ten'' outsold it in the United States, and the band became "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s" according to AllMusic.
Pearl Jam has been described as "
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
radio's most influential stylists – the workmanlike midtempo chug of songs like "Alive" and "Even Flow" just melodic enough to get
moshers singing along." The band inspired and influenced a number of bands, including
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...
,
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' C ...
and
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...
. The band has also been credited for inspiring the indie rock scene of 90s-era urban Pakistan, that has since evolved into a rich rock music culture in the country.
Pearl Jam were ranked at number 8 by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' magazine in its ''Top Ten Live Acts of all Time'' issue.
Pearl Jam has been praised for its rejection of rock star excess and its insistence on backing causes it believes in. Music critic
Jim DeRogatis
James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of '' Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', '' Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for ...
said in the aftermath of the band's battle with Ticketmaster that it "proved that a rock band which isn't greed heads can play stadiums and not milk the audience for every last dime... it indicated that idealism in rock 'n' roll is not the sole province of those '60s bands enshrined in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
." Eric Weisbard of ''
Spin'' said in 2001, "The group that was once accused of being synthetic grunge now seem as organic and principled a rock band as exists."
In a 2005 ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' reader's poll, Pearl Jam was voted the greatest American rock band of all time. In April 2006, Pearl Jam was awarded the prize for "Best Live Act" in ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
s Esky Music Awards. The blurb called Pearl Jam "the rare superstars who still play as though each show could be their last."
Pearl Jam's fanbase following has been compared to that of the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
's, with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine stating that Pearl Jam "toured incessantly and became one of rock's great arena acts, attracting a fanatical, Grateful Dead-like cult following with marathon, true-believer shows in the vanishing spirit of Bruce Springsteen, the Who and U2."
When asked about Pearl Jam's legacy in a 2000 interview, Vedder said, "I think at some point along the way we began feeling we wanted to give people something to believe in because we all had bands that gave that to us when we needed something to believe in. That was the big challenge for us after the first record and the response to it. The goal immediately became how do we continue to be musicians and grow and survive in view of all this... The answers weren't always easy, but I think we found a way." Their 1992
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
performance was ranked second in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
s list of its 15 Best Episodes.
Campaigning and activism
Throughout its career, Pearl Jam has promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-abortion rights sentiments to opposition to
George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues. The band has promoted an array of causes, including awareness of
Crohn's disease, which Mike McCready suffers from,
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entert ...
venue monopolization and the environment and wildlife protection, among others.
Guitarist Stone Gossard has been active in environmental pursuits, and has been an advocate of Pearl Jam's
carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
policy, offsetting the band's environmental impact. Vedder has advocated for the release of the
West Memphis 3 for years and
Damien Echols
Damien Wayne Echols (born Michael Wayne Hutchison; December 11, 1974) is an American writer, best known as one of the West Memphis Three, a group of teenagers convicted of a triple murder. Upon his release from death row in 2011 under an Alford p ...
, a member of the three, shares a writing credit for the song "Army Reserve" (from ''
Pearl Jam'').
The band, and especially frontman Eddie Vedder, have been vocal supporters of the abortion rights movement. In 1992, ''
Spin'' printed an article by Vedder, entitled "Reclamation", which detailed his views on abortion. In an ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' concert the same year, Vedder stood on a stool and wrote "PRO-CHOICE!" on his arm in protest when the band performed the song "Porch".
The band are members of a number of abortion rights organizations, including
Choice USA and
Voters for Choice
Co-founded in 1979 by Gloria Steinem and Kristina Kiehl, Voters for Choice was the United States's largest independent, nonpartisan, pro-choice political action committee. Its mission was to raise money and promote policies to maintain safe, leg ...
.
As members of
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit progressive-aligned organization in the United States whose stated mission is "to engage and build the political power of young Americans."
The organization was founded in 1990 by Virgin Records America Co-Chairman ...
and
Vote for Change
The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed ...
, the band has encouraged voter registration and participation in
United States elections. Vedder was outspoken in support of
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
presidential candidate
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes.
The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
in 2000, and Pearl Jam played a series of concerts on the Vote for Change tour in October 2004, supporting the candidacy of
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
for U.S. president. In a ''Rolling Stone'' feature showcasing the Vote for Change tour's performers, Vedder told the magazine, "I supported Ralph Nader in 2000, but it's a time of crisis. We have to get a new administration in."
In 2006, the members of Pearl Jam founded the non-profit organization Vitalogy Foundation. Named after their
third studio album, the foundation supports non-profit organizations working in the fields of community health, the environment, arts, education and social change.
Vedder sometimes comments on politics between songs, often to criticize U.S. foreign policy, and a number of his songs, including "Bu$hleaguer" and "
World Wide Suicide
"World Wide Suicide" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "World Wide Suicide" was released through digital music stores on March 14, 2006 as the first single from the band's eighth studio album, '' P ...
", are openly critical of the
Bush administration. At Lollapalooza 2007, Vedder spoke out against
BP Amoco dumping effluent in Lake Michigan, and at the end of "Daughter", he sang the lyrics "George Bush leave this world alone/George Bush find yourself another home". In the beginning of the second encore Vedder invited Iraq war veteran Tomas Young, the subject of the documentary ''
Body of War
''Body of War'' is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. ''Bill Moyers Journal'' featured a one-hour special about ''Body of War'' including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue.
Summary
Shocked by the Se ...
'', onto the stage to urge an end to the war. Young in turn introduced
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...
, who contributed vocals to "No More" and "Rockin' in the Free World". The band later discovered that some of the Bush-related lyrics were excised from the
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
webcast of the event, and questioned whether that constitutes censorship. AT&T later apologized and blamed the censorship on contractor
Davie Brown Entertainment
Davie Brown Entertainment was founded in 1980 by Jim Davie, who had created the "Pepsi Challenge" marketing program, and Brad Brown, as the entertainment marketing agency of PepsiCo, which was concerned about how much exposure its primary competito ...
.
Pearl Jam has performed numerous benefit concerts in aid of charities and causes. For example, the band headlined a Seattle concert in 2001 to support the United Nations' efforts to combat world hunger. The band added a date at the Chicago House of Blues to its 2005 tour to help the victims of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
; the concert proceeds were donated to
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...
, the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
and the Jazz Foundation of America.
In 2011, Pearl Jam was named 2011 Planet Defenders by Rock The Earth for their environmental activism and their large-scale efforts to decrease their own carbon emissions.
Band members
Current members
*
Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder.
Prior to his wo ...
– bass, backing vocals
(1990–present)
*
Stone Gossard
Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
...
– rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
(1990–present)
*
Mike McCready
Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals
(1990–present)
*
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar
(1990–present)
*
Matt Cameron
Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals
(1998–present)
Touring/session members
*
Boom Gaspar
Kenneth E. "Boom" Gaspar (born February 3, 1953) is an American musician. He has performed as a keyboardist with American rock band Pearl Jam since 2002.
Biography
Early life
Boom Gaspar grew up in Waimānalo, Hawaii. He started playing music ...
– keyboards, piano, organ
(2002–present)
*
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Geta ...
– guitar, drums, percussion, backing vocals
(2021–present)
*
Richard Stuverud
Richard Allen Stuverud Jr. (born September 26, 1969) is an American drummer from Seattle, Washington. He lives in Oakland, California where he writes, arranges and produces songs. He plays drums in the Oakland based bands, REQ'D, Slow Phase and L ...
– drums, percussion
(2022–present) (filled in for Cameron at some 2022 shows)
Former members
*
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician who is best known for being the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam, and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hover ...
– drums, percussion
(1990–1991; touring guest 2017, 2022)
*
Matt Chamberlain
Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session musician, drummer, producer and songwriter.
Biography
Life and career
Chamberlain was born in San Pedro, California on April 17, 1967. He began learning how to play the drums ...
– drums, percussion
(1991)
*
Dave Abbruzzese
David James Abbruzzese () (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Dave Krusen in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, '' ...
– drums, percussion
(1991–1994)
*
Jack Irons
Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven.
Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Irons ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals
(1994–1998)
Timeline
Discography
* ''
Ten'' (1991)
* ''
Vs.'' (1993)
* ''
Vitalogy
''Vitalogy'' is the third studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded ''Vitalogy'' while touring behind its previous album '' Vs.'' (1993). The music on the record is ...
'' (1994)
* ''
No Code
''No Code'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996 through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, '' Vitalogy'' (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicize ...
'' (1996)
* ''
Yield'' (1998)
* ''
Binaural'' (2000)
* ''
Riot Act'' (2002)
* ''
Pearl Jam'' (2006)
* ''
Backspacer
''Backspacer'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009. The band members started writing instrumental and demo tracks in 2007, and got together the following year to work on an album. It w ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Lightning Bolt'' (2013)
* ''
Gigaton
''Gigaton'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released March 27, 2020. It was preceded by the singles "Dance of the Clairvoyants", "Superblood Wolfmoon" and "Quick Escape". It is the band's first studio album in six ...
'' (2020)
See also
*
List of alternative rock artists
This is a list of alternative rock artists. Bands are listed alphabetically by the first letter in their name (not including "The"), and individuals are listed by the first name.
0–9
* +44
* 3 Doors Down
*3OH!3
* 4 Non Blondes
*7 Yea ...
*
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. alternative rock chart
*
*
List of awards and nominations received by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American alternative rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike ...
*
List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, established in 1983 and located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential musicians, bands, producers, and others that have in some m ...
References
Further reading
* Clark, Martin. ''Pearl Jam & Eddie Vedder: None Too Fragile'' (2005).
* Jones, Allan. ''Pearl Jam – The Illustrated Story, A Melody Maker Book'' (1995).
* McCready, Mike. ''Of Potato Heads and Polaroids: My Life Inside and Out of Pearl Jam'' (2017).
* Neely, Kim. ''Five Against One: The Pearl Jam Story'' (1998).
* Pearl Jam. ''Twenty'' (2011).
* Prato, Greg. ''Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music'' (2009).
* Prato, Greg. ''100 Things Pearl Jam Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die'' (2018).
* Wall, Mick. ''Pearl Jam'' (1996).
External links
*
*
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Alternative rock groups from Washington (state)
American grunge groups
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Epic Records artists
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Musical groups from Seattle
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