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Pearl Jam Information
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'Pearl Jam' is a Seattle-based rock band who are considered to be one of the most popular and influential artists of the 1990s. Along with Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam helped popularize the grunge movement of the early 1990s. Moreover, they are also the only mainstream grunge band that has remained active since the atrophy of their contemporaries.
1990: Pearl Jam's beginnings
Pearl Jam was born from the bosom of Mother Love Bone. With the death of Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood and the disintegration of the band in 1990, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament set out to create their next band. They recruited guitarist Mike McCready and recorded a three song demo tape. This tape made it to ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who passed it on to Eddie Vedder during one of their hiking trips. Eddie listened to the tape shortly before going surfing. While he was out in the water, the music played in his head and the lyrics came to him. He rushed back home and in one flurry of creativity recorded the vocals to three songs ("Alive", "Footsteps", and "Once"). The songs were what Eddie would later describe as a mini-opera. They formed a story of incest, madness and murder that became known to fans as the "Mamasan trilogy". He sent the tape with his vocals back to the band, and they were so impressed that they had Vedder fly to Seattle to try out for the band. Eddie and the band hit it off. With the addition of Dave Krusen on drums, the band 'Mookie Blaylock' was formed. After being signed to Epic Records, there was some concern from record executives about the band being named after a professional basketball player who was still playing, so the band brainstormed on new names. After briefly considering Reenk Roink, they settled on Pearl Jam.
Eddie Vedder has claimed that the name Pearl Jam is an inside joke having to do with a hallucinogenic, peyote-laced jam that Eddie's grandmother Pearl was famous for making. This may be a joke, as the phrase "pearl jam" had been in usage for some time as a euphemism for semen. Another theory according to Five Against One is that one of the band members really wanted "pearl" in the new name, and jamming is a common activity done by musicians.
Pearl Jam's drummer, Dave Krusen, left the band shortly before the launch of their debut album. He was replaced by Matt Chamberlain, who had previously played with Edie Brickell and New Bohemians. After playing only a handful of shows-at least one of which was filmed and became the "Alive" video-Chamberlain received an offer to join the Saturday Night Live band, which he accepted. Before he left, he suggested a drummer named Dave Abbruzzese as his replacement. Abbruzzese joined shortly after, playing the rest of Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the Ten album and continuing on to record with the band for the next two albums.
1991-1995: "The Biggest Band in the World"
Eddie Vedder was on the cover of the October 25, 1993 issue of Time magazine, as part of the feature article discussing the rising popularity of the grunge movement. Vedder has made it clear that he hates the photo and how Pearl Jam was represented in the article.]]
Pearl Jam became a key member of the Seattle grunge explosion, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. Nirvana's Kurt Cobain at one point angrily attacked the group because he saw them as commercial sell outs and partially because the band was more successful on the Billboard charts then Nirvana was; however Kurt and Eddie Vedder later reconciled and reportedly became friends. (See Green River).
Their debut album Ten (after Mookie Blaylock's jersey number, since they could not name the band after him), contains eleven tracks, many of them dealing with dark subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. The album, released in 1991, produced three smash hits that propelled Pearl Jam into the music scene: "Even Flow", "Alive", and "Jeremy". The video for "Jeremy" was a huge hit on MTV and won several video music awards including Video of the Year and Best Group Video.
Pearl Jam's first three albums were huge, commercially and critically. In 1993, their second album Vs. set an all time record for copies sold in the first week of release (950,000) and included the hits, "Daughter", "Dissident", "Go", and "Animal". Vs. was originally titled Five Against One (taken from the lyrics of "Animal"), but was changed to Vs. soon before release of the album. In 1994, their third album Vitalogy became the second quickest selling album in history, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week. Vitalogy also holds another distinction: the vinyl version of the album was released two weeks before the CD and cassette versions. Its song "Spin The Black Circle", an homage to the seven-inch single, won a Grammy Award in 1995. Vitalogy also included the hits "Not For You", "Corduroy", "Immortality", and "Betterman". Vitalogy is the band's last commercially successful album and also their last popular album.
The peak of Pearl Jam's musical career was 1993-1994. They were not only the biggest band out of the grunge bands from Seattle, but they were the "Biggest Band in the World" . Their experimental nature branched out their sound and produced huge hits far beyond the grunge sound of the time.
In 1994, Pearl Jam fired Dave Abbruzzese due to artistic differences. They announced his replacement in 1995: the returning from obscurity Jack Irons, the former drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who originally introduced Vedder to the band.
In 1995, Pearl Jam backed up longtime idol Neil Young 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. Young then returned the favor by playing with Pearl Jam on their two-song EP, Merkin Ball.
1996-2002: Shunning popularity
Over the next few years, Pearl Jam's popularity declined, in part because of their unwillingness to record videos and because of a lawsuit alleging a Ticketmaster monopoly which stifled the launch of supportive tours. Another reason for its decline in popularity may be due to its uncommercial and experimental nature. The first CD could be classed as grunge, but their later body of work was more difficult to categorize.
On August 27, 1996, exactly five years after the release of Ten, the band released their fourth album, No Code. The album continued the musical growth displayed on Vs. and Vitalogy. This album disappointed many of their more mainstream fans, as seen in the drastic drop of album sales. Although the album debuted at #1, it quickly fell down the charts. No Code included the singles "Hail, Hail", "Who You Are", and "Off He Goes". Despite being one of the worst received Pearl Jam albums, No Code is a fan favorite, and "In My Tree" is considered the greatest Pearl Jam drum performance, as well as one of Eddie's best lyrical performances.
In 1998, Pearl Jam released its fifth album, Yield. The album was proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound. Yield also continued the musical growth shown on previous albums, although this album is more divided and more complicated than their early work. By 1998, the majority of Pearl Jam's fan base had been dissolved, as shown by the fact that this is the first album not to peak at #1 in the billboard charts since Ten in 1991. Yield debuted at #2, but like No Code, it fell quickly down the charts. For the first time since 1993, Pearl Jam allowed a video to be made for their single, "Do The Evolution", which proved to be one of the best animated videos of all time, and they toured in support of the album. The album went platinum in the US, selling 1,500,000 copies. Yield included the singles "Given to Fly" and "Wishlist".
That same year, Pearl Jam once again changed drummers. Jack Irons left the band due to health problems and was replaced with former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, who has remained with them since.
In 1999, Pearl Jam recorded the song "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1950s ballad by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. Recorded on a minimal budget and released first as a fan club single, the song became a smash hit, with many requests from its fans to be released as a single. The band then decided to release the song as part of a charity compilation album, No Boundaries. It peaked at #2 in the Billboard charts and became the band's most commercially-successful single to date.
On May 16, 2000, Pearl Jam released their sixth studio album Binaural. This is the first studio album with Matt Cameron, and he enlivened this album with his excellent drumming. Binaural included hits such as "Nothing As it Seems" and "Light Years". Binaural was well received by critics which had not occurred since Vitalogy in 1994. After Binaural was released and its resulting tour of Europe and North America, the band hit upon a unique idea. Noting the popularity of illegal bootleg recordings and the desire of fans to own a copy of the shows they attended, Pearl Jam hatched a plan to professionally record each and every show on their tour. They originally intended to release these "official bootlegs" only to fan club members, but their record contract prevented them from doing so. Pearl Jam released all of the albums in record stores as well as through their fan club. All totaled, they released 72 albums, most of them double, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard Top 200 at the same time. A further 72 albums were released from the 2003 tour, and they continue releasing more of these "bootlegs" to this day.
Unfortunately, the 2000 European tour ended on June 30, when a tragic accident happened at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Fans were crushed and suffocated as the crowd rushed to the front. The band stopped playing and tried to calm the crowd when they realized what was happening, but it was already too late and nine people were killed. The two remaining dates of the tour were cancelled, and the band seriously considered retiring after this event. Some controversy arose over who was responsible for the accident after Pearl Jam was blamed in the official investigation. The band was later cleared of responsibility, with officials finding the safety measures employed by the festival organizers inadequate.
On April 5, 2002 Layne Staley of Alice In Chains died of a heroin and cocaine overdose. Upon hearing the news on April 20, 2002, Eddie Vedder wrote a song dedicated to him entitled, "4/20/02".
2002, Pearl Jam released their seventh album, Riot Act which included the single "I Am Mine". The album only sold 500,000 copies, less than Vitalogy and Vs. sold in their first weeks. The album featured a much more folk-based and experimental sound, evident in the presence of keyboard player Boom Gaspar on songs such as "Love Boat Captain", a fitting tribute to the nine people who died at the Roskilde Festival in June 2000. The band's liberal political activism also made its way into the album's lyrical content with "Bu$hleaguer", a commentary on President George W. Bush, being the most obvious.
2003-Present: Current days
In June 2003, the band announced they were officially leaving their label of twelve years, Epic Records, a Sony imprint. The move was viewed as something of a coup and has been described as "...one institution leaving another, the most popular and important American rock band of the '90s, voluntarily rejecting the grandest label heritage...". Pearl Jam states it has "no interest at this time" of signing with another label and is "excited about our freedom". Pundits say if Pearl Jam's move is successful, it may be the death knell of the music industry as we know it. However, Pearl Jam is expected to release a new studio album in early 2006 on the J Records label which is part of the BMG music conglomerate, which is 50% owned by Sony and includes Epic Records. This gives weight to accusations that international artists at least can never really escape the "big four" record companies (Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Group and Warner Music Group).
Pearl Jam were supporters of Ralph Nader's presidential campaign in 2000. In 2004, the band explicitly withdrew its support for Nader, with members appearing in Rolling Stone to promote the candidacy of John Kerry, and on the Vote for Change tour.
In 2005, the band embarked on a Canadian cross-country tour, stopping in cities such as Saskatoon where they had never before played. As in the past, they released "bootlegs" of the shows, but this time the bootlegs were available online through their website. The music downloads were accompanied by pictures from individual shows.
Pearl Jam also scheduled a benefit concert to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief. The concert, which took place October 5, 2005, at the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois, also featured Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame).
On November 22, 2005 Pearl Jam kicked off a South American tour, beginning with two shows in Santiago, Chile, two in Buenos Aires, Argentina, five in Brazil (Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Sé£o Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro) and two on Mexico (Monterrey city and Mexico City).
It is expected that Pearl Jam will release a new album during April 2006.
Members
Current line-up
*Mike McCready - lead guitar (1990-)
*Jeff Ament - bass guitar (1990-)
*Eddie Vedder - lead vocals, guitar (1990-)
*Stone Gossard - rhythm guitar (1990-)
*Matt Cameron - drums (1998-)
Former members
*Dave Krusen - drums (1990-1991)
*Matt Chamberlain - drums (1991)
*Dave Abbruzzese - drums (1991-1994)
*Jack Irons - drums (1994-1998)
Discography
Studio albums
*Vitalogy was released first on vinyl, on November 22, 1994. It debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Top 200, the first vinyl record album to chart since the introduction of the compact disc format.
Live albums and compilations
Hit singles
*From "Ten"
**1991 "Alive" #16 UK
**1992 "Even Flow" #27 UK
**1992 "Jeremy" #15 UK
**1993 "Black" #14 UK
*From "Vs."
**1993 "Go" (Won a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance" in 1993)
**1993 "Animal"
**1993 "Daughter" #18 UK
**1993 "Dissident" #14 UK
**1993 "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
*From "Vitalogy"
**1994 "Spin the Black Circle" #10 UK (Won a Grammy in 1995)
**1994 "Tremor Christ" #18 US
**1995 "Not for You" #34 UK
**1995 "Corduroy"
**1995 "Betterman"
*Non-album single recorded with Neil Young during the "Mirror Ball" sessions
**1995 "I Got ID" #25 UK
*From "No Code"
**1996 "Who You Are" #31 US, #18 UK
**1996 "Off He Goes"
**1997 "Hail, Hail"
*From "Yield"
**1998 "Given to Fly" #21 US, #12 UK
**1998 "Wishlist" #30 UK
**1999 "Do The Evolution"
*From "No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees" various artists charity album, also on Lost Dogs
**1999 "Last Kiss" #2 US
*From "Binaural"
**2000 "Nothing as It Seems" #22 UK
**2000 "Light Years"
*From "Riot Act"
**2002 "I am Mine" #26 UK
**2003 "Save You"
**2003 "Love Boat Captain"
Trivia
Hidden tracks
There are a total of four hidden tracks in the Pearl Jam catalog:
*"Hummus" was released on Yield, starting at 5:03 minutes into the 13th track "All Those Yesterdays"
*Binaural also has a little hidden sound bit (although not a song per se), 6:49 minutes also into track 13 "Parting Ways". This hidden sound is called "Writer's Block" which features some seconds of typewriter noise and Ed having some kind of trouble with his computer.
*The last track on the second disc of Lost Dogs, "Bee Girl" has "4/20/02" written by Vedder about the death of Alice in Chains' lead singer Layne Staley, who died on April 5, 2002.
*"Master/Slave", the little song opening Ten right before "Once", also closes the album after the end of "Release".
List of Pearl Jam songs covered by others
*"Alive" by Patti Smith at Roskilde Festival in 2001. It was in memory of the nine casualties at the Roskilde Festival in 2000.
*"Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" by Howie Day in 2001 and 2002
*"Black" by Aaron Lewis (lead vocalist of Staind) in 2002
*"Indifference" by Ben Harper
*"Indifference" and "Nothingman" by Gov't Mule
*"Long Road" by R.E.M.
*"Release" and "Indifference" by Allison Crowe who, in live performance, often ended her own song, "Philosophy", with a coda from Pearl Jam's "Jeremy".
*"Porch" and "Black" by Seven Mary Three
*"Soon Forget" by Jack Johnson in 2003
*"Release" and "Black" by O.A.R. in 2004
*"Immortality" by Seether in 2004
*"Black" by Tori Amos in 2005
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