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Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam

FORMED FROM the ashes of Seattle glam quintet Mother Love Bone, bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard put a demo together under the tentative name of Mookie Blaylock. This demo landed in the lap of surfer-bum Eddie Vedder who recorded his own lyrics to the songs. Pearl Jam were born and that demo went on to become their phenomenally successful 1991 debut 'Ten' which propelled them to being one of the biggest selling rock bands of the '90s. However, the attendant fame was not to the band's liking. Rather than resorting to double-barrelled dentistry the band stepped away from almost all media attention. In 1994 they cancelled an entire American tour due to a long and bitter dispute with the Ticketmaster agency over skyrocketing concert prices. During this time they released their esoteric third album 'Vitalogy' which alienated portions of their mainstream fan-base. Having survived grunge, it's this strange position that the biggest selling rock band of the '90s still find themselves in; marginalised to a rabidly fanatical cult following.

Ten
Name: Ten Label: EPIC Year: 1991
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Review: MANY FANS still maintain that if Kurt Cobain hadn't bitten the bullet this would be remembered as the rock album of the '90s. A host of hit singles and a unique (at the time at least - Stone Temple Pilots hadn't ripped them off yet), ethereal sound - coupled with a long overdue shift in what was deemed acceptable on mainstream radio - saw their debut go multi-platinum.

Vs.
Name: Vs. Label: EPIC Year: 1993
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Review: IN AN effort to step back from the furore that surrounded their debut, scant regard was given to the press for 'Vs.' and no singles were released from it. None of which stopped it becoming the fastest selling record in history at the time. Critics rightly raved over the likes of 'Daughter' and 'Rearviewmirror' and Pearl Jam found themselves in the uncomfortable position of being one of the biggest bands on the planet.

Yield
Name: Yield Label: EPIC Year: 1998
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Review: AFTER GOING left-of-centre with 'Vitalogy' and 'No Code', album number five was a stunning return to the form that made 'Ten' and 'Vs.' such classics. It was a more matured Pearl Jam by this point but the rush of hearing them power through 'Given To Fly' and 'Do The Evolution' was enough to get you dusting off your old plaid shirts.

No Code
Name: No Code Label: EPIC Year: 1996
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Review: PEARL JAM hadn't quite cut all the chaff that went with 1994's 'Vitalogy' ('I'm Open' sounds like a church hymn and 'In My Tree' is just bonkers) but the tribal energy of 'Who You Are' and the pure joy of the harmonica-led 'Smile' more than made up for it. A huge step back in the right direction.

Vitalogy
Name: Vitalogy Label: EPIC Year: 1994
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Review: A DIFFICULT album conceived at a difficult time. Perhaps it was their ongoing struggle with Ticketmaster that was occupying their minds but Pearl Jam's third album left a lot of fans scratching their heads. 'Corduroy' and 'Better Man' are among Pearl Jam's finest moments. The use of accordion solos ('Bugs') and Calypso vibes ('Aye Davinita') were clearly mistakes.

    Key Pearl Jam Tracks
  • ALIVE

    THEIR SIGNATURE tune and a genuinely moving grunge anthem. Songs about absentee fathers rarely have choruses this catchy.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Ten', 1991.
  • ANIMAL

    ANOTHER GREAT example of Pearl Jam at their most pissed off. The 'five against one' refrain was the working title of 'Vs.' and some early pressings are actually labelled with this title.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vs.', 1993.
  • BETTER MAN

    SUPERB WORDPLAY in a softly-spoken yarn about a woman trapped in a loveless romance. Onstage Vedder has been known to dedicate it to "the bastard that married my mother". Ouch.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vitalogy', 1994.
  • BLACK

    GUITARS ACHE, a piano plinks and Eddie Vedder pleads 'I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky, but why, why can't it be mine? '. Grown men weep.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Ten', 1991.
  • BREAKERFALL

    PEOPLE BEING somehow lost is a recurring theme with Eddie Vedder. Here he muses on a young girl who 'lost her invitation to the party on Earth'. Have you checked behind the fridge, love?

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Binaural', 2000.
  • CORDUROY

    A HIGH point on the patchy 'Vitalogy' album and one of Pearl Jam's finest moments. A slow-building, crescendous monster of a song.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vitalogy', 1994.
  • DAUGHTER

    AN EARLY pointer of the band's more restrained side as a simple acoustic jangle begins a tenderly painted tale of unhappy home life.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vs.', 1993.
  • DO THE EVOLUTION

    A STUNNING Manga-style video and a pummelling riff-heavy song captured the essence of the more mature Pearl Jam perfectly. Not even the choral 'Hallelujah' interlude could spoil it.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Yield', 1998.
  • EVEN FLOW

    ANOTHER MASSIVE chorus from their 'Ten' behemoth, this time dealing with homelessness and life on the street. They're a serious bunch, y'know.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Ten', 1991.
  • GIVEN TO FLY

    BACK TO their very best and back on mainstream radio with a soaring, glittering, uplifting anthem. It's 1991 all over again.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Yield', 1998.
  • I AM MINE

    'OH THE innocence, broken with time... '. A reflective look back at life, which also works as a neat summation of Pearl Jam finding comfort with where they are now.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Riot Act', 2002.
  • JEREMY

    THE SONG responsible for making Pearl Jam huge. A true tale of classroom bullying resulting in gun-fuelled revenge, its accompanying video was stark, sobering and played everywhere. Interestingly, B-side 'Yellow Ledbetter' is possibly the band's most listened-to song as a snippet was played during the last ever episode of 'Friends'.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Ten', 1991.
  • LEASH

    'DROP THE leash, drop the leash - get outta my fucking face!'. A rare moment of spirited invective from moody-chops Vedder.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vs.', 1993.
  • NOTHING AS IT SEEMS

    A SLOW burning masterpiece from 2000's 'Binaural' that coincided with a British tour and the release of 72 live albums in an attempt to outdo the bootleggers.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Binaural', 2000.
  • REARVIEWMIRROR

    'I GATHER speed, from you fucking with me'. A great "fuck you, I'm leaving" song with an incredible twin guitar spazz-out finale.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vs.', 1993.
  • RED MOSQUITO

    A TYPICALLY upbeat, grungy return to form from the pivotal 'No Code' album. There were a hundred sound-alike bands by now but none better than the original.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'No Code', 1996.
  • SMILE

    NEVER BEFORE has a song about missing someone sounded so positively upbeat. Even the harmonica solo is shot through with unbridled glee.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'No Code', 1996.
  • SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE

    THis is the punkiest song Pearl Jam have written to date and is a paean to days gone past when music was only available on shiny black vinyl.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Vitalogy', 1994.
  • WHO YOU ARE

    AN ALMOST tribal slice of rolling drums and jungle rhythms mark this as a perfect example of Pearl Jam's tendency to experiment reaping rich rewards.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'No Code', 1996.
  • WISHLIST

    IT haS often been said that, such is the power of his voice, Eddie Vedder could sing a shopping list and make it sound heartfelt, soulful and dripping with emotion. This list of wishes set to some soft guitar picking provides the proof.

    Find on iTunes Find It: 'Yield', 1998.
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