Pearl Jam- A Failed Democracy

Okay. I've only listened to the new record once. So let me admit that from the start. But you can tell a lot about a Pearl Jam record from it's initial spin. Mainly that you don't want to spin it again.

The record comes out soon. Next Tuesday, I think. But it's leaking all over the web. Jamming up the iPods of music lovers everywhere who hail the band as a survivor. A band that's been around for a long time. As if this they should be honored for this feat alone. I'm sorry, but it's pretty easy to stick around when you've got a ton of money. This isn't the Ramones touring around in a stinky bus, as much as Vedder wishes they were.

I liked Pearl Jam, and I suppose I still like Eddie Vedder. It was obvious right from the start that he possessed a pretty unique talent. "He understands women", a friend of mine said when I couldn't understand how she could get THAT into Ten. And it's true. There are several songs that really have a tenderness for women and their issues, without speaking out on "Women's Issues". He's also pretty good looking. And when you look at the singers of most of the hair bands that were dominating the day, it's pretty easy to see his appeal to women, as well as men. "Black", "Jeremy", "Alive"- these all have substance lyrically. It's a far cry from "Cherry Pie" and the Nelson twins.

They put on a good show too. Eddie Vedder would climb the rafters and you'd have that fear that maybe this time he'd hurt himself. But that got old quickly. The best part of seeing them live at Lollapalooza 1992 wasn't the Pearl Jam set. It was a 20 minute set that Eddie Vedder did with Chris Cornell on the sidestage. Without the internet to tell everybody about it ahead of time, this improptu show was played to just a handful of people. They sang "Hunger Strike" and a couple other acoustic songs and sounded amazing. Vedder was the highlight of course, and he sounded great.

Here's what happened. Vedder dominates the band for the first four albums. The slower more introspective songs, some of which were written pre-Pearl Jam, tend to be the best cuts. Not coincidentally they're almost always written solely by Vedder. Around the time of No Code the band must've had it with him. The world beat edge. The Dead Man Walking soundtrack. Maybe we can blame it on that Neil Young record that they played on. On Mirrorball, the band stood up and people noticed. Or at least Eddie did.

Since then they've had countless writing credits in the band. Everybody gets their shot. Even one of the drummers wrote a song. I'm sorry, but this band is not the Beatles. They love to be compared to the Who. So here it is: Townshend would never let Daltrey write the songs. So why did Vedder relent? Especially with the lyrics. C'mon!

With each Pearl Jam release we get less and less of the "Elderly Women" and "Wishlist" kind of songs and more and more of the ROCK songs. The type of song Pearl Jam was never that good at anyway. He slurs through the lyrics and gets excited about stuff, but half the time you can't understand him. Give me "Yellow Leadbetter" any day. I can't understand what the hell he's saying, but I feel something. And that's way more than I can say about the last few Pearl Jam records.

A Blessing And A Curse

Some things take a while to reveal themselves. When I heard "Feb 14" back in January I thought it sounded okay, but it was a fairly average rock song, and it seemed to lack the storytelling aspect that's at the core of the best Drive By Truckers songs. It sounds like the Replacements, sure, but I don't necessarily want the Truckers to sound like the 'Mats.

This album doesn't really sound like the same band that made Decoration Day or The Dirty South either. Of course, that's kind of a foolish thing to say. If any band has a unique identity these days that they can really call their own, it's the Drive By Truckers. But the storytelling/conceptual edge of the last three records is missing from A Blessing and A Curse, and it can be a little unsettling.

This is Patterson Hood's album. The last couple records best moments often belonged to Jason Isbell, but on this record the DBT founder seems re-energized. "Remember it ain't too late to take a deep breath and throw yourself into everything you got" he sings on "A World of Hurt" and it's as if he's done just that. It must be a hell of an inspiration to have Isbell and Cooley to compete with for song inclusion, and with this record Patterson proves he's up for the challenge. He even managed to write the best Stones song in years with "Aftermath USA".

It's Mike Cooley who has the finest moment on the disc though. "Gravity Gone" is the lyrical high of the album, and may be the best song Cooley has had on a Truckers album. He sees the trappings of fame and phrases it in only a way a Trucker could. "Between the champagne, hand jobs and the kissing ass by everyone involved/Cocaine comes quick and that's why the small dicks have it all."

So the sound is there. And the stories are there too, even if they aren't as unified as previous records. The Drive By Truckers know how to give the whole package too. It's pretty easy to download songs these days and make a snap judgment and move on to the next thing. In a beautiful gatefold cd which recalls the 70's double vinyl days, the Drive By Truckers invite you to sit down and absorb the whole experience. Look at Wes Freed's artwork. Read the lyrics. Get the stories. Then slap it on your ipod and make it part of your life.