REVIEW: Pearl Jam, Yield (Epic)
- Scott Slonaker
Fans of the most popular band of the first half of this decade, rejoice.
Pearl Jam has remembered you.
After making an album for themselves (1996's uneven, murky No Code), Seattle's sole survivors of That Thing return with a fine album that mines all their strengths and pleases the crowd without any need for pandering. New drummer Jack Irons has hit his stride, with his fat-bottomed tubthumping helping the band rediscover the stomperous clatter that made Vs. (1993) and Vitalogy (1994) keepers. Let's face it, folks - the polished sheen of Ten is not coming back.
Opening with the brawling "Brain of J" (slightly reminiscent of "State of Love and Trust", from the Singles soundtrack), Yield is heavy on rave-ups and limits the balladry (the stars of No Code, no less) to the second half. "Wishlist" is a simple, heart-on- sleeve love song. "Do the Evolution", which begins with a scary doglike howl from singer Eddie Vedder, happens to be one of the better Iggy and the Stooges impressions to come along in awhile. "Given to Fly", the first single, is a casually winning, fittingly soaring marriage of Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" and PJ's own "Go". It also features Vedder's most gripping vocal performance since Vitalogy's "Better Man".
Vedder's voice seems to be slightly higher and warblier in general throughout Yield. While Pearl Jam have always taken cues from the Who, Vedder's strangled cries seem to evoke Roger Daltrey more than ever. With Irons' tangled Keith Moon-like pounding, the resemblance is only strengthened. Still, no one is going to mistake these tunes for anyone besides Pearl Jam.
Lyrically, Pearl Jam is continuing the trend towards lighter topics and less angst. "I'm not trying to make a difference, no way," declares Vedder in "No Way". Eddie seems much more relaxed and less self-obsessed than previous efforts, and he has learned how to cut loose without venturing into such territory. While the lyrics may indeed be less weighty in general, Vedder is an expert at making them *sound* important, which is the essential factor.
The later tunes on Yield are mostly pleasant side trips. The easygoing "Low Light" (penned by bassist Jeff Ament) features some graceful, swaying backing vocals. "Push Me, Pull Me" is deadpan, clanking beat poetry with an unexpectedly airy chorus. And the closing tune (there is an obligatory hidden track, of course), guitarist Stone Gossard's "All Those Yesterdays", is utterly beautiful.
Yield is an easy return to form for Pearl Jam, and another blow struck for good, old-fashioned rock 'n roll in the face of the myriad of beeps, bloops, yodels, Spices, and thefts plaguing modern music today.
