Review Summary: Pearl Jam mix some of their best - and worst songs together into a strange musical melting pot.
Pearl Jam
Binaural
Epic Records, 2000
Pearl Jam is...
Eddie Vedder: Vocals
Mike McCready: Guitar
Stone Gossard: Guitar
Jeff Ament: Bass
Matt Cameron: Drums
While No Code had dabbled in worldbeat and tribal music, and Yield had attempted mainstream rock, Pearl Jam appeared to have a different musical direction for their newest album, Binaural. This new release, the sixth album from the five talented individuals that formed Pearl Jam, was declared to dabble in art rock and classic rock. The album cover, one of a distant, colourful nebula, is yet more proof that Binaural is different from anything the band has ever done.
Newcomer Matt Cameron, formerly of the grunge band Soundgarden manages to make a lasting impression on many of the songs here. While previous Pearl Jam drummers neglected technicality for simple rhythms (perhaps due to a lack of skills), Matt takes advantage at his ability behind the kits. 'God's Dice' is filled with great, speedy rolls and fills, 'Nothing As It's Seems' is filled with tight, intense drumming that almost seems to set the mood and feel of the song. The shift between drum grooves when the chorus of 'Insignificance' comes into play sounds spectacular, and manages to be one of the stand out points of the album. Light percussion on the eerie 'Of The Girl' also stands out, showing Matt's ability to use varying styles while behind the kits.
Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, the ever present guitar duo try out a variety of different things on this album. Slide guitars on 'Nothing As It Seems' give a strange Pink Floyd sound to the tune. Various effects on the short album opener, 'Breakerfall' make the guitar work stand out above the otherwise poor lyrics and mediocre vocals. The soloing that was often neglected on previous albums manage to come into full play here. The heartfelt solo at the end of 'Light Years' is gorgeous, especially when backed by powerful drumming. Acoustic guitars are occasionally used, such as on the short 'Thin Air'. Overall, the guitar work appears to have greatly improved from previous albums.
But why, you ask, is there a poor rating after descriptions of such excellent instrumentation? The main problem with this album is that, for nearly every good song, there is a song that manages to be mediocre, or even terrible. 'Breakerfall' and 'God's Dice' prove to be very strong, punky openers. All of the interest the listener will have built up by listening to those two songs is instantly dashed away by the horrendous 'Evacuation'. Utilizing some of Eddie Vedder's weakest vocals yet, as well as an annoying, jarring chorus, 'Evacuation' stands out as one of the worst songs that Pearl Jam has ever made. The pattern shown here is then repeated. Four excellent songs ('Light Years', 'Nothing As It Seems', 'Thin Air', and 'Insignificance') are abruptly followed by four weak songs. Sure, 'Rival' has some good guitar and decent vocals, but that hardly makes up for the annoying 'Grievance' or the flat, uninspired 'Sleight Of Hand', whose catchy chorus and verses are unfortunately drowned out by muddy production. The final song 'Parting Ways', has no real build up and acts as a rather weak finale to the album.
Binaural is a difficult album to listen to. It showcases some of Pearl Jam's best-and worst tunes yet. The instrumentation, which has appeared to have improved immensely, is often drowned out by rather muddy production. This album shows Pearl Jam's foray into art rock, which is, debatably, and unfortunate one.
Recommended Tracks:
-Insignificance
-Light Years
-God's Dice
-Nothing As It Seems
