Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
It's hard to pick the best Pearl Jam CD. They're all good records with
a lot of good songs and moments of transcendence as well as pointless
or self indulgent songs. Their first one, Ten, had great intense songs
and you could feel the thrill of young musicians who were really into
what they were doing. However, it wasn't exactly subtle and the second
half had lots of filler. Vs. was solid with Eddie Vedder's writing showing
a lot of improvement and Vitalogy was interestingly varied but neither
had consistently high quality. Part of the problem of evaluating
which Pearl Jam is best is that they've succeeded in a wide range of
music, from ballads to headbangers. My greatest hits tape would include
fast, furious songs like Go, Rearview Mirror, Spin the Black Circle and
Brain of J. Another reasonable person's tape could be completely different.
Purely in terms of the Pearl Jam record with the most good songs, No Code
is the winner. No Code doesn't have big radio friendly ballads like Daughter
or Better Man or anthemic rockers like Jeremy or Alive, but it does have
a depth and maturity that helps explain why the band has lasted and
shows every sign of continuing to grow and make interesting music after
their Seattle contemporaries from the early 90's are long gone.
While the general mood of No Code is fairly subdued, there are a couple
of great fast ones. Hail, Hail creates the rush of a great, fast Pearl
Jam rocker. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, Pearl Jam's strong guitarists,
create a huge sound and Jack Irons, who was the latest of many PJ drummers,
propels the exhilarating sound. Vedder encouraging sings, "I don't
want to think, I wanna feel." Stuck in an ambiguous relationship
("are we bound out of obligation, is that all we've got?") that
he wants to make work, Vedder salutes "the lucky ones, I refer to
those in love" and the music creates a celebratory mood. Habit
is a kick ass hard rock song. Vedder and the band sound like they're
loose and having fun. Pearl Jam continue to experiment with new sounds.
Who You Are has a nice texture and an Eastern feel, perhaps reflective
of Vedder's work with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and creates an easy mood,
which grows throughout the song, as Vedder sings of trying to "transcend
where we are." Smile also creates a good groove with fuzzy,
overlapping guitars and Vedder's harmonica. Vedder creates real poignancy
when he cries out, "I miss you already." No Code has two
excellent personal, heartbreaking slow songs where Vedder shows an
appealing thoughtfulness. In Off He Goes, Vedder movingly sings of concern
for a tense friend. Around the Bend is an elegant, quiet finish to No
Code. Acoustic guitars and piano back Vedder as he sadly reflects. A real
bonus on No Code is Mankind, a nice, loose rocker with Gossard on lead
vocals. Vedder is clearly the band's meal ticket but Gossard has an
unaffected charm that contrasts well with Vedder's more dramatic
presentation. Like on the other Pearl Jam records, all the songs on No
Code aren't great. But besides having the most good songs, No Code holds
up to repeated listenings for perhaps the same reason it wasn't a huge
seller. The songs aren't all obvious and commercial. They don't necessarily
grab you on first listen but grow with more and closer listening.
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