Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt: A Review

Today, Pearl Jam released their tenth studio album, "Lightning Bolt".

It is the band's first such effort since 2010's "Backspacer".

I already wrote a review on the two songs that were released well ahead of the release of this album, as well as providing links for the live performances of two other songs on this album, during their show in Chicago this past summer.

As a loyal fan of the band now for over twenty years, I was eagerly anticipating this album for quite some time.

So, I made sure to go out to Target this morning and pick up my copy straight away, and got a chance to give this record a couple of spins. It was funny, because when I was searching for it (as it turns out, it was hardly placed as prominently as I had expected and, yes, probably hoped it would be), I came across the newest album from Metallica.

There was a day when I felt about Metallica the way I would come to feel about Metallica, and memories of another day arose. This day was one long ago, back in 1991, and it was the long anticipated release date for yet another album from a favorite artist at the time (yes, I am referring to Metallica here).  My brother and I went rushing out to the music store to pick up the black album.  He was driving this old, beat up Volkswagon Rabbit (remember those?), and was absolutely racing down the Hamburg Turnpike, towards Preakness Mall, and whatever music store we went to. My memory can still be strong about certain things, even specific things, but not about everything. So the name of the store escapes me these days. Nor is that the point of this diversion. I just remember that he was racing and, at one point, there was a line of cars stopped behind a red light. We were by then going just entirely too fast, but I resisted calling out, until we were really, really close, and going really, really fast. That was when I shouted out my brother's name, and he immediately hit the brakes. There was screeching, and we were slowing down quite a bit, but the momentum clearly meant that we were going to hit the car in front of us. Until, that is, my brother pulled a move that impressed me (and for which I am very thankful to this day!), and turned into the other lane. We continued to slide screeching, and came uncomfortably close to the last car in that lane, too. But we did not hit anything. We flirted with death (or serious injury, in any case), just because of the anticipation of a newly released album on that day. Chills almost run up my spine still to this day, thinking of how close that was!

We had both long been fans of the group, and were expecting....well, I'm not quite sure what we were expecting. But the black album wasn't it, admittedly. Not that it's a bad album, or anything. It's not. But they changed so completely from who and what they had been prior, that it kind of took us aback, I guess. It just seemed to me that they had gone from a band that would justifiably make fun of other, bigger bands who took themselves way too seriously, to the epitome of a big, huge band that took itself way too seriously. That arrogance kind of got in the way of my continuing to be a huge and unconditional fan, although it would not be immediately apparent to me yet. That album made them bigger then ever, but it was the birth of this new Metallica - the Metallica of the Napster lawsuit. The Metallica of limousines and not quite heavy metal. Old Metallica gave way to this newer version of the band. And although the music that they came up with was still quite good, the whole superstar status turned them into a different band, and not necessarily for the better.

Back then, my reaction to the black album was not what I had expected, much less hoped for. In time, the bad taste left in my mouth would become undeniable, and I came to recognize what that taste was, exactly: a sense of betrayal. Of a band that I liked, upon reflection, more for their integrity and intelligence than anything else, and it just felt that they had turned their back on this entirely.

And now, 22 years later, as a full grown man realistically old enough to be the father of that dumb kid that I had been, I found my own reaction to this newest Metallica album amusing. I looked at it, thought "Huh!", and then turned away from it, looking for the album that I had been looking for to begin with: Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt. So, I moved on from Metallica, much like I did around two decades ago.

So, how does this new Pearl Jam album rate?

Well, pretty solid stuff, actually.

The album cover is quite suggestive. It looks like several things, all at once. An old fashioned radio, but with an intensely staring, unblinking eye (the eye of Big Brother?) in the middle, staring right at us. There are thunderbolts coming from the sides, next to the radiowaves themselves, hinting at a message of mass hatred. On the top, there is a makeshift cross and crescent moon, which themselves are, of course, symbols of two of the major religions in the world - religions in regions that have seen much violence and hatred, and which, too often, these religions have been used to justify such hatred.

As for the music, and the lyrics?

Here's a song by song breakdown:

Getaway, the opening song on the album, is solidly rocking and up tempo. Not the fastest song, and not the hardest rocking song, but very decent. The lyrics speak to a rejection of any established faith, and coming to terms with agreeing to disagree, and coexistence in a world of competing faiths, trying to grab us away from our lives, and to indoctrinate us into believing whatever it is that particular faith would have us believe. The artwork facing the lyrics page for this song is suggestive of such a theme, with a preacher figure in obviously holy cloth addressing an audience from his bully pulpit, with a lightning bolt (not normally a symbol of deep thought, much less all-encompassing love) on the podium. Those in attendance are wearing pointy hats, reminiscent of the old "dunce" caps, or possibly even the pointy hoods of the Ku Klux Klan? Whichever way, the sing is pretty

Mind Your Manners is a song that, if you are a Pearl Jam fan, you must have heard by now. it is the fastest, most intense song on the album, an thus reminiscent of some of their earlier stuff. Not as much the first couple of albums or so, but of the self-titled album from 2006, when the band took a decidedly more punkish turn in style. But again, you guys have heard this one quite a bit in the last few months, right? So, I will dwell more on the stuff that is likely less familiar now.

My Father's Son starts off reminding me a little bit of Soundgarden. It gravitates from there, and begins to sound more punkish as it goes along. Like the old days of Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder is addressing his anger and outrage at his father, only this song does not smack of the teenage angst that the old, early Pearl Jam stuff did. This is an older Vedder, and he is coming to terms with the fact that his father did not leave him what a father ideally would leave for his son. But Vedder is letting go here, and dropping that baggage to go ahead and live his own life. Strong song, and I like it.

Sirens is the other song from this album that most PJ fans will be familiar with. Like My Father's Son, the lyrics speak of an older, wiser version of Eddie Vedder. He is reflecting on his own past, and can express his appreciation at being in a different place, and overcome the troubles of life to arrive now in a relationship that makes him happy, and which he is old enough to truly appreciate now, in this new state of mind.

Lightning Bolt, the title track, has perhaps, arguably, the best lyrics on the album. These have incredible depth in layers, touching upon some smaller themes, while hinting at a far deeper meaning applicable to all of humanity. Vedder keeps referring to a woman, who seems to be (I am guessing here), Mother Nature. The song is a coming to terms with old dreams and notions of how life ought to be being scrapped for a more natural world, which could be applicable to one personally, but also to the world as a whole, and to our entire way of life, and how unsustainable it seems presently.  No person, no problem, no country, and really, no generation, is so important that it should continue to exist and burden this world with a lasting presence. Nature takes it's course, and we leave this world, and this world goes on. The finality of the lyrics are powerful:

And your death will soon arrive
As she finally decides that all her
Problems, they won't die with you

Infallible is another reflective song hinting at a deeper political meaning, with tongue in cheek lyrics. Vedder is criticizing the prevailing mindset of accumulating material wealth, and locking ourselves behind artificial walls and gated communities, making sure to lock ourselves inside of our own comfortable homes, and our comfortable lives, and ignoring the clear problems that are heading towards us, and gathering immense strength along the way. We do not want to hear anything but what we want to hear, and convince ourselves that we are right by never challenging our own assumptions. Thus, infallibility. In the meantime, the most important things, and lessons, of life, keep on slipping us by, and we advocate our own demise with our own, self-destructive ways. Strong stuff.

Pendulum starts of a bit slowly, and is more immediately and obviously a reflective song than some of the other tracks on the album. The song's lyrics suggest the strength of persistence, and a certain coming to age, with an acceptance, and even embrace, of one's own significance. Time marches on, and the pendulum keeps going. The old ways of life that once worked and kept us mindlessly happy no longer work, and we need to get out of our own way, to let a new future in.

Swallowed Whole also focuses on a more natural world all around us, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Vedder feels himself as part of this Earth, and can feel the life and vibrancy of this world all around us. We can move beyond the mistakes of the past, and accept a healthier and natural world, that we never were not a part of to begin with, despite our best efforts to convince (fool) ourselves otherwise.

Let the Records Play sounds and feels more overtly cheerful than any other track on the album, with some obvious musical allusions to classic rock. Vedder is showing his appreciation of music in general here, and what music can bring to the listener-  something that we can grow with, and always turn back to. Good, solid song here.

Sleeping By Myself sounds more folksy as well. Once again, Vedder comes out with a highly personal song, where he discovers a different person within that was, really, always there to begin with. But this person sees this world as only a giver of pain and loneliness in personal battles. Lyrically, it seems one of the darkest, least hopeful of the songs in this collection.

Yellow Moon is one of the slower songs on the album, and also quite reflective, tying the eternal nature of the celestial bodies in the wide sky above us, and how we human beings grounded on Earth are influenced by it all, whether or not we know it (or accept it).

The closing song, Future Days, holds an intensity that might not be immediately obvious. It is not quite as strong as some of the closers on other albums, like Release (which I tend to think of more as the opening song for quite a few of their concerts, rather than the closing song of their premiere album), Indifference, All or None, or Inside Job. The song sounds almost folksy, and the lyrics address the apocalyptic sense of something coming, with the increase of natural disasters and predicted disasters to come, and the importance, ultimately, of human relations within it. There is a longing in it, a desire not to simply let all of this go, and a desire to remember it and savor it while it is still here.

Strong stuff overall. The album will likely not appeal to those who relegate Pearl Jam to what they once were, in their earliest days. If you were expecting the pearl Jam of Ten, Versus, or Vitalogy, you might be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you have been a loyal fan over the course of all these years, this is a strong album as the band continues to grow, and to redefine themselves and their place in the musical world (presently dominated by the Justin Biebers and Tyler Swifts of the world). They are clearly older (as the glimpses of the band members in their latest videos reveal), but they are still making strong music well into their third decade of existence!