For a longtime fan of the band, this one feels, to me, like the preeminent book about Pearl Jam. I have read others, including "Twenty," the one simply named "Pearl Jam" by Mick Wall, and "None Too Fragile: Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder" by Martin Clarke. The first one feels autobiographical and fixated on facts regarding the "On This Day" in the band's history kind of a thing. It also feels like it is more of a celebration for fans, and does not delve too deeply into anything resembling a more critical, objective eye at the band. And the other two feel more distant, more like they are secondary sources. Kim Neely, by contrast, feels like a voice from a professional journalist, and who can be considered a primary source, having spent time with the band, and attended a number of shows. She obviously did some serious research for this book. Yet, she also is able both to see the qualities about the band and it's members that appealed so strongly to the fans, as well as addressing the sometimes stinging criticisms from their detractors. She does so very skillfully, without either pulling punches nor condemning them, which is saying something. All of this is what made me feel like this book, more than any of the others mentioned earlier, gave me a clearer picture of the band and their music, the climate of the city and the country at the time of their rise to fame, and the behind the scenes, internal struggles within. So after seeing a recent show (St. Paul on August 31st), it was this book that I returned to reread, because I remember enjoying this book much more than any of the others.
To be fair, this book was published in 1998. Maybe there are more recent editions, in which she addresses later albums. But this book does focus on the band during the height of their power and popularity, back at the tail end of the decade which, on some levels, they kind of dominated for some time.
In this book, you get a well-researched, well-thought out comprehensive story about Pearl Jam. That includes intelligent commentary on the music and the lyrics, which I still believe became the main draw for most fans. But you also get the story of the band members - especially Eddie Vedder, who this author chooses to go into detail with regarding his early, formative years - as well as how they ultimately got together as a band. Neely addresses the challenges and struggles that the band members faced, from the trick of trying to attract interest from major labels in a town (Seattle) that seemed to emphasize, at least outwardly, the appearance of not "selling out" to corporate rock. She addresses the feud between Nirvana and Pearl Jam, or specifically, Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam, which was particularly leveled at Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. She also mentions how these criticisms - particularly from Cobain and members of Mudhoney - forced Pearl Jam to figuratively walk on egg shells and maintain a consistent anti-corporate stance, and how this sometimes made Vedder, in particular, appear humorless. You will learn about the alcohol abuse issues that guitarist Mike McCready suffered through as the band's popularity began to soar, as well as the weird, almost passive-aggressive nature of the relationship between now former drummer Dave Abbruzzese and the other band members (and Kelly Curtis, the band's manager). The reader also gets a substantive perspective regarding Pearl Jam's high profile battle with Ticketmaster, and criticisms regarding their seeming inability to mount a full-scale tour following their second album, at the time of the explosive rise in their popularity, including that the absence increased the demand, while making some fans feel like the band was hurting fans, more than anything.
As a fan, I had long wanted to learn more about this band, almost from the instant that I identified myself as a fan. This book really felt like it helped, even more than any of the other books mentioned. Yes, even more than "Twenty," because again, Neely is not afraid of leveling potential criticisms, at least of addressing the criticisms (and there always seemed to be strangely many of these, probably more a product of their being popular than anything else).
Now, I guess I should mention how and why I ultimately became a Pearl Jam fan. Everyone has their own unique story, and so my path to becoming a fan probably differs than most.
Yet, it was a bit strange, this path to becoming a fan. The first time that I specifically remember hearing them was on Saturday Night Live in April of 1992. Mostly, I remember the lead singer, who seemed to have short hair, suddenly take off his baseball hat to reveal a head of very long hair. I also remember him having some t-shirt with a coat hanger on it - abortion was making some major headlines back then, much as it still does now - as well as a message reading "No Bush 92."
I was impressed, but not enough to really get into the band. Not yet, anyway. But that would come in time, when I finally grew familiar with the band.
What did it for me was when a friend of mine, who was aware of my issues with depression and even suicidal thoughts at the time, mentioned a song. Something about "Jeremy spoke in class today." Back then, before the internet, it was not so easy to find the song, or the ban who performed that song. So there was no way to know more about that song until hopefully, I would hear it on the radio.
Then it came on. I listened to it, fascinated. Determined to find out who the band was. After the song finished, the dj mentioned that it was Pearl Jam. Yeah, I had heard about them, and had seen some of their videos and heard some of their songs by then. But the knowledge that they did this song kind of made my ears perk up. Suddenly, I was interested, and before long, went out and bought the album. It was not long before those songs began to resonate with me after more intimate listening. Already, you could say that I was a fan.
But then came the release of "Vs.," their second album, and the inescapable reality of just how popular they had become. Perhaps it is like the saying, "nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd," but this, too, felt like an irresistible draw to me. I just could not believe that a band who expressed similar views to my own could manage such stunning levels of popularity. As much as the lyrics and the overall message moved me, their popularity also felt...well, somehow validating, admittedly. Yes, I know that popularity is kind of a controversial issue when it comes to Pearl Jam. But there it is. I am admitting that their popularity was at least a big part of the draw for me. My passion for the band deepened. By this point, many felt that I had become obsessed with them. Again, though, it just felt like they were able to convey a mindset that I not only admired, but subscribed to.
Even when their popularity started to die down a bit after the fever pitch level of their popularity in the early to mid-nineties, I felt like I could identify. Their fourth studio album, "No Code," felt a bit more quiet, introspective, and mature. And it came at a time when I was beginning to grow into more serious adulthood, however reluctantly. So if anything, I felt like I was growing with this band. That feeling was cemented still further when I longed for the release of "Riot Act," an album that many seem not to like too much, and which seems almost forgotten these days. Yet, that album meant a lot to me, because it was an outlet for my own frustrations with the direction that this country was going in back then. I saw the rather obvious lies that were being used to justify the unjustifiable invasion of Iraq, and the arrogance and entitlement with which the Bush administration pursued the invasion against the wishes of the rest of the world. And Pearl Jam were among the relatively few high profile bands who levelled serious criticism at the Bush administration, and the country more generally. Indeed, I still felt strongly about the band right to, and through, the self-titled album. In fact, the period between 2003 through 2006, which included two tours supporting albums ("Riot Act" and the self-titled album) was the hiehgt of my fandom, as I attended 20 shows and accumulated a lot of things like show posters and t-shirts and other stuff.
Now, I should mention, in closing, that I did not decide to publish this review (or the review from the show in St. Paul, Minnesota which my son and I attended a month ago) randomly. Indeed, September 29th is a significant date for me as a Pearl Jam fan. I always think about the first Pearl Jam show that I saw on this day in 1996, at Randall's Island. Eight years later, I would see them again on this date, this time in Boston for the "Vote for Change" mini-tour. Both of them were excellent shows, standing out even by Pearl Jam standards. The first one in particular felt magical, and the memories that I have from it still feel almost exclusively pleasant. So it seemed fitting to me to publish some stuff about Pearl Jam on this date in particular.
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