Yesterday, I published a blog entry on a very memorable concert by Pearl Jam. It came right as the band was at the height of their power, but also as they were about to have their somewhat infamous battle with Ticketmaster. So it was a bit of an unorthodox, bizarre tour.
The concert in question here was at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, on April 3, 1994. After Pearl Jam had seemed to go to extraordinary lengths not to promote themselves or their then recent album release (Versus, their second album), many were desperate for any snippet that the band might give. There were no videos, seemingly very few interviews, or any of the other traditional ways which bands promoted their latest album. When Pearl Jam offered to have this particular concert broadcast across the nation, it was a big deal. Indeed, many radio stations picked up the option, so the show was indeed broadcast across the nation. It thus not only became one of their most familiar bootlegs, but one of the best quality recordings of a live show from the early era of the band.
At that point, of course, Pearl Jam were still a relatively new band. Even though the band only first got together in October of 1990, playing their first show in Seattle then while still writing songs, things moved very quickly for them after that. There was the release of their debut album, "Ten," late in 1991, and a whole lot of touring after that. They had skyrocketed onto the radar of popular music arguably in 1991, and certainly became huge by 1992. By 1993, they were also arguably the biggest band in the world, a title which they kept throughout 1994 and probably well into 1995, as well.
Meanwhile, through all of this hysteria surrounding the band's incredible popularity, things were a bit crazy for the band members. And they likely were craziest for Vedder. He had at least one female celebrity trying to get with him. There was one crazy fan who crashed into the wall of his house. There were certainly some positives that came from the fame and fortune, but the band learned - and again, especially Vedder - that there were some negatives that comes with it, too. So maybe the unplugging of the fame machine, and their refusal to continue to promote themselves, was not merely a publicity stunt, as many cynics then mused. Or maybe it was a combination of things, including a backdoor means to more publicity, albeit of a different kind. Who knows?
Now, they are the last of the big Seattle bands from that era still fully intact. The others all lost the lead singers. Nirvana lost Kurt Cobain in early April of 1994, just days after Pearl Jam's Atlanta concert, in fact. Alice in Chains lost Layne Staley in 2002. Soundgarden lost Chris Cornell in 2017. The Screaming Trees lost Marc Lanegan just a couple of years ago, in 2022. Other major grunge bands of the era also lost their lead singers, including the Stone Temple Pilots, when Scott Weiland died in 2015. Linkin Park lost Chester Bennington in 2017, a month or so after Cornell's death. While they are usually not directly associated with the grunge music, I feel that there were some relations with their music and grunge, and Bennington and Cornell were friends.
Through all of this, Pearl Jam survived, and persevered. They often gave musical tributes to their fallen comrades in music ("Immortality" for Kurt Cobain, "4/20/02" as a hidden track in the Lost Dogs compilation, and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready wrote "Crying Moon" for Cornell, who figured prominently in Pearl Jam history, particularly in the early days). All of these losses, and many more I did not list here (the list would surely be way too long to even attempt) definitely seemed to have an impact on the band members, and has given them perspective.
Speaking recently about these kinds of losses in the music world, Vedder mused on just how unpredictable these losses can be:
Of course, living well isn't always a guarantee for longevity. Vedder points to a legendary early-'70s photograph by Mick Rock featuring David Bowie, Lou Reed and the famously debauched Iggy Pop. "Who do you think would have been the last man standing?" Vedder marveled. "You would not have bet on Iggy Pop. So, you never know."
It also must have weighed heavily on Vedder back in April of 1994, when the first truly huge loss of the then still relatively young grunge/alternative music of the nineties hit just days after Pearl Jam's Atlanta concert. Kurt Cobain took his own life. But many expected that Vedder would soon follow. In fact, Courtney Love, Cobain's wife apparently publicly asked why it couldn't have been Eddie Vedder instead of her husband.
Things like that have an impact. But so does losing so many of their peers.
Still, the band focused on moving forward, on continuing to make music. The early furor died away, eventually, and their popularity took a dive. Their musical style altered. No Code, their fourth album, was not a popular success, even though it was hard rocking, yet also artistic. Yield was a bit more popular, and returned the band to the mainstream. Binaural was...well, a bit unusual, admittedly. It has some solid tracks, but it did not hit with this particular Pearl Jam fan anywhere near like the prior albums had. I very much liked the underrated Riot Act, but their sound had very clearly changed greatly by this point. Then came the self-title album, sometimes known as the avocado or blue album, and with it, a return to a faster, harsher, more punk sound, which was very gratifying for many of us older fans. Breakerfall and Lightning Bolt were both very different kinds of albums. And Gigaton, their 11th album, released in 2020 just as the coronavirus pandemic was about to hit, sounded more somber and speculative than any previous Pearl Jam album.
Now, they are ready for their 12th album release, set for later this year. It is called "Dark Matter," and some have described it as a return to the harder, rawer sound. Now well over three decades after the band's humble origins, they are still around, still making music. Again, here's Vedder with some thoughts on the music, and those musical comrades who were lost along the way:
"The goal is to keep making music. It's your passion, your special purpose," he said. At this stage, "you lean on the relationships with the people who are still around. It really hits you when you are in a situation where that person would be there – and you're sad for them that they're not."
So how do you balance a career in music with trying to live a good, long, healthy life?
Vedder has some thoughts on that, as well:
"But it makes you realize you gotta be healthy," Vedder added. "You want to be around for your kids. You want to make good records – and we might have one or two left."
However many decent albums Pearl Jam has left, Vedder seems to feel content. He has achieved the peace and perspective that seemed to elude the younger version of himself, who sometimes seemed tortured, and always under the magnifying glass of the very public stage of fame. Indeed, he sure sounds most appreciative of all that he and his bandmates have gotten through, together:
As they move forward, Vedder says he treasures Pearl Jam's tight-knit relationship. "It's a brotherhood. That was never in doubt," he said. "There might have been a few speed bumps in the road, but we got through those by looking out for each other. In that way, we felt secure."
It should be interesting to see how all of this translates into the music on the upcoming album, as Pearl Jam move forward. Time has changed. Their experiences and perspective have changed, as well. And of course, so has the music. We all likely will be able to see it when "Dark Matter" is released to the public later this year.
Below is the link to the article which got me on this topic about Eddie Vedder musing on life after Pearl Jam, and from which I obtained all of the quotes used above:
Eddie Vedder Contemplates the End of the Road for Pearl Jam by Nick DeRiso Published: April 2, 2024
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/eddie-vedder-pearl-jam-retirement/?fbclid=IwAR3nMUGAoKXq4Vfpd6dryx7nLCfRkHvQlh1dE8LVwP09sU-us9jKnN-93TM_aem_AfDeMZRzwVwLZFIeuSXtgXxqOQTFFZdGO2IaaMOtJ94tZq0JoLuCZJmr56tLMxMU7ao9ubAHBCMD_SrGsZLX3WMB
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