Pearl Jam: No Code opinions?

After releasing Ten, Vs, and Vitalogy, Pearl Jam were arguably the biggest rock band on the planet and did all they could to shed the stardom and mass appeal they'd garnered, to shed off the bandwagon jumpers. With the release of No Code, they did just that. Lacking Pearl Jam's riff driven alternative rock songs and solos, and instead being mostly a collection of not really accessible mellow, artistic numbers, the album alienated a good chunk of PJ's mainstream audience. That said, 20 years later, what are your thoughts on the record?

 

I was pretty disappointed with "No Code" when it came out. After secretly liking them since their debut "Vitalogy" was the one that finally convinced me to succumb to them. I still love that record. "No Code" scared me off again, I guess. But I played "No Code" again recently and time has made me less resistant to the record's charms. It's a little more inconsistent than it's predecessors but still has lots to offer. And "Off He Goes" has always been a favorite of mine. I don't know if I was the type of listener Pearl Jam was trying to get with of but they succeeded. We parted ways after "Yield".

 

Pearl Jam--No Code »

Pearl Jam to re-issue No Code and Yield on vinyl »

 

It's my favourite PJ record by far and the original issue is one of the gems of Vinyl collection.

 

Love this record, which depending on my mood can become my favorite of theirs. And...I like it more than Vitalogy

 

...probably my favorite song by Pearl Jam:

 

Mine too

 

Yeah it is their best album.

Smile, Off He Goes, Red Mosquito, In My Tree, Hail Hail, etc., etc. There are a few songs that I would cut but overall it is very good.

 

Sorry- I can only stomach "Hail Hail" and "Red Mosquito." To me this album signifies a moment in time that thier creative output began to take a major dump.

 

it's the best album they ever made.

 

Great record. Off he goes is a top 5 Pj song for me.

 

At the time of No Code's release, I really missed Dave A's drumming. Irons clearly let the band indulge in a different sound on things like "Who You Are" and "In My Tree," but overall the band lost a lot of power in their sound. Overall it's a really good album, but it's a definitely a grower.

I also remember being extremely disappointed that everyone I knew got the same "trading cards" with their CDs, so we didn't get to see what the other ones looked like. Really weird gimmick for a really weird album.

 

Back when it was released I greatly disliked this album. Didn't revisit it for years. However, I did like hearing several of these songs live over the years so I went back and took a listen to No Code in 2011. My opinion of No Code changed drastically - I believe it is an excellent album and it contains quite possibly my all-time favorite PJ song: "Present Tense". That's an amazing song with lyrics I can really appreciate now in my 40's than I could when I was in my 20's. As cublowell said, it is genuinely a grower. At the time it was first released, it was such a left turn that it was difficult to absorb. Wasn't the "rock" we had come to know, though in a live setting many of these tunes do rock - particularly "Red Mosquito".

 

This is where I confess to never having heard this album. I own every other Pearl Jam album up to the self titled avocado one but back when this was released I think I heard Hail Hail on the radio and it didn't really interest me so I have always avoided No Code.

 

At the time they lost me with No Code but then got back on board with Yield which is one of my favorite PJ albums. Looking back on No Code, I respect them for going in the direction they did. The hardcore fan base stuck with them and I think it was better for them in the long run and their longevity.

 

This.

 

Releasing Who You Are as the single a month before No Code came out was practically asking for a mass exodus in fans. I happen to love that song, but it sounded really out of place on alt-rock radio at the time. If people would have bought it, they would have found Habit on the b-side though, good old PJ rock.

 

I remember standing in line at a Subway, waiting to order my sandwich, when Who You Are came on their store radio. I was thinking, "Holy sh!t! New Pearl Jam!!" I promptly ran out to a local shop and bought the CD single and listened to both songs repeatedly. Did the same once the album release day arrived. I knew from the I Got Id single/EP that their sound was gonna be different whenever the next album came along, but Who You Are & Habit were so different from each other that I wasn't sure what exactly to expect. The album ended up being so all over the place that it felt like an odds n' ends compilation to me. But, being the fan that I am, I played it all the time soaking it in, acquainting myself with the new material. None of my friends who had liked the previous three albums liked No Code at all. One even accused Neil Young in having a hand in ruining Pearl Jam. Needless to say, I was pretty much the only person I knew for a long time that cared about the band after that. Yield eventually pulled some of them back in. I know time has been kind to people favoring the album, but I stand by my original judgment of the album. Good songs, but it sounds pieced together from several attempts at starting an album. Doesn't make it bad, just kind of odd.

 

Listening to it now is a lot easier for some reason than when I first heard, not sure why.

 

Incredible album. I was someone who lost touch with the band after Vitalogy even though I really liked them a lot from the beginning. It has been quite a revelation to get caught up on all their stuff in the past 15 years and I have not been let down yet. I think Yield is also smokin' and Backspacer, and Lightning Bolt rock solid offerings. I rank No Code very highly but I am still not sure I can put it ithe top three and Ten will always be a clear number one for me (even if it was overplayed). No Code Rocks!!!

 

Off He Goes is a good song. I'm not a fan of the rest of it. To me they never topped Ten.

 

I remember feeling the same way.

 

This is because most "new" music you will hear these days REALLY REALLY SUCKS! By comparison No Code is really quite an achievement.

 

I remember this album just appeared to me out of nowhere, I'd only got into Pearl Jam with Vitalogy, after that I'd gone back to the first 2 albums. Ten always sounded too stadium rock for me - I really didn't love it until the Brendan O'Brien remix which for me fixed the whole thing and gave it a sound that meant it sat perfectly next to Vs at last.

Anyway, when I got No Code I just loved the thing, the artwork was amazing, all the little details - even the ouija board on the cd itself. I didn't think they could top the Vitalogy artwork but this was just as cool.

Then I put it on - Sometimes - man it just blew me away. I loved the rain in the background, it was weird and fresh and amazing. It's possibly my favourite opener to any album ever.

Hail Hail was a jarring second track, it's great but it was more like Whipping or Satan's Bed than their big showstopping classics - understated in a way.

Who You Are - I'd heard this single before the album and it didn't do a lot for me but over time it grows on you and you get the whole loose jam vibe of it. I love it now, sounds like they are sitting around a campfire. For some reason I think this would be the perfect end music to Return of The Jedi with the Ewoks dancing haha

In My Tree - One of my favourite Pearl Jam songs, I can actually picture Eddie singing up in a tree in a storm. It's totally sublime. Curiously the song is again quite understated in production, I think they could have opted to record this in a more mainstream way but I'm glad they didn't.

Smile - Another great great song, the harmonica is great. The song is euphoric.

Off He Goes - This is like a short story, some of Pearl Jam's best songs tell stories and this is a great one. You can get totally lost in this song and it sounds live, the recording of this album is really really atmospheric.

Habit - This was the b-side to Who You Are and more like a Vitalogy rocker.

Red Mosquito - Love this one - it's got such a great lyric and melody, it's the albums secret weapon track

Lukin - Way too short, shame as it's pretty decent

Present Tense - Gorgeous thing of beauty with a great coda

Mankind - The albums only real turkey, ruins the flow. Sounds like really bad Foo Fighters.

I'm Open - Pretentious? Yes, but it works as a great intro to....

Around The Bend - This was my go-to track for when I wanted to go to sleep for at least a year. Great laid back vibe, unlike anything else really by them

Overall I think this album would have benefitted from a heavy side and a soft side tracklisting - like they did with Rear View Mirror.

The outtakes are also good. All Night is one of my favourite Pearl Jam rockers, it's omission is baffling. Dead Man is also great and would fit right in. Black, Red , Yellow is fun but was better as a B-side. Don't Gimme No Lip is actually better than Mankind but I am still glad they left it off.

So if I was producing this record I think I would have done this:

All Night
Hail, Hail,
In My Tree
Smile
Red Mosquito
Habit
Lukin

Sometimes
Who You Are
Off He Goes
Present Tense
Dead Man
I'm Open
Around The Bend

 

Grumpy young guys. Nothing after "Ten" has that epic uplifting feel, it's harder and darker and I'm one of those who think they never topped their debut album. It was still some of the best 90s rock at the time. It was getting Rock and the roll was left behind. It's been a while since I played it, maybe I should one of these days.