Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt - Vinyl

I'm a long time 10 Club member and Pearl Jam fan. I have everything released by the band. When I say everything; I mean EVERYTHING.

I was very excited (or so I thought) to receive my Lightning Bolt LP in the mail yesterday. For those of you that are curious....mine is 180 gram on red vinyl. Rumors are floating around that there are red vinyl copies with the jacket autographed by the band, red vinyl copies and stock black. Mine is red and not autographed.

I am extremely disappointed in the music and the sonics. The music sounds like a combination of a Deer Tick/Black Keys mash up with a lazy EV lyric and vocal effort. The only songs that are somewhat decent are 'sirens', 'let the records play' and 'yellow moon'. Decent in Pearl Jam efforts equates to B Sides from the self titled or 'Avacado' album. To put it bluntly...this album sucks!

The sonics are equally horrible. The soundstage is heavy on bass and high notes as well as cymbal hits are cringe worthy. Sonically, 'Backspacer' sounds like a Steely Dan album compared to this...

This is disappointing on so many levels for a 'Pearl Jam Fanboy' such as myself. I have always found something redeeming and good on all of their albums upon release. This one: nadda, nothing, zilch, zippo! This coming from a guy that listens to 'Riot Act' 9-10x a year.

My advice, FWIW, is to avoid this album at all costs...YMMV...

 

Well, you just made me decide to find backspacer on vinyl.

 

I liked "Mind Your Manners" so I ordered the LP direct (got shipping notice last week). I then bought "Sirens" from iTunes and liked that as well so my hopes were up. Never heard BACKSPACER.

 

If there's one thing I've learned about Pearl Jam, it's that their music takes time. But, based on your description, not too promising.

I wonder if every Ten Club member who ordered from the site gets red vinyl. I hope so. . .

 

I'm not a Ten Club member, but I ordered my vinyl direct from their website. I hope I get red vinyl too!

 

My thoughts on Backspacer mirror yours for this record. Still, thought Mind Your Manners was a decent song. I'll still have to buy this bc it's PJ but appreciate your candor, all the more as it sounds like your a big fan.

 

Hi, Record Fan. How many times have you heard this album? Is there any chance that this album needs to grow on you? The first time I heard Vs., I hated it. Now it's my favorite PJ album.

 

wow..crushing review

 

PJ records usually take time. I've listened to this a few times (the stream, not the vinyl) and am still forming an opinion on it.

I will say Backspacer was an attempt at being more concise and a more immediate listen (and for me, it worked and I loved it). This one isn't as weird as No Code or anything, but it's also not continuing in the direction of the last two albums.

 

I think the music is wonderful, it is their best album in a decade IMO

The sound quality is a little compressed but honestly the quality of the songs overshadow that for me

 

I posted this over on the other thread, but i've been listening to the stream on iTunes Radio quite a bit, maybe 2-3 times a day and i really dig it.. it's grown on me. I actually like the fact that i can stream an album for free and get acquainted with it while I wait for the vinyl to arrive.

I am a bit disappointed to hear about the vinyl version according to the OP's comments. However, can the OP clarify what their TT set up is? I will wait to get the vinyl and play it on my system before making my own judgement. Will post my findings here.

Very cool that it's red vinyl! I didn't know, but I had my fingers crossed the 10c vinyl version would be different than the standard vinyl release.

 

Funny, I'm not keen on the Backspacer vinyl. Which makes me think this thing must sound hideous!

 

Me too . . . what a pity!

 

It took a few listens, but has grown on me and I think it is a fine accomplishment for them. Great songs. I hope your review of the Vinyl sound is wrong, as I agree the Backspacer vinyl leaves a lot to be desired soundwise....

I've heard very little about the vinyl, even yet to see a picture of it on any of the PJ fan sites... Which is unusual. I wonder if it will be delivered on time to most retailers...? (The LP)

 

I listened to the stream a few times, it sounds like Pearl Jam to me.

 

According to the Ten club today, all orders are on black vinyl, and they do not have any current plans to sell any other color.

 

2x on Saturday and 1x on Sunday. I loved Vs. the first time I heard it.

 

If I had a nickel every time Tenclub had their info wrong...I'd have at least $2...

 

Guess you're saying you don't want the LP or anything Pearl Jam related anymore. I'll be glad to buy some of the stuff of you since I've lost most of my collectables (posters, vinyls, cds, etc) due to unfortunate circumstances. Guess it's time for you to find a new favorite band.

 

That's a little harsh. Fans often question the musical direction that artists take.

 

Since I really like Deer Tick, I'm looking forward to hearing this. However, as with the new Kings of Leon, there are ripples in the vinyl due to a pressing plant problem, and I intend to return it.

 

Damn, that's way beyond what I could manage. And I'm one of those people who has the freaking Ten promo doormat, among other things!

 

I'd have to say that I felt pretty similar to this review last week, not happy about the whole affair. It didn't help that I had to walk back to the record store because the first copy I got had a large gouge in the wax pretty much right the through the first track of each side. The presentation of this pressing is pretty top notch (except for the kitchy sticker pack - what? are PJ fans 8 yrs old?) but quality of mix is, as noted not as good even as Backspacer (which is not great). A hefty amound of EQing makes it listenable for me but I'm just not a fan of the sound... Hard to say how much is the master itself and how much is the pressing.

At any rate, wax aside, I didn't much care for the album on first listen, but as others have noted that's not a very big surprise with a PJ album. Today I actually spun every single one of the studio releases one after another leading back up to this one and I can say that though the sound quality leaves something to be desired, this time around I am pretty happy with the album. I'm going to keep listening because it seems to be growing on me faster than others. It may help to note that my all time fav is "No Code", followed by "Vs" and "Yield" in that order. (though honestly it's hard for me to order the first 5 albums - for the most part I only know that "No Code" is my number one and the other 4 can line up wherever they please.

This is not the waste I thought it was at first. I can tell I'm going to like it better than Riot Act certianly (which is my least fav, try as I may to change that).

 

Download sounds fine to me. I like it.
Johnny Wong, Is that a PJ Avatar? Where did you get it? It looks like single covers for all album tracks.

 

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