Pearl Jam Ten era recordings

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by K.K.VanMalmsteen, Jun 13, 2021.

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  1. K.K.VanMalmsteen

    K.K.VanMalmsteen These Go To Eleven Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I'm down a bit of an early Pearl Jam rabbit hole right now, and doing a little research on outtakes and tracks that didn't make the cut for Ten.... IMO, Ten is without question one of the greatest debut records of all-time. But what I'm seeing is that it could have actually been a double album with the amount of material they had recorded at that time. Unless my dates are off (please correct me if they are) in addition to the album:

    Once
    Even Flow
    Alive
    Why Go
    Black
    Jeremy
    Ocean
    Porch
    Garden
    Deep
    Release

    They also had these songs finished:

    State of Love and Trust
    Yellow Ledbetter
    Alone
    Brother
    Breath
    Footsteps
    Just a Girl
    Wash
    Dirty Frank
    Hold On
    2000 Mile Blues

    Now again IMO at least a couple of those leftover tunes are among their best ever. And another handful are Killer album tracks at the very least.

    For the sake of argument, if they had come out of the gate with Ten as a double album using some combination of the above tracks, would that make it the greatest debut album ever? (Yes, I know it's all subjective, just looking for conversation)

    Would you remove anything from the original album, and add anything from the outtakes to make a different single album debut?

    If you were to make a double album from the all of the above, what would it be?

    (And also if I'm missing any songs from the Ten era outtakes, or if some of them were not recorded till after Ten was released, please let me know)
     
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  2. The Gomper

    The Gomper By Your Side?

    Location:
    Missouri
    Alone is my JAM.
     
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  3. DownInAHole

    DownInAHole Forum Resident

    Sorry to nitpick, but, length wise, how long do you consider it necessary for it to be to qualify as a double album? I ask because Ten was released in the CD age and many single discs would have been double albums if released on LP. Bloodsugarsexmagik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (which was released the same year as Ten) being an example.

    So, are you thinking each CD would be 45-50 minutes or were you thinking bigger (each disc being sixty or more minutes, which would push it to being a triple LP!).
     
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  4. edenofflowers

    edenofflowers A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!

    Location:
    UK
    I think a double album would have been too much.

    The b-sides/extras at the time were generally outstanding. Yellow Ledbetter & State of Love & Trust were particularly popular with fans at the time (as I was back then) but Ten is a well paced collection of their best material, not all of the good stuff made it but it's a great LP's worth of songs without over-staying it's welcome.

    It's unfortunately somewhat overlooked nowadays but it's one of the classics of the era that will I hope one day be re-evaluated.
     
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  5. K.K.VanMalmsteen

    K.K.VanMalmsteen These Go To Eleven Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I didn't get that far into it. It was thinking more theoretically about the quality and amount of songs available than specifically about what would fit on vinyl.

    I guess this would run about 90 minutes:

    Once
    Even Flow
    Alive
    Why Go
    Black
    Jeremy
    Ocean
    Porch
    Garden
    Deep
    Release
    State of Love and Trust
    Yellow Ledbetter
    Alone
    Brother
    Breath
    Footsteps
    Wash
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2021
  6. K.K.VanMalmsteen

    K.K.VanMalmsteen These Go To Eleven Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Is Ten actually overlooked?? Is it just disregarded because "grunge sucks" or whatever? I would think its regarded as a classic but what do I know..:shrug:
     
  7. edenofflowers

    edenofflowers A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!

    Location:
    UK
    It seems it from my perspective. Nevermind is always held up as the 'grunge' masterpiece but I've always felt that Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were much more evocative of the scene in general. Nirvana are the punk side of grunge while Pearl Jam are the rock side. I think both sides went on to influence successful bands. I feel that Ten should be respected at the same level as Nevermind as a hugely influential album but I don't see that happening often. If you wanted to sum up the overall sound of the grunge/Seattle scene you'd have to play both Nevermind and Ten to really cover both ends of the spectrum.

    That's from my limited perspective though. At the time both albums were regarded in the same way by fans of the scene but since Kurt's passing perspective, understandably, has shifted.
     
  8. K.K.VanMalmsteen

    K.K.VanMalmsteen These Go To Eleven Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    As far as Nirvana and the Seattle/"grunge" sound overall, I always thought Bleach was far more reflective of the roots of the scene as opposed to Nevermind. To me, Bleach is the quintessential "grunge" album, totally what that scene was originally all about.
    As great as Nevermind is, I prefer Ten. But to your point, yeah it's completely understandable given Kurt's death that Nevermind has been elevated above all else from that era.
     
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  9. CassetteDek

    CassetteDek social distancing since 1979

    Location:
    Chicago
    I don't think all those tracks are good enough to hang, though a good handful are. State, Breath, Footsteps, Alone and Wash, definitely. Ledbetter is a classic but it doesn't have finished lyrics which would have stood out like a sore thumb on a record like this. Same for Dirty Frank, but different reason; it's too silly.

    I wouldn't change the original record, but I've personally always thought they could have issued a killer EP to tide people over until Vs.
     
  10. namlook

    namlook Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    How State of Love and Trust didn't make Ten is beyond me.
     
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  11. Wow, that’s an amazing list of great songs.
     
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  12. possumdude

    possumdude "Spies Like Us" Aficionado

    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for reminding me of "Footsteps", OP
     
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  13. It was the best set of songs they ever had. After that, they slowly moved away from Eddie's more melodic singing although they would occasionally use that. Jeff stopped the more interesting experiments on bass (fretless, etc.) Stone almost completely went away from the alternate tunings for guitar (which was my favorite part of their early work). Those three things defined the bulk of what I found interesting in their music.
     
  14. Dirt was the greatest recording from that era. I hear it mentioned often in that context.

    I also prefer Ten to Nevermind because it covers more ground and has a lot more harmonic interest. I get that it's a little less urgent so sometimes Nevermind wins out.
     
  15. asdf35

    asdf35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
    I leave Ten as-is, but all those extras make a nice companion disc. I made one using the oldest sources (old singles/pre-remasterings). I called it "Wash besides..." which means "Wash & B-Sides." Also added things like "Footsteps" and "Crazy Mary," as well as the "Alive" with the alternate guitar.
     
  16. Popmartijn

    Popmartijn Senior Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I think you can also add Leash to the list of Ten-era songs. Though the version we know was recorded for and released on Vs. the song was already played at one of their earliest gigs.
     
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  17. HotelYorba101

    HotelYorba101 Senior Member

    Location:
    California
    It was an incredible time for them - I think that my favorite two periods for Pearl Jam are Ten through Vs. and then No Code through Yield. I wouldn't alter anything on Ten because I think the Ten tracklist flows so well that even if I like some of the other songs better as a composition, there is no way I can make a better flowing tracklist than the band did with Ten as we got it

    Breath is one of my all time favorite Pearl Jam tunes and was so stoked when they played it live at a show I attended - they don't play it too often and was quickly added and then checkmarked on my "Pearl Jam Bucket List" songlist lol.
     
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  18. DownInAHole

    DownInAHole Forum Resident

    Not a fan of Vitalogy?
     
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  19. K.K.VanMalmsteen

    K.K.VanMalmsteen These Go To Eleven Thread Starter

    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Well said, I totally agree.
     
  20. Transience

    Transience Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I don't think Ten (or any of Pearl Jam's back catalogue) really qualifies as grunge. Aside from the way the band dressed back then, the album was far too well produced and the music too well conceived. Unless to qualify you just had to dress in that style?
     
  21. craigobau

    craigobau Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, England
    The music from Footprints would eventually surface in the Temple Of The Dog song, “Times Of Trouble”.
     
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  22. Wasn't Temple of the Dog BEFORE "Ten?"
     
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  23. craigobau

    craigobau Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, England
    Good catch. TotD was released April 1991 and Ten was released August 1991.
     
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  24. Cimrya Deal

    Cimrya Deal Forum Resident

    Location:
    France
    It's not overlooked it's just that it sounds dated. When they began working with Brendan O' Brien they really found their sound.
     
  25. Disagree. That's when they lost their sound. And never really got it back. I would agree that Rick Parashar gave them a bit of a "boomy" drum sound, and that's one place where B O'B really did them some favors. But there was less interesting guitar and bass work after that, something I might attribute more to the songwriters than to the producer. And then there was the change that extensive touring made to Eddie's voice. It was never really as warm again, except if he was singing a really quiet tune. It is what it is, but I wish he'd write more melodically again.
     
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