3.) Backspacer- Pearl Jam
Best Song: The End
Pearl Jam has always had a problem. They always wrote good or even great songs, they were consistent in image and content, and they have some serious playing chops. What they always lacked was the knowledge of when to stop a song. Almost every song they have ever written goes on maybe one or two minutes longer then it should. Either the solo spot it to long or there is a needless outro or a superfluous verse. Either way with the exception of “Daughter” and “Alive” there have been very few Pearl Jam songs that I will sit all the way through when I am not actively listening.
Of course that problem has completely gone away with Backspacer. It starts with four very enjoyable poppy rock songs with the longest lasting 3:02. Now of these four enjoy “The Fixer” the most enjoyable (others might be sick of it being played all over the radio but I never listen to the radio). It feels the most like an old Pearl Jam song with all the unnecessary bits left off while the rest seem like a new face for Pearl Jam which they really do need. Heck “Johnny Guitar” almost sounds like a Panic at the Disco song which I think is awesome.
The second best song comes courtesy of the delightful acoustic ballad “Just Breathe”. The true charm of the song doesn’t lie in Vedder’s homely bleat that is reminiscent of pre-glam rock Marc Bolan, or in the lush orchestration, or the soothing acoustic guitar. Well it does owe a lot to all of these things but the secret is very much the same as the secret of “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles. That delightful background synth. It just chimes in and takes you away. Most of the second half of Backspacer is filled with a type of songwriting that reminds me of The Pixies, short rock songs that are both sparse and fully arranged at the same time (if that makes any sense) and that is just fine with me!
“The End” is an acoustic and a string laden song that is so heartfelt that you can’t help but be breath taken. It sounds like it was written by Chris Smithers, and it sounds timeless as far as rock music is conserned. There is nothing about this song that screams out when it was written. This songs could have been from the 60’s or 70’s and no one would bat an eye.
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