Seattle band jams on Riot Act

Twelve years ago in Seattle, two grieving friends (formerly of local band Mother Love Bone), one volatile and talented lead guitarist and one deliberately shy surfer from San Diego huddled together at a local club, the Off Ramp. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament had just lost their friend (singer Andrew Wood) to heroin, and Mother Love Bone had been forced to disband. Gossard and Ament found themselves searching for new musicians and began to record demos with their friend, guitarist Mike McCready. Eddie Vedder had received a tape from Stone, Jeff and Mike and immediately began to write lyrics and melodies for such future Pearl Jam classics as "Alive," "Black," "Release" and "Yellow Ledbetter."

Six weeks later, Vedder found himself in Seattle, ready to play the first show in the new local band Pearl Jam. The crowd at the Off Ramp was skeptical. Vedder was quiet and withdrawn and shunned attention. Wood had been the opposite; he was an all-out, "in your face" rock star. By the time the show was over, there were no questions. As Vedder closed out the final words to "Release," the crowd was floored -- Pearl Jam was amazing!

Now, after more than a decade of sculpting the sound and image of modern alternative rock, selling millions of records and fighting constantly all the way to maintain their musical integrity, Pearl Jam is back. They are prepared to "rock" in a way that only a band at this level is capable. Those rare bands can be counted on two hands: The Beatles, Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin ? you get the idea.

Despite their massive success in the early O90s, the members of Pearl Jam have always stayed level. After the explosion of Ten, their debut album, Vedder explained some of the meaning in an interview with Rolling Stone: "When you're out in the desert, you can't believe the amount of stars. We've sent mechanisms out there, and they haven't found anything. They've found different colors of sand, and rings and gases, but nobody's shown me anything that makes me feel secure in what happens afterward. All I really believe in is this [expletive deleted] moment, like right now. And that, actually, is what the whole album talks about."

Today, with albums such as No Code, Yield and Binaural appearing within the last seven years, Pearl Jam has taken a departure. Alternative rock no longer dominates entire albums. In its place are ukuleles, among other things. This resulted (partially) from a challenge between Vedder and former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell to write a "sad song" on a ukulele. Vedder offered up Binaural's "Soon Forget." Organs, world beats, chanting and punk (Is it the mohawk, Eddie?) also now appear on recent Pearl Jam albums.

Riot Act, Pearl Jam's seventh studio album, continues with their experimentation.

In part, Pearl Jam's new album sounds like another success in their nearly unmatched catalog of consistently great albums. "I Am Mine," the first single off of Riot Act, immediately asserts itself as one of Pearl Jam's best works. Written and performed by Vedder on acoustic guitar, the studio features organ by guest "Boom," and inspired lead guitar work by Mike McCready. Other songs, such as the opener "Can't Keep" (complete with ukulele and layered acoustic guitars), the beautiful and folksy "Thumbing My Way" and the Blues-inspired Ament song, "1/2 Full," display Pearl Jam's songwriting prowess. Perhaps the greatest testament to the musical talent of Pearl Jam is that they share songwriting duties evenly. Even new drummer Matt Cameron of Soundgarden (who joined before the Binaural sessions), penned two songs for Riot Act. "You Are" is a strange mix of straight forward drums and syncopated guitar in which Cameron ran his guitar riff through a drum machine-like effect. "You Are" seems to grow stronger with each listen with Vedder singing the line "Love is a tower" before the song breaks loose.

The issues dealt with on Riot Act are similar to past Pearl Jam albums, but now they assume a more outright and specific role. Love, existentialism, consumerism, freedom, individualism and corruption all are significant on Riot Act. Although sometimes the themes are welcome additions, they also prove to be the striking weakness of the album. At times, the lyrics feel contrived and forced, which Pearl Jam has normally avoided (sounding quite the opposite). "Green Disease" and "Bushleaguer" are examples. The first begins with a quip about the corruption of corporative executives: "It's a disease and they're all green, it emanates from their being." "Bushleaguer" follows, with spoken satirical comments about George W. Bush that seem to cloud the musical statement. It is difficult to accept a song like "Bushleaguer," especially since it does have so much potential. Bassist Ament told the Seattle Times: "It took me awhile, because he (Eddie) actually originally sang over the verses in that song, and he had a really cool melody. I had a hard time letting go of that."

Despite it's occasional missteps, Riot Act recovers well, closing the album with one minute of chanting in "Arc" (10 condensed vocal tracks of low, medium, and high recorded by Eddie) and another moving acoustic track, "All or None." It is an album closer along the lines of Vs.' "Indifference" and Binaural's "Parting Ways."

So, is Riot Act Pearl Jam's best album to date? Guitarist McCready may provide the best (or only) answer at this point: "Well, it has the most guitar solos so I guess it's the best." However, when asked about the title of the album in a recent interview, the band members remained silent. "Next question" Vedder finally uttered amidst a rising wave of tension. So, go figure it out yourself; pick up Riot Act in stores beginning Nov. 12. It is well worth the investment in a band that is now one of the most integral to modern rock and roll. You can also check out Pearl Jam appearing on Letterman on Nov. 14 and 15. Or don't, and keep on listening to Dylan, as my suitemate says, "Pearl Jam owes everything to him." Either way, you'll see things so much clearer (in the) rearview mirror.