Pearl Jam - No Code

Though it contains none of the band's radio staples, No Code may be the one Pearl Jam record that holds up start to finish. Partly this is because of the songs, which like the hypnotic "Who Are You" are unusually straightforward. But it's also because this is the most musically varied effort of the band's career: "Hail, Hail" is a full-tilt firestorm, but the quiet "Sometimes" is a hesitating, slow burn. And while "Smile" has a Crazy Horse roar, the unplugged setting of "Off He Goes" lets the song breathe and the emotions sink in. --David Cantwell Amazon.com

No Code, quite a fitting title for such a diverse collection of songs

I've got all the studio albums of Pearl Jam, Ten through the self-titled, and I believe that No Code is their best album artistically - musically and lyrically.

As the title of the review says, there really is "no code" to the songs here, in that they don't follow and particular formula or format, so they tend to song very different. They range from the crazy guitar of "Red Mosquito" to the soft, atmospheric sound of "Sometimes" and the first part of "Present Tense".

To not go on too long, I'll talk about the handful of songs on here that are my favorites:

Hail, Hail - quite a rocking and loud riff in this song, though the loud sections are interspersed by softer sections; should have been a hit, I think.

In My Tree - great rolling drumbeat in this one, as with "Who You Are" as well, and this song is why I would have loved for Jack Irons to stick around with the band a bit longer. Starts off with the drumbeat, Eddie's lyrics, and some prominent basswork, then takes off as the guitars cut in and the drums start to add some snares in. Great lyrical performance by Eddie Vedder in this one, he stretches his notes out very well, and even does some half-shouting that comes out well. The guitars in this song sound kind of like classic rock at some parts, and along with Eddie's singing, make the song one of the best on the album.

Smile - dirty and grungy rock riff with some harmonica thrown in; simply great and reminiscent classic rock. Another song where Eddie Vedder stretches out the notes very well.

Off He Goes - one of the ballads on the album, and another one that should have been a radio hit too. Some great soft and emotion-filled lyrics song here by Eddie Vedder that describe a person who's the kind that can never stay in one place for too long. Great acoustic guitar work on this song too, and the lyrics really remind me of their other songs dealing with realistic instances - such as Jeremy, Daughter, Indifference, and Better Man.

Habit - some growly and yelled lyrics by Eddie and a more aggressive guitar riff make this one of the more grunge sounding songs on the album. The lyrics sound to me like they're about drug addiction. I've read reviews that have said this CD doesn't rock as much as the earlier Pearl Jam ones, but I think it's still got plenty of rock in it - Hail Hail, Habit, Red Mosquito, and Mankind are about as hard as anything on on Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy.

Present Tense - this song's definitely a dichotomy, as it starts out slow and atmospheric with some sparse but good guitar work and softer lyrics by Eddie, but then the song picks up into a real jam. The lyrics have a good message about them: "makes much more sense to live in the present tense"; that it's not a good idea to live in the past or worry too much about the future, but it's better to live in the present. Some acoustic guitar slips in just before the tempo picks up. Probably the best lyrical performance of Eddie on this song.

Overall, this is a great album for any Pearl Jam fan, but I'd suggest getting into their more popular works like Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy (especially Vitalogy, due to its more experimental songs on it) to prep the unexperienced listener for this. June 9, 2008

Excellent Pearl Jam Album

Before writing this review, I noticed that there were over a dozen 1-star ratings for "No Code". This absolutely clashed with my very positive listening experience with this album, so I went through these 1-star reviews to see what I was missing that was so negative. I saw that many of these reviewers claimed to devoted Pearl Jam fans, and furthermore claimed that Pearl Jam had taken a major plunge, musically, with this album. Some asserted that Pearl Jam had become too "mainstream" with this album, or insinuated that they had sold out, or that it was too dissimilar to "Ten" or "Vs.". One person in a negative review (I forget whether it was a 1- or 2- star review) even claimed it was too "obscure".

The charge that "No Code" was too "mainstream" is specious, because there is no consensus on exactly what constitutes a mainstream sound. I for one have not heard many (perhaps any) of the songs from this album on the radio too frequently, or recently at all for that matter, so I would be very wary of labeling this album as mainstream -- if mainstream were to carry a negative connotation, which it obviously does in this instance.

The quality of "No Code" lies in it's feeling of consistency. All of the songs seem to meld into one another, to give a cohesive listening experience. It's not that all the songs sound the same (or even too similar); it's more that they all seem to complement one another. The sound is a departure (of sorts) from their previous albums, but it is not a departure from their musical integrity. This is still a distinctively Pearl Jam album. It is, in my estimation, also one of their best and most solid. May 23, 2008

What???

OK....this album sucks....for Pearl jam it sucks...even more so than vS. Pearl Jam are getting to retarded in the studio trying to hard I think to be mainstream or something....this band is starting to go nowhere!??! Up here in my tree....yeah.....give me a freekin break? April 4, 2008

(2.5 stars) PJ's second "weird" album isn't half as good as their first

Initially I dismissed this, but it's kind of grown on me - I still don't feel it's in the same class as Ten, and it's far from perfection. The only great song is "Who You Are", a mellow pop-rocker that should have been a hit; there are also a couple stomping retro-rockers that are pretty good ("In My Tree"; "Smile"; "Hail, Hail"; "Red Mosquito"), though nowhere near the quality of "Alive" or even "Tremor Christ". So they can still bring the rock, though it's not as good as it used to be, and some of it is annoying ("Habit", another one of those amateurish screamfests that plagued Vs.; "Lukin'" - and I don't know who it is who sings on "Mankind", but I don't like them. They sound like a parody of Neil Young or something). Then there are some of those awful "experimental" songs (the spoken-word "I'm Open"; spacey "Present Tense"). There are two quiet, calm pseudo-ballads: one is good ("Around the Bend"), one is a royal bore ("Off He Goes"). You may love it, you may hate it, I think it falls right in the middle. November 22, 2007

An overlooked, solid fourth effort. My first PJ record.

This came out when I was starting to get into heavier music, like hard rock and metal, right around junior high. I immediately loved the diversity of songs on this album, but happen to think that PJ's first three albums were superior.
This album has it's share of classic songs, even though they didn't get the attention of earlier stuff.
"Sometimes" is a slowly-building, mid-tempo opener.
"Hail,Hail" is one of my favorite rockers of all time.
"Who You Are" is an eastern-tinged mid-tempo single.
"In My Tree" is a fun, percussion-driven, brooding song.
"Smile" is a Neil Young-ish, groove-driven rocker.
"Habit" is probably the heaviest song on this album.
"Off He Goes" is another melodic ballad, in the vein of earlier hit "Nothingman". August 9, 2007

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