Pearl Jam - Yield

The Seattle band once notable for its arena rock anthems is now remarkable mostly for its hushed melodies. On Pearl Jam's fifth album, the rockers seem slapdash ("Do the Evolution", "Brain of J"), and the arty experiments sound self-conscious (especially the 67-second knockoff, "-"). That leaves the ballads, especially the lovely lilt of "Low Light" and the clear-eyed lament of "Wishlist." On the latter song, Ed Vedder (as he now calls himself) yearns to be many different things, from a neutron bomb to a souvenir key chain. However, the line that sticks out is, "I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me." Instead of considering himself lucky to be a rock star, Vedder sounds relieved to have moved beyond it. --Keith Moerer Amazon.com

Stumbles but makes it

3 1/2

With each successive release prompting fans to curb their enthusiasm, it is no wonder this album was met with general praise even if general quality was slowly diminishing. September 30, 2008

WTF is PJ doing!??!

Granted there are 3 good songs on this album but this is like a Pearl Jam rip of band now. Pearl Jam goes POP/Rock.....WTF NickleJam April 4, 2008

Yield

Pearl Jam-Yield ****


The question of Pearl Jam's fifth album Yield is not whether the band lost something rather then it is what did the gain, because Pearl Jam has always been a band to grow and change, even today more then a decade after their career began as one of Seatle's leading grunge bands. Pearl Jam who before this album was known for their sense of rock anthms has become a band more known for it's wonderfuly lush melodys with the ocasional delve into a rocker, and that all started with Yield.

Always one to experiment, slightly, and push the envilope, slightly, Eddie Vedder and the boys did just that, or should I say Ed Vedder as he preffered to be called from Yield on. The political message and world concious lyrics are as present as ever, and the DYI punk ethos is here still as well just with a sorfter sword. Rockers like the album opener 'Brain Of J' and the albums only slight hit single 'Do The Evolution' give this album the kick in the pants it needs. The sludgy production on the ladder is amazing and adds to the overall feel of the song making it one of the bands very best. While middle of the road songs such as 'No Way' have the same bombast as anything in Pearl Jams early catologue just in a softer package. But the ballads come across as more self-concious then anything else and concerned, not truly reaching what they could fully be.

What you end up getting with Yield is actaully one of the bands stronger albums of all that they released in the late '90s and early '00s. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament play some of the most inspired and original guitar of their career without coming across as self-indulgent and emotionless in their playing like they have sometimes been known to do.

In the end It's a struggle with this album though because at this point Ed Vedder was "over being a rock star" so at this point he was really full of his own stink and was horrible to fans, but at the same time this was him being himself and making the most honest music of his career, and from this point on is when I really became a fan of Pearl Jam and really appreciate their music after this point, and Yield is a good starting point into the second half of the bands career. January 12, 2008

The slip into monotony

So, um... "Brain of J" is a powerful screaming loud rocker with a surprisingly quiet middle section. And "Given to Fly" is an amazingly emotional power-ballad-like thing. And... and... come on guys, I'm flailing here... because in truth, a lot of it is monotonously mellow. Pearl Jam doesn't do mellow. Even "Black", "Daughter" and "Yellow Ledbetter" rocked somewhat. Okay, the mellowness on Viatology pretty much rules, but other than that? Not their thing. Which is why I can't really listen to "Faithful", "No Way", "Wishlist" or "Pilate" without feeling myself itching to hit "fast forward". Oh yeah, I like "Do the Evolution" too. Song rocks. So does the pounding, completely straightforward "MFC". But Eddie Vedder's screaming ends up being a bit of a headache. Some of the last album's weirdness shines through, but that all ends in tears (the spoken-word "Push Me, Pull Me"; the keyboard instrumental "Red Bar"; Indian instrumental "Hummus"). Cut down to the best material, this would've been a decent record, but the "best material" is, other than "Brain of J" and "Given to Fly", merely decent. A "Low Light" indeed. November 22, 2007

Best PJ disk out there

I am a huge fan of Pearl Jam and most of what they do. Most of their CDs start out good, but then slow WAYYYYY down, so I skip those slow songs. This usually means that I am skipping 4 or 5 tracks-per-14-song-disk. Yield is the only one that I can listen all the way through with no skips. It is a solid release with all of my personal favorites, including two quiet but well done songs, Given to Fly and Wishlist. I give this CD a 5 out of 5. This disk is staying in my CD player for months to come. November 5, 2007

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