Pearl Jam: Ten

The early 90s can best be viewed, in retrospect, as a freight train that slammed through the music scene, tearing down some walls, and priming some for what would come next. Grunge was that necessary step that, rather than simply pushing musical evolution, tore down the walls of popular music and began to build new ones; to me, it represents one of the most extreme changes to take place in music. Out of nowhere, punk had finally found its own special niche in popular music, establishing itself in a new light that was too gritty and dark to be pop, too appealing to be punk rock, and too brutally honest to be metal. Musical layers were taken away, as were the layers that separate the famous from the normal guy; these artists were living towards their deaths and were not afraid to pour out the most disturbed and confused emotions upon the drooling public. Vicarious as it may have been, this dark sound was just what people wanted, especially a new generation of teenagers that simply needed something to identify with; they simply had to see a heart at or beyond their own point of loss, a sort of ironically blistering comfort.

And best of all, grunge was such a broad genre. None of these bands even acknowledged being a part of any sort of movement, and finding justification to classify them together is honestly hard to pinpoint. Yet, something about the feeling, look, or overall attitude in their music brought an overall sense of unity that ironically lacked a central commonality. Some groups were more punk (Nirvana), others embraced metal openly (Alice in Chains), and even blending the grit of grunge with the huge sound of classic rock (Soundgarden). And then among these groups, I find the one that is hardest to establish a clear description for is Pearl Jam.

One look at their debut album, Ten, gives that statement some decent ground to stand upon. From the blistering rock and roll sound of "Even Flow," to the almost epic dynamics of "Black," right on through to the soaring atmospherics of "Oceans," the album hardly stands as a one style deal. Stone Gossard's guitar style crosses the minimalism and dirt of grunge with an undeniable sense of melody and knowledge of the fret board. His solos on "Porch" and "Why Go" stand among the best guitar moments in grunge, and the lead guitar fills on "Even Flow" do just enough to get the job done while still presenting themselves as artfully crafted. "Once" finds its main strength in his huge riffs, and is finally pushed over the edge by his almost shredding solo. When Pearl Jam is in rock mode, they simply do not hold back any energy or opportunity to push the envelope; yet when they discover a sustainable atmosphere or corner of the heart, they hardly fear to stay there and explore for a while.

And along with Gossard's guitar work, vocalist Eddie Vedder is the other essential part to this Pearl Jam sound. His vocals at times sound as if he's ripping his vocal cords out to contend with Gossard's guitar, yet he clearly proves that he can sing with great melody throughout the album. And besides contrasting between different songs, the group shows time and time again that they know how to make the songs themselves dynamic, such as the bridge of "Even Flow," in which everything calms down to a trickle, only to swell back up above the boiling point. "Black" takes the almost mystical verses, then slowly twists and turns the listener through dark tunnels into the longing chorus, all of this combining to form a bridge that is a sort of emotional climax of the song. Atmospherics lend themselves openly to the opening of "Once," providing one of the most artful entrances in grunge.

Ten stands, for a reason, as one of the essential grunge albums, an image of the good in a short lived genre. It took all of the usual grunge topics, while addressing them in a new and fresh way, serving more as therapy for, rather than indulgence in, angst and depression. And while Pearl Jam would achieve greater heights and improvement on later albums, Ten stands as its own type of unique album for the group, a style they would never truly strike again. It is an image of loss and confusion painted with shredding guitars, vicious vocals, and an unrivaled attitude. A classic of its time? I would say so.

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