'Pearl Jam Twenty' Review: Cameron Crowe's Documentary

I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not the most unbiased source to be reviewing a documentary film about Pearl Jam. Thanks in part to my older brother's adoration of the band, and the fact they write and perform top-tier quality music, I've been an immense fan of Pearl Jam my entire life. That being said, if you aren't at least a fan of the band in question, odds are you won't have any interest in watching the documentary in the first place. At the end of the day, I suppose you'd want -- perhaps need -- the reviewer to at least have a passing knowledge of what the band is all about.

All credentials (or lack thereof) aside, I'm here to say that watching Pearl Jam Twenty was one of the best possible ways I could have spent the two hours it took to view it. While this is hardly the only documentary that succeeds, it never becomes tiresome watching and learning the "behind the scenes" with your favorite bands. For myself as a musician, not only is watching something like Pearl Jam Twenty fascinating, but it's inspirational. I'm not saying that I'm going to move to Seattle and start a rock band, but the themes the echo out from the film draw out excitement and motivation from me. That has to count for something.

The documentary could have gone on for 12 hours and I would have been fine with it. Obviously, the film is packed with memorable moments from Pearl Jam's eventful history, but it also features some marvelous "stolen moments" (as my brother put it). For every reference to the early singles, the band's boycott of Ticketmaster, and the devastating Roskilde Music Festival in 2000 (where nine fans were killed), there is Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder writing and rehearsing "Daughter" (still called "Brother" at the time) in the back of a tour bus, Vedder and Mike McCready playing "Let Me Sleep" atop the steps of the Arena de Verona, or the band playing The Who's "Baba O'Riley" backstage during the early days. It all blends together to form a solid, inspirational overview of one the world's great bands.

Given Pearl Jam's lengthy history (combined with prior work from each member), the documentary, while an enjoyable viewing from start to finish, just isn't long enough to touch on everything we, as fans, might want it to. A significant portion of the documentary is committed to delving into the Seattle music scene prior to Pearl Jam's arrival. While that isn't an invalid thing to talk about, it ends up taking time away from certain periods of the band's history -- the time between Yield ( 1998) and Riot Act ( 2002) seems especially thin.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Pearl Jam Twenty from start to finish. As a fan, it gave me insights into one of my favorite bands that helps me enjoy what they're doing all the more. As a musician, it inspires. For both of those, I'm appreciative of Mr. Crowe's efforts. I highly recommend it.

Brian is an active musician and songwriter with the band Something With Trees and spends a lot of his time perusing around the music world in one form or another. He also contributes occasionally to Paper Trail Music ; an indie music blog out of Brooklyn.

Sources
Cameron Crowe's 'PJ20'