The Sad and Sorry Decline of Pearl Jam
September 3rd 2008 01:34
1991: Ten: 12 million copies
The success of Ten solidified Brand: Pearl Jam and set the template/benchmark for all future Pearl Jam releases. Brand: Pearl Jam became known as a manly, confused emotional breakdown with 1970s guitar sensibility and a downtempo ambition toward the epic.
Although consumers always allow some wiggle room for future creativity, 12 million album sales essentially did ‘lock it in, Eddie’.
1993: VS: 8 million copies
Still new to the rock-monster game, Pearl Jam believed themselves to have the Midas touch. On the one hand they released a follow-up that was mostly fantastically in keeping with Brand: Pearl Jam, but also started to dabble in the expansive. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was enough of The Brand there to paper over the dangerous effects of expansiveness.
1994: Vitalogy: 5 million copies
The success of VS unfortunately sent Pearl Jam up the garden path. They believed that the non-Brand elements of VS were actually part of the album’s success. The result was Vitalogy, a further step away from Brand: Pearl Jam and toward commercial oblivion.
Queens of the Stone Age: Era Vulgaris is probably the ultimate destination of Vitalogy’s more creative ambitions. Great if you’re QOTSA, not so great if you’re working with Brand: Pearl Jam.
1996: No Code: 1 million copies
For some unknown reason, Pearl Jam confused the mass-appeal of ‘raw emotion’ with ‘raw production’. Just a hunch, but the Triple M crowd don’t quite go for raw production. Exhibit F: Nickelback.
1998: Yield: 2 million copies
Yield is the album that could have been Pearl Jam’s triumphant return. It was possibly a high watermark for Stone and Mike’s songwriting powers, but they failed to commercially capitalise by not ‘Ten-izing’ or ‘VS-izing’ the arrangements before recording.
There are no other factors relating to their failure other than annihilation of their brand identity. Bands don't die because of ticketing problems, lawsuits or failure to release videos. The Beatles stopped touring altogether. Tool had fun with a lawsuit. ABBA couldn't even get airtime back in their day.
And yes, the tide of fashion goes out but it comes back in again. The future success of Nickelback should have been the success of Pearl Jam.
2000: Binaural: 750,000 copies
Again, Pearl Jam emerged with a great collection of musical ideas and no idea how to turn the ideas into ‘Pearl Jam Songs’. Our own Living End sold more copies than Binaural.
2002: Riot Act: 27 copies
An album of waltzes and completely lacking in balls. There are occasional guitar lines that could have been put to better use. An artistic, commercial and marketing disaster.
2006: Pearl Jam: but who’s counting anyway?
A manly, confused emotional breakdown with 1970s guitar sensibility and a downtempo ambition toward the epic? Nope. But it could have been. Instead, it sounds like a collection of out-takes from Binaural.
Coming tomorrow:
Dr Who, Rock Producer, takes remedial action to save the next Pearl Jam album from catastrophic failure.
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