I must confess I am not a real follower of this band. In fact, besides this, I only own their debut. But I read a lot of good stuff about it, so decided to give it a try.
The first thing I noticed was the voice of singer Eddie Vedder. In my ears he sounds a lot lighter now, thinner even maybe. And I am not sure I think that is a good thing. But on the credo of always listening without prejudice, I gave the album a few spins.
And I think I understand why they get good reviews with this. The songs showcase their musicianship in abundance. Wether they rock out, or play it gently, they pull it off convincingly. Not surprising, the band has been around longer that any of the other grunge bands I believe. Especially the songs with orchestrations in them are beautiful. But no worries, they still know how to rock as well. In my book this is a very short CD though, about 36 minutes and 11 songs. even on Vinyl that is not a lot… But hey, it´s about the quality and not the quantity right. Only the artwork really does nothing for me. Too weird I think. Let us hope that the album closer The End is not a prophecy. This stuff is still too good to disappear.
Personal play tips: Just Breathe, Amongst The Waves, The End.
