Lost Dogs - Pearl Jam

PEARL JAM - LOST DOGS
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Im usually a bit unsure about albums made up of rare tracks, as in a few cases the rare tracks are unknown for a pretty good reason, namely that they are pretty poor.

So when I first heard that one of my favourite bands was going to release one I was both happy but also very wary of what the results were going to be like.

Well really I didn't need to ...
...this collection of rare songs, Lost Dogs.
The album contains songs from each area of the bands history, with some songs being recorded for the early albums and others from later albums.
Unlike most rarity albums, this is quite a big collection, with 30 songs contained on 2 cds, the band certainly didn't try to fleece the paying fans with a small cd, like some other bands have done in the past.

BAND MEMBERS
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more

PEARL JAM - LOST DOGS
----------------------

Im usually a bit unsure about albums made up of rare tracks, as in a few cases the rare tracks are unknown for a pretty good reason, namely that they are pretty poor.

So when I first heard that one of my favourite bands was going to release one I was both happy but also very wary of what the results were going to be like.

Well really I didn't need to worry much, as Pearl Jam have this nack of being able to write classic songs, even if they make an album or not.

Pearl Jam first hit the American grunge scene in the early 90's, and were instantly placed as Nirvana's rivals for best Grunge band, which was a bit of a shame as both bands were completely different and equally as good as each other.

Forming from the remains of the band Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam quite soon became one of the best loved rock bands, with the release of their first album, Ten, which was a major smash hit album, and contained some quite brilliant songs.

After the massive hit album, they could have just kept releasing similar albums and raking in the cash, but instead each album has shown a change in the bands style and sound, and show the mass amounts of talent contained in the members of the band.

So its onto the newest album, this collection of rare songs, Lost Dogs.
The album contains songs from each area of the bands history, with some songs being recorded for the early albums and others from later albums.
Unlike most rarity albums, this is quite a big collection, with 30 songs contained on 2 cds, the band certainly didn't try to fleece the paying fans with a small cd, like some other bands have done in the past.

BAND MEMBERS
-------------

As this collection spans the bands whole career, the band members on each song may be a bit different.
This is the current line up

Eddie Vedder - Vocals/Guitar.
Jeff Ament - Bass.
Stone Gossard - Guitar/Backing Vocals.
Mike McCready - Guitar.
Matt Cameron - Drums.

Other previous members include

Jack Irons - Drums.
Dave Krussen - Drums.

THE ALBUM
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The album comes in a nice cardboard folding cd case, with lots of strange pictures of the band.
The album comes with a booklet giving details of each song, such as when it was written and what album it was originally meant for, also the band members give a little info about the recording, this makes an interesting read for fans of the band.

CD1 contains 16 songs, coming in at 53 minutes long.
CD2 contains 14 songs, with 59 minutes of material.
So you get almost 2 hours of music for the price, which is just a little higher than an average CD.

As the album is so long, im not going to talk about every song, as this would take forever, and id probably bore everyone to tears, so ill just pick a few of the best or worst on offer.

---ALL NIGHT---

Originally planned for the NO CODE album, this song shows Pearl Jam on a nice rocking moment, which is what a lot of people said was missing from that album, so its quite surprising that this didn't make the final cut.

Opening with a very cool electric guitar riff, which instantly buries itself into your skull, this song also shows Eddie trying something new with his vocals, by adding more layers and making some interesting harmonies.

Musically this is one mean track, with some fantastic drumming keeping the song together.

---SAD---

Another song that really should have been on one of the albums.
Originally intended for the BINAURAL album, this one would have fit quite well.

The song opens with a quite brilliant little solo guitar riff, which carries on throughout the whole song and gives it a great tune to base the rest of the song on.
A few seconds in and we get some cool crashing drums and then its down to Eddie to provide some very well thought out vocals.

Eddies vocals work on so many different levels, on one side he is a great story teller, on the other his vocals are used like an extra instrument, and compliment the music very well.

---ALONE---

Not quite as rare as most songs on here, this was actually a B-side from the why go single, but this version is slightly different, and it is still a song a fair few people wouldn't have heard which is a big shame.

Dating back from 1991 this song shows the bands rocking side very well, and could quite easily have replaced a few of the songs from Ten.

The song opens with a crashing guitar riff, backed by some equally as loud drums.
Eddie provides some pretty good vocals, with a lot of emotion in his voice.

well worth a listen.

---IN THE MOONLIGHT---

This song was written by drummer Matt Cameron.
When Cameron joined the band i was very interested to hear what his input into the band would be like, as in his former band 'SoundGarden' Cameron had quite a lot of say in the songs and gave them his own distinct edge.

Well this is one of the first Pearl Jam songs that has that distinct sound, and lets just say its worth the wait.
Cameron really is a very talented musician, not only on drums but on all instruments, and can write an outstanding song with what seems like great ease.

this opens with a crunchy disjointed guitar riff, and some well placed drum beats.
Then the vocals come in, and on first listen it all sounds wrong, the vocals seem in the wrong place.
But on second listen it all clicks and you'll soon be calling this one of your favourite songs.
Brilliant.
There are also some quite beautiful harmonies throughout this song, hopefully Pearl Jam will expand this sound a little more on future albums.

---LEAVIN' HERE---

This song was a cover of an old Motown number by Eddie Holland, which was also covered by the Birds and the Who, and various other acts.

This version by Pearl Jam is a very cool rocky track, which you just cant fail to sing along with.

The song opens with a very cool little riff, which plays throughout the song, the drums and bass do a very good job of keeping the rest of the song together.

Eddies vocals are very powerful on this song, with an almost shouted sound to them, but they are still very tuneful.

---HOLD ON---

Originally intended for the VS album, this shows the band in a sort of transitional state, as it shows how the band was to progress over further albums, and in fact sounds more like their recent material than the album that it was intended for.

The song is quite guitar driven, with a sort of wall of guitar sound backing up what is a beautiful tune.
The music is perfect for the song, and it shows the immense talent on offer in the band.

Eddie pulls of another outstanding vocal performance and shows a lot of recent bands how they should be singing!

Quite how some of these songs never made it on to an album surprises me....

---YELLOW LEDBETTER---

..And there really isn't any other song that screams to get a bigger audience than this, one of the bands best ever songs.
This has been released as a B-side to one of their first singles, but never really got noticed quite as much as it should have done.

This is one of the most uplifting tunes ive ever heard, with is gorgeous guitar playing and slow drum beat backing up the amazing vocals by Eddie.

The only problem with this song is that its only 5 minutes long, you could listen to this for 50!

---OTHER SIDE---

Another song with a chorus to die for, this is pure class, and makes you wonder why its not in its rightful place on an album.
This one was written by bass player Jeff Ament, and shows a great amount of talent in the lyrics and music, and maybe he should be given a bit more of a chance in this department.

Eddie sings this, and shows how well he can put emotion into a song with just a well timed vocal piece.

Musically its a quite slow number, with a semi acoustic feel to it, the music blends perfectly to create a perfect canvas for Eddie to paint his vocals.

---WASH---

Anyone that has the bands first album TEN, will have heard a short snip of this track, as that album opens with a short instrumental intro, which is a small part of this song.

But most people wont have heard the full song which is very good.

Musically this is another wall of sound backed song, with a lot interesting noises and instruments in the background.

Eddies vocals are again on top form here, showing that even on one of the bands first songs he had a lot of talent.

---DIRTY FRANK---

This song was written whilst the band was on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the influence really shows on this song.

This is a real funky little number, which shows a complete different side to Pearl Jam's music.
Musically this is full of funky guitars and some nicely placed drum beats.
The vocals by Ed are just plain cool, with a mixture of the RHCP funk sound and his usual emotive singing.

A top song, which really deserves some airplay.

---FOOTSTEPS---

This song dates back to the TEN album, and was part of the trilogy of songs that Ed wrote as the story about a serial killer, the other two songs being Once and Alive.

The music was actually from a track the rest of the band did on an album called Temple of the Dog, which was a tribute to the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, the Temple of the Dog version was written and sung by Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden and now a member of Audioslave.

This version is Eddies interpretation of the music, which brings another high point in the pearl jam story.

Musically its an Acoustic number, with Just Eddie singing and playing the Harmonica, whilst Stone Gossard is playing Acoustic Guitar.

The tune is a simple little picked riff, which runs throughout the whole song.

Again this is a song which is really made by the vocals and lyrics from Eddie.
The emotion in his voice has to be heard to be believed.

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OVERALL
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Well im going to stop there, but remember that there are another 19 songs, and nearly all of them are as good as what I've written about here.

In general, this album is a great place for people to get into this amazing band, it shows them from a few different parts of there career, and you can go on and buy all of their albums afterwards without worrying about having any of the songs already!

To fans of the band, this is a must buy, it has a few very rare songs, only a few of these have been released at all, maybe 5 of them, the rest are new.

The price is quite good, I've seen it for about 15 pounds, but it can probably be found cheaper, which isn't bad for almost 2 hours of music.

Thanks for reading,

Kyle.  

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