Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam > Reviews > Rearviewmirror

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	2 great lost songs
Disadvantages:	some songs are missing

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This album was released before Xmas and I would recommend it to anyone with even a casual interest in this amazing band - I have all of their albums but the main reason for me buying it and the biggest selling point for me is the inclusion of 2 songs that were not on any album: State of Love and Trust (from the Singles OST) and I Got ID - these are 2 of their best songs and worth buying just for them.

The album is split into 2 CDs - the first one is their faster, heavier songs and the second features the slower ones.

CD 1 includes Jeremy, Alive, Go, Once etc and covers all of their albums right up to Riot Act. The 2 songs i mentioned above are on this CD. This album is a great way of seeing how they have developed from album to album and showcases one of the greatest voices in the history of modern music.

CD 2 features Black, Daughter, NothingMan, Better Man etc and these are the songs that prove that Eddie Vedders has as much soul in his voice as Otis or Marvin.

The brilliant thing about PJ and especially Eddie Vedder is that in the beginning they were seen as commercial rock and hated by people such as Kurt Cobain who questioned their sincerity. But since Kurts suicide Eddie has been true to his word - I remember the interviews with him at the time of Kurts death where he said that he didn't want to make another video or do another interview because he was so shocked by Kurts death and the causes of it: Kurts elevation to voice of a generation. Eddie was also seen in this light and after Kurt left us he was seen as the successor. It was here that he proved Kurt wrong, rather than cashing in on his death and stepping into his shoes for personal and financial gain Eddie stepped back from the limelight. He said that he loved making music and writing songs but that was all he was - lead singer of a band and songwriter - he was not the new voice of a generation or Kurts successor. PJ would continue to make music but Eddie refused to be pushed the same way as Kurt.

Songs such as Not For You and Corduroy off the Vitalogy album - their first release after Kurts suicide - speak of Eddies feelings on the subject and addresses the fans and the way they hand too much responsibility to their idols.

You can see that progression with this greatest hits collection - the CD 1 Grunge Era songs give way to more introspective and angrier songs that follow the selection from their second album Vs.
The main advantage of this collection on both CD 1 & 2 is that I believe Vitalogy contains some of their best songs but it is also an album full of filler and experimental noise as though their were purposely testing the loyalty of their fans to see if we would stick with them out of love for their music or merely as understudy to Nirvana - this collection features the best songs off that album thus eliminating the need to skip songs.

Most people with a casual knowledge of PJ will know the most famous tracks on here but I urge people to buy this and listen to the more obscure tracks such as Last Kiss, Immortality (about Kurt), Off he Goes, Save You and Light Years.

I guarantee you won't be dissappointed.