PEARL JAM (Seattle Sound Also .... Other Rocks Music On 90' )

The band Mother Love Bone formed in 1988 out of the ashes of Green River, and immediately created a buzz among critics (see 1988 in music). In addition to Green River's Ament, Gossard, and Bruce Fairweather (guitar), the band also featured andre Wood (lead singer, piano), and Greg Gilmore (drums). They signed to Polygram and began recording and touring. Wood checked himself into a rehab center in order to defeat a painful heroin addiction. He was found dead of an overdose before he could quit. Mother Love Bone's EP, Shine (1989 in music) and the album, Apple (1990 in music) was released posthumously, and the band decided to discontinue the name. As a tribute to Wood, Ament and Gossard, with old friends Matt Cameron and Chris Cornell (both of Soundgarden), released Temple of the Dog (also the name under which they played together). The guest vocals of Eddie Vedder were also added to those of Cornell on the track 'Hunger Strike'. The album was a moderate success, and the remaining members soon formed Pearl Jam.

Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament recruited guitarist Mike McCready and recorded a 3 song demo tape. This tape made it to ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who passed it on to Eddie Vedder, living in San Diego, during one of their hiking trips. Inspired by what he heard, Vedder put his vocals to the tracks (the 'Mamasan' trilogy) after hearing the songs in his head while surfing and mailed the tape back to Gossard. Gossard and Ament were so impressed that they had Vedder fly up from San Diego to see how the group played together. Things went well and, with the addition of Dave Krusen on drums, Mookie Blaylock was formed. However, Epic, their record label was unhappy with the idea of naming the band after the Seattle area high school star , and the band members renamed themselves Pearl Jam. Keeping Blaylock in mind the band decided to honor him by using his number as the title of their debut album.

Pearl Jam became a key member of the Seattle grunge explosion, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. Kurt Cobain at one point angrily attacked the group because he saw them as commercial 'sell outs'; however Kurt and Eddie Vedder later reconciled and reportedly became friends. (See Green River)

Ten, their first album, collects 11 songs possessed of a singular vision and sound. The preoccupation with death and serial killers is intriguing; 'Jeremy', about a boy shooting himself in front of his classmates, and based on a true story, is especially fascinating, given the events of Columbine nearly a decade later. It seems another example of a culture's artists being able to put their finger on the nation's pulse, and implore change years before authorities and institutions become aware of the real issues and discontent bubbling under the surface. The Mamasan trilogy - 'Alive', 'Once', and 'Footsteps' (b-side) - is generally interpreted to be the story of a boy who grows up to be a serial killer and is placed in prison. On November 19, 1993, two weeks into Pearl Jam's Vs. U.S. tour, Vedder was arrested in New Orleans on charges of public drunkenness after a bar room brawl.

Pearl Jam's first three albums were huge, commercially and critically. After that time, possibly in part because of a lawsuit alleging a Ticketmaster monopoly which stifled the launch of supportive tours, Pearl Jam lost fans (and the lawsuit). Also, at this time, Eddie Vedder began to steer the group in a non-commercial direction, and the music began to re-earn its alternative label. No Code is the primary example, as is Vedder's collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack.

Brad, Gossard's side project, was formed around this time.

Yield, upon release, was proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straight-forward-rock sound, but it failed to sell as well as their earlier albums. Many fans had been driven away by the experimentation of No Code, and the band's reluctance to modernize and commercialize their sound, as well as the death of grunge as a popular act, meant dwindling sales for each subsequent release.

After the release of Binaural, and the resulting tour of Europe and North America, the band were the first to release high quality live recordings of each concert on the tour. This was to combat the proliferation of low-quality bootleg recordings made by zealous fans. All totalled, they released 72 albums, most with two CDs, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard top 200. A further 72 albums were released from the 2003 tour, although most of these were only available for online purchase, or via download.

Unfortunately, the 2000 European tour ended when on June 30 a tragic accident happened at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, where fans were crushed and suffocated as the surging crowd left them no chance to escape. Nine people died, and the band stopped playing when they realized what was happening. The two remaining dates of the tour were cancelled and obviously no official bootleg of the Roskilde concert was released. Some controversy arised over who was responsible for the accident, and how it was handled, but the festival is still held each year with great success (and increased security measures).

On the group's 2002 release, Riot Act, they stick to their guns, again refusing to modernize and commercialize - and continue to galvanize their place in musical history. In it, the band condemns the profiteering of the rich, and greed in songs like 'Green Disease', while criticizing George W. Bush on 'Bu$hleaguer.'

In June 2003, the band announced they were officially leaving their label of twelve years, Epic Records. This move is viewed a something of a coup and has been described as '...one institution leaving another, the most popular and important American rock band of the '90's, voluntarily rejecting the grandest label heritage...'. Pearl Jam states it has 'no interest at this time' of signing with another label and is 'excited about our freedom'. Pundits say if Pearl Jam's move is successful, it may be the death knell of the music industry as it is known today.

Pearl Jam has, since their genesis, expended more than the normal effort on liner notes, producing some of the most original in the industry. No Code, for example, includes a collection of Polaroids taken by the band. And only their first two albums, when they had little clout, were released in the standard CD jewel case.

'Spin the Black Circle', a track on Vitalogy, serves as their homage to the traditional vinyl format. The band was also awarded a Grammy for best hard rock performance for this track.

Pearl Jam was an outspoken supporter of Ralph Nader's presidency run in 2000. In 2004, the band explicitly withdrew its support for Nader, with members appearing in Rolling Stone to promote the candidacy of John Kerry, and on the Vote for Change tour.

Eddie Vedder is a huge fan of The Who, and has appeared several times on stage with Pete Townshend. He also lists Neil Young as one of his greatest musical influences. Vedder is the president of the official Ramones fan club.

The group has also made the obligatory promotional appearances on television shows, such as The Late Show with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live.

Pearl Jam (1991-present):

Year Title Label Chart Positions US Sales
August 27, 1991 Ten Epic #2 US, #18 UK 12,000,000
October 19, 1993 Vs. Sony #1 US, #2 UK 7,000,000
*December 6, 1994 Vitalogy Epic #1 US, #4 UK 5,000,000
June 27, 1995 Mirror Ball (with Neil Young) Reprise #5 US, #4 UK 500,000
August 27, 1996 No Code Epic #1 US, #3 UK 1,000,000
February 3, 1998 Yield Epic #2 US, #7 UK 1,000,000
November 24, 1998 Live on Two Legs Epic #15 US 1,000,000
May 16, 2000 Binaural Epic #2 US, #5 UK 500,000
November 12, 2002 Riot Act Epic #5 US, #34 UK 500,000
November 11, 2003 Lost Dogs Epic #15 US 500,000
July 27, 2004 Live at Benaroya Hall Epic #18 US -
November 16, 2004 Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003 Epic #16 US -

Vitalogy was released first on vinyl, on November 22, 1994. It debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Top 200, the first vinyl record album to chart since the introduction of the compact disc format.

from 'Ten'
1992 'Alive' #16 UK
1992 'Even Flow' #27 UK
1992 'Jeremy' #7 US (1995 release), #15 UK
from 'Vs.'
1994 'Daughter' #18 UK
1994 'Dissident' #14 UK
1994 'Elderly Woman Behind A Counter in a Small Town'
from 'Vitalogy'
1994 'Spin the Black Circle' #10 UK
1994 'Tremor Christ' #18 US
1995 'Not for You' #34 UK
1995 'Corduroy'
non-album single recorded with Neil Young during the 'Mirror Ball' sessions
1995 'I Got ID' #25 UK
from 'No Code'
1996 'Who You Are' #31 US, #18 UK
1996 'Hail, Hail'
from 'Yield'
1998 'Given to Fly' #21 US, #12 UK
1998 'Wishlist' #30 UK
from 'No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees' various artists charity album
1999 'Last Kiss' #2 US
from 'Binaural'
2000 'Nothing as It Seems' #22 UK
from 'Riot Act'
2002 'I am Mine' #26 UK