Pearl Jam - Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003
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Free Music Notes for Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003
Free Music Review: Like an old friend
Hit: 5 Stars
As a 20 something starting to look back on the proverbial 'days of my youth', I've recently (within the past few years) started listening to all the bands that I grew up with. It also doesn't hurt that I've had to learn many of these songs for various bands I play guitar for. Many of these bands have broken up, and I already own their whole catalogues. Others, like Pearl Jam, have remained active and have recorded a slew of songs in the time since I last listened to them on any regular basis. Seeking a way to reintroduce myself to the band, especially the material from the period after Vitalogy, I decided to give rearviewmirror a try.
This compilation seems to do a good job of providing a cross sampling of the music Pearl Jam has recorded throughout their carreer. The format is also quite innovative and pleasing. Eschewing the usual trend of chronological order for the tracks on a 'best of' cd, rearviewmirror gives the listener an 'up disc' and a 'down disc'. The up disc contains Pearl Jam's more rockin' songs, while the down disc contains the ballads and other slower tempo sings.
All in all, rearviewmirror is a great way for an old fan to get reintroduced to an old friend, or for anyone not familiar with Pearl Jam (a travesty in my opinion) to get to know them. Even fans who already own these songs may enjoy the compilation for its splitting of songs into "up" and "down". The remixed versions of PJ standards Once, Alive, and Black are also amazing. These remixes provide great separation of the instruments, and a very up-front sound with a lot of dynamics. The price is very reasonable as well (less than 20$ for 2 cd's).
Free Music Review: Great collection of hits
Hit: 5 Stars
I will start off by saying that I am in no way a big fan of Pearl Jam, nor have I followed their career at all. I do, however, like most of the singles they have released which is all this CD contains. This is a great 2-CD set, the first disc contains their more intense songs with the second disc being their slower, more brooding songs. This is, without a doubt, worth every cent of what it costs.
Disc one is, like I stated earlier, more of their heavier songs. Songs like Even Flow and Jeremy, a couple of their huge hits, are contained on this disc. There are a few songs of Pearl Jam's that I have never heard that are included in this set, all of which are really good. The first CD seems to catch the intensity Pearl Jam offers in concert incredibly. Disc two is their slower songs, a lot of which have acoustic guitar in it. Songs like Black, Daughter and Yellow Ledbetter show their more vulnerable side perfectly. I think that by separating the two different sides of Pearl Jam into two completely different CDs was a brilliant idea. That way if you're in a mellow mood you can listen to disc two, or if you're more hyped up, disc one is perfect for you.
Just a few of my favorite songs included in this are Alive, Dissident, Black, and Yellow Ledbetter. I can understand if the true Pearl Jam fans aren't impressed with this release, but if you're like me you just listen for enjoyment. Enjoyment is exactly what you feel when you listen to this too. This is a greatest hits CD so don't think that there will be some song of their's that you haven't heard before included, it's merely hits, nothing more nothing less.
Free Music Review: A better than average compilation
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, let's not confuse this disk with "LOST DOGS" as many reviewers here have stated these are B-Sides, they are not but for a few tracks released on ep or compilation.
There is a format here, hard stuff on disk one, sofer on disk two, yet I kind of wish they would have done it chronologically or, like Tori Amos, remixed the entire album so all songs from all era's have a single, collected feel not the jolt of two year lags between studio time.
The optomistic point of this collection is that Pearl Jam seems to really know where it's stregnths are, unlike Metallica who chooses widely the songs least appreciated by fans for there live shows / disk; Pearl Jam knows what the favorites are for those who don't do the entire album thing.
This collections certainly contains no downside, and the subtle re-mixing of three TEN tracks to enhances various facets like Vocals or Acustic guitar is a nice touch.
If you already contain a full Pearl Jam library there's just no need for this, the singles, lp's and Lost Dogs will nicely cover all this material. However, it does sound like much of this has been re-mastered, there's some nice sound clarity here on the early material that is not re-mixed which the originals seem to lack. Not surprising, digital recording has come a long way and transfering analog now is much better than 10 - 15 years ago.
These songs are simply outstanding and perhaps a great way to bridge the gap between thier grunge roots and alt-rock, even folksy current years for those who don't like one or the other.
A worthwile buy.
Free Music Review: A great collection for new and old fans alike.
Hit: 5 Stars
Pearl Jam is what it is, and I won't bore anyone with a love letter to them. Suffice it to say that they're among my all-time favorites. What I will do is tell you what makes this collection worth buying even if you're an old fan who owns all their albums individually.
First and foremost are the remixed versions of "Once", "Alive" and "Black". One of the only complaints I had with the Ten album was that it always sounded overproduced, and dampened the strength of the guitar and vocal work with too many studio effects. Listen to the original Ten versions and you'll hear lots of awful reverb and echo. Then listen to the versions on Rearviewmirror...the new mixes do away with all that crap and just allow the songs to shine on the strength of the band's performance. Much, much better.
Another reason is the presence of the "re-recorded" version of Even Flow, used in the music video. This version, far superior to the album cut, has been favored by radio stations for years, but has only been publicly available on obscure singles. Here it is.
Additionally, this is a great opportunity to get copies of some of their more rare non-album singles, like I Got Id and Man of the Hour. There's also Yellow Ledbetter, which has been a big hit for the band almost from the beginning but has only been previously available in stores on a very old single and on the Lost Dogs rarities set (a great companion to this one).
Even if you own their albums, this is a great "car set"...the kind you can leave in your car all the time and have a rich trove of music to hear on a short trip. Get it.
Free Music Review: 12 years of brilliance summed up in one album
Hit: 5 Stars
Being a fan of Pearl Jam since the beginning, I always figured it would be impossible to make a Best-Of album, simply because I love every one of their songs. How do you choose between Oceans and Once? Or Long Road and I Got ID? Luckily for me, both songs from the "Singles" soundtrack, Breath (my all-time favourite) and State Of Love and Trust, were included on the album. Regardless of what was left off the album, what was included is a perfect depiction of a rock/alternative band who consistantly produced songs that both defined an era of rock, and yet successfully changed their sound slightly with each album. What we are left with is 33 tracks (three or four from each album, including singles) that flow brilliantly while Pearl Jam's sound progressed from "Grunge" to rock and finally to a combination of sounds (Binaural's contrasting sounds of Nothing As It Seems and Insignificance).
The burning question is: If I already own all of Pearl Jam's albums and can sing every song they have made, why would I buy this album? The answer is simple: Imagine listening to a remastered version of Alive, followed by Even Flow, Jeremy, State of Love and Trust, Animal, Go, Dissident, Rearviewmirror, Spin the Black circle, Corduroy, Not For You, I Got ID, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, and Save You, without having to change CD's; just sitting back and listening to the eclectic (yet placed in perfect order) mix of Pearl Jam songs.
I recommend this album to any life-long Pearl Jam fan, and even those who only know popular singles such as Jeremy, Even Flow, and Alive: you're in for a treat.