Pearl Jam- Ten (1991)

It’s very, very weird listening to this album for the first time in years. Back in the early ‘90s it was a seminal classic, and Eddie Vedder’s voice just blows us away. But it’s 2020, and Pearl Jam have grown and developed hugely as a band; some of their best work has been long after the days of their youth- and I’d argue that Backspacer, from 2009, is their best album.

Listening to Ten these days is to hear Pearl Jam at an embryonic stage. It doesn’t sound much like the band they would become: indeed, it has far more in common with Mother Love Bone and especially Temple of the Dog in terms of the songwriting than with every subsequent Pearl Jam album.

Eddie Vedder’s voice, too, although it blew us away at the time, doesn’t quite sound ripe here; his voice and his technique has developed a hell of a lot over the years. Then there’s the lyrics. Now, I love Pearl Jam. Several of their albums are amongst my “comfort” albums. But there’s no denying that the young Eddie was a troubled soul, and unfortunately some of his lyrics can be heartfelt but, well, sixth form poetry bad. Sometimes this can lead to bathos, and “Black” is an unfortunate example.

You can still see why this album was such a huge hit- “Even Flow”, “Once”, “Alive” and “Deep” have lost none of their power. But this album is essentially juvenalia. The band would go on to achieve much greater things.