Pearl Jam v Nirvana

Ten

1.   "Once"     Stone Gossard   3:51
2.   "Even Flow"     Gossard   4:53
3.   "Alive"     Gossard   5:40
4.   "Why Go"     Jeff Ament   3:19
5.   "Black"     Gossard   5:44
6.   "Jeremy"     Ament   5:18
7.   "Oceans"     Gossard, Ament, Vedder   2:41
8.   "Porch"     Vedder   3:30
9.   "Garden"     Gossard, Ament   4:59
10.   "Deep"     Gossard, Ament   4:18
11.   "Release"     Gossard, Ament, Dave Krusen, Mike McCready, Vedder   9:05
12.   "Alive" (live)   Gossard   4:54
13.   "Wash"     Ament, Gossard, Krusen, McCready, Vedder   3:33
14.   "Dirty Frank" 

Every song on that album is brilliant.
What are we stuck with nowadays.
Some little punks that release one or two songs and we're supposed to believe they are superstars.
Bollocks.

Vs

1.   "Go"     Dave Abbruzzese [4]   3:12
2.   "Animal"     Stone Gossard [47]   2:49
3.   "Daughter"     Gossard [48]   3:55
4.   "Glorified G"     Gossard, Mike McCready [49]   3:26
5.   "Dissident"     Gossard, McCready, Jeff Ament [50]   3:35
6.   "W.M.A."     Abbruzzese, Ament [4]   5:59
7.   "Blood"     Gossard, McCready [2]   2:50
8.   "Rearviewmirror"     Vedder [6]   4:44
9.   "Rats"     Ament [51]   4:15
10.   "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"     Vedder [51]   3:15
11.   "Leash"     Gossard, McCready [2]   3:09
12.   "Indifference"     Ament, Gossard [6]   5:02
13.   "Hold On" (acoustic demo)   Vedder   Gossard   4:40
14.   "Cready Stomp" (instrumental)       McCready   3:23
15.   "Crazy Mary" 

In two albums Pearl Jam made as many great songs as others could manage in their entire careers.

You spoke about them being unit shifters or radio friendly. 
The entire point of Vitality and No-Code was against that.
Vedder's creative revolt against what Pearl Jam had become.

As has been said before Riot Act was a massive political album that saw them get booed onstage for
the anti-bush masks during Bushleaguer.

Only in their latter days have Pearl Jam become this "mainstream" act they have become accused of.
Largely because they have mellowed out in their old age but also because they have been so often
copied. If you set up a band and it becomes a rock and roll template some snobs might write you off.
Others might just realise you are an often copied, never equalled, rock great.

Pearl Jam - Jeremy

Pearl Jam - Alive

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Two F***ing fantastic bands and better then the sh*t that gets served up to the masses today.
Glad we grew up with this and not X Factor.

I'll leave it there.

You spoke about them being unit shifters or radio friendly. 

Nicely done 

Nirvana - Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (HQ)

Nicely done 

Nirvana - Radio Friendly Unit Shifter (HQ)

I was hoping someone would post the song.
That's some good team work.

Who do I like more? I grew out of pearl jam. During those frenzied years I was grabbing anything linked to that movement. Now, soundgarden and Alice in Chains and smashing pumpkins still get played because they just survived the test of time. Nothing contrived.

As for Nirvana .... Seriously. They are up their with chuck berry, miles Davis, Beatles, stones, clash, joy division, pixies, public enemy, Hendrix, the doors and a few others ... They are one of the greats no doubt. F**k musicianship ... A song like dumb may sound simple ... Try and write it for the first time .... Ever. Cobain, novoselic and grohl tapped into something profound.

Adam Sandler - Eddie Vedder Impression ( Even Flow )

I originally liked Mother Love Bone and I even had an old bootleg from Pearl Jam right before Ten was officially released and it had a lot of the "Ten" tracks on it.  So I always liked PJ more than Nirvana. But, I loved Nirvana too. I saw PJ play at Lollapalooza right before they really blew up and became huge and to this day it was one of the most electrifying, raw hard shows I ever saw. I even knew at that time I was watching a band people would talk about in 30 years. It was old school Grunge Pearl Jam. It was amazing.

Compared to Nirvana I thought PJ were tighter and better musicians. Do you know how hard it is to have a debut album where every single song is good. Most great albums have at least 2-3 shitty songs but every song on "Ten" was good. Every one. 

I was very lucky that I was in my late teens and early 20's when all those bands hit and I got to see them all...I had a chance to see Nirvana in NYC and I missed it to go to an ex girlfriends family BBQ.  UUUGGGHHH!!!!!! I am still pissed.

As someone else said, Nirvana was my "gateway" into "grunge" music, but Pearl Jam is the drug I'm still hooked on.

Nirvana did some cool things but Kurt was a bit of a knuckle head and his lyrics in my mind and the musical composition are elementary compared to what Pearl Jam has done.

I've seen Pearl Jam 5 times and their shows are unbelievable. Every one of the band members has had at least one other side band, they are all talented musicians and writers and when they play together it's almost like an all-star team.

Me personally, there are zero bands I will listen to BEFORE Pearl Jam and that includes some of the "greats" as well.

The amazing thing about this band as well.....my favorite album of their's used to be a toss up between Ten and Binaural but I actually think that Backspacer is the best work they've done to date. That album is so incredibly tight musically and lyrically it's almost like it was genetically engineered. They just seem to get better with age.

Just an immense, unreal band.

The amazing thing about this band as well.....my favorite album of their's used to be a toss up between Ten and Binaural but I actually think that Backspacer is the best work they've done to date. That album is so incredibly tight musically and lyrically it's almost like it was genetically engineered. They just seem to get better with age.

I know what you mean about Backspacer. I tend to compare all Pearl Jam album releases to Ten and VS so they don't always hit me straight away. I had Backspacer ripped onto a PC at work though so listened to it several times in the absence of much else and it just grew and grew on me. I regard it as something of a masterpiece now.

This debate is up again.

Definitely Nirvana for me. Don't dislike Pearl Jam, but Nirvana did a pretty good amount in a short period of time where as I feel like Pearl Jam in that same period of time did less and over the years have left something to be desired.

As someone else said, Nirvana was my "gateway" into "grunge" music, but Pearl Jam is the drug I'm still hooked on.

Nirvana did some cool things but Kurt was a bit of a knuckle head and his lyrics in my mind and the musical composition are elementary compared to what Pearl Jam has done.

I've seen Pearl Jam 5 times and their shows are unbelievable. Every one of the band members has had at least one other side band, they are all talented musicians and writers and when they play together it's almost like an all-star team.

Me personally, there are zero bands I will listen to BEFORE Pearl Jam and that includes some of the "greats" as well.

The amazing thing about this band as well.....my favorite album of their's used to be a toss up between Ten and Binaural but I actually think that Backspacer is the best work they've done to date. That album is so incredibly tight musically and lyrically it's almost like it was genetically engineered. They just seem to get better with age.

Just an immense, unreal band.

I know what you mean about Backspacer. I tend to compare all Pearl Jam album releases to Ten and VS so they don't always hit me straight away. I had Backspacer ripped onto a PC at work though so listened to it several times in the absence of much else and it just grew and grew on me. I regard it as something of a masterpiece now.

That's funny. I'm not very keen on Backspace. But I really like Avocado, which apparently a lot of PJ fans don't like, so go figure.

I know what you mean about Backspacer. I tend to compare all Pearl Jam album releases to Ten and VS so they don't always hit me straight away. I had Backspacer ripped onto a PC at work though so listened to it several times in the absence of much else and it just grew and grew on me. I regard it as something of a masterpiece now.

Indeed, the you don't want to listen to it on Random, need to listen start to finish and it's almost like the equivalent of reading a book musically if that makes sense. Nothing to do with the lyrics, just the music itself, the ebb and flow is perfect and the album just feels like one long performance.

That's funny. I'm not very keen on Backspace. But I really like Avocado, which apparently a lot of PJ fans don't like, so go figure.

Any PJ fans that don't like Avocado need to just give up. That album is great. Riot Act probably my least favorite due to the rampant political overtones, but even saying least favorite, that album is still good and there are some great songs on there. I Am Mine being one of my favorite, especially to play on the guitar.

Avocado?
Brilliant.

Was that not self titled?

Avocado?
Brilliant.

Was that not self titled?

Was indeed. It's much like Metallica's eponymous album being known as The Black Album.

Avocado?
Brilliant.

Was that not self titled?

Was indeed. It's much like Metallica's eponymous album being known as The Black Album.

The Beatles' "White Album" is actually named "The Beatles" and so on.