Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Dead Lay In Pools of Maroon


#8 Ten: Pearl Jam. My senior year in college - I was never too far from this CD - it was everywhere. The Pearl Jam formula is familiar, heavy chords, a powerful singer, and songs about deadbeats and outcasts - but somehow they sounded more sincere, more urgent, emotionally deeper. This CD is a standout from start to finish, and some some of the lesser known tunes are some of the best - Porch, Once and Why Go are some of the best on here. Alive is the one that really stays with me the most - the last two minutes are an extended guitar solo by Jeff McCready that just makes me want to close my eyes and do the rocker back and forth head shake the whole time. It was hard to see how these guys could top this, and they never quite have - I cant say that any of their subsequent albums come anywhere close to this one.