Here the sound changes again, and there is more of a folk vibe if anything. The last quarter of the album has a completely different complexion. Nonetheless this is a great track which I’m sure would have the audience shaking their asses when played live. The groove is very infectious again and if you ask me, sounds vaguely like the riff from Sabbath’s ‘Fairies Wear Boots’. ‘Let The Records Play’ sounds like classic Rock and Roll of the seventies. This is a feel good foot tapper of a song that is simple, yet catchy with its hooks and melodies. ‘Swallowed Whole’ brings us back to the fun Pearl Jam again. Eddie Vedder chants in his low baritone and this reinforces the spaced out times that remind me of the old college days! This is another one I really like on this album.
This feels more progressive, with a dark ambience in mood and sound, with a certain nod to artists such as The Doors and Pink Floyd! The sound has that late sixties/early seventies hippy vibe. Things are very different with the sounds in the second half of the album and Pearl Jam have never sounded as relaxed as they do in ‘Pendulum’. It sounds so out of place but you can’t help enjoying this one with its dark broodiness and Beatlesque/Adam’s Family kind of atmosphere with its sounds. Where the song ‘Parachutes’ had that strange effect on me from Pearl Jam’s 2006 self titled Album ‘Pearl Jam’, this song has that similar kind of effect on me here. This is one where the groove is constant and infectious throughout, with strong support from Boom Gaspar on the Organ here. The first five songs are not too surprising or far off the Pearl Jam beat I have known over the years, but then things change and we are treated to some different styles not too accustomed to previous releases. There is a lot of great positivity on Pearl Jam’s latest offering and a sense of fun. This seems to be also a very upbeat song about relationships.
#Does boom gaspar play on pearl jam albums full#
Title track of the album ‘Lightning Bolt’ is also a corker of a rocker, full of great riffs and grooves from the guitars. This is easily one of my favourite tracks on this album.
It portrays the fragility of life, full of emotion, and is such a beautiful song. The theme being make the most of your own life, also with the people you love and others because you never know when the moment can change in an instant. The lyric writing is some of the best Vedder has ever produced in my opinion, and has you thinking and valuing the life you live. The melodies are simple, huge and catchy. It is a ballad, with subtle keys all the way through it. It is a grower though, and to me this is one of Pearl Jam’s and Eddie Vedder’s finest pieces of work for a very long time. Second single, ‘Sirens’, follows suit, and what can I say? I heard this and saw the video a few weeks ago. ‘My Fathers Son’ has great deep ballsy bass tones from Jeff Ament, with again great rhythms and this is a head shaker or foot stomper that does somewhat sounds to me that you could place it somewhere between the ‘Riot Act’ and self-titled ‘Pearl Jam’ (Avocado) albums. In fact the faster tracks mainly feature in the first half of the album. Something that Pearl Jam covers very well. This to me had the classic Pearl Jam sound that would not look out of place on third studio album ‘Vitalogy’, with a political/religious theme going on. First single that was released ‘Mind Your Manners’ continues with the faster tempo and punk feel. Pearl Jam opens things up with a stomper of a rocker ‘Getaway’, complete with slight punk elements and a nice groove and rhythm throughout. Essentially though it is an album that still rocks like we know Pearl Jam can. The album itself is a mix and mishmash of several different styles of music, some familiar, and some maybe a little unfamiliar elements. I have been listening to this album several times over the past couple of days and these are my thoughts on their tenth studio album. With their previous album, ‘Backspacer’, having been released four years ago, the longest gap between albums in their 23 year history, Pearl Jam are now ready to make a new statement. Pearl Jam’s latest studio album, ‘Lightning Bolt’ is almost upon us.
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