Pearl Jam Songs Ranked
Pearl Jam (sometimes referred to as The Avocado Album or simply Avocado) is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on May 2, 2006 on J Records. It was Pearl Jam’s first and only release for J Records, their last album issued by Sony Music. It was the band’s first full-length studio release in almost four years, since Riot Act (2002). The band commenced work on Pearl Jam in November 2004 at Studio X in Seattle, Washington and finished in February 2006. Pearl Jam was critically well received and a commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually outselling the band’s previous release, Riot Act. The album also produced three singles—”World Wide Suicide,” “Life Wasted” and “Gone”—which were moderately successful. The band supported the album with a full-scale world tour in 2006. Writing for Kerrang!, George Garner called the album “criminally underrated” Here are all of Pearl Jam songs ranked.
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13. Wasted Reprise
“Wasted Reprise is just a short one minute interlude with touching music as Eddie sings the chorus from the first song Life Wasted. It feels artistically placed on the record.”
12. Comatose
“Comatose, was played live once but this version is so much better. Granted the live version I heard was horrible quality but I picked up so much more here. The song has the pace of Spin The Black Circle or even Lukin. Eddie growls through much of the song and the pace is insane. This song is sure to be fun live and the addition of a quick solo by Mike helps give the song more substance. It’s definately the fastest track on the album.”
11. Unemployable
“Unemployable” an ode to financial and employment woes is probably the album’s strongest cut, with its infectious sing-along verse and lush backing vocals in its chorus.”
10. Gone
“Gone” is an incredibly poignant social commentary with lyrics like “when the gas in my tank, feels like money in the bank”, that’s delivered with a perfect blend of acoustic and electric guitar.”
See more: Pearl Jam Albums Ranked
9. Army Reserve
“Army Reserve follows as another song with lyrics very politically driven as it tells a story about those families left behind from the war. Come Back is a great bluesy song about yearning for a lost loved one. The song builds up to the climax at the end that gave me a few chills. It may seem a bit stale at first but stick it through and you’ll be rewarded, I know I was.”
8. Big Wave
“A nice mid-tempo song to kick off the second half of the album and it leads into the hard rocking Big Wave. This song has become my second favorite off the record.”
7. Come Back
“‘Come Back’ is a real gem of a song. It has a really soulful feel to it, with subtle toned down guitars, lots of organ and slow groove. Some people are calling this a song of ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ like proportions and I can see what they means. Vedder’s lyrics and performance are the centrepiece to the song, with the ‘Come Back’ vocal exit being particularly strong.”
6. Severed Hand
“‘Severed Hand’ has a sonic intro before building into another strong guitar opening with some resonant drumming from Matt Cameron. Vedder’s deep register vocal work very well with the tone of this song and the lyrics are great.”
See more: Pearl Jam Songs Ranked
5. Inside Job
“Inside Job” is truly epic and elegant. While it starts off calm and delicate, acoustically with subtle intertwining piano, it soon flourishes into an all-out rocker. The light piano/organ outro adds a nice touch.”
4. Parachutes
“Parachutes is the first slow song on the album. People have said you can hear a strong Beatles influence but I can’t say since I’m not a Beatles fan. It’s probably my least favorite song but by no means horrible to the point of skipping it. The song stands out in the sense as it’s the most different track on the album and I think fits perfectly in the middle.”
3. Life Wasted
“Life Wasted is a strong rocking sound to kick off the album. The chorus can and probably will get stuck in your head after a few listens. What I love the most is Mike’s guitar solo near the end. It’s subtle enough to where you may not pick it up on the first few listens unless you’re looking for it but once you recognize it the song feels much stronger.”
2. Marker In the Sand
“The melodic, relaxed “Marker in the Sand” is probably one of the album’s more commercial songs and wouldn’t be a bad choice to use as a single.”
1. World Wide Suicide
“This is a fantastic song, who’s release two months ago only made me anticipate this album more. Another great riff to this one, in a similar vein to ‘Do The Evolution’, Gossard and McCready’s guitars are on fire throughout, as is the power in Vedder’s vocals, casting his views on recent conflicts.”
