Check out Buffalo 5/2 and State College for 2 great back-to-back Mike showcases. There are so many extended versions in the 2000s where Mike really shined, and in 06-08 where Matt sometimes had a solo. 9/1/00 (which made it onto the Touring Band DVD) is quite good. Honorable mentions: Almost too many to choose.
Perhaps on that day in Seattle, Eddie finally heard “his” song. He passed away early in their career and thus never got to hear the song he inspired. “Even Flow” was written about a homeless man (a Vietnam vet also named Eddie) that Eddie had gotten to know while the band was in its infancy. The band played to a sold-out crowd of over 40k at Seattle’s Safeco Field and donated $11.5M of the proceeds (over the course of 2 nights) to fight homelessness. This one stands out because it is preceded by Eddie telling a story about the song’s origins to the hometown Seattle crowd. Nowadays it is not uncommon for Even Flow to hit the 8+ minute mark, and several renditions in the mid-2000s also feature a short drum solo by Matt. Later in the 90’s the song started expanding, allowing Mike (and sometimes Stone) to really shine. The early years were pretty standard, with Mike given a short section to solo. But there are so many different versions of this song. Let’s face it – it’s usually a Mike showcase. Why: “Even Flow” has a long and storied background as a song that always sees the band take a journey. Honorable mentions: 10/6/91, 4/3/94 Even Flow Safeco Field, Seattle, WA – 8/8/18 There’s been nothing like it before or since. As the song kicks back in, Eddie decides to forego the usual vocals in favor of an ad-libbed scream. Right before the “I’ve got nothing to say” part, the band kicks into a rocking improv section, seemingly out of nowhere. So why Halloween ’93? Because they actually extend it with a very interesting jam that makes it truly unique. If Eddie’s voice is on point and Mike nails the solo, then it’s a good version. There are some great versions, but by and large they are all very similar. “Once” is a song that is all about Eddie’s voice just killing it. Make your own list and share it on the various PJ groups online! Once Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA – 10/31/93 Take a deep breath and try not to throw your device out of the window if you disagree with me. 11 songs and an attempt to list the definitive version of each one. Those songs would make an impressive album for just about any other band.īelow you will see my highly subjective ranking of the greatest versions of each of these songs. And then there are the songs that ended up as b-sides, on the “Singles” soundtrack or as rarities to surface in future compilations: “ State of Love and Trust”, “Breath”, “ Footsteps”, “ Yellow Ledbetter”, “ Wash”, “Alone”, “Just A Girl”, “Brother”, “Dirty Frank” and “Hold On”. Bands would kill to have this number of great songs in an entire career. How a band could be firing on all cylinders this early in their career is stunning. It was a moment in time that will never happen again for the band. It’s a debut album from a band who within months would be doing everything they could to rein in the absolute beast that had been unleashed.
It’s anthemic, powerful, emotional, vulnerable, melodic, angst-ridden and somber. 11 songs without a filler to be found, and a strikingly musical and well put together debut album. But no matter your opinion of the album now, after all of these years, “Ten” is, well, “Ten”. And yet for others, and let’s be honest there are quite a few fans who fall into this group, it is overplayed and has been done to death. For others it is one of the greats among several from this band that somehow continues to do no wrong (that would be me). For others, it was an album they found later in life either by chance or simply because they had yet to be born when it was released.įor some fans, “Ten” is the iconic masterpiece that will never be topped. For some of us it was the album that we discovered in 1991 that changed our lives seemingly overnight. All these years, and songs, and concerts, and memories: This is where it all began. It doesn’t quite seem possible, and yet here we are in 2021 and Pearl Jam’s “Ten” is hitting a huge milestone.
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