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Ten (Pearl Jam album)

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Untitled

Ten is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. Following the disbanding of bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard's previous group Mother Love Bone, the two recruited vocalist Eddie Vedder, guitarist Mike McCready, and drummer Dave Krusen to form Pearl Jam in 1990. Most of the songs began as instrumental jams, to which Vedder added lyrics about topics such as depression, homelessness, and abuse.

Ten was not an immediate success, but by late 1992 it had reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The album produced three hit singles: "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Jeremy". While Pearl Jam was accused of jumping on the grunge bandwagon at the time, Ten was instrumental in popularizing alternative rock in the mainstream.[1] The album has been certified twelve times Platinum in the United States and remains Pearl Jam's most successful album.

Background

Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament had played together in the pioneering grunge band Green River. Following Green River's dissolution in 1987, Ament and Gossard played together in Mother Love Bone during the 1980s. Mother Love Bone's career was cut short when singer Andrew Wood died of a drug overdose in 1990, shortly before the release of the group's debut album. Devastated, it took months before Gossard and Ament agreed to play together again. The duo started jamming with fellow Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, building up material. The three then went into the studio for separate sessions with Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and former Shadow drummer Chris Friel to record some instrumental demos.[2] Five of the songs recorded—"Dollar Short", "Agytian Crave", "Footsteps", "Richard's E", and "E Ballad"—were compiled onto a tape called Stone Gossard Demos '91 that was circulated in the hopes of finding a singer and drummer for the trio.[1]

San Diego musician Eddie Vedder acquired a copy of the demo in September 1990, when it was given to him by former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. Vedder listened to the demo, went surfing, and wrote lyrics the next day for "Dollar Short", "Agytian Crave", and "Footsteps". "Dollar Short" and "Agytian Crave" were later retitled "Alive" and "Once", respectively. Gossard and Ament heard the demo with Vedder's vocals and lyrics, and were impressed enough to fly Vedder out to Seattle for an audition. Meanwhile, Vedder had written lyrics for "E Ballad", retitled "Black". Vedder arrived on October 13 and rehearsed with the band (now joined by drummer Dave Krusen) for a week, writing eleven songs in the process. Vedder was soon hired as the band's singer, and the group signed to Epic Records shortly thereafter.[1]

Recording

The band, then named Mookie Blaylock, entered London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington in March 1991 with producer Rick Parashar to record its debut album. A few tracks were previously recorded at London Bridge in January, but only "Alive" was carried over from that session. The album sessions were quick and lasted only a month, mainly due to the band having already written most of the material for the record. "Porch", "Deep", "Why Go", and "Garden" were first recorded during the album sessions, everything else had been previously recorded during demo sessions at some point. McCready said that "Ten was mostly Stone and Jeff; me and Eddie were along for the ride at that time."[3]

The recording sessions for Ten were completed in May 1991. Krusen left the band once the sessions were completed, checking himself into rehab.[2] The band joined Tim Palmer in June in England for mixing. Palmer decided to mix the album at Ridge Farm Studios in Dorking, a converted farm that according to Palmer was "about as far away from an L.A. or New York studio as you can get."[1] Palmer made a few additions to the already-recorded songs, including having McCready finish up the guitar solo on "Alive" and tweaking the intro to "Black". Palmer overdubbed a pepper shaker and a fire extinguisher as percussion on "Oceans".[1]

In subsequent years, band members have expressed dissatisfaction with the way the album's mixing turned out. In 2001, Ament said, "I'd love to remix Ten. Ed, for sure, would agree with me...It wouldn't be like changing performances; just pull some of the reverb off it."[3] In 2002, Gossard said, "It was 'over-rocked', we were novices in the studio and spent too long recording, doing different takes, and killing the vibe and overdubbing tons of guitar. There's a lot of reverb on the record."[4] In 2006, Vedder said, "I can listen to the early records [except] the first record...it's just the sound of the record. It was kind of mixed in a way that was...it was kind of produced."[5]

Music and lyrics

Template:Sample box startTemplate:Multi-listen startTemplate:Multi-listen itemTemplate:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end Several of the songs on Ten started as instrumental compositions that Vedder added lyrics to after he joined the band. Vedder's lyrics for Ten deal with subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. The album also tackles social concerns such as homelessness ("Even Flow")[6] and the use of psychiatric hospitals ("Why Go").[7] Many listeners interpreted "Alive" as an inspirational anthem due to its decidedly uplifting instrumentals and chorus. Vedder has since revealed that the song tells the semi-biographical tale of a son discovering that his father is actually his stepfather (his real father having died long ago), while his mother’s grief turns her to sexually embrace her son, who strongly resembles the biological father.[8] The song "Jeremy" and its accompanying video were inspired by an incident where a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates.[9][10]

"Alive" and "Once" formed part of a song cycle Vedder called the Mamasan trilogy (the third song, "Footsteps", appeared as a B-side on the "Jeremy" single). Vedder explained that the lyrics told the story of a young man whose father dies ("Alive"), causing him to go on a killing spree ("Once") which leads to his capture and execution ("Footsteps"). It was later revealed that Vedder's lyrics were inspired by his long-held hurt in discovering at age 17 that the man he thought was his father was not, and that his real father had already died.[1]

As mentioned above, Ten dealt with dark subject matter but is almost universally considered to be a high water-mark of the early 1990s alternative rock sound, with Vedder's unusually deep and strong (and later much imitated) voice alternating between solidity and vibrato against the unrestrained, guitar-heavy, pure rock sound that harkened back to Led Zeppelin and other rock bands of the 1970s. Ten's musical style, influenced by classic rock, combined an "expansive harmonic vocabulary" with an anthemic sound.[11] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the songs on the album fused "the riff-heavy stadium rock of the '70s with the grit and anger of '80s post-punk, without ever neglecting hooks and choruses."[12]

Ten features a two-part track entitled "Master/Slave" that both opens and closes the album. The first part begins the album, before "Once" starts, and the second part closes the album, after "Release". It begins about ten seconds after the album's closer "Release" as a hidden track, but both count as one track on the CD. The song is entirely instrumental (except for random unintelligible words Vedder utters throughout) and a dominant bass line persists in the song, along with some guitar and sounds that seem to come from the drums. Producer Rick Parashar stated in 2002, "As I recall, I think Jeff had, like, a bass line...I heard the bass line and then we kind of were collaborating on that in the control room, and then I just started programming on the keyboard all this stuff; he was jamming with it and it just kind of came about like that."[1]

Release and reception

Ten initially sold slowly upon its release, but by the second half of 1992 it became a breakthrough success, attaining an RIAA gold certification.[1] After being released almost a year prior, the album finally broke into the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart on May 30, 1992, reaching number eight. It would eventually peak at number two. Ten was held off the top spot by the Billy Ray Cyrus album Some Gave All.[13] By February 1993, American sales of Ten surpassed those of Nevermind, the breakthrough album by fellow grunge band Nirvana.[14] Ten continued to sell well two years after its release; in 1993 it was the eighth best-selling album in the United States, outselling Pearl Jam's second album, Vs.[15] As of April 2006, Ten had sold 9.4 million copies in the U.S. alone,[16] and has been certified 12x Platinum by the RIAA.[17]

David Fricke of Rolling Stone gave the album a favorable review. He said that Pearl Jam "hurtles into the mystic at warp speed." He also added that Pearl Jam "wring a lot of drama out of a few declarative power chords swimming in echo."[18] Allan Jones of Melody Maker suggested in his review of Ten that it is Vedder that "provides Pearl Jam with such a uniquely compelling focus."[19] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B–. Regarding Pearl Jam’s sound, Browne stated that "you've heard it all before on records by fellow Northwestern rockers like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and the defunct Mother Love Bone." He ended by saying that Pearl Jam "often...lose themselves in a sound that only goes to show that just about anything can be harnessed and packaged."[20]

Ten produced three hit singles, "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Jeremy", all of which had accompanying music videos (The "Oceans" video was released only outside of the U.S.). The singles all placed on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. The song "Black" reached number three on the Mainstream Rock chart, despite never being released as a single. The video for "Alive" was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video in 1992.[21] "Jeremy" became one of Pearl Jam's best-known songs, and received nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1993 Grammy awards.[22] The video for "Jeremy", directed by Mark Pellington, was put into heavy rotation by MTV and became a huge hit, receiving five nominations at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, of which it won four, including Video of the Year and Best Group Video.[23]

Template:RS500[24] Readers of Q voted Ten as the 42nd greatest album ever;[25] however, three years later the album was listed lower at 59th.[26] In 2003, VH1 placed it at number 83 on their list of the 100 greatest albums of rock and roll.[27] It was also ranked number 15 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.[28]

Imagery and design

File:PJ-Ten2.JPG
The unfolded Ten cover art.

The album cover features the members of the band at the time of recording in a group pose. Ament is credited for the album's artwork and art direction,[29] Lance Mercer receives credit for photography, and both Lisa Sparagano and Risa Zaitschek are credited for design.[29] Pearl Jam's original name was taken from the professional basketball player Mookie Blaylock.[12] It was changed after the band signed to Epic Records, as record executives were concerned about intellectual property and naming rights following Blaylock's inking of an endorsement deal with Nike. In commemoration of the band's original name, the band titled its first album Ten after Blaylock's jersey number.[30]

Tour

Main article: Ten Tour

Ament stated that "essentially Ten was just an excuse to tour," adding, "We told the record company, 'We know we can be a great band, so let's just get the opportunity to get out and play'."[31] Pearl Jam faced a relentless touring schedule for Ten,[32] with drummer Dave Abbruzzese joining the band for Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the album. In the fall of 1991 the band took a slot opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in North America. Epic executive Michael Goldstone observed that "the band did such an amazing job opening the Chili Peppers tour that it opened doors at radio."[3]

In 1992, the band embarked on its first ever European tour. On March 13, 1992 at the Munich, Germany show, Pearl Jam played Ten in its entirety in order mid-way through its set.[33] The band then came back and did another tour of North America. Goldstone noted that the band's audience expanded, saying that unlike before, "everyone came."[3] When Pearl Jam came back for a second go-around in Europe the band appeared at the Pinkpop Festival and the Roskilde Festival. The band cancelled its remaining European dates in the summer of 1992 after the Roskilde Festival due to a confrontation with security at that event as well as exhaustion from touring.[34] Ament said, "We'd been on the road over 10 months. I think there just came a point about half way through that tour it was just starting to get pretty intense."[35] The band also played at the 1992 Lollapalooza tour.

Track listing

  1. "Once" (Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard) – 3:51
  2. "Even Flow" (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:53
  3. "Alive" (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:40
  4. "Why Go" (Vedder, Jeff Ament) – 3:19
  5. "Black" (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:43
  6. "Jeremy" (Vedder, Ament) – 5:18
  7. "Oceans" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:41
  8. "Porch" (Vedder) – 3:30
  9. "Garden" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:58
  10. "Deep" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 4:18
  11. "Release" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, Mike McCready, Dave Krusen) – 9:04
UK/German bonus tracks
  2. "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:54
  3. "Wash" (Gossard, Ament, McCready, Krusen, Vedder) – 3:33
  4. "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, McCready, Dave Abbruzzese) – 5:38
Japanese bonus tracks
  2. "I've Got a Feeling" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 3:42
  3. "Master/Slave" (Vedder, Ament) – 3:50

Outtakes

The album's singles featured two B-sides from the Ten recording sessions that weren't included on the album, "Wash" and "Yellow Ledbetter". The former was a B-side on the "Alive" single while the latter was featured on the "Jeremy" single. "Yellow Ledbetter" eventually became a radio hit in 1994. Both songs were included on the Lost Dogs collection of rarities, although the included version of "Wash" is an alternate take. The song "Alone" was also originally recorded for Ten; a 1992 re-recorded version of the song is on the "Go" single. Another version of "Alone", with re-recorded vocals, appears on Lost Dogs.[36] According to McCready, "Alone" was cut from Ten because the band already had enough mid-tempo songs for the album.[36]

The song "Footsteps" began as an instrumental demo and was compiled onto the Stone Gossard Demos '91 tape. Vedder added vocals to this version after he received the demo tape. "Footsteps" was featured as a B-side on the "Jeremy" single, however this version is taken from a 1992 appearance on the radio show Rockline.[37] This version of "Footsteps" is also featured on Lost Dogs, however a harmonica intro has been overdubbed on to the recording.

Other songs rejected from the album but later included on Lost Dogs are "Hold On" and "Brother", the latter of which was turned into an instrumental for Lost Dogs.[36] "Brother" was cut because Gossard was no longer interested in playing the song, a decision which Ament objected to and almost caused him to quit the band.[38] Both "Breath" and "State of Love and Trust" were recorded with the intention of the two songs possibly appearing in the film Singles.[39] The versions heard in the film and on its soundtrack were recorded a year later in 1992.[32]

Personnel

Chart positions

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Ten is adapted in part from AcclaimedMusic.net.[57]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Guitar World United States "100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time"[28] 2006 15
Pause & Play United States "The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums"[58] 1999 11
Q United States "100 Greatest Albums Ever"[25] 2003 42
Q United States "100 Greatest Albums Ever"[26] 2006 59
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"[59] 2003 207
Spin United States "Top 90 Albums of the 90s"[60] 1999 33
Spin United States "100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005"[61] 2005 93
VH1 United States "100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll"[27] 2003 83
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[62] 1998 15
Nieuwe Revu Netherlands "Top 100 Albums of All Time"[63] 1994 25
Musik Express/Sounds Germany "The 100 Masterpieces"[64] 1993 68
Rolling Stone Germany "The 500 Best Albums of All Time"[65] 2004 20
Juice Australia "The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s"[66] 1999 101
Viceversa Italy "100 Rock Albums"[67] 1996 99

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Pearlman, Nina. "Black Days". Guitar World. December 2002.
  2. ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann. "Intrigue and Incest: Pearl Jam and the Secret History of Seattle (Part 2)". Goldmine. August 20, 1993.
  3. ^ a b c d Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin. August 2001.
  4. ^ "Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". Total Guitar. November 2002.
  5. ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Eddie Vedder's Embarrassing Tale: Naked in Public" Rolling Stone. June 20, 2006. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  6. ^ Clay, Jennifer. "Life After Love Bone". RIP magazine. December 1991.
  7. ^ Vedder, Eddie. "Interview with David Sadoff" KLOL FM, Houston, Texas. December 1991. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  8. ^ Crowe, Cameron. "Five Against the World". Rolling Stone. October 28, 1993. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  9. ^ Miller, Bobbi. "Richardson Teen-ager Kills Himself in Front of Classmates". The Dallas Morning News. January 8, 1991.
  10. ^ Black, Johnny. "The Greatest Songs Ever! Jeremy". Blender. September 2002. Retrieved on April 29, 2008.
  11. ^ Huey, Steve. "Ten > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved on July 3, 2007.
  12. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pearl Jam > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved on June 22, 2007.
  13. ^ Scaggs, Austin. "Eddie Vedder: Addicted to Rock". Rolling Stone. April 21, 2006. Retrieved on June 30, 2008.
  14. ^ Snow, Mat. "You, My Son, Are Weird". Q. November 1993.
  15. ^ Holden, Stephen. "The Pop Life". The New York Times. January 12, 1994. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
  16. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Pearl Jam's 'New' World Order". Billboard. April 14, 2006. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  17. ^ Gold and Platinum Database Search. RIAA. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.
  18. ^ Fricke, David. Ten review. Rolling Stone. December 12, 1991. Retrieved on March 11, 2008.
  19. ^ Stud Brothers. "Eddie Vedder Takes On The World". Melody Maker. June 20, 1992.
  20. ^ Browne, David. "Ten". Entertainment Weekly. December 13, 1994. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  21. ^ "1992 MTV Video Music Awards". Rockonthenet. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  22. ^ "35th Grammy Awards". Rockonthenet. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  23. ^ "1993 MTV Video Music Awards". Rockonthenet. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  24. ^ "207) Ten". Rolling Stone. November 2003. Retrieved on April 27, 2007.
  25. ^ a b "Q readers 100 Greatest Albums Ever". Q. January 2003.
  26. ^ a b "Q Readers 100 Greatest Albums Ever". Q. February 2006.
  27. ^ a b 100 greatest albums of rock & roll (100 - 81). VH1.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
  28. ^ a b "100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time". Guitar World. October 2006.
  29. ^ a b "Ten: Credits at Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
  30. ^ Papineau, Lou. "20 Things You Should Know About Pearl Jam". VH1.com. June 30, 2006. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
  31. ^ Coryat, Karl. "Godfather of the 'G' Word". Bass Player magazine. April 1994.
  32. ^ a b Gilbert, Jeff. "Alive & Kicking". Guitar World. September 1992.
  33. ^ "Pearl Jam Shows: 1992 March 13, Nachtwerk Munich, Germany – Set List". PearlJam.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  34. ^ "Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology: Part 2". FiveHorizons.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  35. ^ Davis, Kathy. "Take the Whole Summer Off: TFT Looks Back at Lolla '92". TwoFeetThick.com. July 30, 2007. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.
  36. ^ a b c Cohen, Jonathan. "The Pearl Jam Q & A: Lost Dogs". Billboard. 2003. Retrieved on May 9, 2008.
  37. ^ "Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology". FiveHorizons.com. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
  38. ^ (2003) Album notes for Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  39. ^ Crowe, Cameron. "Making the Scene: A Filmmakers Diary". Rolling Stone. October 1, 1992. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.
  40. ^ a b "Pearl Jam – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  41. ^ "Canadian Charts". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  42. ^ "Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  43. ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  44. ^ a b c Pearl Jam in Australian Charts. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  45. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Longplay". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  46. ^ a b c d "EveryHit.com". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  47. ^ "Austrian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  48. ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  49. ^ a b Pearl Jam in New Zealand Charts. Charts.Org.NZ. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  50. ^ "Irish Album/Singles Chart". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  51. ^ a b "The Irish Charts — All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  52. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  53. ^ a b "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Single". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  54. ^ "Canadian Charts - "Even Flow"". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  55. ^ "Canadian Charts - "Jeremy"". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  56. ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
  57. ^ "Ten accolades". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  58. ^ "The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums". Pause and Play. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  59. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  60. ^ Top 90 Albums of the 90's "Top 90 Albums of the 90s". Spin. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  61. ^ "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". Spin (July 2005).
  62. ^ "100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  63. ^ "Top 100 Albums of All Time". Nieuwe Revu. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  64. ^ "The 100 Masterpieces". Musik Express/Sounds. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  65. ^ "The 500 Best Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  66. ^ Greatest Albums "The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s". Juice. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  67. ^ "100 Rock Albums". Viceversa. Retrieved 2008-05-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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