Riot Act - Pearl Jam

’’I know I was born , and I know that I’ll die

I am mine ’’

For any album that boasts of lyrics like that you know that for one more time songwriting has crossed the boundary between lyrics and poetry . An angry man lashes out at the society , an angry artist uses his medium to do so . Riot Act is one such effort by Pearl Jam that is built on thematic pillars - love, death, politics ; and fueled by dense, uncompromising power chords . Over the years they have been praised and criticized, heralded and denounced,

admired and condemned, loved and hated. For more than a decade now, Pearl Jam has released one marvellous album after another, proving along the way to be one of history’s finest bands.

Releasing Ten in 1991, Pearl Jam combined ’70’s stadium style rock with angry lyrics and heavy riffs. In no time, Ten shot up the charts and sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide. Pearl Jam, however, was not one to sell out and consider themselves mainstream.

In the USA , Ten was in the Top 20 , a year and a half after its release. The touring commitments that followed brought Vedder to the verge of nervous collapse. But he recovered and moved ahead to release Vs. , Vitalogy , Binaural etc. one

album after another defying the traditional patterns and moulds of what was alt. rock and what was not.

Riot Act released in 2002 could be the greatest Pearl Jam album ever for people who can appreciate the Art aspect of music . For more casual listeners there are a few commercially viable numbers that could only be regarded as timepass , at best .Let me now try and say a few things about the tracks from the album .

’’Can’t Keep’’ is an ideal opening track that flawlessly spills into ’’Save You’’ the album’s premier rocker . There are some great experimentations with guitar sounds on the former . While Save You features the best guitar riffs of the album .

’’Cropduster’’ and ’’Ghost’’ are both very melodic classic Pearl Jam songs.But thats all that can be said about them .

’’I am mine’’ , which includes the opening lines to this article, is as strong as just about any of the band’s other singles. It’s an REM-ish strumfest decorated with delicate guitar and organ flourishes. This song alone demonstrates what an increasingly skillful lyricist Eddie Vedder has become over the courseof time .He now punctures his circular lyrics about selfhood and meaninglessness with wonderful surrealist lines like ’’The North is to South , as

the clock is to time’’ . Vedder signifies unimpeachable good intentions, and confused poeticism in an unpoetic world .

’’Thumbing My Way’’ is the sort of weary, heart-tugging folk number that would easily earn the likes of Ryan Adams or even Bruce Springsteen buckets of accolades but it goes unnoticed and ’’skip-buttoned’’ on this album.

The Matt Cameron penned ’’You Are’’ a stuttering , slinky number more akin to the funky electro-trash of latter-period Smashing Pumpkins than anything Pearl Jam or Cameron’s former band Soundgarden ever dreamt of .

’’Bushleaguer’’ is almost a rap number about current policy makers. Vedder’s intentions here are admirable, but it’s difficult to imagine the execution failing any more miserably. His delivery is painfully snide, served up with snotty, ain’t-I-witty attitude, and the lyrics clearly aim for a grittier mentality than typical Pearl Jam fare .

’’Swingin’ for the fence

Born on third , thinks he got a triple’’

’’Get Right’’ , another one penned by Cameron , sticks closer to traditional Pearl Jam territory, although this song has a rolling rhythm . ’’Help help’’ written by bassist Jeff Ament, once again finds the band experimenting musically. ’’1/2 Full’’ is another classic

sounding Vitalogy like track that relives some of their earlier anger .......’’Dont see some men as half empty. See them as half full of shit’’. ’’Arc’’ is the next to last song on the album and is absolutely nothing like anything from Pearl Jam before. Sounding like something out of Africa or the Lion King, it’s simply Eddie stretching out his voice over some deep wind instruments. It might be weird, but it’s extremely cool nonetheless. ’’All or None’’ finishes up the album just like it started, with a very bluesy sounding track which could have been from Binaural. It’s melodic, slow, beautiful and is a perfect way to conclude the album.

You might have noticed that I have not yet discussed about two songs . The reason was that I was simply saving the best for the last . ’’Greendisease’’ is the closest to new wave that Pearl Jam has ever come and contains just my kinda lyrics ...

’’Its a disease and they’re all green

A satiation .....with occupation’’

And lastly the best song of the album , the standout epic , the gorgeous , the classic...’’Love Boat Captain’’ . Vedder lets his voice slip into anthem mode while swells of organ support a hymn to love, the Beatles, et all .The devastated lyrics which also mourns the tragic death of nine fans at the June 2000 Roskilde Festival, are affecting and an excellent choice to accompany Vedder’s poetic remorse.

’’Is this just another phase? Earthquakes making waves, ...

And it’s love’’

Like REM before them, Pearl Jam’s ongoing greatness is unfortunately overwhelmed by their cult’s rabid devotion to the band’s mythic ’’early years.’’ Nevermind that Riot Act is a powerful, stirring record, every bit as good as Ten , Vs., and Vitology. It is new and thus not steeped in listeners’ fond memories of high school, parties, and idealism. Given that Riot Act is a very fine record destined to be overlooked by the impatient, next-big-thing minded

listening public, it makes sense that the band has dedicated this album to John Entwistle and Joey Ramone, two uncompromising rock innovators who spent a good deal of their careers being overshadowed by other artists who died young and had better PR reps.

Pearl Jam’s fan base may have deteriorated somewhat and you rarely see them on MTV, but that’s just the way they like it. To these veterans, being musicians has always been about the music, a rare concept in a realm dominated by flashy videos, lame awards shows and generic radio singles. Let’s hope Pearl Jam has another couple of decades left in the tank, although they’ll have a hard time topping Riot Act.