No Code - Pearl Jam

First I have to say best album sleeve yet. For those who haven't notice fold out the sleeve fully so it's a big square and look at it from a distance you should see the bigger picture. Most seem to rate this an OK collection of songs, maybe I am just too big a Pearl Jam fan but if this had been released by a new band it would have been hailed as album of the year. There was a belief in the music press that the band were moving from their grunge roots, when in reality grunge was nothing more than label thought up for bands from Seattle, in reality the label covered Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains etc, all very different sounding bands ...  Read the complete review

Pearl Jam's fourth album was released in 1996 and the first to feature new drummer, Jack Irons. First formed in 1991 the band compromised Mike McCready on guitar, Jeff Ament on bass, Stone Gossard on guitar and vocals and Eddie Vedder doing lead vocals on majority of tracks, guitar and harmonica. As with the previous 2 albums, 'No Code' was again produced by Brendan O'Brien and Pearl Jam. 'No Code' did not see the success that Pearl Jam had had with their previous offerings. Partly due to the trend moving away from American grunge. Also, the album lacks the anger and drive of previous albums, but it does contain some melodic masterpieces and soft rock influences ...  Read the complete review

Forget about Grunge, it has nothing to do with Pearl Jam. They are just a great rock band. A rock band. That's how one should describe them. Or Just Pearl Jam. NO CODE. This is probably the meaning of the title of this amazing record, IMHO the best in the 10-year Pearl Jam history. No Code was published in 1996, after the highly successful debut of TEN and the record-breaking sales of its follow-up, VS, and the third, more complex work of VITALOGY. No Code is definitely a new beginning of the Seattle band, as it sounds quite different from the previous albums, though having more than one points in common with Vitalogy. Vitalogy ...  Read the complete review

As I am ever the obsessive Pearl Jam fan, I can’t possibly praise one of their albums over any other. To me each of them is a continuation of the last, and 1996’s ‘No Code’ is no exception, though in a way would appear to be their most varied musically. The quiet opening notes of ‘Sometimes’ immediately sets the diverse tone of the album: so simple but so effective. It’s full of themes of how small we all are in the world, Eddie sings, “Seek my part…devote myself…my small self…like a book amongst the many on the shelf”. Eddie sings with great passion from the instant the album begins ...  Read the complete review

Pearl Jam’s fourth studio album, and perhaps the most sensitive. By this I don’t mean they’ve gone all soft and slushy, (perish the thought!) but it is the most experimental work to date. Rather than an album of all rocky songs, say like “vs.” they’ve taken time to add a bit more texture and feeling here. It follows on in much the same vein as ‘94’s “Vitalogy” but takes it a step further. With the exception of “Who you are” it works very well, it is also the first full album new drummer Jack Irons (ex Red Hot Chilli Peppers) has played on for them. Starting with the soft, sensitive ...  Read the complete review