Riot Act - Pearl Jam

First up, let's get one thing clear: an average Pearl Jam album tends to still far exceed the quality of 'best' albums from most other bands in the world, and if such a thing exists, 'Riot Act' is probably Pearl Jam's most average album to date. After a 3 year hiatus following Binaural, Riot Act sits uncomfortably during the period of the first George W Bush administration, and on 'Bu$shleaguer' and 'Green Disease', you can certainly tell, as the band rail against the neo conservative regime. There are true gems to be heard though - 'Thumbing My Way', 'Love Boat Captain' and 'You Are' would fit well on some of the band's more commercially friendly earlier albums, but ...  Read the complete review

Is it the end of the long road for Pearl Jam ? A band that has said all it has to say is deemed to end. However, if the first impression you get by listening to Riot Act could be so, I doubt really much that the band is over. Pearl Jam reluctantly coped with the pleasure of success ten years ago or so, with the release of their Ten masterpiece, and decided to play down their part in the grunge bandwagon, slowly deflecting to a more mature mainstream rock approach. However the quality of their songwriting is always very high. Take this record for instance. It could have songs that will make you feel like "What's this pile of rubbish?" ...  Read the complete review