Yielding the Fruits of Labours (Yield - Pearl Jam)

Member Name: hakkved

Product:	Yield - Pearl Jam
Date:	13/09/01 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a more all round band effort and this quality shows.

Disadvantages: the daft hidden track, Nothing much else though of course

Pearl Jam were met with a rapturous welcome in their return with 5th album ‘Yield’. There is no mistaking the force with which the guys in the band wanted to make their return, with CD opener, ‘Brain of J’. It’s a sudden burst of life that kicks off the album in true Pearl Jam rockin’ style. Raucous guitars and pulverising drums gel together with Vedder’s power-filled vocals which make for a cracking opening track. The frantic pounding subsides for a brief moment of breath before climaxing with wah-wah-ing guitar solos. Magic stuff!

‘Faithfull’ begins quietly with light irregular drumming and once again the song intensifies to such a crescendo –it’s unbelievable. How can anyone fail to appreciate this?! Even after 2 songs it’s clear to see that the band have become more of a harmonic unit, to put masterpieces like these together. The song calms down again as it fades out with Vedder’s revealing lyrics of belief and faithfulness.

Third track ‘No Way’ completely penned by guitarist Gossard carries on the jivey vibey atmosphere in a simple way. It’s amazing how effective a simple strumming of a chord and a simple drumbeat can be to create another cracker of a song. Although – any tune put to Eddie’s voice would be a corker! The rhythmic bass appears for the 2nd verse as the song heightens, yet still remains simple and effective. The guitar ends up mimicking the chugging of a train before everything fades out amongst guitar picking solos!

Upon hearing the first notes of ‘Given To Fly’ you can’t fail to have shivers and a tingling spine. This truly is a Pearl Jam magical masterpiece. From the eerie opening notes this song has ‘Pearl Jam Anthem’ written all over it. As the verse unmistakably culminates in an almighty chorus – words fail to describe the quality of this track. The song is s
aid to be Zeppelin-esque but I don’t know enough Zeppelin to comment on this. However McCready’s music and Vedder’s profound lyrics make for a classic song in it’s own right.

‘Wishlist’ changes the vibe of the album created so far. Simple strumming introduces Eddie as he wishes he was a range of items – from the star on top of the Christmas tree; to be depended upon like a pedal brake (!) or “..a sacrifice..that somehow still lived on…” However mad the lyrics may sound on paper, they seem heartfelt when sung and the song emerges into a beautiful melodic piece of work.

Bassist Jeff Ament takes his turn to write music and lyrics on ‘Pilate’. Once again it begins fairly quietly before bursting out into the abrasive chorus, reverting back and forward from quiet to loud repeatedly.

Pearl Jam’s willingness to experiment with their songs allows them to constantly evolve. And this is never more so than with ‘Do the Evolution’. Grating guitars open this joke of a song as Vedder howls his vocal intro. The guitars repetitive circle of notes gel with Eddie’s half-singing, half-chanting lyrics as they pound around with almost off-tune guitars. As Eddie’s sings, “..I’m a thief…I’m a liar…there’s my church, I sing in the choir…” all band members suddenly launch into a high-pitched “hallelujah…hallelujah” before completing the rest of the song. Entertaining and amusing stuff!

As a little interlude known only as ‘’(red dot), we are treated to some tribal pounding by Jack Irons which swiftly accelerates and slows down again as some high-pitched voices repeat “…we’re all crazy..”. From the midst of this mad moment the quality of ‘MFC’ (Many Fast Cars) emerges as the ultimate speeding car song. The driving guitars give
such a sense of speed – the only way to get the most out of this track is to go racing along a straight empty road in a car (or in my case a bike – not the same sense of speed I know!).

Acoustic guitars introduce the first near-ballad type track with ‘Low Light’. It’s very calming and once again hints at being a car-related song, but only this time less speed in a convertible roaming about the countryside at sunset…anyway I got carried away into the ‘World of Pearl Jam’ there – back again!

‘In Hiding’ carries on this ballad theme but in a more upbeat way. Vedder could be singing about his reclusive nature, especially from when he found his fame very difficult to handle. Nevertheless it’s a great song – maybe not as breath-taking as earlier on in the album however.

Pearl Jam push back the boundaries again on ‘Push Me, Pull Me’. It opens with the sound of a lift whooshing up flights in a building before crashing bass and guitars kick in to be joined by Vedder’s near-spoken word/chanting style vocals. It’s a strange one, mixed in with distorted electrical sounds, car horns and all the while Eddie sings “push me, pull me”.

As is Pearl Jam’s way, they close out their album with a quiet melodic swaying tune. ‘All Those Yesterdays’ is reminiscent of songs of old and enforces a slight nod of the head in time to the relaxing beat. Nice.

Ah yes, another classic Pearl Jam album has come to an end! Yield on this occasion sees the band coming together making a joint effort to produce together a stunning collection of songs. From start to finish the listener is met with energetic well-crafted songs from a classic rock band in incredible form.


Oh yeah, the hidden track at the end is …emm how shall I say it…um..innovative?! Spanish-tinged guitars with jangling bells, c
lapping hands and infrequent shouting play out for a few minutes, speeding up towards the end before abruptly stopping in time for someone to say “hovis”??? Oh well got to let the band let off steam after the stresses of recording a classic album I suppose!!

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