I have anticipated Pearl Jam's new album, Lightning Bolt for several months now and I can say that it was well worth the wait. I fell in love with Pearl Jam as a teenager, when music kept me grounded and allowed me to realize that all the feelings I was dealing with were okay. Not normal, but okay. Because why be normal? and what is normal?
My high school friends, Dustin Rawlins and Kyle Bullock (now my husband and best friend), used to have a joke, "Are you feeling Eddie Vedder?", as a teenager you are always coping with hormonal shifts and just the plain awkwardness of high school, pinning Eddie Vedder in place of better always made me smile and put me into the mood to throw on PJ's debut album of the time, Ten. And I couldn't tell you how influential the "grunge" movement was on my generation. How many countless weekends I would watch the movie Singles just so I could get small glimpses of the cameo appearances by Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Eddie Vedder, as members of Matt Dillon's character, Cliff's band, Citizen Dick. And then of course, the other grunge figure of the time that also made an appearance in this film, was Soundgarden's Chris Cornell. Needless to say, I feel like I time warped back to that era when I fell in love with "grunge" music.
Now with that out of the way, Lightning Bolt is a must-have album, it showcases such a plethora of American music. The album starts out heavy, full grunge, think of Motorhead's Ace of Spades (I think of playing Tony Hawk's ProSkater Video Game), with songs, Getaway, Mind Your Manners and My Father's Son. The album then shifts into classic PJ anthem style, by this I mean when Vedder becomes a pseudo-preacher with his baritone vocals, working their way up to an angelic whisper and back down again sharing with you a story in an earthy tone. Track 9, Let the Records Play, is my personal favorite, a southern blues rock ballad, it reminds me of so many great musicians, from Son House to Jack White, with an essence of Shania Twain (yes, I said it, you will hear it too, just wait). The album winds down with more subdued songs, Sleeping by Myself, Yellow Moon and Future Days, perfect for unwinding at the end of the night. As I said, the album is reminiscent of so much American rooted music (including Neil Young), as you listen you will be like wait, who is that, and quickly what you think you hear, transcends into something new and fresh, but keeps up with that original grunge sound you fell in love with, while showcasing the deep roots of American music . And you know it rocks, if my two year old son, Finn, asks "Mommy music on?", when we travel in the car. As soon as it starts, he is sitting there from his backseat just rocking to the beat. Maybe it is how many times I listened to Pearl Jam's rendition of Crazy Mary from their Red Rocks concerts on cd while he was in utero, but either way, I think he is a fan!
So whether you are a Pearl Jam fan or need a gift idea for someone, I highly recommend Lightning Bolt, because when you need to feel a little Vedder, or a throwback to the 90s, this is well-suited for you (just look at the album cover, the soundwaves are projected to the masses). The only other thing that would make it better, is if Pearl Jam is added to the 2014 Firefly lineup (Red Frog if you wanna keep this fan happy, you know what to do)!!!
