Pearl Jam | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

When grunge music exploded into the mainstream of popular culture in the early 1990s, it was Pearl Jam, along with fellow Seattle band Nirvana, who filled the column inches and the billboard charts. While Nirvana's September 1991 debut Nevermind generated an immediate media frenzy, it was Pearl Jam's more orthodox blues-rock album, Ten, released almost simultaneously, that would eventually overtake it in sales—over ten million copies in the United States alone by the end of 1996. The breakthrough single from the album, "Jeremy," won four MTV awards, and recognition for a video that tried to create a coherent story for lead singer Eddie Vedder's typically elusive and obtuse lyrics. What was clear from the video was the sense of pain and anger that characterized Pearl Jam's music: songs that helped recharge rock 'n' roll, a seemingly exhausted genre that had been slipping in both market share and musical relevance since the late 1980s.

Pearl Jam was formed in 1991 by bass guitarist Jeff Ament and rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard. Together with Mike McCready (guitar), drummer Dave Krusen (later replaced by Dave Abruzzese and then Jack Irons), and Eddie Vedder (vocals), the band beganrecording under the name Mookie Blaylock, after the New Jersey Nets basketball star. After Blaylock objected, they changed to Pearl Jam (allegedly after a jam containing peyote made by Vedder's great-grandmother, Pearl). Their debut album, Ten, combined a hard, guitar rock sound with anthemic choruses, slow pop melodies, and Vedder's vocal gyrations that told stories of suicide and childhood neglect. If Nirvana's Nevermind was a punk-rock incendiary aimed at classic rock, Pearl Jam's Ten provided a more mainstream-sounding attack on the established order. Both albums were instrumental in positioning grunge, or the "Seattle-sound" (fellow bands Soundgarden and Alice in Chains also hailed from Seattle), as the dominant MTV aesthetic and confirming Alternative music's arrival overground in the early 1990s.

Pearl Jam's more commercial sound prompted an attack from Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1993. The singer called the band a "corpo-rate, alternative, cock-rock crossover" and charged Pearl Jam with "jumping on the alternative bandwagon." Their response was to record a much rawer and harder second album, vs., which they refused to support with videos, singles, or a major tour, though the album still managed to sell five million copies and top the billboard charts. In 1994 the band also embarked upon a stand against ticketing agency Ticketmaster, alleging that the company had a monopoly over ticket distribution in U.S. arenas and stadiums. Pearl Jam officially asked the Department of Justice to investigate Ticketmaster on antitrust charges, and band members Ament and Gossard found themselves testifying before a congressional committee.

The Justice Department dropped its investigation of Ticketmaster in July 1995, but the band gained praise in many quarters for a stand against a stadium system that in some ways mirrored their increasing rejection of stadium rock. The band's third album, Vitology (1994), stripped away the grunge sound in favor of a diverse collection of influences, including folk and reggae. One of the standout, Grammy Award winning tracks was "Spin the Black Circle," a homage to vinyl records, and the album was made available on vinyl before its release on other, more polished formats. The move reflected the group's seeming desire to reestablish serious grassroots credibility after tremendous media hype; singer Eddie Vedder had appeared on the front cover of Time magazine in October 1993, despite his refusal to be interviewed for the accompanying article. The album also reflected Vedder's musings in light of Kurt Cobain's suicide, an event that increased the attention given the Pearl Jam vocalist. As Andrew Mueller of the British music weekly Melody Maker commented at the time, "Eddie Vedder is out there alone now."

Vedder and Pearl Jam's response was increasingly to shirk the limelight and to move away from the grunge sound that had helped generate their fame. Their fourth album, No Code (1996) employedIndian drones, psychedelic rock, folk, and punk, only occasionally returning to a high-energy rock sound. Similarly, their 1998 album Yield continued with the combination of Vedder's existential musings and more eclectic range of musical instruments. It included a track showing the influence of Pakistani qawwali star Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with whom Vedder collaborated for the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. Music critics were less receptive to Pearl Jam's attempts to redefine themselves; yet the demise of the grunge phenomenon and a diminished, if still significant, fan base suited the band. Their stated wish was to sustain a lengthy and credible musical career, in line with those they admired, such as Bob Dylan, Pete Townsend, and in particular Neil Young, with whom they collaborated on the Mirror Ball album.

Clarke, Malcolm. Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder: None Too Fragile. London, Plexus, 1997.

Humphrey, Clark. Loser: The Real Seattle Music Story. Portland, Feral House, 1995.

Morrell, Brad. Pearl Jam: The Illustrated Biography. New York, Omnibus, 1993.

Neeley, Kim. Five Against One. New York, Penguin, 1998.

Wall, Mick. Pearl Jam. London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1994.

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