| "Even Flow" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Pearl Jam from the album Ten |
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| B-side | "Dirty Frank" / "Oceans" (remix) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, Cassette, Vinyl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Genre | Grunge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Label | Epic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer | Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Pearl Jam, Rick Parashar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pearl Jam singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Even Flow" is the second single from Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten. It was released as a single in 1992 with a B-side titled "Dirty Frank", which can also be found on Lost Dogs. "Even Flow" pairs a funky riff by Stone Gossard with stark lyrics by Eddie Vedder about homelessness.[1] The vocal line that appears in the main verse begins with a very prominent tritone interval. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. An alternate version of the song was recorded with drummer Dave Abbruzzese in 1992 while the band was recording songs for the soundtrack for the movie Singles.[2] This version was used for the video, and was released as a CD-single and 12-inch white vinyl in the United Kingdom. It can also be readily found on the band's greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003. The original version was used in single releases in the United States. "Even Flow" has gone on to become the band's most performed live song, having been played over 600 times (the next most played song, "Alive", is at just over 450 performances).[3] Live performances of "Even Flow" can be found on the live albums Live on Two Legs and Live at the Gorge 05/06. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs Touring Band 2000, Live at the Garden, and Immagine In Cornice. "Even Flow" is featured in the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as a master track.[4]
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Music video
The original video
Pearl Jam originally hired director Rocky Schenck to film a video for the song. On January 31, 1992, on their way to England to begin their European tour, they came to Los Angeles to shoot the video. The concept for the video was based on an idea by Stone Gossard.[5] Schenck filmed Pearl Jam in a zoo setting. He had arranged a nighttime shoot at an old, closed facility, brought in different wildlife, and set up his lights among the cages and in the trees. Along with the animal footage, Pearl Jam were filmed individually and as a band, standing on the side of a cliff and air jamming. The shoot took hours, and the band was not pleased with the end result. Schenck's shoot was considered a colossal waste of time and money by the band; it also damaged drummer Dave Abbruzzese's wrists significantly, eventually leading to carpal tunnel syndrome. After shooting had finished, he was taken to the emergency room where he was advised not to put strain on his wrists. Dave would drum on the European tour with a splint attached to his hands.
The official video
The original video was ultimately replaced by a performance clip, culled from footage shot during a January 17, 1992 show at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington.[6] The footage used in the video is actually spliced from different songs: for instance Stone Gossard and Mike McCready each play two different guitars, Eddie Vedder wears a hat at some point and the theatre climb actually occurred during "Porch".[7] Josh Taft was filming that night not in his capacity as a director but as a friend of Stone's. (At one point during the show, Eddie had even stopped the proceedings, clearly of the opinion that Taft's presence was intrusive. "This is not a TV studio, Josh" he'd yelled indignantly, in an interlude that Taft left in his final cut but that MTV clipped out of most versions it aired. "Turn those lights out, it's a fucking rock concert!") But in the end, Taft's presence at the Moore show, and the fact that he'd shot sufficient footage to cobble into an interesting video, was a lucky break. Otherwise with Epic hot to service MTV with an "Even Flow" clip and Schenck's zoo video already completed, Pearl Jam would have had little choice but to go with it, and they unanimously despised Schenck's version when they saw the final edit.
Formats and track listing
All information taken from various sources.[8][9][10]
Compact Disc Single (US, Germany, Australia, Austria, and Brazil)
- "Even Flow" (Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard) – 4:54
- "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Dave Abbruzzese) – 5:32
- Previously Unreleased
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
Compact Disc Single (UK)
- "Even Flow" (new version) (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:58
- "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, McCready, Abbruzzese) – 5:32
- Previously Unreleased
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
7" Vinyl Single (UK)
- "Even Flow" (new version) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
7" Vinyl Single (Holland)
- "Even Flow" (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:54
- "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, McCready, Abbruzzese) – 5:32
- Previously Unreleased
12" Vinyl Single (UK)
- "Even Flow" (new version) (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:58
- "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, McCready, Abbruzzese) – 5:32
- Previously Unreleased
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
Cassette Single (UK)
- "Even Flow" (new version) (Vedder, Gossard) – 5:04
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
Cassette Single (Australia)
- "Even Flow" (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:53
- "Dirty Frank" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament, McCready, Abbruzzese) – 5:32
- Previously Unreleased
- "Oceans" (remix) (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:32
Chart positions
All information taken from various sources.[11][12][13][14]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| US Modern Rock Tracks | 21 | |
| Australian Singles Chart | 22 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 27 |
References
- ^ Clay, Jennifer (December 1991). Life After Love Bone. RIP Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
- ^ Peiken, Matt. "Dave Abbruzzese of Pearl Jam". Modern Drummer. December 1993.
- ^ "Songs: Even Flow". pearljam.com.
- ^ Brudvig, Erik. "Guitar Hero III Song Update". IGN. May 31, 2007.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin Online. August 2001.
- ^ Pearl Jam: Timeline. Pearljam.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Concert Chronology: 1992". TwoFeetThick.com.
- ^ Torreano, Bradley. Even Flow. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Even Flow Single. Lukin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ pjcollectors.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
- ^ Pearl Jam Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ PEARL JAM - EVEN FLOW (SINGLE) (74324). Australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
