The 500 - #209 - Ten - Pearl Jam

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #209
Album Title: Ten
Artist: Pearl Jam
Genre: Hard Rock, Alternative Rock, Grunge
Recorded: London Bridge Studio (Seattle, U.S.A.) & Ridge Farm Studios (Surrey, England)

Released: August, 1991
My age at release: 26
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #160, up 49 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Black

When I wrote about Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic by Red Hot Chili Peppers (#310 on The 500), I related the story of a kitchen co-worker nick-named 'Boog' who introduced me to much of the alternative rock music that would become part of the mainstream zeitgeist in 1992. My favourite two discoveries in the spring of that year were, without a doubt, BadMotorFinger from Soundgarden and this week’s feature, Pearl Jam's Ten. Both were among the "Big Four" bands from Seattle who rocketed from small club obscurity to mega-stardom in 1992 -- Nirvana and Alice in Chains occupying the other two slots. Collectively, they have six records on The 500 list. It turned out that Boog, despite his unfortunate sobriquet, was a pretty good judge of music.

Around that time, my future wife and I moved from London, Ontario, to Brampton -- then a smallish city in the Greater Toronto area. As it turned out, I picked up a job with the same restaurant chain I had been the bartender and night manager of in London. However, it was 40 kilometres from Brampton in Oakville. A cassette recording of my Ten CD accompanied me on many of my daily commutes to work. It was also a "go-to" record when we entertained. At the time, my social circle was obsessed with the board game Scrabble and numerous word-battles dominated our evenings -- as we guzzled coffee and poisoned ourselves smoking cigarettes. Being a non-smoker now for more than 30 years, I can't imagine how awful our small Brampton apartment must have smelled – but, it was the ‘90s, we all just accepted that cigarette smoke was everywhere.

Our first "smoky" apartment. "Scrabble Table" at right, coffee maker
visible in kitchen - surprisingly not in use.

Pearl Jam, considered by some to be the most popular American band of the ‘90s, formed as a result of tragedy. Founding members Stone Gossard (guitars) and Jeff Ament (bass) were previously members of Mother Love Bone. However, shortly after the release of Love Bone’s debut record, the group's charismatic lead singer, Andrew Wood, overdosed on heroin.

Devastated by the loss, Gossard and Ament began writing darker, edgier music. Eventually, they connected with fellow Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, whose band Shadow had just broken up. The trio created a five-song demo cassette, hoping it would help them find a drummer and a lead singer. The cassette made its way to San Diego-based vocalist Eddie Vedder who was singing with the band Bad Radio and working part-time at a gas station. Vedder loved what he heard and began recording vocal tracks for three of the songs - Alive, Once and Footsteps. Vedder intended them to be included in a dark, mini-opera he called Mamasan. The themes from that mini-opera canl be heard in the lyrics to Alive and Once (which appear on Ten).  However,, the group opted against making their first record a concept album. The song Footsteps was shelved and eventually released as the B side for the single, Jeremy.

Pearl Jam (1991) (l-r) McCready, Ament, Vedder, Gossard and 
Dave Krusen (drums).

Gossard, Ament and McCready were so impressed with Vedder's vocal and lyrical efforts that they paid to fly him to Seattle to rehearse with the band, which in the meantime had recruited drummer Dave Krusen. A week later, 11 songs were crafted and the band was signed to Epic Records. Ten months later, Ten was released. Originally, the band wanted to be called Mookie Blaylock – the name of a point guard who was playing for the New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball League in 1991. However, the record company insisted they change their name. Blaylock’s jersey number is 10, so the name of their debut album is a nod to him and their original moniker. Over the years, band members have offered several stories about the origin of the name Pearl Jam. It seems the group enjoys fan speculation far more than solving the mystery.

Pearl Jam (1991).

My Ten album is one that I loaded in my CD player hundreds of times in the early ‘90s, and I bought their second record, Vs., the day it came out in 1993. At that time, I suspected Ten might be shuffled to the back of my CD cabinet, retrieved occasionally for a nostalgic spin. Such is the fate of many albums in my collection -- and I don’t think I am alone in doing that.

Another shot of my Brampton apartment - one of my three CD 
racks can be seen - I am sure the Pearl Jam record is in the left column.

However, in the autumn of 1995, I began my Teachers' College studies at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and, unexpectedly, my listening habits gave Ten an auditory renaissance. The 14-hour drive necessitated a litre of coffee and plenty of cassette tapes. I made a number of "mixed cassettes" to keep me occupied, but I also dug through my old collections and Ten found its way into the cassette player in my gray 1990 Chevy Cavalier.

A 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier.

This coincided with what, at the time, seemed like an end to my 10-year romantic relationship when we decided to take a break. The fifth track on Ten was the emotionally heavy ballad, Black. The lyrics, penned by Vedder, reflect on a break-up he had experienced. In the bridge, he sings the emotional lyric:

"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky, but why? Why?
Why can't it be, oh, can't it be mine?"

In retrospect, I can understand how this might sound a bit maudlin. But, as I drove through the night, on a lonely stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway toward an expensive academic risk that I desperately hoped was the right decision, the song was an emotional gut punch. I won’t say I sang along with the "doo-doo-doo-do-doo-doo-doo" chorus as I cut my way through the Canadian Shield landscape north of Lake Superior -- but I won’t say I didn't. 

The drive from London, Ontario to Thunder Bay.

Because of those long drives, Ten has a special place in my heart. I can lose myself in the incredible guitar solos on songs that include Alive, Even Flow or the tremendously underrated Porch. The lyrics to Jeremy, which were inspired by the tragic death of a high school student who shot himself in front of his English class in 1991, are powerfully prescient and I'll always get a little wistful when I hear Black -- despite the fact that everything worked out. Teachers' College was a smart idea and I reconnected with the girl of my dreams and she is still "a star in my sky".

The 500 - #485 - Pearl Jam - Vitology

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

My plan. 

• 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
• A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
• No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.

Album # 485

Album Title: Vitology
Artist: Pearl Jam
Released: November, 1994
My age at release: 29
How familiar am I with it: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Corduroy
Great Lyric: (So many to choose from - Eddie was in the zone by this record)
Ransom paid the devil. He whispers pleasing words.
Triumphant are the angels if they can get there first.
Little secrets, tremor, turned to quake
The smallest oceans still get big big waves.

I was going to talk about my introduction to Pearl Jam and grunge, but I realized that I had already covered that territory with this post from last year. 

Instead, I will share a story about working for a slightly shady, but decent, guy named Bruno - selling stereo equipment from a bare-bones retail space in a strip mall in St. Mary's, Ontario. 

In 1994, I was bartending full-time at Kelsey's Restaurant, saving  money for Teachers College. I was making a great living and was reluctant to give up my lifestyle for a year away at school - but I also knew that this gig was not sustainable. Late night restaurant service work was a young man's game - and I was nearing 30.

In the plaza where the restaurant was located was a small stereo store. It had done well in the previous decade, but was now struggling. The early 90's marked the rise of the big box store and several warehouse-style electronics outlets had opened nearby (Best Buy, Future Shop & Costco). 

The aforementioned Bruno, who owned the store, was in survival mode. He had hired two brothers who agreed to work there for less money because he provided them with a room at the back with two cots. 

That's right - they agreed to live in the back of a stereo store & shower at the local gym. They ate in our restaurant almost every night.

Bruno should have made the switch to high-end audio & video, perhaps transition to a boutique store. Instead, he dug himself in and bought a literal truckload of lower to mid-range equipment in order to get better pricing. The problem was that his store was too small to house it and he needed to move it quickly. 

That night at the bar, he asked me and my coworker Kris if we were interested in working that weekend in the small town of St. Mary's. He offered us a deal that justified missing a Saturday night at the bar...

• $12 an hour
• 5% of all sales we made
• Accommodation & Gas
• Lunches, Dinners & an open bar tab at the local tavern

The two brothers had traveled in the truck to St. Mary's the night before. Bruno had rented an empty unit in the only plaza in the town - right beside the grocery store - and the brothers had dutifully filled it with boxes of VCRs, Amplifiers, Car Stereos, televisions and CD Players (even the new 5 disc carousel style ones).

 Saturday was a whirlwind. The word got out quickly in the village and people filled the store all day. Sales were brisk and effortless. The prices were good because the equipment wasn't high-end and people left satisfied.

That night we celebrated at the local bar "The Creamery" and drank entirely too much. I vaguely remember weaving toward the hotel - a manor style home along the river called "The Westover Inn".

The next day, through a hazy hangover, I made more sales. By mid-afternoon - we were pretty much sold out and we headed back to London with our pockets full of cash.

Bruno was ecstatic - and so were the brothers. A few weeks later, Friday, December 8 to be exact (the day after Vitology was released on CD) we were set up again - this time in London in a larger, but equally barren, strip mall concrete bunker.

We opened at 10 am and I put the Pearl Jam disc into one of the better stereo systems in the store. As the cacophonous intro to Last Exit rang out, I prepared for a busy day that would never arrive. 

It was a bust. The five of us stood around for hours - only occasionally would someone wander in - look around - check prices - and leave (probably for a nearby Big Box Electronics Outlet). 

Bruno had misjudged the popularity of a Pop-up Stereo store in a larger municipality. In little St. Mary's, it was big news. In London...crickets. Well, crickets and the sound of Pearl Jam's Vitology. That disc is now inexorably tied to the events of that day...or rather... the absence of events. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the album at first. I absolutely loved both Ten and Vs. and this seemed uneven to me - maybe even rushed. However, over the years it has grown on me and it gets at least one play a year - usually at the gym in headphones.

Stuff I learned

• When Pearl Jam appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1994 they were so popular that they played 3 songs, instead of the customary 2, including this great version of RearViewMirror
• This SNL appearance was also 11 days after Kurt Cobain killed himself. Vedder revealed a K over his heart at the end of the show as a tribute to his contemporary.
  
• The album was released on vinyl two weeks prior to being made available in any other form (including the more popular compact disc). For the next twenty years it held the record for most vinyl sales in a week at 34,000.
• When Vedder was fell ill with food poisoning, he was forced to leave a show in San Francisco. Neil Young replaced him, singing 14 songs with the band.
• The song Corduroy is about a thrift-store jacket that Vedder bought for about $12. It was copied in the height of Grunge Popularity and was being sold for over $500.