Why?: I was never a fan of Pearl Jam. I liked "Ten" and "Vs", but I wasn't at the level where I needed to have all-the-things (as I was with Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Faith No More etc.). This copy of "Alive" is pretty battered, so I suspect it was very cheap. The justification for buying it would have bought it for the b-side "Wash".
Tell me more!:
How can I say anything sensible about "Alive"? The soundtrack to my teens, it is near impossible to review it without significant bias. Further, I've read so much about early Pearl Jam, that my knowledge of how the song came about colours my opinion of it.
Nirvana, and other bands of the era, were generally not big fans of Pearl Jam, arguing they were a commercialised "grunge", manufactured by the record companies. That's unfair, but on listening now, "Alive" is far more polished than I thought at the time. My mental image of Pearl Jam was grungy, messy, rough. "Alive" is in fact very highly polished.
I'm also aware that "Alive" existed in instrumental form before Vedder joined the band. Listening now it sounds like Eddie's voice is above the music, not as well mixed as I remember, as if it was recorded over the top, later. That's likely not how it happened, and I can't trust my mind on this.
Now my musical experiences have massively expanded over the last two+ decades, I can clearly hear Pearl Jam's the influences. If I'd been aware of Neil Young, Led Zeppelin or The Who I'd have noticed it at the time, and perhaps been critical. Instead I thought Pearl Jam were a unique version of rock, both emotive and hard-rocking.
"Alive" is the combination of all those thoughts. I never had any heroic memorable teenage moments while listening to Pearl Jam, and they invoke none of those memories. Such things are saved for Nirvana and Faith No More.
My favourite track from "Ten" is "Once", and the version from this single is my favourite, prefixed with a faded in version of "Master/Slave", the hidden track from "Ten". My head believes this version is slightly better mixed compared to the album, but I no longer believe this... I think the weird intro warps my mind into believing this version is heavier.
I'm not a fan of "Wash". It's horribly dull, especially paired with these two songs. It's a pity they didn't include "Footsteps" on this single. It would have been a nice package of the "mother/son" trilogy. These days there is nothing stopping me creating that trilogy in a playlist...
Scoring this single is difficult, one great song, one overplayed un-reviewable anthem, one bad song. I guess that makes it...
5/10
