Reviewed by:
TheDissident, on july 09, 2009
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Sound: Pearl Jam's Ten was a musical masterpiece, a real breakthrough for Pearl Jam and an album that took the angst and energy of the 90's to the masses. On Unplugged (Available through the Deluxe Remastering) Pearl Jam takes a new look at their first album, playing through it Unplugged and in a live setting before real fans. Songs like Alive, Oceans, and Even Flow which utilized distortion so heavily on the original album are beautifully rewritten to work in an acoustic setting. Eddie really comes into his own during the show, singing with real emotion and obviously enjoying the up close feel of the audience and his band. Unfortunately for the sound, Stone's guitar is very quiet, taking away from the effect of Alive's and Even Flow's solos. Rhythms and riffs are still masterfully done, Black and Porch are real highlights of the show. The drums, however, were played with real sticks instead of the brush sticks favored in most acoustic settings, and they often overpower the rest of the band. // 8
Content: The content is straight forward and simple; a live audience concert, featuring a song selection in the menu and seven acoustic tracks. The setlist contains mostly favorites from the Ten album, with State of Love and Trust from the Singles soundtrack as an added bonus. The band choose their songs well, throwing in the singles (Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy) as well as some of the other adaptable tracks (Porch, Oceans, Black), and obviously the Singles song State of Love and Trust. The content is simple and straight forward, the song order working perfectly and showing the different styles of the early Pearl Jam work at it's finest. // 9
Production Quality: The concert was not over produced to be put onto DVD, a treat for some and quite possibly a turn off for others. This DVD features the songs Unplugged and simple, without all the flash and trendy features offered on other live DVD's. The greatness of the songs lie in the simple production of the album and it's songs. The quality of the entire DVD is excellent, though as mentioned earlier, something should have been done to enhance the sound of Stone's guitar and take away the impact of the drums. // 7
Impression: Overall, the DVD is an excellent buy and well worth the money spent on it. Though it's not as long or "worked on" as the other Unplugged albums by similar artists (most notably Nirvana's), Pearl Jam's Unplugged concert is an excellent demonstration of the band's live prowess and ability. Eddie Vedder is the real star on the DVD, his emotion and ability comes across crystal clear with the more subdued instruments and the smaller audience. Stone's remodeled solos (when audible) are also a great listen, and lend to the DVD being more than just a live play through of the album. Even with the sometimes poor sound and lack of flash, the Unplugged DVD is an excellent add to even the most moderate Pearl Jam fan's collection. // 9
/ my profile 
Was this review helpful to you? 