Pearl Jam – Ten (Reissue)

April 4, 2009

Some music webzines (Drowned is Sound and Pitchfork) have given Pearl Jam‘s Ten reissue a bit of a shoeing lately; with DiS nonsensically drivelling “Arguably Ten’s not a very DiS album, but it’s not really a very Pearl Jam album either” and Pitch4k claiming “…these new versions have less to do with Pearl Jam’s music than with O’Brien’s superfandom”. Should you be persuaded to scan this article, though, you might fairly deduce that Pearl Jam asked Brendan O’Brien to manage the project. Research, eh? Boring!

As you’re reading this, I’m going to make the assumption that you, like me,  adored Ten when it came out way back in ’91. A personal favourite, it meant I no longer had to listen to Anthrax every minute of every day. I carried that black cassette (with Epic logo boldly printed on white sticker)  everywhere me and my Walkman went. School bus, holidays, bed -- you name it. I bought all the 12″ singles with the limited gatefold sleeves and posters, the coloured vinyl editions etc. etc. Suckered. But the infatuation waned soon after Vs and was humanely put down on the release of Vitalogy. Still, Ten remained Pearl Jam’s legacy.

And now, like all things classic, it’s been remixed and remastered. And, for idiots like me, it also comes in a variety of different types of packaging. Actually, as an adult with a mortgage in a recession, I chose to buy the cheapest version, containing as it does two versions of the album: one which features a direct remaster of the original and a ‘redux’ version which has seen additional remixing prior to mastering. Both versions were mastered by the same engineer, Bob Ludwig, at Gateway Matering. And here he is.

Looks happy doesn’t he? He’s won a Grammy you know. Oh, and he mastered some music by a chap called Jimi Hendrix. Don’t know him, myself.

So them’s the credentials -- not bad. But how does that translate?

Well, disc one has been well treated by Bob -  the album’s original warmth has been sustained and enhanced. As he mastered the original album, it makes perfect sense for him to remaster it with all the new mastering technology that’s been created over the past 18 years. Both discs match in terms of volume level: but perceived level is a different matter; we can come to that later when we look at the redux disc. Incidentally, ‘redux’ really is a cool word isn’t it? It’s Latin -- means to bring back (this is a QI moment, so let’s enjoy it).

I was in the car when I first listened to disc one, and I was amazed at how my emotional memory was triggered. It wasn’t like listening to the album afresh, it was like listening to the album again but with fresh ears. I have missed the album, and I’ve listened to it each day since  just to make up for lost time. I’m not going to review it, if that’s what you’re after. If you don’t own it, you should.

Redux presents more of a sonic challenge. Remixing a track means you can access individual, recorded components of a song. You can isolate the kick drum, for example, and add a touch more EQ to it. Or maybe you think that particular guitar solo could be panned a micrometer more to the left -- well, you can do that too. I’m not saying O’Brien went into such detail, but he’s definitely given the album a consistent reworking.

For instance, during the breakdown of ‘Even Flow’, did you know that Eddie Vedder was mumbling “Can you spare some change? A dollar?” You did? Liar! You didn’t because you can’t hear it on either the original, or the remastered version -- but you can now hear it on the redux disc. You can also hear a big change in how Dave Abbruzzese‘s drums sound: bigger and punchier -- which is what we want drums to sound like. The slightly dated snare has been replaced with a veritable firecrack and the cymbals crash harder on the eardrums. Jeff Ament‘s fretless bass has added grind which, though audible on most tracks, is especially apparent on ‘Why go home?’ Mike McCready and Stone Gossard‘s guitars, much like Vedder’s vocals have been dried of their previous reverb drenching and the mix is wider in general.

However, redux also sounds like O’Brian has added extra compression pre-master creating a discernable ‘pump’ in the mix which lends it a ‘live’ feel, and this is where I feel the disc stumbles. Though this version is more immediately exciting , it does fatigue the ears faster -- particularly at a decent volume.

One possible explanation for this, is because Ten has just recently been made available for download on Rock Band 2. If this is part of the reason, it is a disappointment.

Nevertheless, Ten (redux) is a great listen: one that warrants attention. With the standalone remaster providing a superb rendition of a band at their peak, if you ever were a fan of this album, you already own this.

Good on you.

Related posts:

1. P.O.S. – Why Go (Pearl Jam cover)
2. Pablo – Turntable Technology
3. Def Leppard – Adrenalize (Deluxe Edition)
4. Nirvana – Bleach (Remastered)
5. Mr Scruff – Keep it Unreal (10th anniversary edition)

Posted in Music Reviews