Binaural (album)

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Binaural
Binaural cover
Studio album by Pearl Jam
Released May 16, 2000
Recorded September 1999–January 2000 at Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington
Genre Alternative rock
Length 52:05
Label Epic
Producer Tchad Blake, Pearl Jam
Professional reviews
Pearl Jam chronology
Live on Two Legs
(1998)		 Binaural
(2000)		 Riot Act
(2002)
Singles from Binaural
  1. "Nothing As It Seems"
    Released: April 25, 2000
  2. "Light Years"
    Released: July 18, 2000

Binaural is Pearl Jam's sixth studio album, released on May 16, 2000 through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of its previous album, Yield (1998), the band took a short break. The band then reconvened toward the end of 1999 and commenced work on a new album. The music on the record featured an experimental sound, evidenced on songs that utilized binaural recording techniques.

Binaural debuted at number two on the Billboard charts. The album became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status. The album's 2000 tour spawned an enormous collection of official bootleg releases. The album has been certified Gold in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Recording

For its sixth album, Pearl Jam brought in producer Tchad Blake, known for his use of binaural recording. Binaural recording techniques were utilized on several tracks. These tracks can usually be identified by a warm sound to the music, such as the acoustic "Of the Girl", as well as an asterisk next to the song names on the album packaging. This is the first Pearl Jam studio album following the departure of drummer Jack Irons, and features Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden, who had previously drummed on Pearl Jam's US Yield Tour. Binaural was recorded in late 1999 and early 2000 in Seattle at Studio Litho, which is owned by guitarist Stone Gossard.[1]

Similar to the process for Yield, the individual members worked on material on their own before starting the recording sessions.[2] Binaural was the first album since the band's debut that was not produced by Brendan O'Brien. Stone Gossard stated that the band "felt like it was time to try something new"[2] and that they "were ready for a change."[3] Of producer Tchad Blake, Gossard said, "He was just there for us the whole time, wanting us to create different moods."[4] The album was initially mixed at Sunset Sound Factory in Los Angeles with Tchad Blake, however the band proved to be dissatisfied with how the mixes turned out,[5] wanting the songs to sound "heavier."[6] The band then turned to its former producer Brendan O'Brien, who was called in to remix several tracks at his mixing facility at Southern Tracks in Atlanta. It was with O'Brien when the band determined the final sequencing of the album.[7]

During the making of the album the band ran into several problems. Frontman Eddie Vedder has admitted that while working on the album he suffered from writer's block, which made it difficult for him to come up with lyrics.[8] This apparently inspired the secret track "Writer's Block" that appears at the end of the album. Vedder had written music for several songs, including "Insignificance" and "Grievance", but was having trouble coming up with lyrics for the songs.[5] He decided to not write any more music, and to focus only on lyrics, even banning himself from playing guitar. Unable to write more lyrics, Vedder said he saw a ukulele and thought "that's not a guitar" and wrote the song "Soon Forget" using the ukulele.[9] Guitarist Mike McCready went into rehab to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription drugs.[7][5] Gossard said that "because Mike wasn't all there, and there was a 'get-to-know-you' thing with Matt, everyone wasn't on the same page."[3]

[edit] Music and lyrics

Audio samples of Binaural
  • "Nothing As It Seems"
    Sample of "Nothing As It Seems", the first single released from Binaural. It is one of the songs on the album that utilized binaural recording techniques. The song was composed by Jeff Ament and features prominent usage of his upright bass, giving the song an atmospheric feel.
    "Light Years"
    Sample of "Light Years", the second single released from Binaural. The song is a mid-tempo ballad with lyrics mourning the loss of someone close.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

Binaural found the band dabbling with experimental art rock. The album opens with three up-tempo songs before growing more diverse.[10] Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone said, "Apparently as tired of grunge as everyone except Creed fans, Pearl Jam delve elsewhere: jumpy post-punk and somber meditations, tightly wound folk rock and turbulent, neopsychedelic rockers that sound like they boiled out of jam sessions. The album reflects both Pearl Jam's longstanding curse of self-importance and a renewed willingness to be experimental or just plain odd."[11] Eddie Vedder explained, "We'd rather challenge our fans and make them listen to our songs than give them something that's easy to digest. There is a lot of music out there that is very easy to digest but we never wanted to be part of it."[8]

A few songs on the album show classic rock influences. "Soon Forget", which features Vedder playing a ukulele, is heavily influenced by The Who song "Blue, Red and Grey" (from The Who by Numbers LP). Vedder thanks Pete Townshend on the lyric sheet. Additionally, the intro to the opening track "Breakerfall" uses the riff from the song "I Can See for Miles" by The Who.[7] The song "Nothing As It Seems" has been compared to the style of Pink Floyd.[2]

Guitarist Stone Gossard penned the lyrics for three songs on the album ("Thin Air", "Of the Girl", and "Rival"), and bassist Jeff Ament for two ("Gods' Dice" and "Nothing As It Seems"). The album is lyrically darker than the band's previous album Yield. Jeff Ament said he wrote "Nothing As It Seems" about his childhood growing up in a rural area of Northern Montana.[12] Eddie Vedder took inspiration from the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle when writing "Grievance",[13] and said the song is about the dangers of technology.[8] Stone Gossard has said that the song "Rival" is his reflection upon the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.[14] The album is the band's first to not contain any cursing in the lyrics, despite the ferocity of some of the music and subject matter.

[edit] Release and reception

Binaural sold 226,000 copies during its first week of release and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. Binaural became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status. The album achieved Gold status,[15] selling just over 700,000 copies in the United States.[16]

Binaural received mixed reviews, although they were still favorable overall.[17] NME gave Binaural a nine out of ten. In the review, Binaural is called "a seething, furious album; a declamatory statement against cynicism and passivity and the simple injustices of everyday life." It’s also said that "even when the band slow the pace, the songs are coloured by a heartfelt intensity."[18] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars. Reviewer Jon Pareles said that the album "comes across as part of an extended conversation among the five band members...and fans loyal enough to check in for Pearl Jam's latest musings on love, death and social responsibility."[11] The Guardian also gave the album three out of five stars. In the review it’s stated that Pearl Jam "are dignified, musicianly, sincere... and a teensy bit dull." The review observed that "Vedder's affecting vocal angst drowns in a sea of pessimistic riffola." The review called Binaural "a warts-and-all album; it has grabbers, songs that sink in slowly and a few absolute duds."[19]

Two singles were released from Binaural. The lead single "Nothing As It Seems" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 49. The album's other commercially released single, "Light Years", did not chart on the Hot 100, but it did place on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. "Nothing As It Seems" was the most successful song from Binaural on the rock charts, reaching number 3 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The song "Grievance" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001.[20]

[edit] Imagery and design

The cover art image for this album is a Hubble Space Telescope photo of the Hourglass Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope photos of the Helix Nebula and Eagle Nebula are also featured in the inside cover and liner notes for this album, respectively. The photos were used with the permission of NASA. About the artwork, bassist Jeff Ament said, "The reason that we went with Tchad [Blake] is because he provides an amazing atmosphere to songs....So, I think we wanted the artwork to represent that....One of the themes that we've been exploring...is just realizing that in the big scheme of things, even the music that we make when we come together, no matter how powerful it is, it's still pretty miniscule. I think for me the whole space theme has a lot to do with scale. You know, you look at some of those pictures, and there are thirteen light years in four inches in that picture.[2]

The album's title is a reference to the binaural recording techniques that were utilized on several tracks. Binaural literally means "having or relating to two ears." About the choice of the title, guitarist Stone Gossard said, "When we looked up the word 'binaural,' it meant to listen with both ears. So it seemed like a fitting title for the album."[21]

[edit] Binaural tour

Main article: Binaural Tour

Pearl Jam promoted the album with tours of Europe and North America.[22] Pearl Jam's 2000 European tour ended in tragedy on June 30, 2000, with an accident at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Nine fans were crushed underfoot and suffocated to death as the crowd rushed to the front.[23] The two remaining dates of the tour were cancelled, and the band seriously considered retiring after this event.[23] Pearl Jam was initially blamed for the accident, but the band was later cleared of responsibility.[24]

A month after the European tour concluded, the band embarked on a two-leg North American tour. The first leg of the tour focused on the East Coast of the United States, and then the band moved to the Midwestern United States and the West Coast of the United States for the tour's second leg. On performing after the Roskilde tragedy, Eddie Vedder said that "playing, facing crowds, being together-it enabled us to start processing it."[5] On October 22, 2000, the band played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its first live performance as a band. The tour's final night took place in Seattle where the band performed for over three hours. The European and North American tours were documented by a long series of official bootlegs, all of which were available in record stores as well as through the band's fan club.[25] The band released 72 live albums in 2000 and 2001, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard 200 at the same time.[26] Following the conclusion of the 2000 tour, the band released Touring Band 2000, a DVD which featured select performances from the North American legs of the tour.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Breakerfall" (Eddie Vedder) – 2:19
  2. "Gods' Dice" (Jeff Ament) – 2:26
  3. "Evacuation" (Matt Cameron, Vedder) – 2:56
  4. "Light Years" (Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Vedder) – 5:06
  5. "Nothing As It Seems" (Ament) – 5:22 *
  6. "Thin Air" (Gossard) – 3:32
  7. "Insignificance" (Vedder) – 4:28
  8. "Of the Girl" (Gossard) – 5:07 *
  9. "Grievance" (Vedder) – 3:14
  10. "Rival" (Gossard) – 3:38 *
  11. "Sleight of Hand" (Ament, Vedder) – 4:47 *
  12. "Soon Forget" (Vedder) – 1:46 *
  13. "Parting Ways" (Vedder) – 7:17
    • "Parting Ways" contains the hidden track "Writer's Block" at 6:49

[edit] Original track listing

When the tracklisting for Binaural was first released in late March 2000, it was quite different from the final version.[27] Some tracks that were originally on the album were dropped and not released until the Lost Dogs compilation and "Gods' Dice" was added to the final version. The original version looked like this:

  1. "Breakherfall"
  2. "Insignificance"
  3. "Evacuation"
  4. "Letter to the Dead"
    • Later renamed to "Sad"
  5. "Rival"
  6. "Grievance"
  7. "Light Years"
  8. "Of the Girl"
  9. "Thin Air"
  10. "Nothing As It Seems"
  11. "Fatal"
  12. "Sleight of Hand"
  13. "Soon Forget"
  14. "In the Moonlight"
  15. "Parting Ways"
  16. "Education"

[edit] Outtakes

Several songs were rejected from the album that eventually found their way on to the Lost Dogs collection of rarities. These include "Sad", "Hitchhiker", "In the Moonlight", "Education", "Fatal", and "Sweet Lew".[28] "Sad", originally called "Letter to the Dead", was called "a great pop song" by Jeff Ament, but he said the song didn't fit the album because the band doesn't "really [write] very many pop records."[29] "Sweet Lew", about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[28] was cut from Binaural because it didn't fit the album according to Ament.[29] "Fatal" was producer Tchad Blake's favorite song to come out of the recording sessions.[28] "Strangest Tribe" and "Drifting" were also recorded around the time of the album's recording sessions,[28] and both songs were released on the band's 1999 fan club Christmas single as well as Lost Dogs.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

Information taken from various sources.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]

Album
Year Chart Position
2000 Australian Albums Chart 1
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
US Billboard 200 2
Italian Albums Chart 2
Norwegian Albums Chart 2
Top Canadian Albums 2
Top Internet Albums 2
German Albums Chart 4
Belgian Albums Chart 5
Dutch Albums Chart 5
UK Albums Chart 5
Irish Albums Chart 6
Swedish Albums Chart 6
Austrian Albums Chart 8
Swiss Albums Chart 8
Finnish Albums Chart 10
French Albums Chart 12
Hungarian Albums Chart 21
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
2000 "Nothing As It Seems" Canadian Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 5
Australian Singles Chart 7
Italian Singles Chart 11
UK Singles Chart 22
Irish Singles Chart 27
Dutch Singles Chart 33
Swedish Singles Chart 40
New Zealand Singles Chart 42
US Billboard Hot 100 49
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 3
US Modern Rock Tracks 10
Swiss Singles Chart 83
German Singles Chart 98
"Light Years" Canadian Singles Chart 13
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 17
Italian Singles Chart 25
US Modern Rock Tracks 26
UK Singles Chart 52

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pearl Jam: Timeline. Pearljam.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-27.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jeff Woods with Pearl Jam for Radio Rock Network". Radio Rock Network. May 15, 2000.
  3. ^ a b "Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". Total Guitar. November 2002.
  4. ^ Kaufman, Gil. "Pearl Jam's Anti-Career". Sonicnet. May 15, 2000.
  5. ^ a b c d Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin. August 2001.
  6. ^ Calil, Ricardo. "The Shadow and the Darkness". 89 Revista Rock. 2000.
  7. ^ a b c Aledort, Andy. "Aural Exam". Guitar World. July 2000.
  8. ^ a b c Gabriella. "Interview with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam". NYRock.com. August 2000.
  9. ^ Vedder, Eddie. "KROQ Interview with EV 5/12/2000". KROQ-FM. May 12, 2000.
  10. ^ Ament, Jeff. "CFOX radio's Jeff O'Neil with Jeff Ament and Mike McCready". CFOX-FM, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. May 11, 2000.
  11. ^ a b "Pearl Jam: Binaural". Rolling Stone. June 8, 2000.
  12. ^ Basham, David. "Pearl Jam's Ament Probes Childhood With "Seems"". MTV.com. May 3, 2000.
  13. ^ Tannenbaum, Rob. "Rebels Without a Pause". George. July 2000.
  14. ^ Manning, Kara. "Pearl Jam On Columbine-Inspired New Song". MTV.com. April 19, 2000.
  15. ^ Gold and Platinum Database Search. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  16. ^ Gundersen, Edna (2002-12-05). Riot Act finds Pearl Jam in a quiet place. USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
  17. ^ Binaural by Pearl Jam. metacritic.com.
  18. ^ "Binaural burns with the intensity and desperation of a last stand...". NME. May 11, 2000.
  19. ^ "Other pop releases". The Guardian. May 12, 2000.
  20. ^ 43rd Grammy Awards. Rockonthenet. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  21. ^ Stout, Gene (2000-05-16). Pearl Jam's 'Binaural' ear-marked by unusual sound mixing. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  22. ^ Pearl Jam: Set Lists. pearljam.com.
  23. ^ a b Stout, Gene (2000-09-01). Pearl Jam's darkest hour: Seattle band thought about quitting after concert deaths. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  24. ^ Pearl Jam Rumor Pit (2000-08-02). Pearl Jam Releases Full Text of Letter Written By Roskilde Police Department Commissioner Kornerup. SonyMusic.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  25. ^ Gundersen, Edna (2000-08-31). Pearl Jam's Bootlegs Give Others the Boot. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  26. ^ Davis, Darren (2001-03-07). Pearl Jam Breaks Its Own Chart Record. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  27. ^ "Binaural Tracklisting!". fivehorizons.com. March 29, 2000.
  28. ^ a b c d (2003) Album notes for Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
  29. ^ a b Cohen, Jonathan. "Pearl Jam: Spreading The Jam". Billboard.com. March 30, 2001.
  30. ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Albums. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  31. ^ Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Longplay. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  32. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 18 May 2000". ChartTrack.com.
  33. ^ EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  34. ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  35. ^ The Irish Charts - All there is to know. Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
  36. ^ Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Single. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  37. ^ Classifice Artisti - Archivio. FIMI. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  38. ^ Schweizer Hitparade. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  39. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  40. ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  41. ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  42. ^ Austrian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  43. ^ French Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. lescharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  44. ^ Finnish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  45. ^ Schweizer Hitparade. hitparade.ch. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  46. ^ Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  47. ^ Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  48. ^ Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  49. ^ Belgian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay. belgiancharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  50. ^ Pearl Jam in Australian Charts. Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  51. ^ Pearl Jam in New Zealand Charts. Charts.Org.NZ. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
  52. ^ Chart Log: 1994-2006. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  53. ^ Pearl Jam in Hungarian Charts. Hungarian chart Retrieved on June 4, 2008.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Affirmation by Savage Garden		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
May 22, 2000 - May 28, 2000		 Succeeded by
Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty
Preceded by
Bardot by Bardot		 RIANZ number-one album
May 28, 2000 - June 3, 2000		 Succeeded by
Play by Moby
v • d • e
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament · Stone Gossard · Mike McCready · Eddie Vedder · Matt Cameron
Additional personnel: Boom Gaspar
Former members: Dave Krusen · Matt Chamberlain · Dave Abbruzzese · Jack Irons
Studio albums
Ten · Vs. · Vitalogy · No Code · Yield · Binaural · Riot Act · Pearl Jam
Live albums
Compilations
Videos
Singles
Tours
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