Pearl Jam, Yield

Pearl Jam is a big name in the US but seems to find less coverage in the UK, which is a shame because Pearl Jam is great long standing band and their album 'Yield' is yet another good example of a good collection of strong songs.

Pearl Jam has been known to do some strange and unusual things when it comes to promotions, productions and releases but they are consistently good and steady in their music. Yield starts of with a nice rocker that leaves you wide awake. It continues with 'Faithful' where the beautiful melody finds good harmony with the vocals and the different strengths and intensity's of the instruments. 'No Way', the track that follows, is nice and rhythmic and right after the momentum reaches it climax it hosts some kind of bridge which takes the song over to another dimension and makes this a great song.

Most songs of this album have great melodies that really pull you in. The use of instruments, the build up in strength and the loosing of strength at other times prove this album is a great example of a classic. The drums are clearly present but don't overpower and therefor add to the good vocals and smart varied use of guitars. The sound is typical American, which I love. It is good non-pretentious rock but with plenty of points to love. Other songs definitely worth mentioning are 'Given to Fly', 'Wishlist' and 'In Hiding'. Towards the end of the CD there's some songs which in my opinion don't carry forward the momentum of excellence the rest of this CD does have. Nevertheless I would recommend this CD to anyone.