PW's Song Of The Week: SONG OF THE WEEK: 4-9-2023

SONG: "Down"

ARTIST: Pearl Jam

ALBUM: "Fenway Park, Boston, MA 8/5/16"

YEAR: 2016

PLACE OF ORIGIN: Seattle, Washington

YEARS ACTIVE: 1990 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Down" is a song that was written by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready with help from lead singer Eddie Vedder. The song is about hope. More specifically, how McCready overcame his addictions which once held him down. If he could do it, maybe others can as well.

PEARL JAM DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1991 - Ten (Epic Records)

* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 on 8-27-91

* certified 13X diamond

1993 - VS (Epic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 10-19-93

* certified 7X platinum

1994 - Vitalogy (Epic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 11-22-94

* certified 6X platinum

1996 - No Code (Epic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 8-27-96

* certified platinum

1998 - Yield (Epic Records)

* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 on 2-3-98

* certified platinum

1998 - Live On Two Legs (Epic Records)

* peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 on 11-24-98

* certified platinum

2000 - Binaural (Epic Records)

* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 on 5-16-00

* certified gold

2002 - Riot Act (Epic Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 11-12-02

* certified gold

2003 - Lost Dogs (Epic Records)

* peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 on 11-11-03

* certified gold

2004 - Live At Benaroya Hall (BMG Records)

* peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 on 7-27-04

2006 - Pearl Jam (J Records)

* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 on 5-2-06

* certified gold

2009 - Backspacer (Universal Music Group)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 9-20-09

* certified gold

2011 - Live On Ten Legs (Universal Music)

* peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 on 1-17-11

2013 - Lightning Bolt (Monkeywrench Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 10-15-13

* certified gold

2017 - Let's Play Two (Republic Records)

* peaked at #31 on the Billboard 200 on 9-29-17

2020 - Gigaton (Monkeywrench Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 3-27-20

MY THOUGHTS ON PEARL JAM:

First and foremost, Pearl Jam is my favorite band. Their history is long so I'll try not to go too in depth here or I can be a while! Of course, they formed out of the ashes of Seattle band Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone's singer died of an overdose leaving bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard wondering what to do next. Add lead guitarist Mike McCready. Get a lead singer from San Diego, Eddie Vedder, thanks to Jack Irons of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band went through drummers Dave Krusen (1990-1991), Matt Chamberlain (1991), Dave Abbruzzese (1991-1994), Jack Irons (1994-1998) and finally settling on Matt Cameron of Soundgarden in 1998 to the present day. Their debut "Ten" in 1991 was a monster! To this day, it has been certified 13X diamond!! That is a shitload of records! Pearl Jam was riding high on that grunge explosion of the 90's along with Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. 1993's "VS", a #1 album. 1994's "Vitalogy", a #1 album. 1996's "No Code", a #1 album. 1998's "Yield" and 2000's "Binaural", #2 albums! 2002's "Riot Act" slipped to #5, then 2006's "Pearl Jam" was back to #2 before the band scored two more #1 albums with 2009's "Backspacer" and 2013's "Lightning Bolt". Their most recent release was 2020's "Gigaton". Pearl Jam has also released a shitload of b-sides, most can be found on the 2003 compilation "Lost Dogs". They also began releasing live bootlegs of all their shows dating back to 2000. Hardcore fans, like myself, scour these live recording for the slew of live cover songs the band plays in addition to their own vast catalogue. Pearl Jam at it's conception was always considered a live band. The energy of their live performances made them almost feel like religious experiences. They had their stumbles here and there. They had to battle the quick rise to fame and the pressures that came along with that. They went through an ill advised battle with Ticketmaster they basically killed what they did best, play live. The had the Roskilde tragedy when 9 fans were trampled to death at their show. Through it all, they continued to persevere. There are many highlights for me from Pearl Jam. Obviously the first few albums are Epic, no pun intended. 1998's "Yield" has always been a personal favorite of mine. I love that album. 2006's self-titled, sometimes called "Avocado" album is a real return to their heavier side. 2009's "Backspacer" possibly grew on me more than any of their albums. I was lukewarm to it at first, now I absolutely love that album. And their most recent release "Gigaton" is a great record, proving that Pearl Jam is still very much relavant and in my opinion, makes them still the best active American rock band. I could go on and on but I'll leave it at that. Oh yeah, one more thing, the band, ever hard working, has been working on new material with producer Andrew Watt, who did an amazing job on Eddie Vedder's most recent solo album.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Soundgarden

Temple Of The Dog

Stone Temple Pilots

Alice In Chains

Mad Season

TEN PEARL JAM SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

Come on now, I love this band too much to come up with just 10 songs and they change constantly so i'll put what song I'm feeling right now from every studio album, including "Lost Dogs" and throw in a rarity just for shits and giggles!

"Black" (Ten)

"Dissident" (VS)

"Corduroy" (Vitalogy)

"Red Mosquito" (No Code)

"Brain Of J" (Yield)

"Light Years" (Binaural)

"I Am Mine" (Riot Act)

"Come Back" (Pearl Jam)

"Force Of Nature" (Backspacer)

"Mind Your Manners" (Lightning Bolt)

"Superblood Wolfmoon" (Gigaton)

"Yellow Ledbetter" (Lost Dogs)