Lightning Bolt reviews

[Denis]

Moi je veux bien du leak...

d'ici une bonne semaine, on devrait l'avoir je suppose.

Une semaine tu dis ?? Pas un peu tôt ?

je sais pas moi, je prédis pas l'avenir

[dranx]

Ah merde j'y croyais presque

Non mais quand je vois que le KoL à leaké 6 jours avant la sortie officielle, je me dis que dans une semaine pour le PJ, c'est peut être un peu tôt.

[dvi2702]

Album Review: http://www.thenationalstudent.com/Music ... _Bolt.html

[dvi2702]

[Denis]

NME?

[XWayne]

NME?

Uncut, vu sur Red Mosquito.

Aussi trouvé là-bas, review italienne (pas de source). http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/viewtopic.php?p=175538

Lighting Bolt isn't a record you'd expect from Pearl Jam. Mind Your Manners and Sirens aren't particularly representative of the variety of the record which in a way is surprising.
Pearl Jam need to be given credit , for trying to mix the cards on the table and getting a bit out of their comfort zone after 2, at the end of the day, »in the norm« records. Quite a bit.
Their comfort zone is however well represented. The title track is an example of rock in the vein of Pearl Jam, written, sung and played very well. The start of Gateway is another straight rock piece with a great hook and great sounds but also very familiar. With My Father's Son things start to change and they keep changing for a good part of the record with the almost funk-rock of Infallible to the post modern bluesy Let The Record Play to the subtle sounds of Pendulum. It's a record that doesn't have much of a linear flow, certainly less than it's predecessors. Now one thing is clear in all of this. Pearl Jam is way pass their prime as far as their studio output is concerned and the best thing to come out of a studio from them in the last decade comes from Eddie Vedder – that masterpiece that was the Into The Wild OST echoes of which can be heard here in various songs like Sleeping By Myself already recorded for Ukulele Songs which even in it's full band version sounds like a frontman's solo track just like the 2 ballads that close the record; Yellow Moon and Future Days.
All things considered Lightning Bolt isn't the record that will have anybody scream at a miracle and isn't comparable to the classics but it's still a very respectable record.
It reminded me of U2's No Line on the horizon. Not because Pearl Jam is trying to play like Bono & co (god spare us that) but because the band comes from one of the more direct (and bland) records of their career and have tried to change sounds and structures in part of the songs while still remaining recognizable. Lightning Bolt does something similar. Not at the levels of that blowing away masterpiece that No Code was but it does it's job with excellent results. Time will tell if it will age well.

Lighning Bolt – song by song

Gateway: Straight rock with standard flow all written by Vedder. Great guitar sounds – reminiscent of many of the band's classics – even too much – without the punk attitude of the single. Vedder talks about finding a refuge “It’s ok/Sometimes you find yourself/Having to put all your faith/In no faith”.

Mind Your Manners: You already know this one. It's a nice punk number but again not unlike many things they've done before by the band that never hid their love for the likes of the Dead Kennedys and Bad Religion

My Father's Son: A weird rock number with an almost fluctuating flow, dominated by the bassline by Ament, who has written the music for it. It wouldn't seem like PJ, and it's a good thing, if it wasn't for Vedder's voice who tells a story of complicated relationships with parents who's inheritance has to be abandoned. “From the moment I fail/I call on DNA/Why such betrayal? /I gotta set sail”

Sirens: Another one you're already familiar with. I've read of people who are crazy about it and people who are bored wih it comparing it to Nickelback (come on let's be serious). A track based on a 12 string and especially the mind blowing performance by Vedder

Lightning Bolt: Written completely by Vedder starts as a mid tempo, reminiscent of many of the band's classics. The initial guitar line sounds a little like Wishlist but faster then the song gets faster especially by the time it reaches the it's pure rock chorus. Great track even if nothing new by the band's standards. The 1st tittle track in the band's history.

Infallible: Another one with a weird flow, syncope like almost. Written by Vedder with Gossard and Ament with a beautiful opening in the chorus. There's even the Tenori-on used like a sequencer by Brendan O'Brien – but you can barely hear it. Vedder sings about the human presumption By thinking we’re infallible/We are tempting fate instead”

Pendulum: Another Vedder/Gossard/Ament collaboration. A ballad with a rarefied qnd layered sound with the instruments sounding almost far back. Vedder's voice also moves further back when he hits the high note. He sings of the human condition this time about it's constant oscillating like a pendulum. Easy come and easy go/ Easy left me a long time ago

Swallowed whole: electro-acoustic rock. At times it reminds of the previous record. A REM like power pop with an electric 12 string joining in the acoustic while Vedder sings about being part of something bigger, the nature

Let The Records Play: Neil Young meats the Black Keys Blues rock with distorted guitars. Again sounds and flows you wouldn't expect from PJ. God's a DJ? “When the Kingdom comes/He puts his records on/And with his blistered thumb hits play”.

Sleeping By Myself. Transformed into an acoustic guitar driven folk rock – sounds fuller and better than the Ukulele Songs version. The ukulele makes an appearance at the end though.

Yellow Moon: A rather traditional ballad based on an acoustic guitar joined by an electric. The band plays it safe in it's comfort zone.

Future Days: Another ballad that starts with a piano then a guitar doing apreggios enters and is later joined by even a violin. A love song, the relationship between the 2 like redemption in a song that sounds like it comes straight from Ed's solo work, could be on a solo record.

[Denis]

la fin de l'album :/

[jejah]

dommage, j’espère que cela ne va pas trop plomber l'album...

[Yeni]

dommage, j’espère que cela ne va pas trop plomber l'album...

Non je pense pas ,on s'endormira avant la fin

[dranx]

http://www.rockol.com/uk/review-5428/pe ... tning-bolt

There are only a few "universal" bands in the world. Bands dear to anyone or almost anyone; they have a big credibility and you like them even if you're not a fan.
Pearl Jam's “Lighting bolt” is released four years after “Backspacer” and it's really one of the most awaited for albums - at least this autumn.

PJ's fans are usually hardcore ones, but this time there was a high percentage of sceptics. well, to tell the truth an album all in the vein of the first two tracks unveiled by the band could have been pretty disappointing. So...?
"Lightining bolt" is not the typical album you could expect from PJ and those two tracks are not a manifesto for it. Because this is a surprising work.
Pearl Jam tried to write things different from their usual path... and despite the fact they already got past their highest point (at least in studio recordings), this is a very good album.
It has a very strong experimental vibe, but trying to keep their own identity. This is not the new "No code", but it works.

And now, let's have a little "track by track" thing, to get to know better the album...

“Getaway”: straightforward rock, penned entirely by Vedder. Great guitar sound with no trace of the punk attitude of the single.
“Mind your manners” : we already know it. It's a punky number and it's no surprise, since the band never hid the love for X, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion...
“My father's son” : a weird rock number, with Ament's bass being the key instrument. It doesn't sound like PJ at all, bar for Vedder's voice
“Sirens” : another known song. Based on a 12 string acoustic guitar and on Vedder's amazing interpretation. without him there would be no song.
“Lightning Bolt” : it starts as a typical Vedder mid tempo track, but then things gain speed and it becomes a pure rock number; great song and the first title track ever in PJ's history.
“Infallible” : another weird song, syncopated, penned by Vedder, Gossard and Ament.
”Pendulum” : written - once again - by Vedder/Gossard/Ament. It's a ballad with a light, layered sound, with the instruments sounding far away from the vocals.
“Swallowed whole” : electro-acoustic rock, with a power-pop feel reminding of REM.
“Let the records play”: rock, blues, distorted guitars... between Neil Young and the Black Keys. Something you really expect from PJ.
“Sleeping by myself”: it sound better than the verion included in Vedder's "Ukulele" album. This time it's a folk rock number with acoustic guitars and just a touch of ukulele in the closing part.
“Yellow moon”: a traditional ballad based on acoustic/electric guitars. They played safe on this.
“Future Days”: another ballad, starting with a piano. The guitar and violin come in... a love song that seems to be taken straight from Vedder's solo efforts.

[vedder de poche]

bon, on a fait le tour des "tracks by tracks" maintenant...reste plus qu'à attendre patiemment 15 jours !! Pour ma part, je veux pas craquer et écouter de leak, je veux garder le suspense jusqu'à la sortie physique et kiffer l'écoute au casque, à l'ancienne.

[dranx]

Respect.

Si un leak de qualité sort, je pense que je craquerai. Mais vraiment de qualité.

[vedder de poche]

Respect.

Si un leak de qualité sort, je pense que je craquerai. Mais vraiment de qualité.

Rien n'a d'égal la magie et la montée d'adrénaine de l'achat en magasin, se précipiter chez soi, ouvrir le cd ou vinyle, le lancer, découvrir en meme temps la pochette, les paroles...tout ça au casque...pffff j'en frémis rien que d'y penser !!

[dranx]

Respect.

Si un leak de qualité sort, je pense que je craquerai. Mais vraiment de qualité.

Rien n'a d'égal la magie et la montée d'adrénaine de l'achat en magasin, se précipiter chez soi, ouvrir le cd ou vinyle, le lancer, découvrir en meme temps la pochette, les paroles...tout ça au casque...pffff j'en frémis rien que d'y penser !!

Tu as 100% raison. Rien n'a d'égal, beaucoup ici pourraient confirmer. Le dernier PJ en date pour lequel j'ai fais ça, c'était Binaural... Rien n'avait fuité, à part le noms des chansons je crois, on en était aux balbutiements du net, les mp3 tout ça, téléchargements.... Quelle magie !!

Malgré tout, et au vue de ce que nous avons à disposition aujourd'hui, les leaks( de qualité j'entends) ,le haut débit etc... la tentation est trop forte pour moi mais j'aurais quand même résisté presque jusqu'au bout en n'écoutant pas tout ce qui a été proposé... La surprise sera donc assez forte là même si je te l'accorde, revenir avec son skeud dans les mains, le placer dans la platine, pochette, paroles.. n'a pas d'égal.

[vedder de poche]

justement, je veux revivre ça...me refaire un énorme kiff. Ca sera ptet la derniere fois alors...enjoy le 15/10 !

[dranx]

Ou le 11 en Belgique si j'ai bien compris, non ??

[Tremoskito]

Respect.

Si un leak de qualité sort, je pense que je craquerai. Mais vraiment de qualité.

Rien n'a d'égal la magie et la montée d'adrénaine de l'achat en magasin, se précipiter chez soi, ouvrir le cd ou vinyle, le lancer, découvrir en meme temps la pochette, les paroles...tout ça au casque...pffff j'en frémis rien que d'y penser !!

+1 ²
mais c'est vrai que c'est très dur de nos jours. J'ai pas craqué pour le leak des 4 titres, du coup je ne connais que les singles (que je me force à ne pas trop écouter, ce qui est là aussi très dur), le riff d'Infaillibke via la vidéo de Stone, les 2 versions live de Chicago (FD & LB) que je crois n'avoir écoutées que 2 fois chacune, et un bout de Getaway grace à la vidéo de la semaine dernière. Et c'est déja bcp trop je trouve ! Et Sleeping By Myself aussi tiens
J'ai essayé aussi de me contenter de "survoler" les reviews, mais j'avoue que mes yeux ont glissé plus d'une fois

J'aurais pas la joie d'aller le pécho à la fnac, je vais devoir espérer (comme bcp ici) pour que le Ten Club livre ds les temps promis, à savoir le jour de la sortie

[dranx]

Faire confiance au TC ??... Oula c'est bien risqué tout ça !!

[Tremoskito]

Faire confiance au TC ??... Oula c'est bien risqué tout ça !!

Bah oui mais maintenant que j'ai commandé ... De mémoire, pour Avocado, j'avais du attendre quelques horribles jours après la sortie ds les bacs pour que Mr Mailman m'apporte l'album
Du coup je joue pas vraiment gagnant ... mais c'est ça ou le leak

[dranx]

Pour Avocado et Backspacer j'avais commandé les versions "hard cover" (bien chouettes d'ailleurs), elles étaient arrivées après la sortie, du coup j'étais allé m'acheter les versions "normales" à la fnac.. M'étonnerais pas qu'ils jouent aussi là dessus le TC .. mais bon j'assume c'est de ma faute, j'aurais dû attendre, passion quand tu nous tiens..

Pardon les modos, j'arrête le HS.