Pearl Jam kicked off the year with the March 27th release of its 11th studio set, Gigaton. The album stalled at Number Five on the Billboard 200 albums list, but topped the charts on the magazine's T op Alternative Albums, Hard Rock Albums, and Top Rock Albums lists. Stone Gossard told us a while back that Pearl Jam feels like its songwriting is as strong as ever after so many years: SOUNDCUE (:18 OC. For the last decade or so, Record Store Day and Record Store Day Black Friday have been the venues through which bands have chosen to offer their fans feverishly anticipated album reissues and first-runs on vinyl. ![]() One of the most celebrated stars of this year’s Black Friday event-taking place Nov. 29 at participating record stores across the U.S.-is Pearl Jam's MTV Unplugged (), the long-awaited official release of the band's unforgettable acoustic performance from the pioneering MTV show. Recorded on Maand aired less than two months later on May 13, 1992, Pearl Jam's "Unplugged" episode is notable for capturing the band as it successfully navigated an unfamiliar setting in the very early stages of its still-thriving career. While bootleg audio files of the performance have been floating around fan circles for years, the Record Store Day Black Friday vinyl release of MTV Unplugged () marks the first time fans can purchase an official, band-sanctioned version of the album. In fact just looking at Eddie Vedder's face is a show unto itself: he's a lead singer to rank with the greats, aside from the vocal power from projecting so much on his face (you don't know whether he'll kill someone, have an epileptic fit, or just pet a sheep), and he has a lot of joy in his performance, at one pointy riding a wave or something on his stool! This is what fans want to see, and circa 1992 the most versatile and perhaps just flat-out talented Seattle band deliver the goods.(It should be noted that previously a DVD of the performance was included in some versions of the 2009 reissue of their debut album Ten, but no standalone audio version was made available at that time.) This vinyl release of MTV Unplugged () contains all six tracks from the original Unplugged television broadcast, as well as the inclusion of "Oceans," which did not make it to air. But of course it's impossible to neglect the classics like Alive, Even Flow or Jeremy which after being played out on radio for so many years still pack a wallop when given the ferocity and harrowing spirit of the live performance. We get, for example, one of the finest and most energetic performances of any song of the 90s, with their number Porch. And yet, for 35 minutes, Pearl Jam fans or just anyone looking for a solid rock show get their minutes worth. It is what is is, and gives the MTV folks perhaps TOO much time for commercials. It's one of those cases where the only real flaw is a typical limitation of television: it's only 35 minutes long! Even on the recently re-release on DVD (it comes with the deluxe package of the Ten reissue) there are no extra songs, no extra pieces of fat like when Nirvana or Alice in Chains had their unplugged performances released. ![]() They're so into the swing of things, as are the audience, that nothing goes wrong. ![]() Pearl Jam live rarely disappoints and this collection of songs straight from their first smash Ten (save for the State of Love and Trust song which you'll recognize if you've listened to enough rock radio over the years but for some idiotic reason was left off the album) is one of their classic shows.
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