My Favorite Pearl Jam Songs
If you’ve followed along on our social media, it should not be a big surprise to learn that Pearl Jam is my favorite band out of the big bands from the early 90s. Each element of their band scratches a different itch of mine. The musicianship of Pearl Jam’s members is off the charts, and when combined with Eddie Vedder’s vocal and lyrical ability, along with the overall creativity of the group, you are left with a combination that is unlike anything else that has ever happened.
I’ve spent more time listening to Pearl Jam than I have any other band, and while this list remains relatively fluid over time, here are my five favorite Pearl Jam songs!
‘Release’ - This is the song that started my deep love affair with the band. I’m a firm believer that music has this weird way of finding you when you need it the most, and that is what happened to me with ‘Release’. My brain is wired so that the first thing I am drawn to in a song is it’s lyrics, and this one hit me like a truck when I first heard it. “Oh, dear Dad, can you see me now? I am myself like you somehow. I'll wait up in the dark for you to speak to me. How I've opened up, release me.” They opened with this song at the first Pearl Jam show I ever saw. Tears fell.
‘Dissident’ - The construction of this song might be my all-time favorite from Pearl Jam. This song is a melting pot of everything that the band does so well. Mike McCready’s licks are infectious, Stone Gossard’s groove is perfect, and Jeff Ament and Dave Abbruzzese lay down the foundation of this song with authority. To top it off, Ed’s vocals were at an all-time high here. To me, this song is absolute mastery. My favorite part of this song is when it comes on unannounced, and out of nowhere, Mike’s opening lick pierces the air.
‘Hard to Imagine’ - Another song that I am drawn to because of the lyrical content. “Things were different then. All is different now. I tried to explain. I hope this works somehow. Things were different then. All is different now. I tried to explain. Oh, somehow.” This one has always been important to me, as it has always felt like a declaration that even though time passes and things will change (for better or for worse), the best we can do is to try and to hope. That has always been comforting to me. The shift change in the song when the band kicks in feels like a rebirth from the opening portion of the song.
‘Porch’ - To me, ‘Porch’ is a microcosm of the absolute fury that Pearl Jam unleashed onto the world when they began playing. You feel such a sense of urgency in theTen album and in accompanying live shows from that era, and I feel all of that energy reaches a crescendo in ‘Porch’. The line “Hear my name, take a good look. This could be the day” has always resonated in me.
‘Yellow Ledbetter’ - Two words: Mike. McCready. My favorite thing about this song is that it is rarely the same song twice. It represents one of the biggest creative canvases for the band, and they never disappoint. I’ve spent hours watching different performances of this song. I cannot analyze the lyrics to this song, because there seemingly are no lyrics, but I think the message of this song is communicated through the mood of the song, and it has always struck me.
Honorable mentions: ‘Light Years’, ‘Footsteps’, ‘Leash’, ‘Come Back’, ‘Red Mosquito’
What are your favorite Pearl Jam songs and why? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
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