Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is a Seattle-based rock band, who are considered to be one of the most popular and influential artists of the 1990s. They, along with Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, helped popularize the grunge movement of the early 90's. Moreover, they are also the only grunge band that has remained active since the atrophy of their aforementioned contemporaries, despite the band's abandonment of their early sound to favour an ever evolving one that defies categorization.

Pearl Jam's Decline In Popularity: 1996-2002

Over the next few years, Pearl Jam's popularity declined, in part because of their unwillingness to record videos and because of a lawsuit alleging a Ticketmaster monopoly which stifled the launch of supportive tours. Another reason for its decline in popularity may be due to its uncommercial and experimental nature. The first CD could be classed as grunge, but their later body of work was more difficult to categorize.

Related Topics:
Ticketmaster - Grunge

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On August 27th, 1996, exactly five years after the release of Ten, the band released their fourth album, No Code. The album continued the musical growth displayed on Vs. and Vitalogy. This album disappointed many of their fans, as seen in the drastic drop of album sales. Although, the album debuted at #1, it quickly fell down the charts. No Code included the singles, "Hail, Hail", "Who You Are", and "Mankind" with Stone Gossard on vocals. "Mankind" was the first song to be sung by another band member, besides Eddie Vedder.

Related Topics:
1996 - No Code

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In 1998, Pearl Jam released its fifth album, Yield. The album was proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straight-forward-rock sound. Yield debuted at #2, but like No Code, it fell quickly down the charts as well. For the first time since 1993, they allowed a video to be filmed for one of their songs, "Do the Evolution", and they toured in support of the album. The album went platinum in the USA, selling 1,500,000 copies. Yield included the singles "Given to Fly" and "Wishlist".

Related Topics:
1998 - Yield - 1993

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That same year Pearl Jam once again changed drummers. Jack Irons left the band due to health problems and was replaced with former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, who has remained with them since.

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In 1999, Pearl Jam recorded the song "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1950s ballad by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. Recorded on a minimal budget and released for charity, the song became a smash hit, with many requests from its fans to be released as a single. peaking at #2 in the billboard charts and the band's most commercially-successful single to date.

Related Topics:
1999 - 1950s - J. Frank Wilson

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After the release of the #2 hit album Binaural in 2000, and the resulting tour of Europe and North America, the band hit upon a unique idea. Noting the popularity of illegal bootleg recordings, and the desire of fans to own a copy of the shows they attended, Pearl Jam hatched a plan to professionally record each and every show on their tour. They originally intended to release these official bootlegs only to fan club members, but their record contract prevented them from doing so. Pearl Jam released all of the albums in record stores as well as through their fan club. All totalled, they released 72 albums, most of them double, and set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard top 200 at the same time. A further 72 albums were released from the 2003 tour, and they continue releasing more of these "bootlegs" to this day.

Related Topics:
Binaural - 2000 - Billboard - 2003

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Unfortunately, the 2000 European tour ended when on June 30 a tragic accident happened at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, where fans were crushed and suffocated as the crowd rushed to the front. The band stopped playing and tried to calm the crowd when they realized what was happening, but it was already too late and nine people were killed. The two remaining dates of the tour were cancelled, and the band seriously considered retiring after this event. Some controversy arose over who was responsible for the accident after Pearl Jam was blamed in the official investigation. The band was later cleared of responsibility, with officials finding the safety measures employed by the festival organizers inadequate.

Related Topics:
June 30 - Roskilde Festival - Denmark

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On November 12, 2002 Pearl Jam released their seventh album, Riot Act which included the single "I Am Mine". The album only sold 500,000 copies, less than Vitalogy and Vs. sold in their first weeks. The album featured a much more folk-based and experimental sound, evident in the presence of keyboard player Boom Gaspar on songs such as "Love Boat Captain", a fitting tribute to the 9 souls who died at the Roskilde Festival in June 2000. The track "Bu$hleaguer", their most decidedly political venture, is a commentary on President George W. Bush.

Related Topics:
November 12 - 2002 - Riot Act

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