"Lightning Bolt" by Pearl Jam
More than 20 years after their debut album "Ten," Pearl Jam has released their 10th studio album "Lightning Bolt."
If Pearl Jam is anything, they are consistent.
Unlike Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, they never suffered a breakup or the dreaded hiatus. Pearl Jam releases a new album every 2-3 years, giving listeners something to rely on.
Another thing you can rely on is Pearl Jam's ability to write a kick-ass song. "Lightning Bolt" starts out with a slow crawl with their track "Getaway," which slowly crescendos into a hard-rock head banger once it hits the chorus.
From there, the album maintains this level of intensity until halfway through the album.
At the halfway point, Pearl Jam trades out their electric guitars for acoustic ones. This might seem a bit odd for some of you grunge fans out there, but I found myself enjoying most of these acoustic songs. In my opinion, the acoustic songs on this album are the best ones.
The slowdown in pace and tone seems to match lead singer Eddie Vedder's maturing voice. However, that's not to say he can't belt out some good old-fashioned screams from time to time for nostalgia's sake. Unfortunately, I found myself waiting for the chorus to hit in many of their hard rock songs before I could start enjoying it. Also, some of the vocal melodies during the verses didn't seem to be well-written, contributing to the angst I felt until the chorus finally released the tension.
"New" by Paul McCartney
Look, I like Sir Paul McCartney. He was my second favorite Beatle, right after Ringo, but Sir McCartney is not in The Beatles anymore.
He has been alone, out in the cold, doing his own thing, for the past 40 years. When people hear the name Sir Paul McCartney, they think of The Beatles. It hurts me to say it, but I believe Sir McCartney can attribute a lot of his success in his solo career to his glory days in The Beatles.
I'm not saying he is coasting off of it entirely, but it has definitely helped. That is not to say he hasn't pumped out some amazing music over the years. "Live and Let Die," "Band on the Run" and "Maybe I'm Amazed" were phenomenal songs, but hear me out. I have a challenge for you. Name five songs Sir McCartney wrote in his solo career that are half as legendary as any of the songs he wrote in The Beatles.
Don't say "Ebony and Ivory." I hear that song used more as a joke than I have heard it played seriously.
I bet you can't do it, can you?
"But Jordan!" you say, "You haven't even talked about Paul McCartney's new album yet, 'New.'" Well, I apologize. I have a habit of going on tangents, but what I said before is relevant.
Also, say "Sir" Paul McCartney and stop being so disrespectful. He is a knight and his name should be said in such a way to reflect his status as a gentleman. Most of the songs on Sir McCartney's new album "New" were nice. That's the only word I know to use, because they were nice little songs that didn't try to do anything new. The melodies felt recycled and the lyrics were typical Sir McCartney lyrics that have been stomping the same tropes to death throughout the last 40 years.
The only thing new about this album was Sir McCartney incorporated some electronic elements into a few of the songs, which felt out of place. Other songs that sounded more rock 'n' roll seemed to rely on a guitar riff to carry the song, making them seem lazy and lackluster. The irony of "New," is absolutely none of the songs on this album felt new.
Unfortunately, it just felt like more of the same.
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