James is announcing some spring 2010 shows and it appears they have some new music around the corner as well. You can also download a new track for free, "Not So Strong" at the official home page in exchange for a email address. Go here.
Full press release below...
The Mirrorball Tour
The latest James news flash, from Larry Gott:
Hello you lovely lot. The nice people at SJM concerts have put together a rather eclectic series of concerts for us all to enjoy together in the spring of 2010. We are getting to re-visit some venues for the first time in ages, most notably The Royal Albert Hall, last visited on the 'Meat is Murder' tour supporting fellow Manc mukkers Moz/Marr etc, back in '85.
Fan pre-sale 2nd Dec.
The tour will be announced on Monday the 30th November, and the tickets go on general sale the following Thursday 3rd December at 9:30am.
However, because we like you lot so much you get first shout on the good seats by ordering the day before, on Wednesday 2nd December via a special pre-sale link on wearejames.com.
New (mini) album – 'The Night Before'
All of us are working hard on the batch of songs that will become the first of two mini-albums released next year and they are sounding great! We even have a title (gasp!) "THE NIGHT BEFORE".
It will be out in April 2010 and you will have the chance to pre-order it exclusively through wearejames.com when you order your tickets, by clicking here: wearejames.com/tickets.
See you all in April.
Larry x
The Mirrorball Tour, April 2010
Monday 5th - Edinburgh Corn Exchange (0844 4999 990) Tuesday 6th - Newcastle Academy (0844 477 2000) Thursday 8th - Sheffield Academy (0844 477 2000) Friday 9th - Preston Guildhall (01772 258 858) Saturday 10th - Cambridge Corn Exchange (01223 357 851) Monday 12th - Southend Cliffs Pavilion (01702 351 135) Tuesday 13th - Bournemouth Academy (0844 477 2000) Thursday 15th - Bristol Colston Hall (0117 922 3686) Friday 16th - London Royal Albert Hall (020 7589 8212) Saturday 17th - Liverpool University (0151 256 5555)
Ticketing
Pre-sale tickets will be available from wearejames.com/tickets from 9:30am on Wednesday 2nd December, and go on general sale at 9:30am on Thursday 3rd December, at which time they will be available from wearejames.com, gigsandtours.com, seetickets.com, and via 24-hour credit card hotline on 0844 826 2826.
Last week, BonJovi claimed their fourth number-one album on the Billboard Top 200 with The Circle. This week, they make history…with a stunning 70% drop in sales (from 163,000 copies to 50,153) and dropping from #1 all the way to #19. This is the third largest decline from the #1 spot ever in the history of the Billboard 200 (only Incubus and Marilyn Manson had more devastating declines). Somehow, I don't think that they will be mentioning this in their next press release.
So what does this mean?
It’s typical for established acts to have huge debuts and then drop, but considering BonJovi has tallied up three platinum records this decade alone, one would imagine they would have more staying power. Lost Highway debuted in 2007 with 292,000 copies sold. The drop from the LHsales to The Circle was 33% in a little over two-years, a dramatic downturn. Back in 2007, all pre-sale tickets for all ten shows at their New Jersey Prudential Center shows included a download that counted towards first week sales. This time around, if you wanted to buy a pre-sale ticket, you had to buy the digital download ahead of time. One would think with an entire tour going on-sale versus ten shows that sales would have been up, but they weren’t. What makes the drop more significant is that the album was $3.99 for the entire first week on Amazon. Not just the first day, but an entire week and it still couldn’t crack the 200,000 mark.
So what happened?
#1 Overexposure
BonJovi has never been a group to shy away from promotion and while normally this proves to be beneficial, I believe it hurt them this time around. The band has been on a record-tour schedule this entire decade not really allowing anyone to miss them. As a result, aside from the most fanatical fans, seeing the band all over NBC isn’t a good thing. Sometimes it’s good to leave your fans wanting more.
#2 Airing Your Documentary on Showtime
This was an odd combination, BonJovi and Showtime. I ordered Showtime to see the documentary and realized very quickly why I don’t subscribe to Showtime, it sucks. Yes, it has wonderful shows like Weeds, Californication and Dexter, but I’m floored at the amount of crap on this channel. I’m a film buff and watch all types of movies and most of the ones on Showtime, I never knew existed. I am sure BonJovi went with Showtime because they got their money they invested in the documentary back. This was a mistake. It may not have been as sexy, but they should have sold it for a discounted price to VH-1. Here’s why; the type of people who are going to tune into a documentary on BonJovi are already fans. In a day and age with hundreds of channels at people’s fingertips, is someone like my mother, aunt or casual fan going to sit through this? No. If Showtime (or HBO for that matter) had a documentary on T.I. or Little Wayne, I’d flip the channel. But when VH-1 shows one of these documentaries (or a Behind the Music), I find myself not changing the channel and being rather entranced. If you are watching VH-1, there is an interest of music to begin with, a connection a casual Showtime viewer doesn't have. As a result of my interest in music, I have a new appreciation for T.I. and Little Wayne because of their Behind the Music documentaries, something I wouldn’t have paid attention to it in the first place.
If the band really wanted to come across edgy or cool, they would have given it to Sundance, IFC or HBO free of charge. Yet, none of this happened, and as a result, no one tuned in and even worse, no one cared.
#3 A Lead Single That Connected With No One
Let’s be honest shall we? No one really likes the lead single “We Weren’t Born To Follow” aside from die-hard BonJovi fans. It’s a song that connects with no one and ultimately, feel manipulative. It's lack of connection should have cued the band to tap another song for single release around the time of the album with a video in tow. Instead, they're performing this song (not very well I may add) at almost every promotional stop. It's not giving the casual fan (or a loyal one) a reason to buy the record.
#4 The Limiting “NBC Artist In Residence”
This was a bad idea. A. Very. Bad. Idea. “Hey’ why don’t you limit yourself to doing interviews on a network that is consistently in 4th place?”. It would be akin to Michael Jordan retiring from the Chicago Bulls only to return a few years later to play for a team like the Washington Wizards. Wait? Well, you see my point. Now, as much as I would like to shoot holes through the idea, the band needs to take some responsibility as well. Just because they have shown up and done the numerous shows, from my perspective, they haven’t delivered. Their interviews on the Today show, Ellen, Inside the Actor’s Studio haven’t really shed that much new light. On top of it, because the band has done all of these shows (in some form or another) before, it comes off as not being new to casual fans well. Then there’s the continually insipid performances of “We Weren’t Born To Follow”. I’m not a fan of the song, but BonJovi is a great band and great bands take mediocre material and heighten it live. Every performance of the new songs I have seen has been weak at best. Not to mention the continual repeat performances of “It’s My Life” and “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”. Are they promoting The Circle or their catalog? Plus, not to mention that the band has played the aforementioned songs ad nauseammaking even the most fervent follower moan with disappointment. Let me tell you, if someone hasn’t bought a concert ticket or cd the first 17,200 performances of “It’s My Life”, these recent ones won’t change their minds either.
The band had an extraordinary opportunity with the “Artist In Residence” feature. What they should have done is play the album in its entirety over the course of the two month residency. They should have made a point of never repeating a single song. This way you could showcase not just new songs but some forgotten classics as well. By repeating themselves time and time again, they showed the world they don’t have the right stuff and essentially screwed the pooch.
#5 Ill Will
Back in 2001, I was sick and tired of housing all of my BonJovi related imports, cd’s and extras so I decided to compile them all to compilation cd’s. The end result was a 25-disc collection of assorted soundtrack, b-side, live tracks and demos the band has released worldwide over their entire career. On average, I owned three copies of every BonJovi release (the domestic release, the Japan release for bonus tracks and a reissue release from the UK or Japan). In some instances, I owned upwards of a dozen copies of the albums. Do you want to know how many copies of the The Circle I own…and better yet, how many I plan to own? Zero.
Back in 2002, I bought a total of 21 tickets to their 2003 world tour (tickets for me, friends, people I thought would enjoy the show, etc.). I owned three copies of the Bounce album and bought every import cd single I could. Do you want to know how many tickets I plan on purchasing for their upcoming world tour? Zero. Do you want to know how many imports I plan on buying? Zero.
Before I wrote this article, I sent an email to fifteen fans I have known for over a decade, asking them a few questions. All of these people bought multiple copies of albums in the past and saw anywhere from five to fifteen shows per tour, not to mention, like me, they would often pay for friends to witness the magic. Of the twelve that responded, I discovered only three of them bought The Circle and between the twelve people combined, they have bought a combined total of five (5) concert tickets for the 2010 tour. This should be seen as a problem by the BonJovi organization, but it’s not. In their yearning desire to conquer the world and “sell out the desert…more than once”, they forgot their core audience. In a desire to move tickets in stadiums, they are trying to be everything to everyone…and in this day and age, you can’t be everything to everyone. There are numerous reasons for me not attending any shows on this upcoming tour, but a large part has to do with price. I just haven’t seen anything really extraordinary from the band in a while (I will admit to having been witness to at least two choice shows in the last 5 years), but at this stage in the game, I’m tired of giving money to a group who has been more about product than soul in recent years. Whenever you have someone as devout as I once was not throwing a single dime the band’s way, which is an issue that should keep them up at night. I doubt it does, but I was the type of person who would spread the word, expose people to the concerts and try to sway the legions of people who despise BonJovi to look at them in a different light. The campaign for The Circle finds them falling into the trap that the legions of disbelievers want them to fall into, the same way Brett Favre did when he couldn’t take the Jets to the Super Bowl. He became the fallguy, as has BonJovi. They have had so much success, they pepper their press releases with mindless and pointless facts and numbers that sadly, people are at a point in time where they want to see them fail…and get some sort of glee from it. I wish them no ill will, and their 2010 tour will be in the top-five for grosses next year without question, but The Circle may very well be the first BonJovi record to fail to move 500,000 copies.
One argument people want to make that I won’t listen to is piracy. I understand piracy is rampant, but AC/DC last year moved 800,000 copies in one week, despite having the album leak ten days before it hit store shelves. Ditto with Metallica who moved 490,000 copies in a mere three days of Death Magnetic. The Dave Matthews Band this past June moved 424,000 copies. Why is it these acts can move double, triple and quadruple the opening week numbers of BonJovi? They were all stronger albums than The Circle, but ultimately I chalk it up to each of these aforementioned bands always being true to themselves, playing to their core fans and ensuring that those fans are taken care of (with creativedeluxe editions, etc.). BonJovi did none of this and instead of trying to build on the core audience they have built, they instead shoot for the stars which isn’t going to work every time. If you go to bat and try to hit a home run at every at-bat, you will strike out more than you connect, which is why it’s always a safer move to build a grass roots movement amidst the biggest fans and let the word spread from there.
Where Do They Go From Here?
BonJovi has a solid month of performances on NBC before the end of December. My suggestion would be to engage those most loyal fans. Have polls on their website, interacts with the fans on Twitter and have them vote for what will be played on Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, etc. Do an unexpected cover song no none would think of. Play a forgotten cut from New Jersey or Slippery When Wet, get playful and remind people of why you deserve to be taken seriously. Get Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to do another skit, make people laugh at you and then you will win their hearts. Only when the band doesn't play by the numbers will they create true buzz and engage those who haven't bought the album.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
For the warm white lights that are now winding their way around my basement apartment that lies on the border of two cities. For Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey, and Bing Crosby’s Bob Wallace. For the memory of cheese melting on crackers in the oven on a cold Christmas Eve night. For these things and more, thank you.
Christmas peace, be born in me today. Christmas peace and new truth, be born in me this yuletide.
There are not many things in life that are as soothing and warming to me as those things that I will enjoy during the next month or so. The abundance of beautifully decorated trees inside department stores, some featuring traditional Christmas colours of red and emerald green, and other trees that are dressed with bulbs of blue and white or silver and gold. The storefront window displays, adorned with faux - and sometimes real – frosting, or paintings of plump snowmen sipping on steaming cups of cocoa, or perhaps children screaming in delight as they ride a toboggan down a steep blinding white hill. There’s the music that we will be hearing everywhere before long. Nat King Cole smoothly singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” Sinatra crooning out “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” and of course, the irreplaceable Bing imparting the wish that “all our Christmases be white.” And there’s the extra smiles that are on the faces of loved ones and strangers alike.
All of these can serve to further brighten an already happy day, or they can be a kind of salve during tumultuous times.
There is also something comforting in the continuity of it all. As so much changes around us throughout the year, still, every Christmas season the bejeweled trees will be there, along with the line-ups of kids waiting to see Santa Claus in the mall while their parents use their free hand to hold onto a steaming cup of hot apple cider. There are the volunteers standing beside the Salvation Army kettles. And, as always, we will turn on our television sets and there Rudolph will be making a pact with his dentist-elf friend to be “independent together,” as they venture out into the cold unknown. At Christmastime we are also re-introduced, through carols, movies, and church services, to the story of Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem. We are told of how his family traveled there because Joseph came to his census – something that must give hope to beleaguered spouses everywhere.
This was an integral part of my childhood, and indeed right up to my early to mid twenties. Each year at home, in the week or two leading up to Christmas Day, we would tape up the advent calendar to the wall and look forward to opening up a different little square each day, revealing, if I remember correctly, a different Bible verse describing a part of the story of Jesus’ birth. And every year there was the Sunday school program at the small-town church that I attended, where inevitably little boys and girls would dress up as shepherds, or angels, or perhaps camels. There was the lighting of the advent candles on the Sundays preceding Christmas Day, where a family was selected to go up to the front, read a passage from the Bible, and light the candle. I remember doing this as a small boy, getting all decked out in my grey suit and tie, and making my way down the center aisle of the church.
Perhaps my favourite memories of Christmas, besides the presents – what kid wouldn’t say presents – are of Christmas Eve services. If you could stay awake through the at-least-half-hour choir cantatas (a word that almost still gives me the shivers,) you also got to sing a lot of carols, like Angels We Have Heard On High, O Little Town of Bethlehem, or perhaps The First Noel, in itself a nice song even though it tried your patience with all of its 36 or so verses. The end of the service was particularly lovely, when the sanctuary lights were turned down and everyone quietly sang Silent Night, Holy Night as we each lit the thin candles we were handed on the way in to the service. It was a special time.
At the time, the Christian story that I was presented with, of God sending his son to the world to be born of a virgin in order to be the salvation for all the world, it was defining. And though this is no longer the case for me, it is still a part of my story that I cannot and will not forget.
Christmas peace and warm memories, make room at the table for new truth. Along with the space created on the poinsettia-imaged tablecloth for the mashed potatoes, the turkey and the ham, make room for new insights, new thoughts, new understandings. For, as comforting as it is to have the things this time of year that do not change, such as the Miracle on 34th Street, or Yukon Cornelius’s ever-futile search for silver and gold, or Zuzu’s petals, the reality is that time in so many ways does not stand still. We evolve, we change, and as we do, so does our understanding.
There are important values that I was introduced to and heard each year when presented with the Christian Christmas story. Peace, goodwill toward humankind, the glory of humility, the connection between the divine and humanity. But as time marches on, with scientific discovery, an understanding of the context in which the Bible was written, and increasing introduction and appreciation of other deep religious and non-religious traditions, we can no longer claim that Christianity has a trademark on these values. They are broad, human values, and not restricted to one faith tradition. Peace and love are not Christian values, they are human ones. This perspective can lead to an openness and an inclusivity that is desperately needed in our world, here in North America and abroad. Love and peace break down barriers. The need may seem more palpable when we turn on the nightly news and see the conflicts between Christians and Muslims or Israelis and Palestinians, but it is just as important in our North American society, where too often segments of society are left to feel inferior. Women. Immigrants. The gay and lesbian community. The disabled. How can these barriers be broken down? How can these people be welcomed and seen as equally valuable and important members of society, because that is exactly who they are. They are not just minority groups to be “tolerated,” but equally vibrant and wondrous colours within the human kaleidoscope.
I suggest that it can be done through a renewed emphasis and living out of these broad, human values. Peace, love, compassion, goodwill toward humankind. Anything that gets in the way of these things must be discarded. Sometimes the curtain must be drawn in order to let the light shine through, as pretty as those curtains may be, and even though they may have been handed down from your great-great grandma Mabel. They must be drawn. Going further, they very well may need to be replaced entirely because they no longer match the walls of the apartment, or, to withdraw the metaphor, the world’s growing understanding.
A few of the curtains that may have to go in order to clear the way for the light of the “big values” to shine through include, but are not restricted to:
1) The belief that humankind fell from God’s grace because of Adam and Eve, and therefore need something outside of themselves to be “right with God.”
2) The belief that God exclusively revealed him/herself through the birth of Jesus.
3) The belief that one can only be close to the divine if one believes that they are a sinner, that Jesus died as payment for their sins, and that he literally rose from the dead.
3b) Add to this the harmful belief that those who believe otherwise are “lost,” “misguided,” or even worse, destined for eternal hellfire.
These beliefs were constructed during a specific time and in a specific context, and if love, peace and unity are to expand on our earth, we must seem them as just that. Instead of continually expecting those of differing faiths or perspectives to come to Jesus, at least the version that is often presented, we must do a better job of meeting people where they are, with love and a commitment to learning from them. We must live the “big values.” Peace, love, compassion, humility, which if I had to make a good guess was what Jesus had in mind in the first place.
So what to do. Is this the year that I replace the angel on top of my tree with a pretty bow instead? Will I undergo the arduous process of sifting through my iTunes playlist and remove carols such as O Come All Ye Faithful and Away In A Manger? Will I stop talking of when I was a boy reading scripture in church?
No, I will do nothing of the sort. The angel will still shine on the tree-top, the carols will still ring, and I will bring out the small blue bottle of Aqua Velva that passed as frankincense when I was a wise man as a boy in the Sunday school program. These are a part of my life, and I will not abandon them. I will be warmed by these memories. But the curtains are firmly drawn, and I will be open to new understandings.
Christmas peace and new truth, be born in me today.
The Dave Matthews Band lost LeRoi Moore, their horn player a little over a year ago. It was amidst a tragic series of events, but in the wake of his death, it forced the band to create their best record to date.
On SNL last night, the band delivered two great performances ("Shake Me Like A Monkey" & "You & Me"), but what impressed me was the band photo that appears when the show returns from commercials. It was a picture of everyone performing with the band. Not just the core members, but everyone including Tim Reynolds, Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross. None of these people are official members, but it was refreshing to see them acknowledged. I know this doesn't seem like a big deal to many people, but some acts pretend that certain musicians who are integral to the band, don't exist.
Here's to hoping that when this certain band appears on SNL in December they show everyone who performs with them in the band shot.
Mötley Crüe: A Visual History, 1983-2005 Book Review By Anthony Kuzminski Buy the book here Visit Neil Zlozower here Mötley Crüe is a band who will almost certainly be better known for their overall history than anything else. More than their music, their videos, their look or their personal lives, their collective legend will reign above everything else. There is a reason for this. For a band that hasn’t really made any career defining music in nearly two-decades, their legacy has only grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Part of this is due to their return to the concert circuit, the emergence of their music on classic radio, their vintage videos being aired daily on VH-1 Classic but most of it stems from a series of events beginning with the publication of The Dirt in 2001. The book’s greatness stems from its honesty more than its debauchery. Don’t get me wrong, the stories are unheralded in the realm of rock n’ roll but the real reason the book resonates is because when people read it they didn’t feel as if the covers were being lifted over their head. There was a sincere and authentic voice present throughout the entire book. Nikki Sixx’s The Heroin Diaries furthered the myth and now photographer Neil Zlozower’s Motley Crue: A Visual History, 1983-2005 (Chronicle Books) helps cement the legacy. Neil Zlozower has been a staple of the LA music scene for over three decades. Besides capturing many of the biggest 80’s rock stars of the Sunset Strip, he also has some of the most legendary pictures of Van Halen during their prime, for which he compiled into a book, something he has done once again for Mötley Crüe. Something missing from rock journalism these days is trust. Acts should confide in certain journalists and photographers because one never knows how they will help form and shape their history. Look at Sacha Gervasi, who went to a metal show in the early 80’s, the band Anvil befriended him and two decades later he makes a film about them. When Mötley began its rise to fame, they were fortunate to forge relationships with many people and one of them was photographer Neil Zlozower. Zlozower managed to capture the band at their most innocent yet also managed to capture them at their most decadent. The pictures within the book could not have been captured by just anyone. There was a level of trust between Zlozower and the Crüe. Between club shows from 1983 and their arena comeback in 2005, Zlozower caught it all. There are the album sleeves from Theatre of Pain, the “Girls, Girls, Girls” video shoot, early press pictures from the Dr. Feelgood era, numerous full page spreads from their live shows and arguably the most famous of all their pictures, the “blood” session from 1984. The pictures are gigantic and often full page spreads that jump out at you. They are a reminder of what a grand and gratuitous band Mötley Crüe was at their prime.
Another band recently culled a coffee table book for publication and what is missing from it is a coherent history. Instead of choosing one photographer, it’s a culmination of several and it’s a disservice to the book and more importantly, the artist. As artists let people into their inner sanctum, they let their guard down and that’s when enduring moments are born. The notorious “blood” session wouldn’t have happened with just anyone sent to shoot the band, there had to be a realm of trust. The up-close and on-stage shots of the band in their prime also differentiate from newspaper photographer’s who have to shoot bands from either a pit or a mile away. Zlozower takes the reader into the inner sanctum of the Crüe. The hardcover book is immense with in all of its 232-pages. Covering most of the band’s history (sadly there is virtually nothing from the 1990’s); Zlozower helps put the band’s visceral image into perspective. In many ways, the book lives up to its title as a visual history of the band and what a history it is. Featuring insight and recollections in text format from Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Nikki Sixx (who does the introduction), former managers, roadies and producers, this book is an easy recommendation; especially considering it’s going for less than $25 over at Amazon.com. If The Dirt was the definitive story of their legacy, then Mötley Crüe: A Visual History, 1983-2005 is the visual companion piece.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Bruce Springsteen: 'The Light in Darkness' Book Review Published By Lawrence Kirsh Communications Buy the book here By Anthony KuzminskiArtists are defined by two central fundamentals; their songs and concerts. For years, concerts were used as promotional tools to sell records, bring awareness to the act and hopefully sell a few t-shirts. Little money was made and it was more or less a brief glimpse at their favorite artists in the flesh. When the Beatles played Shea Stadium in 1965, they played a mere 29-minutes. As the sixties progressed, the Grateful Dead appeared and within a few years, Led Zeppelin took concerts to new heights with festival grooviness and flashing arena-rock presence. For bands like the Dead and Zeppelin, the records weren’t enough. The concert became an extension of the record and in many ways, a more vital experience. Tapes were shared, stories told and myths were born. In the entire rock era, no other artist has a greater and more extensive legend than Bruce Springsteen. From stories of intimate in-your-face clubs shows early in his career to the misquoted myth of the five-hour show, the adoration and fervent followings Springsteen has amassed over the decades is almost unparalleled and on full display in a new book chronicling the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town tour, The Light in Darkness.
To this day, I can’t go to a Springsteen show without someone telling me a tall tale about how they saw Springsteen “play an eight-hour show…and then he took out a broom and swept the floor of the club”. It’s almost laughable, but understandable. In 1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band embarked on their most discussed and legendary tour of their career in support of Darkness on the Edge of Town. Now, to fully understand the importance of this tour, a brief history needs to be given. After having a small cult following, Springsteen broke into the mainstream with Born To Run in late 1975 and a lawsuit by Springsteen to dissolve his contract with manager Mike Appel. This led to a countersuit where Appel kept Springsteen from recording a follow-up to Born To Run until it the legal proceedings were resolved. Once both parties came to an agreement in the spring of 1977, Springsteen and the E Street Band took to the studio recording upwards of thirty songs which were finally released in May of 1978. While the 1977 tour is viewed by many as some of the most staggering the band would ever do, it set the template for the 1978 tour. Springsteen’s Born in the USA trek may have been more epic and his jaunt in support of The River more exhausting and epic, none of them would have been possible without the ’78 tour. Springsteen decided to blend his new material with his older material which led to show times around the three-hour mark. To this day, three-hour shows are largely unprecedented, but in 1978 it was virtually unheard of. It’s one thing to do a lengthy show and another to keep the audience’s attention, which Springsteen and the E Street Band did with ease. This was also the last tour where the band played theaters as arenas were necessary come 1980 in places other than the Northeast. The Light in Darkness is a document of the 1978 tour and in all honesty, it’s surprising that Springsteen and his management team hasn’t done something similar before now. In their need to always do things on specific anniversaries, they often miss the boat and low and behold, a group of fans beat them to the punch. What provides The Light in Darkness with an authentic voice is the first hand reports and stories it provides. These aren’t so much embellished accounts, but earnest and brutally expressive stories of how music became something more than a distraction but a life force. I’ll admit, some of the stories feel repetitive and a little too much emphasis is given to the Darkness album in the text. Yet, to the credit of the writer’s, they were trying to give the 1978 tour context and it’s impossible to do so without a look at the Darkness record. However, as you page through the book, it’s impossible to deny the sincerity of the entries. These are truly revealing stories no one can deny and the intensity of some of them match Springsteen’s music and concert performances. The book very easily could have turned into a messiah-like worship of Springsteen, but by revealing the stories of where everyone was at a certain point in their lives, gives the book a lift up from your standard fan publication. The real treasures of the book are the hundreds of pictures and memorabilia that fill the pages in between the stories. Newspaper ads for the shows, flyers for on-sale dates, pins from the Madison Square Garden stand, concert tickets, specially made posters, backstage passes and special promotional items not seen for years. Aside from a time machine, this is the closest anyone can get to truly placing themselves in the thick of the action from over three-decades back. Up until now, the closest anyone could get to reliving this tour was through bootleg recordings, but now The Light in Darkness puts the tour into perspective in a little over two-hundred pages. The soft cover book is full of many revealing pictures, stories and loads of insight into the tour that truly defined the Springsteen legend. For anyone who was unable to attend the 1978 tour, The Light in Darkness is an essential buy as it places you in the thick of the action. For those who were lucky enough to be there, then it’s the greatest souvenir they ever could have.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com
This post is a sequel of sorts to previous entries earlier this month, you can read them here and here.
Well it appears that plastering your face everywhere imaginable helps. BonJovi will be debuting at #1 on the Billboard chart, according to Hits Daily Double, with sales of 166,000 copies of The Circle. It's still a 40+% decline from the sales of Lost Highway 2-years ago.
They pulled out all the stops including having the fans buy a digital download for an early crack at advance tickets and also a $3.99 offer for the whole week over at Amazon for a digital download.
How will it hold up over time? Only time will tell.
Keith Urban-Full Circle Joe’s – Chicago, IL November 14, 2009 By Anthony Kuzminski Pictures courtesy of Rob Grabowski Corporate sponsorship has its perks as evidenced by Keith Urban’s intimate acoustic performance this past weekend in Chicago. Verizon Wireless and Samsung Mobile sponsored part of Keith Urban’s recently completed tour and back in March, Urban kicked it all off with an intimate full band performance for a few hundred fans at Joe’s on Weed Street in Chicago. He brought the tour full circle with a one-off acoustic/ Q&A performance for a mere 300-fans once again at Joe’s. The crowd, which consisted of radio station and Verizon store winners proved to be brief, but perfectly poised. Keith Urban took to the stage in boots, jeans and a short-sleeved collared shirt with a disarming smile. As he sat on a stool with nothing other than an acoustic guitar, a fan called out for “Days Go By” and Urban graciously obliged with a concentrated and dynamic performance. Despite the bare bones performance, Urban wields his magnetism. “Days Go By” was as enlivening as it was in the summer of ’08 in Soldier Field. Up next was “I’m In”, the penultimate track from his latest album, Defying Gravity, a record with more misses than hits, but in its bare bones arrangement, it revealed layers not on the studio track. In fact, I will be revisiting the album as a result of this performance. This is a case where the layered production led the song down the wrong path. Urban’s vocal was unadorned and as the crowd sung along. In between songs, Urban took questions from the largely female crowd with a charming smile and he graciously even offered autographs. He is in the midst of beginning to write for his next studio record which he informed the crowd he hopes to move into full gear in 2010. He did not offer a time table for completion, but considering he just finished a tour, it is good to hear he has begun the writing process already.
For the remainder of the performance, Urban blew any preconceived notions out of the water. As he performed “Kiss the Girl” with a sea of voices in support, he let his talent come to the forefront. There was pure joy in his performance. One of the better questions came when he was asked about the biggest surprise on the tour and he referenced when Taylor Swift and three members of her band dressed in full KISS regalia and came on-stage to surprise him during “Kiss the Girl”, Urban admitted “I thought it really was KISS because the make-up was spot on”. A fan called out for “Jeans On” and Urban once again immediately surged into the Golden Road album cut in a fun off-the-cuff performance. The afternoon’s final performance, “Stupid Boy” closed the all too brief acoustic set with a pulverizing performance. Despite not having written the song, you can hear the vulnerability in Urban’s vocal performance. You feel ache in his third-person brooding delivery. As he closed his eyes, he transported himself and all 300 fans in attendance for the most affecting performance of the day. Every American Idol performer could learn from this performance. Nothing about it was over-the-top, yet with an impassioned vocal and an acoustic guitar, he left a overwhelming impression no one will soon forget. It’s almost impossible to believe he didn’t write it. Most people think singing is about technique, but Urban proved it’s all about pulling from your inner emotions. Despite being an invitation only performance, it didn’t feel that way. It was a enjoyable afternoon where fans were able to see one of the great live performers of our time do a rare and revealing acoustic set. Urban transcended the event by not merely performing, but by going the extra mile and sharing a part of himself in his performances (specifically on “Stupid Boy”). Not every musician can balance performing to tens of thousands of people and be able to make that same connection in a club. Urban has proven himself in the last eighteen-months to have the good to challenge a stadium, connect with an arena and provide the intimacy needed for a club. As always, Urban delivers in any live environment. Keith Urban the celebrity took a back-seat to Keith Urban the musician proving there is more than meets the eye.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com Special thanks to: VERIZON WIRELESS AND SAMSUNG MOBILE TEAM WITH KEITH URBAN FOR AN INTIMATE ACCOUSTIC PERFORMANCE IN CHICAGO.
The band’s new Island album will be next week’s top debut, with a total hovering in the 140-150k range, based on one-day sales reports from those retailers able to tear themselves away from watching Wanda Sykes’ new talk show.
That will set up a four-way race for the top spot next Tuesday among the Jersey boys, this week’s #1 finisher, CMA host Carrie Underwood, dark horse Andrea Bocelli and Michael Jackson.
It should be noted, that if the set sells in the 140,000-150,000 range, it will be a 50% drop from the first week sales of Lost Highway. In this day and age where it took U2 six months to pass the platinum mark, one has to wonder where the totals for The Circle will be come early January? They have their NBC deal which will grant them exposure through all of December, but considering how much press they have done to date, I'm a bit surprised by the early numbers. I figured the band would be somewhere in the 230,000 range. We'll have to wait and see how it shakes out next week.
AMERICAN EXPRESS PROVIDES CARDMEMBERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE JON BON JOVI UNPLUGGED FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY TO BENEFIT THE JON BON JOVI SOUL FOUNDATION AND CITY HARVEST
NEW YORK, November 09, 2009 -- American Express is giving its Cardmembers exclusive access to one of the world's most celebrated musicians, Jon Bon Jovi. The first and only link to purchase tickets for $50 will be posted exclusively on the @AmericanExpress Twitter feed the morning of Wednesday, November 11, 2009 and all proceeds will be donated to City Harvest via the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.
Follow @AmericanExpress to be the first to access the link for your chance to grab the tickets before they sell out for this intimate show! The night includes an acoustic set from Jon Bon Jovi & Friends, a screening of the trailer from the Bon Jovi documentary, “When We Were Beautiful” followed by Q&A with Jon and the documentary's director Phil Griffin. All attendees will receive a copy of the documentary, Bon Jovi's new album “The Circle” and book “When We Were Beautiful.”
KISS: Alive & United November 6, 2009 Chicago, IL-United Center By Anthony Kuzminski {Pics courtesy of Heather Marin} Over the last decade, many fans have made a sport out of dogging KISS. After a magnificent “Farewell” tour in 2000, KISS did everything but take a final bow. While everyone likes to chastise them for not retiring, the truth is, the 2000 tour proved to be the final time fans would see Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss together on stage, performing in their classic make-up. Since then, KISS has been on a roller coaster ride. While the KISS brand has flourished, their artistic merit has floundered. Dozens of compilations have been issued in that time frame while no original music had been created by the band since their much debated 1998 record Psycho Circus record, until now. KISS had a huge up-hill battle ahead of them. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are once again left as being the sole original members. Paul Stanley took charge and led the group back into the studio as he once again took control of producing duties. For most of the 1980’s and 1990’s, KISS was paired with producers who couldn’t see the KISS vision. This is why Stanley is back in the producer’s chair. The resulting album, Sonic Boom heralds a sonic architecture that feels more in line with the Lick It Up and Animalize period of KISS, yet it feels as if KISS is embodying their inner strengths. The same could be said of the tour in support of Sonic Boom, the continuation of their Alive 35 tour which started a few years ago overseas. Arriving in Chicago for their first show in a half decade, and the band’s first performance at the United Center, it was like a entering a time machine back to the 1970’s where KISS ruled arenas. Some of the one-off performances in recent years I witnessed by KISS left me in the cold. I felt disengaged and the performances were distant reminders of what I felt this band was capable of. However, as ironic as it sounds, there is warmth to an arena versus festivals and sheds. KISS looked more at ease, more in control and more ready to fight for their legacy than at any time since the first reunion tour completed in 1997. For over two hours, KISS brought out every trick imaginable. From Gene’s blood spitting and flying on “I Love It Loud” to Paul flying to the back of the arena during “Love Gun”, to Thayer’s gun slinging guitar solo to Singer’s svelte spinning drum solo, one can never deny that the band gives their all to entertain. I won’t lie, I wrote KISS off years ago, but about fifteen minutes into their recent Chicago show, I felt like a kid again. As the immense KISS drape dropped, the band surged into “Deuce” and “Stutter” which spiraled masterfully into a set high on nostalgia and performances rooted in their past glories. The band roamed and ruled the stage like it was 1977 and while Ace and Peter were missing, their replacements, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer embodied their spirits and in many ways, outperformed their predecessors. They prove to be the back bone of the current incarnation of KISS and push Stanley and Simmons to up their game. The truth is Thayer and Singer may be the two best overall musicians to ever grace the face paint. By adding them to the KISS chemistry, the songs have grown stronger and become more potent. KISS played to their strengths. While it is unlikely they swayed anyone who wasn’t a fan previously, they may have converted a few doubters back into their corner. Their raging two hour concert was high on adrenaline and pizzazz. Maybe it was nothing more than a nostalgia ride, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t exhilarating. It’s hard to balance one’s legacy with keeping your feet planted in the future. These days, the amount of money fans fork over for tickets is staggering and if acts want the money, they need to deliver. The current KISS show in many ways is similar to the current tour Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Both rose to fame in the 1970’s and were heralded and known for their live shows while their record sales were solid yet not through the roof. While KISS was about excess, Springsteen was about personal intimacy. However, as far apart as these two acts appear to be musically, in the end, they both believed in delivering a show so killing and gripping, it would never leave your memory bank. Record sales paled compared to the magic and the myth of their live performances. In 2009, both KISS and Springsteen are playing to their strengths with set lists heavy on previous glories. Yet what differentiates the two is their need to not just win over an audience, but leave them wanting more. Simmons, Stanley and Springsteen are as fluid and free on the concert stage as they have ever been in their entire careers. Whenever they perform, they wrangle with their own legacy. Amazingly, KISS appears to have found the fountain of youth. Both acts bow at the altar of their fans because they keep them in business. The brilliance of the make-up is that one would never know that KISS has been doing this for nearly four decades. Like an old friend you had a falling out with, you reconnect with years later almost as if no time has passed. In many instances, you often wonder why you lost touch in the first place. They enlarge their own myth by delivering note for note recreations than in many instances, surpass the ones we fell in love with. Does this make it better than the original? No, but it makes for a unique viewpoint and alternate history.
The evening was full of memorable ringers; “Calling Dr. Love”, “(Let Me Go) Rock & Roll”, “Rock and Roll All Nite”, “Shout It Out Loud”, “Cold Gin” and even one new song, “Modern Day Delilah”. Every performance was cut from the same fabric of the vintage KISS with some minor improvements. The only questionable performance was that of “Shock Me” with Tommy Thayer on lead vocals. It was like watching your best friend date your first love and while I’m not sure I am entirely comfortable watching it go down, it delivered the desired effect. This was the only song I wrestled with, as KISS found a way to triumph over adversity. “Hotter Than Hell” was boisterous as it was brash, while the opening riff to “Parasite” was forceful and fierce in a fist-pumping progressiveness. KISS has never been one to preach impending doom to its audience, yet the brazenly bracing grandiosity of their live shows embodies the true spirit of rock n’ roll. As my eyes veered to the upper regions of the arena, I couldn’t help but notice the absolute liveliness of the sold-out crowd. Beneath everything one can write about music and its guiding light in our lives or its growth, in the end it really all boils down to a bond, and KISS has it with their audience. Dollar for dollar, guitar pick for guitar pick, pyrotechnic for pyrotechnic, the KISS Alive 35 show is one of the best on the road and provides the audience with a profound bang for their buck. While some tickets were as high as $129, the band also reserved a significant amount of tickets for $18 (and less in other markets). Only Green Day and Metallica are currently offering better deals for a first tier concert production. Anyone who has ever dismissed KISS for a lack of vision, purpose or mere musical ability would have eaten crow after this performance, specifically the incendiary rendition of “Lick It Up”, which proved to be spellbinding as the band demonstrated mastery of their instruments and a need for a nostalgic eruption. As Thayer and Stanley assaulted their six-string guitars, they stripped away the excess as they broke the song down to the basic primordial chords of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” before a cathedral collapsing reprise of “Lick It Up”. In an alternate universe where sci-fi meets sex, KISS is to 1970’s rock n’ roll as the Who is to the 1960’s. While both groups are missing half of their original members, it’s hard to deny their interminable vehemence of wanting to battle with their past nightly. While one can never recapture the same chemical compounds that the original four transport, you can genetically alter them to produce a more lean sound that in some ways is more precise and spot-on than the originals. In the case of KISS, I walked away longing for the original incarnation but defending the new incarnation because of the passion and purpose with which they delivered their catalog. Beneath the surplus of gadgetry KISS preposterously exceeded all expectations. They unleashed the riotous spirit of rock n’ roll while simultaneously paying homage to their legacy by delivering show stopping anthems as KISS pledges allegiance to the very core values of rock n’ roll. It may not have invigorated your mind or dispatched poetic prose, but it did provide a demonic jolt of merriment. In the end, while I greatly admire the perceptive singer-songwriters who have made me look upon the world in a different light, in the end, above all, it should be infused with pleasure. KISS may not have all of their original members and this may be an impasse some will never be able to see through, yet the Alive 35 tour is about as much fun as anyone could have with their clothes on and sometimes, that’s all rock n’ roll needs to live up to. KISS has proven to be larger than any one member and as they confirmed over two turbocharged hours in Chicago, on any given night, you’ll see a band that is every bit as good as they have ever been, and that is not just their lasting legacy, but their sweetest revenge as well.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Pearl Jam – ‘Vs.’ Album Review & Reflection (5-Stars) By Anthony Kuzminski The time between Pearl Jam’s first ever gig (October 22, 1990) and the release of their debut record Ten (August 27, 1991) was a mere ten months. Despite the eclectic and seriousness of their first record, it was recorded and released in such a whirlwind that the songs in essence came before Pearl Jam were really a band. Between the release of Ten and their second record Vs. in October 1993, their world changed more than any of them could have ever imagined. Almost overnight they became a band who was deemed the voice of their generation, the ones people looked to for answers and a money making juggernaut for promoters, radio programmers, their record company and MTV. Everyone wanted a piece of them. These types of strains are what break up bands. Pearl Jam could have suffocated under this weight, but they did the opposite. They held the power, they knew it and they flexed it. They refused to make music videos, gave scattered interviews, didn’t play into the hands of corporate behemoths and somehow amidst all of this chaos, made their masterpiece with Vs..
Originally titled Five Against One, Vs. is a collection where the five members indeed reverberate like a band ready to take on the world. While the songs are still intimate and personal, their scope went from full screen to widescreen with a rage reserved for the darkest of metal bands. Because of the way the Ten album, the live performances on the Lollapalooza tour and the “Jeremy” video took off, everyone was in the band’s ear offering advice. The band wanted none of it. The polished studio essence on Ten was absent replaced with a much more potent and acerbic sonic force. If Ten was a heavy weight boxing match, Vs. was Fight Club on speed. On the previous record, the music felt almost classical in its composition, on Vs. it felt like the Ramones meet the Clash meet U2 (circa 1983). The band was taking no prisoners and when I tuned into the MTV VMA’s in 1993 and heard the band tear through “Animal”, I knew changes would be abound on the newest record. Their ire flew off that stage in a way I’m not sure if I have ever seen before or since. Some felt it was an act, I knew it was anything but. The stakes were higher, the rules had changed and more importantly, Pearl Jam was a band. With two years of gigs underneath their belts the band was more brazen and brash in their follow-up to Ten. Rare is an artist who can sell as many records as Pearl Jam did and then to create a record that isn’t just as good but in many ways, superior to Ten. Right from the prayer-like opening punch of “Go”, the band proves to be unyielding in its need to leave their previous album in the dust. The classic rock stimulus of Ten was pushed to the side with the band embracing more of a punk rock mind-set as featured on “Animal”, “Blood” and “Leash”. The tribal ecstasy of “W.M.A.” makes up for what some see as one-dimensional lyrics and yet it’s impossible to deny the way the song seeps into your psyche because of the zeal with which they were executed. The band took to the recording studio ready for a fight and with bloody knuckles fought their way through twelve compositions ranging from simple storytelling to rage to a heightened understanding of the world around them. They didn’t merely compose about divisive topics, they let their rage vent up from within them shouted it from the top of their lungs and instruments. “Glorified G” has a beat and enlivening riff made for the radio, but it’s a stinging declaration against guns. “Daughter” and “Leash” give voice to the misunderstood hearkening back to “Jeremy” and “Why Go” from the debut. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is a perfect mid-tempo ballad of a woman trapped in a small town who comes eye to eye with an old flame who doesn’t even remember her. It’s the misfortune and ache that I could relate to when I heard the record. It’s dressed up for FM dials and evokes a sing-a-long every night in concert, yet beneath the picturesque melody is pain. These universal themes are ever so simplistic, but it’s not the songwriting that made this record a source of salvation for me, but the fever within it. Pearl Jam was writing at a higher level of consciousness with Vs. and when you’re lost and in need of direction, a compilation of songs that feel as if they were written to resuscitate your life prove to be not just fortifying and invigorating, but resurrecting for your soul as well. No song better epitomizes the emancipation than “Rearviewmirror”. Delivered in a breakneck speed, the song takes the listener on a fervent getaway and may be one of the utmost driving songs ever laid to tape. Hitting the road, leaving your past in the dust and seeing the future with a clear head is something too many of us fail to do, but if anything the song inspires. I learned that sometimes it’s best to confront my demons and at other times, to look away from situations that couldn’t be resolved and to never look back. There’s middle ground between reconciling your past with your present and leaving a bad situation in the dust. Pearl Jam may have been on top of the musical heap at this moment in their career, but they were equally protective of what they had built. They weren’t looking for an easy buck or unnecessary celebrity and even if they had recorded these same songs with a tenth of the passion, it wouldn’t hold up today. Fortunately for us, the music reigned supreme and Pearl Jam proved their worth with Vs..
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Lately I've been having cravings for the old music. You know, the songs you used to listen to when you were a teenager, the ones you recorded onto countless mix tapes - yes, tapes (google it, those of you under 20.) Granted, my cravings for the old music aren't as strong as my cravings for, say, peanut butter or good beer, but they do occur quite frequently. When I hear "Hand In My Pocket" or "Ironic" I think back to driving around the streets of London with Ken, listening to Uncle Joey's ex at high volumes.
Cut. It. Out!
But for the most part lately, I've been finding myself wanting to listen to the old Christian stuff. Bands like Whitecross, Petra, DeGarmo & Key. Now, I must say that there is a lot of it that I can't listen to because of how highly infused it is with evangelical theology. One such song is DeGarmo & Key's "Boycott Hell," an anthem which includes lyrics such as "Don't let a neighbour go, form a holy picket line. We gotta let them know, don't you think it's time, to boycott Hell." I even had a t-shirt with the song title plastered in big red letters on the front. During my latest craving, however, I got to listening to Kenny Marks, another Christian rock singer. After a quick iTunes search I came across "Turn My World Around," a song that isn't as overtly religious, until the last verse. The beginning of the song goes like this:
"City by city, town by town, side by side Gonna tear the walls down. Minute by minute, heart by heart, hand in hand, you know it's time to start
I'm gonna turn my world around Gonna lift up every head and every heart in this town Turn my world around
Step by step, street by street, soul by soul, Everyone that I meet. Face by face, night by night, smile by smile I'm gonna change this whole world tonight."
Listening to this song and others like it, the old feelings of zeal and passion come up as they did 15 years ago when I was listening to it the first time. Now the inference in this song, one that becomes clearer in the third verse with lyrics like "I'm gonna wrap my arms around this lost and dying world" is that the way you turn the world around is by telling people of your religious faith. But even if it wasn't about religion, if it was just about making the world a better place and changing circumstances for people, would the ideas be helpful?
*And so concludes the religious component of this article, and a polite request for an absence of debate on the topic; it's exhausting*
My main point is that it is not our job - not my job - to change anybody. No one. Anywhere.
Each person who has ever lived has had their own answers, whether they've been able to see that or not. While all of us are connected, probably much more than we know, each of us has our life to live out, and we each do that in our own unique way. But our tendency can be to view things quite differently.
Once we find our truth, or perhaps more accurately once it rises up in ourselves to the point of us being conscious of it, we suspect that this must be the way it is for those around us. It may have to do with the activities we take part in, the books we read, the way we eat, the beliefs that we believe. But I think that sometimes we can assume that the things that make our lives fulfilling will naturally fulfill others.
Not the case.
First of all, who am I to know what would help another person grow into themselves more fully? There's a dose of arrogance in that thinking, the one that presumes that "I have the answers that will help you." Perhaps one reason why we sometimes think this way is because it massages our ego with some sense of power and control over other people, even if it's not something we're consciously aware of.
In reality, my formula of reading inspirational books and Enya could well induce a near catatonic state for someone else. While I may not understand it, role-playing games, poker, or watching Heroes may enrich anothers life. I don't understand these things, but that's alright.
It's not our job to change anyone. Indeed, there may be a subtle violence in play when we do try to change someone to be different than they are. As hard as it is, we - I - must give up our need to be right and to have all the answers. Our job is not to change or fix anyone. Our job is to love.
Period.
Love doesn't necessarily mean "doing" anything. It can often include actions, like giving flowers to someone or sending them a card, but maybe it's more about "being" than doing, especially if our idea of doing is to make it all better for someone or fix what's wrong. After all, is that what we want? For someone to fix things or make everything better? Or would we rather just know that someone is there, that they are present with us no matter where we are or what kind of day we're having.
In this way, maybe love is more about presence and being there, rather than necessarily about changing anything.
Pearl Jam-‘Ten’ Album Review & Reflection (4.5 Stars) By Anthony Kuzminski Nirvana’s 1991 release of Nevermind is often credited with providing a tantalizing tremor to the world of music in ways that few others artists/albums/songs ever have. Almost overnight, well crafted radio-ready singles became passé and very, very, very uncool. Nirvana started a revolution and is often credited as such. I doubt anyone wouldnot agree with this, but I have always held the argument that if Nirvana had never existed, that revolution would still have come to pass. Everyone wanted a change it’s just that no one realized it until they heard “Smell Like Teen Spirit”. However, if the song or band never existed, the world’s “Come To Jesus” moment would have been when they fully digested the debut album by Pearl Jam, Ten. Regardless of Nevermind’s success, Ten would have sprouted from obscurity to the masses without a question. People were fatigued of eating the same meal seven days a week and Pearl Jam’s uncompromising, unrefined and wicked truthfulness was the recipe for revolution. Over time Ten has outsold Nevermind thanks in no part to songs that are cut in a classic-rock vein. More importantly, I suppose more people understood lead singer Eddie Vedder’s lyrics (even if at times I wonder what precisely is being said). From the opening instrumental that precedes “Once” to the parallel coda of “Release”, Ten was a fatiguing psychological event that sheltered you, fucked with you, confronted you and ultimately released you like the greatest records do. The potency of Ten is in its songs which are laced with melodies amidst an avalanche of sledgehammer chords appealing to the non-nonsense attitudes of the alternative world but was melodious enough for those who grew up on pop and hard rock to devour.
I bought Ten without hearing a track on the record; a rarity for me. However, I strongly recall Rip Magazine doing coverage on the band, having full page ads and because I never ventured out to hear or buy Mother Love Bone, I felt obligated to buy this one. What I heard crushed me. At the time, I saw Pearl Jam as a member of the hard rock family who was writing from a higher conscious level not seen since U2. On the album’s opener “Once” Vedder empathizes in a way where he doesn’t sing so much as bark at you making the listener an integral part of the experience. I barely understood the lyrics, but he was pissed off and so was I. This wasn’t music that was being sung to me, but felt as if it was coming from me. I love it when people condemn the grunge movement as the nail in the coffin of hard rock, but the truth is that many of the acts had either self imploded recently or they were creating music that their fans could not relate to. So when the brutal directness of Ten invaded your speakers, it was as if seeing light after an intolerable darkness. When the riff to “Even Flow” lashed across my headphones, I immediately thought, “what the hell is this and why it isn’t on the radio”. It was an all encompassing anthem for the masses. This wasn’t made to be played in clubs, but arenas and stadiums. “Even Flow” to this day is the one staple that appears at every Pearl Jam show no matter what. While I’d give anything for them to retire it for one tour, it’s difficult to deny its power. Ament’s bass grooves like a biker on a highway, weaving in and out of lanes when necessary but always with his focus on the road ahead. However, especially on the new remixed edition of Ten, Aments’ bass curls around your ribs reverberating itself. Stone Gossard’s finger flexing cements the songs vigorous stomps. In 1991, it had been a while to find sonic and lyrical candor this authentic, alluring and palatable. Over the course of eleven near perfect songs, the band takes the listener on an emotional roller coaster comforting, scaring and redefining what an album could do. One of the reasons this record sold north of eight figures (thirteen-million in the US to date) is because of the bevy of top-tier songs. People discovered that this was a record that contained more than MTV hits, but a multitude of cuts that serenaded not just one’s ears but their inner psyche as well. From the misunderstood and misdiagnosed narrator of “Why Go”, to the existential anthem “Alive”, to the harrowing heartbreak of “Black” to the outward aggression of “Porch”, there was no holding back of emotions and for a short time, wearing your emotions on your sleeve were more than just a passing fad but proved to be a release needed by much of the world. One has to wonder if there is a higher power playing chess allowing certain lives to intersect and weave together for a band like Pearl Jam to stay together. Even if Ten was not a landmark record, it would still be a wildly important one because of the impact it gave and its everlasting legacy. Every tour I see by Pearl Jam features a significantly younger audience that was not at the previous tour. There’s something universal about the battles we face in life and how Pearl Jam found a way to triumph through the sheer will of the fight. struggles and despair evoked out of these songs. Even when my love and admiration fell to the wayside a few years later, I would return to this record time and time again always discovering something about myself in the process. There was an unspoken instinctive trust between band and fan. These songs weren’t just songs on the radio but the listener felt as if they were reading out of someone’s diary and as a result, it was all that more real to them. It wasn’t a sound or image that took the wind out of the sails of polished music, it was the sincerity. Ten<>Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
