Imagine this: After years of false starts and disappointments, things finally click for your new band. Not only does your debut record sell more than 15 million copies, but also becomes one of the cornerstones of the grunge revolution and a staple of Gen X’s musical diet forevermore.
Now imagine this: No matter how many people tell you that your record is great, you still hate how it sounds. Welcome to the world of Pearl Jam and their Ten album.
But come Tuesday, the band will finally get what they’ve always wanted: A version of Ten that meets with their approval. They tapped their favourite producer, Brendan O’Brien, to remix it using its original parts. Think “refurbishment” instead of “renovation.”
“We put a lot of work into that record,” guitarist Stone Gossard told me, “and I think in the end, we were happy with it. But as much as we love (Ten producer Tim Palmer), it’s really exciting to go back and revisit it.”
Few bands ever get this kind of musical mulligan. “(Brendan) tweaked the colour and the sound,” says Stone, “You can hear a lot more energy coming out of it.”
“I think it was more about production values,” Eddie Vedder confided to me, “It wasn’t how it was played. There were certain things done in the studio to accentuate this part or that part — an effect or an echo. Looking back, it feels like artificial atmosphere. On the remixed version, it gets stripped down a bit and becomes closer to what the initial core of what that music was at the time.”
I must confess that even after talking to Pearl Jam, I wasn’t convinced — until I heard the new version. The guitars are … bigger, fatter, better. The mix seems cleaner and the music has extra clarity. Even though I’ve heard songs from Ten countless times since it was released on Aug. 27, 1991, I heard bits in the new mix that I had never heard before.
Put aside your scepticism. This version of Ten is better than the original in every way. And if you get the chance, listen to the new vinyl edition.
“That’s the thing you get to do if you stick around long enough,” adds Stone. Guitarist Mike McCready jumps in. “It only takes 20 years.”
Well, 17 years, 6 months and 26 days. But who’s counting?
The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on stations across Canada. Read more at ongoinghistory.com and exploremusic.com
