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Pearl Jam Twenty
Pearl Jam Twenty is an intimate and lavishly illustrated portrait of one of the world’s most influential and successful bands—by the band itself.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2011
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1219 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
October 15, 2011
I bought this book 3 days ago and i couldn't stop reading it. Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands and I think Cameron Crowe did a really great job wrinting this book but that's not the reason i rated it with 5 stars. I gave it such a good rating because P.J. members are really private about their lives so I think it's a great privilege to all the fans to read about the history of this great american band.
The book is not only filled with interviews of every band member but also with coments of everyone who has been with them since the begining. The book is very well ilustrated with old pictures and personal stuff that the band kindly lent to make this book possible.
I think "PEARL JAM twenty" is a must read to everyone that loves this band like i do.
The book is not only filled with interviews of every band member but also with coments of everyone who has been with them since the begining. The book is very well ilustrated with old pictures and personal stuff that the band kindly lent to make this book possible.
I think "PEARL JAM twenty" is a must read to everyone that loves this band like i do.
March 27, 2012
Do you remember times during childhood when a summer's day stretched out before you and your only responsibility was to BE...
I had just such a day on Boxing Day, 2011. Sitting on my verandah, looking out over the city, I began reading Pearl Jam Twenty. I had Water on the Road playing in the background and I occasionaly strolled inside to top-up with Chandon.
Hours went by as I immersed myself within the covers!
Pure pleasure for pleasure's sake :)
Handy to have their records & youtube nearby - I've now heard stuff that I never knew existed!
I had just such a day on Boxing Day, 2011. Sitting on my verandah, looking out over the city, I began reading Pearl Jam Twenty. I had Water on the Road playing in the background and I occasionaly strolled inside to top-up with Chandon.
Hours went by as I immersed myself within the covers!
Pure pleasure for pleasure's sake :)
Handy to have their records & youtube nearby - I've now heard stuff that I never knew existed!
August 10, 2012
Any fan who owns No Code & Binaural, can name more than one Mother Love Bone song (not including Crown of Thorns), has been to more than 3 live shows and has a stick man sticker or tattoo, already owns this book.I'm writing this review for anyone who once loved Pearl Jam (one of the 900,000+ individuals to buy Vs. in the first week) but stopped following after '95. You guys all need to pick this up. Only by going back in time, becoming a roadie and touring with the band could you get a more complete understanding & backstory about songs, reasons for events, changes to the line up, concerts and personal challenges Eddie, Mike, Jeff, Stone, Matt and all the other drummers have faced and dealt with over the past 20+ years. Page turner to say the least. Such a well chronicled saga of one of the worlds greatest rock bands. A fantastic marriage to Crowe's documentary on film.
January 6, 2013
Compiled from interviews both recent and past, Pearl Jam Twenty ably chronicles the life of a band that has managed to remain together while making good music for two decades. Divided by year, with call-out sections detailing the process and features of each album, the book manages to give both broad overview while including specific details about the origins of songs and other significant band lore. Appropriately, the book features a great deal of material about Pearl Jam's live shows, which with their ever-changing setlists and the consistently enthusiastic playing of the band remain the group's backbone. On top of all this, the visual presentation shines with photographs from throughout the band's years together. Without a doubt, this book is a fan's dream, and a must-read for any serious Pearl Jam listener.
January 14, 2012
I'll try not to overthink this. If you're a serious Pearl Jam fan this is a must-have, and if you're a casual fan (like me) with a fondness for '90s music and culture then you'll still enjoy it. Companion coffee-table books like this often end up being superficial, but the sheer volume of first-person commentary from the band members along with generous illustrations make this a good investment. (Full disclosure: I paid half-price the day after Christmas.) I enjoyed the film but felt it suffered from Cameron Crowe's inability to conceive the band could do anything wrong, ever. The PJ guys as depicted here are driven musicians full of sensitivity whose ambivalence about success isn't an affectation. Since the band seems to be enjoying a resurgence I think we'll be treated to a good deal more PJ music, but this is as definitive a portrait of Pearl Jam as we're likely to get. Highly recommended.
January 1, 2015
As a fan of the band I can't be objective. It's not just an ordinary book, it is band's encyclopedia, a must have book. The life events, gigs, concerts, album recordings are chronologically placed, the band's members thoughts on creativity, inspiration, challenges, everyday struggles are so inspiring. I especially liked the reviews about the albums at the end of every chapter.
It's so cool and enjoying while reading about their performances to watch them (thanks to youtube) or listening the songs while reading about the making process. That's why it took me almost two years to read the entire.
And I liked that there was no official end, I believe there are lot of new pages to be written by Pearl Jam in the future.
It's so cool and enjoying while reading about their performances to watch them (thanks to youtube) or listening the songs while reading about the making process. That's why it took me almost two years to read the entire.
And I liked that there was no official end, I believe there are lot of new pages to be written by Pearl Jam in the future.
August 11, 2024
“One thing I do remember saying at the meeting in the hotel was, I was always into three-piece and four-piece bands. In a five-piece, it starts getting hard to remember everybody’s name. This is quite embarrassing looking back, but I said, “There’s no way I could ever play the leads, but if you wanted it to be a four-piece, I could learn the rhythm parts if Stone wanted to do the solos.” In essence, I was suggesting getting rid of Mike McCready, although, of course, I didn’t know him and hadn’t seen him play. I was like, “Personally, I’ve always liked a four-piece,” not knowing that I was dissing not only Mother Love Bone but also their new group. [Laughs] They were probably like, “Ugh. Who is this fuckin’ knucklehead?” Sorry, Mikey!” – Eddie Vedder
90s grunge is the milkshake that will always bring this girl to the yard. With drink in hand, I will listen to it, sing it, and talk about it non-stop. As I type this, I am listening to “Far Behind” by Candlebox. It is a tribute song to Andrew Wood, who was the lead singer of Mother Love Bone. The whole Andrew Wood rabbit hole is a favorite of mine, which I won’t be getting into here because:
1) People that know me are sick of hearing about it.
2) This review is about Pearl Jam. The above quote gives you enough info on the Andrew Wood connection.
This book would be perfect for a collector of all things Pearl Jam. It is a chronological history of the first 20 years of the band, including the events they played (where/when/who with), album and song release dates, quotes from the band members and friends, and photos. What isn’t there is a deep dive into the lives of the band members themselves. Which, if you know Pearl Jam, you know that is how they are. Extremely private, fame avoidant, and deeply focused on the art that is their music.
Three stars to a book that unfortunately could be a bit too monotonous at times.
90s grunge is the milkshake that will always bring this girl to the yard. With drink in hand, I will listen to it, sing it, and talk about it non-stop. As I type this, I am listening to “Far Behind” by Candlebox. It is a tribute song to Andrew Wood, who was the lead singer of Mother Love Bone. The whole Andrew Wood rabbit hole is a favorite of mine, which I won’t be getting into here because:
1) People that know me are sick of hearing about it.
2) This review is about Pearl Jam. The above quote gives you enough info on the Andrew Wood connection.
This book would be perfect for a collector of all things Pearl Jam. It is a chronological history of the first 20 years of the band, including the events they played (where/when/who with), album and song release dates, quotes from the band members and friends, and photos. What isn’t there is a deep dive into the lives of the band members themselves. Which, if you know Pearl Jam, you know that is how they are. Extremely private, fame avoidant, and deeply focused on the art that is their music.
Three stars to a book that unfortunately could be a bit too monotonous at times.
February 26, 2012
Without question this is the greatest rock n roll book I've ever read. I consider myself to be a pretty big Pearl Jam fan, and this book was sill packed with stories and tidbits and truths about the band and songs and moments that I had never heard anywhere else. Pretty remarkable. As is the band themselves. Not just that they've survived this long as a band, but that they have done so coming from the scene that they emerged from and with the enormous amount of instant success that they achieved. And not even just that! But that they continue to be such profound activists of many, many, many causes, that they are such innovators (of so much more than just their music), and that they have always put the fans first. Always. Even the dark and harsh realities that encompassed the tragedy of nine PJ fans inexplicably dying at one of their shows could not derail the overall force of Pearl Jam, although that moment easily could have. Just look at the grunge scene of the early nineties as the evidence that there just aren't a lot of bands who could have survived what Pearl Jam has survived. It's pretty incredible. I found this book to be nostalgic (I'm thrilled that several shows that I have attended over the years are mentioned throughout, and this book often took me back to my high school years....it really dug up a bunch of lost memories.....good memories), informative, entertaining, insightful, and wildly inspirational. Not that I have any hope nor delusions of ever achieving anything musically...but I still must say, this book makes me want to play the hell out of my guitar and get as good as I can be. Whatever that is. By the time I got to the end, I wanted there to be so much more. I certainly hope there's twenty more years of Pearl Jam ahead of us.
June 5, 2012
I have a book about Mozart, and I always thought that someday (probably around retirement) I would read the book and listen to his works as I read about them.
Instead, I did that with this book about Pearl Jam. It was much easier - I've been a fan since the beginning, so I already have all the music. All I had to do was read about the albums, and then play the albums. It was a fun journey.
I generally like and appreciate music more when I know more about the context - what the artists were experiencing when they made it. Therefore, this is a great book, because it is full of this type of information, as well as tons of artwork, concert posters, and pictures.
And, on a personal note, I remember having tickets to a Milwaukee show at the height of the band fighting Ticketmaster (about 1994). They cancelled the show, and I was worried about losing my money, so I made sure I got my money back. Then two days later, the shows were back on, and I didn't get my tickets back. This book allowed me to relive that moment, and my massive teenage disappointment at not being able to see that concert. (Many years later, I saw them open for Tom Petty at Summerfest, so it's all good now.)
Instead, I did that with this book about Pearl Jam. It was much easier - I've been a fan since the beginning, so I already have all the music. All I had to do was read about the albums, and then play the albums. It was a fun journey.
I generally like and appreciate music more when I know more about the context - what the artists were experiencing when they made it. Therefore, this is a great book, because it is full of this type of information, as well as tons of artwork, concert posters, and pictures.
And, on a personal note, I remember having tickets to a Milwaukee show at the height of the band fighting Ticketmaster (about 1994). They cancelled the show, and I was worried about losing my money, so I made sure I got my money back. Then two days later, the shows were back on, and I didn't get my tickets back. This book allowed me to relive that moment, and my massive teenage disappointment at not being able to see that concert. (Many years later, I saw them open for Tom Petty at Summerfest, so it's all good now.)
Want to read
July 1, 2011Just pre-ordered this on Amazon! Ten came out when I was thirteen, I had it on cassette and listened to it over and over and over and OVER again. No album has ever affected me the way it did and I'm sure no album ever will. Can't wait for this and Cameron Crowe's accompanying documentary!
October 14, 2011
I can't wait to see the Cameron Crowe documentary. This is without a doubt the most illuminating book I have ever read on a band... Why? Well other books about bands and musicians are usually written by some one else - often someone who was never connected to the band in any way. Pearl Jam 20 was written by the guys who lived every moment of the past 20 years as a part of one of the greatest living bands in rock 'n roll. Within the covers of this book are accounts of the moments of greatest success, and greatest failures; the unprecedented battle with TicketMaster; the feud with Kurt Cobain, and a touching testimonial of news of Cobain's death; the exhilarating creative freedom of breaking with their major label; and a future that seems certain to continue Pearl Jam's journey into rock 'n roll immortality.
July 26, 2012
My wife and daughters got this for me for Father's Day, awesome gift and I really enjoyed it. I'm not a fan club member and haven't seen them in concert, but am a fan. The movie was great and I've got the studio albums, plus Lost Dogs and several concert compilations.
Imagine this is mostly for fans, and really if you're Gen X, who isn't?
The band released Ten when I was in college and I have to say that this book gave a well done, year by year, review of key moments in their history. It is not as broad or deep (or as controversial) as Hammer of the Gods, but it provided great insight into the band and individuals who made it.
It was interesting to read about some of the efforts made to support other bands and amazing to think of how easy it would have been to do so today via social media.
Imagine this is mostly for fans, and really if you're Gen X, who isn't?
The band released Ten when I was in college and I have to say that this book gave a well done, year by year, review of key moments in their history. It is not as broad or deep (or as controversial) as Hammer of the Gods, but it provided great insight into the band and individuals who made it.
It was interesting to read about some of the efforts made to support other bands and amazing to think of how easy it would have been to do so today via social media.
October 8, 2011
Started skimming this once I got to 1992. This is exhaustive and yet superficial at the same time. If you're looking for protracted commentary about certain incidents, songs or events you're not going to get it in this book. It's very authorized in the sense that little is said that's raw. Compared to a bio like Please Kill Me (oral history of punk), which wasn't even that great, you get little detail on nitty-gritty stuff. The pictures are neat, but it's not necessary to do such a play-by-play on events that aren't that important. Nice to go back in time on this one though. At one time Pearl Jam was really important and so was this kind of music, so it was nice to revisit that feeling even if I no longer listen to Pearl Jam at all.
September 26, 2011
Granted, I'm an avid PJ fan, 'have been since the mid 90's, hell, I'm even in the fan club, and due to my long allegiance I get phenomenal tickets/seats, but I digress the book is put together exceptionally well. The combination of the photographs, art work, blurbs, essays make a great coffee table book. I never thought I would say such a thing, but even Pearl Jam is getting older, hence the 20 year celebration.
It was a trip down memory lane, and easy on the eye. It will be cool for house guests to look through while drinking a beer, or three.
It was a trip down memory lane, and easy on the eye. It will be cool for house guests to look through while drinking a beer, or three.
November 14, 2011
Given that Pearl Jam's such a private band, it's great to see an authorised biography and so many rare pictures from the past 20 years. I'm a Pearl Jam nut so there's not all that much information in there that I didn't already know, so I tended to skim read it. My only disappointment is that there didn't seem to be any mention of the 6 Adelaide Concerts anywhere within the book... They were such monumentious occasions for me that it would've been nice for at least one of them to have been given a mention in the band's memoirs when some cities got multiple mentions. Oh well!
February 20, 2012
Saw the movie - had to see the book, of course. This is a must have for any true Pearl Jam fan. It goes through every day as a journal montage of any significant event that has happened in the last 20 years to this band, including separate projects by each band member. Great photos and excellent snippets of political and social arenas they have been involved in/with. It even has a picture of Ed's first paycheck with the record label. Very cool - I loved flipping through and "remembering when."
December 3, 2011
"A Pearl Jam concert today is about much more than music. It's about the kind of clear-eyed spirit that comes from believing in people and music and its power to change a shitty day into a great one, or looking at an injustice and feeling less alone about facing it."
"We're not concerned with how many people buy our albums - but we are concerned with how closely people listen to our music. It's nice to be able to share our art with people, and that's a rare opportunity." -Eddie Vedder
"We're not concerned with how many people buy our albums - but we are concerned with how closely people listen to our music. It's nice to be able to share our art with people, and that's a rare opportunity." -Eddie Vedder
February 15, 2012
There's so so so much PJ goodness here. Photos, interviews, set lists. This definitely isn't a book you can sit down and consume all at once. It's better to take your time...read a little bit here, a little bit there. Pearl Jam has been one of the few bands that I've consistently listened to for the last 20 years, so recounting this journey feels like walking through my own history. If you're a fan, I think you need this book.
January 12, 2012
I saw the movie and loved it. This book has so many more interviews and tour stories though. I could not put it down,loved every page, and most of all it solidifies my opinion that Pearl Jam is the greatest band of my lifetime.
December 10, 2011
Beautiful book. Nice, big pictures that follow the evolution of a great band over the last 20 years.
October 25, 2013
What can I say...I love Pearl Jam. Not sure if non-fans would get much from this. But for a fan it is a treasure trove of delights
June 23, 2016
Great book, awesome candids, arts and tons of great pictures. Fantastic gift for PJ fan #favouriteband
August 1, 2016
Masih teringat betapa menyenangkannya nonton bareng film PJ 20 di Blitz Epicentrum.
I miss jamily so much...:')
I miss jamily so much...:')
January 2, 2018
A must read for any die hard Pearl Jam fan like myself.
January 1, 2025
Pearl Jam band writes its own memoir! On 1st glance, this book looks sensational w/a rollicking, raucous page-layouts, comprised of pictures & memorabilia (almost evoking the aura of a scrapbook), which gives very dynamic feel; but there are some drawbacks, especially for those who are relatively new followers of Pearl Jam (for an example, most of the images have no captions or identifiers, so you can't always tell who's in the pictures, or what the occasion is). Most hardcore Pearl Jam fans will have no problem w/this, but others might. Although the design is compelling, there are many pages where the content is almost indecipherable due to bad design choices: like putting grey writing on a dark background, or overlaying text on top of a pattern that's too busy (like an accounting spreadsheet or some other competing content). It's a relief sometimes to get to a page-spread w/an ordinary white page/black text layout! The book is very detailed in its itinerary & some readers may not need such a deep-dive. It's set up almost as a diary of the band, w/a chronicle of their individual & collective activities, sequentially by date. There's some repetition (for example, the band members all give their backgrounds & history, then later this information is duplicated in other sections; the upside of this is that you can skip around the book without having to read everything & still not miss too much; for those reading it sequentially like me it becomes a bit of a nuisance). The heartbreaking tragedy at Roskilde is covered, along w/the struggles of the band & its individual members. There's' a fairly uplifting sense of evolution through the book, despite some of the dark/sad things addressed (including the health crises, deaths/suicides of various musicians associated w/Pearl Jam). The band also tries to convey their efforts to leverage their music to combat worldwide predatory capitalism & all the perceived destructive political & cultural influences around them. The book is comprehensive, large in size but relatively lightweight, so that the physical issues of reading it are minor. There are aspects of the book which are disturbing & unsettling, that detract from my enjoyment (ie; a large concert photo from stage shows one of the stagehands prominently wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned w/"I Love Satan" on it. - Really?!?). I enjoy the sections that delve into the wider community of musicians, especially for example, the formation of the definitive, impactful relationship between Vedder & Chris Cornell & also the teamwork between Neil Young & Pearl Jam. This book is heavily photographed, which is explosive & wonderful! It definitely expresses the personality of the band.
March 9, 2025
Picked this up on publication and hadn't read it. It's a 'proper' volume for reading, not flicking-through as a coffee-table book, though it looks like one.
Note taking the plain dustjacket off reveals a lovely bound cover.
This is a rather nicer book than Martin Clarke's None Too Fragile (1998) which is decidedly un-complementary to Eddie, particularly Rolling Stones article Who You Are? Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder in November 1996, questioning Eddie's claims to have been the victim of an abusive and marginal childhood. Clarke's book went on to claim Vedder as being a bit of a control freak, and a sort of Napoleon (a claim that had been also made of Yes' Jon Anderson).
PJ20 though, being band-authorised, as none of that controversy, and its better for it. What we have is a sort of journal record of the band, punctuated with essay-length articles, notably with each major release. The books research came about from the Cameron Crow-directed Pearl Jam Twenty documentary, with substantial input from Jonathan Cohen.
There's not too much controversy. The early history of the band, formed in the aftermath of Andrew Woods passing-away is pretty well documented. That the music for Ten was largely written before Eddie turned-up isn't too much of a surprise either. The eventual success of Ten propelled the band into the top echelons of heavy rock. For me though it was the connection with Neil Young that sealed their success and longevity, and it was Mirror Ball that switched me on to them. I've been buying Neil Young albums now for over five decades. My all-time favourite Pearl Jam number is Corduroy and a tendency to have it preceded when played in venues with Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive made that connection with the progressive rock I'd grown-up with. PJ absolutely aren't prog-rock, though Matt Cameron long ago in an interview in the back of a limousine with Crowe had (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) suggested PJ make a Tales From Topographic Oceans-style concept album. They very nearly ended-up doing just that with Pearl Jam in 2004. Matt counts Bill Bruford as an influence, so perhaps not a surprise.
The tragedy of the Roskilde Festival on June 30th 2000 isn't avoided. For myself though, my interest in PJ had begun to wain a little after Binaural as Eddie increasingly took the band down a political path. Having had enough of that from Bono for decades, having yet another musician preaching to us from a stage didn't have a great deal of appeal. Wanna do that? Become a preacher, or a politician. For me music is a distinct form of entertainment. Although I appreciate benefit gigs and charity support, such as Steve Hackett's support for Vietnamese Boat People and Dave Gilmour giving the £3.6 million proceeds of the sale of his house in London's Little Venice to the homeless charity Crisis, Eddie and his pulpit stuff went too far down the preachy route for me. Fortunately he, and the band, have withdrawn from that stance in later years.
PJ20 has a few flaws. The 'journal' presentation is just that; a journal of who was doing what each notable day of a month in the year. You get little insight into how the band progressed, how songs came about, nothing about any equipment used (I would, being a bit nerdy) love to know about Mike & Stone's favourite pedals and amps and how they changed over-the-years. We get no insights about marriages, their families, the backline organisation of Pearl Jam (beyond the fan club). So there's some gaps, key ones to me, a fan, in being able to comprehend what makes PJ 'tick' over the two decades covered here.
My main gripe though is the photographs. PJ20 is chock-full of photos, most of which had never been seen publication before. The flaw though is none of them, not a single one, is captioned. True, the accompanying text would often give you a clue. So if PJ had Michael Stipe guesting on-stage, it was never going to be a challenge identifying him in any photos! Sometimes though there is no accompanying text. For instance the title page for Chapter 2004 has a photo of Matt Cameron playing an SG, standing opposite Stone with 'Boom' Gasper over his shoulder behind him. What's all that about? Likewise page 289 has a photo of Stone playing bass and Jeff playing a Gibson hollowbody. What's the story behind those? We aren't told.
All this is in contrast to say a similar-sized band history such as Genesis' Chapter & Verse (2007) written by the band members and others and fabulously edited by Philip Dodd. Every single photo after the introduction is captioned & dated.
If Pearl Jam commissions a Pearl Jam Forty (it seems likely they will last to then and perhaps longer) then I would recommend they consider the Chapter & Verse layout. It would have suited perfectly for PJ20. As it is this is a good, but flawed publication.
Note taking the plain dustjacket off reveals a lovely bound cover.
This is a rather nicer book than Martin Clarke's None Too Fragile (1998) which is decidedly un-complementary to Eddie, particularly Rolling Stones article Who You Are? Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder in November 1996, questioning Eddie's claims to have been the victim of an abusive and marginal childhood. Clarke's book went on to claim Vedder as being a bit of a control freak, and a sort of Napoleon (a claim that had been also made of Yes' Jon Anderson).
PJ20 though, being band-authorised, as none of that controversy, and its better for it. What we have is a sort of journal record of the band, punctuated with essay-length articles, notably with each major release. The books research came about from the Cameron Crow-directed Pearl Jam Twenty documentary, with substantial input from Jonathan Cohen.
There's not too much controversy. The early history of the band, formed in the aftermath of Andrew Woods passing-away is pretty well documented. That the music for Ten was largely written before Eddie turned-up isn't too much of a surprise either. The eventual success of Ten propelled the band into the top echelons of heavy rock. For me though it was the connection with Neil Young that sealed their success and longevity, and it was Mirror Ball that switched me on to them. I've been buying Neil Young albums now for over five decades. My all-time favourite Pearl Jam number is Corduroy and a tendency to have it preceded when played in venues with Pink Floyd's Interstellar Overdrive made that connection with the progressive rock I'd grown-up with. PJ absolutely aren't prog-rock, though Matt Cameron long ago in an interview in the back of a limousine with Crowe had (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) suggested PJ make a Tales From Topographic Oceans-style concept album. They very nearly ended-up doing just that with Pearl Jam in 2004. Matt counts Bill Bruford as an influence, so perhaps not a surprise.
The tragedy of the Roskilde Festival on June 30th 2000 isn't avoided. For myself though, my interest in PJ had begun to wain a little after Binaural as Eddie increasingly took the band down a political path. Having had enough of that from Bono for decades, having yet another musician preaching to us from a stage didn't have a great deal of appeal. Wanna do that? Become a preacher, or a politician. For me music is a distinct form of entertainment. Although I appreciate benefit gigs and charity support, such as Steve Hackett's support for Vietnamese Boat People and Dave Gilmour giving the £3.6 million proceeds of the sale of his house in London's Little Venice to the homeless charity Crisis, Eddie and his pulpit stuff went too far down the preachy route for me. Fortunately he, and the band, have withdrawn from that stance in later years.
PJ20 has a few flaws. The 'journal' presentation is just that; a journal of who was doing what each notable day of a month in the year. You get little insight into how the band progressed, how songs came about, nothing about any equipment used (I would, being a bit nerdy) love to know about Mike & Stone's favourite pedals and amps and how they changed over-the-years. We get no insights about marriages, their families, the backline organisation of Pearl Jam (beyond the fan club). So there's some gaps, key ones to me, a fan, in being able to comprehend what makes PJ 'tick' over the two decades covered here.
My main gripe though is the photographs. PJ20 is chock-full of photos, most of which had never been seen publication before. The flaw though is none of them, not a single one, is captioned. True, the accompanying text would often give you a clue. So if PJ had Michael Stipe guesting on-stage, it was never going to be a challenge identifying him in any photos! Sometimes though there is no accompanying text. For instance the title page for Chapter 2004 has a photo of Matt Cameron playing an SG, standing opposite Stone with 'Boom' Gasper over his shoulder behind him. What's all that about? Likewise page 289 has a photo of Stone playing bass and Jeff playing a Gibson hollowbody. What's the story behind those? We aren't told.
All this is in contrast to say a similar-sized band history such as Genesis' Chapter & Verse (2007) written by the band members and others and fabulously edited by Philip Dodd. Every single photo after the introduction is captioned & dated.
If Pearl Jam commissions a Pearl Jam Forty (it seems likely they will last to then and perhaps longer) then I would recommend they consider the Chapter & Verse layout. It would have suited perfectly for PJ20. As it is this is a good, but flawed publication.
June 17, 2017
This is a ridiculously detailed log of Pearl Jam's first 20 years. It is focused almost completely on the band's music and politics/philanthropy, giving very few details about the personal lives of the different band members. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, reading about how the band came together. I am a huge Pearl Jam fan, but I know next to nothing about the history of the band. However... This book is heavy. I don't mean in the "whoa, man" sense. It weighs 3.6 pounds. I weighed it. So I get why Simon & Schuster would choose very low paper quality. The glossier and higher quality you go, your book gains weight, the shipping costs grow astronomically, etc. But this paper quality is so poor, and the book is so heavy with design, both in photos and images printed behind text, that the photos are grainy at best and sometimes the text is very hard to read. Also, I don't need a day by day description of everything Pearl Jam did. "June 20: Band records XX song for the first time." There are multiple columns of dense text on almost every page. The book is marketed as being written by Pearl Jam, but there is not a lot of thought from the band members. I need this book to be edited heavily, more personal interviews with band members, and printed on nicer papers. Oh, and captions on the photos. All the captions are in an appendix in the back. Totally inconvenient.
January 27, 2021
4.8 out of 5. This is absolutely brilliant! I was a bit of a Pearl Jam fan when I started reading it, and now I’m a huge fanatic. It’s broken down year by year, and it’s fascinating to see how the band developed. In the period after Kurt Cobain’s suicide, the band decided to withdraw from the media and focused on maintaining contact with their core fans. Like most people I’m most familiar with their first two albums, when Pearl Jam were massive. The book contains stories behind the development of each album, and the story behind each song. As I read through the book I listened to the relevant album - and I now have so many favourite songs from their later albums.
Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! The only criticism is that the photos are all a bit random with few captions to describe who or what they’re showing. The book is massive - much bigger than I expected. It was also out of print. My wife got it for me for Christmas and had to do a bit of hunting online - and it was pricy enough (but I’m totally worth it!).
Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! The only criticism is that the photos are all a bit random with few captions to describe who or what they’re showing. The book is massive - much bigger than I expected. It was also out of print. My wife got it for me for Christmas and had to do a bit of hunting online - and it was pricy enough (but I’m totally worth it!).
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June 4, 2021Nice, this is my kind of music bio. It has the story primarily told by the musicians themselves and with a goodly amount of detail on each of the albums along with backgrounds on the writing and meaning of a lot of the songs.
Did not realise that the band contributed to so many charities and put in so much of their own time for worthy causes. These guys are also true music 'lifers' playing continually with PJ and then all using their downtime to engage in other musical projects. Each of them contributes to the songwriting process and having had a few different drummers (current drummer Matt Cameron has been with them now for all but 8 years of their existence as a band) each has helped them find a slightly different sound.
Did not realise that the band contributed to so many charities and put in so much of their own time for worthy causes. These guys are also true music 'lifers' playing continually with PJ and then all using their downtime to engage in other musical projects. Each of them contributes to the songwriting process and having had a few different drummers (current drummer Matt Cameron has been with them now for all but 8 years of their existence as a band) each has helped them find a slightly different sound.
June 16, 2022
It figures that I finally plucked this off of our shelves at the library where I work just in time for the band's 30th anniversary... but I was in a nostalgic mood and this was just a *chef's kiss* perfect trip down memory lane. I laughed, I cried, I watched the documentary film and enjoyed a re-listen of their back catalog. Lovely.
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