Binaural (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Binaural
Type = studio
Artist = Pearl Jam


Released = May 16, 2000
Recorded = September 1999 – January 2000 at Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington
Length = 52:05
Label = Epic
Producer = Tchad Blake, Pearl Jam
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:pko7gjur26ic link]
*E! Online (B+) ^{dead link, view archive [http://web.archive.org/web/20000619171315/www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Music/0,1095,362108,00.html here]}
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B) 5/19/00, p.74
*"The Guardian" rating|3|5 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,,219790,00.html 5/12/00]
*"NME" (9/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/pearl-jam/2241 5/11/00]
*"Q" rating|3|5 7/00, p.121
*Robert Christgau rating-Christgau|hm1 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Pearl+Jam link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/albums/album/94578/review/5941143/binaural 6/8/00]
*"Spin" rating|7|10 7/00, p.149
*"Time" (favorable) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997155,00.html 6/12/00]
Last album = "Yield" (1998)
This album = "Binaural" (2000)
Next album = "Riot Act" (2002)
Misc = Singles
Name = Binaural
Type = album
single 1 = Nothing as It Seems
single 1 date = April 25, 2000
single 2 = Light Years
single 2 date = July 18, 2000

"Binaural" is the sixth album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on May 16, 2000 through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of its previous album, "Yield", released in 1998, the band took a short break. The band then reconvened toward the end of 1999 and commenced work on a new album. The music on the record featured an experimental sound, evidenced on songs that utilized binaural recording techniques.

"Binaural" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" charts. The album became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status. The album's 2000 tour spawned an enormous collection of official bootleg releases. The album has been certified Gold in the United States.

Recording

For its sixth album, Pearl Jam brought in producer Tchad Blake, known for his use of binaural recording. Binaural recording techniques were utilized on several tracks. These tracks can usually be identified by a warm sound to the music, such as the acoustic "Of the Girl", as well as an asterisk next to the song names on the album packaging. This is the first Pearl Jam studio album following the departure of drummer Jack Irons, and features drummer Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden, who had previously drummed on Pearl Jam's US Yield Tour. "Binaural" was recorded in late 1999 and early 2000 in Seattle, Washington at Studio Litho, which is owned by guitarist Stone Gossard.cite web | url=http://www.pearljam.com/timeline/ | title=Pearl Jam: Timeline | accessdate=2007-06-27 | publisher=Pearljam.com]

Similar to the process for "Yield", the individual members worked on material on their own before starting the recording sessions. [http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/PearlJam/echoes/echoes9a.html "Jeff Woods with Pearl Jam for Radio Rock Network"] . "Radio Rock Network". May 15, 2000.] "Binaural" was the first album since the band's debut that was not produced by Brendan O'Brien. Gossard stated that the band "felt like it was time to try something new" and that they "were ready for a change.""Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". "Total Guitar". November 2002.] Regarding Blake, Gossard said, "He was just there for us the whole time, wanting us to create different moods." [Kaufman, Gil. [http://web.archive.org/web/20010306062047/www.sonicnet.com/rock/features/Pearl_Jam/051500/index02.jhtml "Pearl Jam's Anti-Career"] . Sonicnet. May 15, 2000.] The album was initially mixed at Sunset Sound Factory in Los Angeles, California with Blake, however the band proved to be dissatisfied with how the mixes turned out,Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". "Spin". August 2001.] wanting the songs to sound "heavier." [Calil, Ricardo. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/89revistarock.shtml "The Shadow and the Darkness"] . "89 Revista Rock". 2000.] The band then turned to its former producer O'Brien, who was called in to remix several tracks at his mixing facility at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia. It was with O'Brien when the band determined the final sequencing of the album.Aledort, Andy. [http://www.giventowail.com/new/mike/articles/gw700.php "Aural Exam"] . "Guitar World". July 2000.]

During the making of the album the band ran into several problems. Frontman Eddie Vedder has admitted that while working on the album he suffered from writer's block, which made it difficult for him to come up with lyrics.Gabriella. [http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/2000/pj_int.asp "Interview with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam"] . NYRock.com. August 2000.] This apparently inspired the secret track "Writer's Block" that appears at the end of the album. Vedder had written music for several songs, including "Insignificance" and "Grievance", but was having trouble coming up with lyrics for the songs. He decided to not write any more music, and to focus only on lyrics, even banning himself from playing guitar. Unable to write more lyrics, Vedder said he saw a ukulele and thought "that's not a guitar" and wrote the song "Soon Forget" using the ukulele. [Vedder, Eddie. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/kroq.shtml "KROQ Interview with EV 5/12/2000"] . KROQ-FM. May 12, 2000.] Guitarist Mike McCready went into rehab to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription drugs. Gossard said that "because Mike wasn't all there, and there was a 'get-to-know-you' thing with Matt, everyone wasn't on the same page."

Music and lyrics

"Binaural" found the band dabbling with experimental art rock. The album opens with three up-tempo songs before growing more diverse.Ament, Jeff. [http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/PearlJam/echoes/echoes11.html "CFOX radio's Jeff O'Neil with Jeff Ament and Mike McCready"] . CFOX-FM, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. May 11, 2000.] Jon Pareles of "Rolling Stone" said, "Apparently as tired of grunge as everyone except Creed fans, Pearl Jam delve elsewhere: jumpy post-punk and somber meditations, tightly wound folk rock and turbulent, neopsychedelic rockers that sound like they boiled out of jam sessions. The album reflects both Pearl Jam's longstanding curse of self-importance and a renewed willingness to be experimental or just plain odd." [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/albums/album/94578/review/5941143/binaural "Pearl Jam: "Binaural"] . "Rolling Stone". June 8, 2000.] Vedder explained, "We'd rather challenge our fans and make them listen to our songs than give them something that's easy to digest. There is a lot of music out there that is very easy to digest but we never wanted to be part of it."

A few songs on the album show classic rock influences. "Soon Forget", which features Vedder playing a ukulele, is heavily influenced by The Who song "Blue, Red and Grey" (from "The Who by Numbers" LP). Vedder thanks Pete Townshend on the lyric sheet. Additionally, the intro to the opening track "Breakerfall" uses the riff from the song "I Can See for Miles" by The Who. The song "Nothing as It Seems" has been compared to the style of Pink Floyd.

Gossard penned the lyrics for three songs on the album ("Thin Air", "Of the Girl", and "Rival"), and bassist Jeff Ament for two ("Gods' Dice" and "Nothing as It Seems"). The album is lyrically darker than the band's previous album "Yield". Ament said he wrote "Nothing as It Seems" about his childhood growing up in a rural area of Northern Montana. [Basham, David. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1433047/20000503/pearl_jam.jhtml "Pearl Jam's Ament Probes Childhood With "Seems""] . MTV.com. May 3, 2000.] Vedder took inspiration from the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle when writing "Grievance", [Tannenbaum, Rob. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/george_700.shtml "Rebels Without a Pause"] . "George". July 2000.] and said the song is about the dangers of technology. Gossard has said that the song "Rival" is his reflection upon the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. [Manning, Kara. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1433051/20000419/pearl_jam.jhtml "Pearl Jam On Columbine-Inspired New Song"] . MTV.com. April 19, 2000.] The album is the band's first to not contain any cursing in the lyrics, despite the ferocity of some of the music and subject matter.

Release and reception

"Binaural" sold 226,000 copies during its first week of release and debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 chart. "Binaural" was held off the top spot by the Britney Spears album "Oops!... I Did It Again". [Mancini, Robert. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1434379/20000524/spears_britney.jhtml "Britney Scores Record Sales Week"] . MTV.com. May 24, 2000.] "Binaural" became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status. The album achieved Gold status, [cite web
url=http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH
title=Gold and Platinum Database Search
accessdate=2007-02-12] selling just over 700,000 copies in the United States. [cite web | last = Gundersen | first = Edna | url = http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2002-12-05-pearl-jam_x.htm | title = "Riot Act" finds Pearl Jam in a quiet place | work = USA Today | accessdate = 2008-03-16 | date=2002-12-05]

"Binaural" received generally favorable reviews. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/pearljam/binaural "Binaural" by Pearl Jam] . metacritic.com.] "NME" gave "Binaural" a nine out of ten. In the review, "Binaural" is called "a seething, furious album; a declamatory statement against cynicism and passivity and the simple injustices of everyday life." It’s also said that "even when the band slow the pace, the songs are coloured by a heartfelt intensity." [ [http://www.nme.com/reviews/pearl-jam/2241 "Binaural" burns with the intensity and desperation of a last stand..."] . "NME". May 11, 2000.] "Rolling Stone" gave the album three out of five stars. Reviewer Jon Pareles said that the album "comes across as part of an extended conversation among the five band members...and fans loyal enough to check in for Pearl Jam's latest musings on love, death and social responsibility." "The Guardian" also gave the album three out of five stars. In the review it’s stated that Pearl Jam "are dignified, musicianly, sincere... and a teensy bit dull." The review observed that "Vedder's affecting vocal angst drowns in a sea of pessimistic riffola." The review called "Binaural" "a warts-and-all album; it has grabbers, songs that sink in slowly and a few absolute duds." [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/friday_review/story/0,,219790,00.html "Other pop releases"] . "The Guardian". May 12, 2000.]

Two singles were released from "Binaural". The lead single "Nothing as It Seems" entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 49. The album's other commercially released single, "Light Years", did not chart on the Hot 100, but it did place on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. "Nothing as It Seems" was the most successful song from "Binaural" on the rock charts, reaching number 3 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The song "Grievance" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001. [cite web
url = http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/grammys.htm
title = 43rd Grammy Awards
publisher = Rockonthenet
accessdate = 2007-09-05]

Imagery and design

The cover art image for this album is a Hubble Space Telescope photo of the Hourglass Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope photos of the Helix Nebula and Eagle Nebula are also featured in the inside cover and liner notes for this album, respectively. The photos were used with the permission of NASA. Regarding the artwork, Ament said, "The reason that we went with Tchad [Blake] is because he provides an amazing atmosphere to songs....So, I think we wanted the artwork to represent that....One of the themes that we've been exploring...is just realizing that in the big scheme of things, even the music that we make when we come together, no matter how powerful it is, it's still pretty miniscule . I think for me the whole space theme has a lot to do with scale. You know, you look at some of those pictures, and there are thirteen light years in four inches in that picture."

The album's title is a reference to the binaural recording techniques that were utilized on several tracks. Binaural literally means "having or relating to two ears." Regarding the choice of the title, Gossard said, "When we looked up the word 'binaural,' it meant to listen with both ears. So it seemed like a fitting title for the album." [cite web | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/pjam16.shtml | title=Pearl Jam's 'Binaural' ear-marked by unusual sound mixing | accessdate=2007-06-28 | author=Stout, Gene | publisher="Seattle Post-Intelligencer" | date=2000-05-16]

Tour

Pearl Jam promoted the album with tours of Europe and North America. [ [http://pearljam.com/tour/shows.php Pearl Jam: Set Lists] . pearljam.com.] Pearl Jam's 2000 European tour ended in tragedy on June 30, 2000, with an accident at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Nine fans were crushed underfoot and suffocated to death as the crowd rushed to the front.cite web | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/perl01.shtml | title=Pearl Jam's darkest hour: Seattle band thought about quitting after concert deaths | accessdate=2007-06-28 | author=Stout, Gene | publisher="Seattle Post-Intelligencer" | date=2000-09-01] The two remaining dates of the tour were cancelled, and the band seriously considered retiring after this event. Pearl Jam was initially blamed for the accident, but the band was later cleared of responsibility. [cite web | url=http://sonymusic.net/artists/PearlJam/rumorpit/release9.html | title=Pearl Jam Releases Full Text of Letter Written By Roskilde Police Department Commissioner Kornerup | accessdate=2007-06-28 | author=Pearl Jam Rumor Pit | publisher=SonyMusic.com | date=2000-08-02]

A month after the European tour concluded, the band embarked on a two-leg North American tour. The first leg of the tour focused on the East Coast of the United States, and then the band moved to the Midwestern United States and the West Coast of the United States for the tour's second leg. On performing after the Roskilde tragedy, Vedder said that "playing, facing crowds, being together-it enabled us to start processing it." On October 22, 2000, the band played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its first live performance as a band. The tour's final night took place in Seattle, Washington where the band performed for over three hours. The European and North American tours were documented by a long series of official bootlegs, all of which were available in record stores as well as through the band's fan club. [cite web | url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/music255.htm | title=Pearl Jam's Bootlegs Give Others the Boot | accessdate=2007-06-28 | author=Gundersen, Edna | publisher="USA Today" | date=2000-08-31] The band released 72 live albums in 2000 and 2001, and set a record for most albums to debut in the "Billboard" 200 at the same time. [cite web | url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12055527 | title=Pearl Jam Breaks Its Own Chart Record | accessdate=2007-06-28 | author=Davis, Darren | publisher=Yahoo! Music | date=2001-03-07] Following the conclusion of the 2000 tour, the band released "Touring Band 2000", a DVD which featured select performances from the North American legs of the tour.

Track listing

#"Breakerfall" (Eddie Vedder) – 2:19
#"Gods' Dice" (Jeff Ament) – 2:26
#"Evacuation" (Matt Cameron, Vedder) – 2:56
#"Light Years" (Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Vedder) – 5:06
#"Nothing as It Seems" (Ament) – 5:22 "*"
#"Thin Air" (Gossard) – 3:32
#"Insignificance" (Vedder) – 4:28
#"Of the Girl" (Gossard) – 5:07 "*"
#"Grievance" (Vedder) – 3:14
#"Rival" (Gossard) – 3:38 "*"
#"Sleight of Hand" (Ament, Vedder) – 4:47 "*"
#"Soon Forget" (Vedder) – 1:46 "*"
#"Parting Ways" (Vedder) – 7:17
#*"Parting Ways" contains the hidden track "Writer's Block" at 6:49

*Asterisk ("*") denote the use of binaural recording techniques

Original track listing

When the tracklisting for "Binaural" was first released in late March 2000, it was quite different from the final version. [ [http://www.fivehorizons.com/news/old2000.shtml "Binaural" Tracklisting!"] . fivehorizons.com. March 29, 2000.] Some tracks that were originally on the album were dropped and not released until the "Lost Dogs" compilation and "Gods' Dice" was added to the final version. The original version looked like this:

#"Breakherfall"
#"Insignificance"
#"Evacuation"
#"Letter to the Dead"
#*Later renamed to "Sad"
#"Rival"
#"Grievance"
#"Light Years"
#"Of the Girl"
#"Thin Air"
#"Nothing as It Seems"
#"Fatal"
#"Sleight of Hand"
#"Soon Forget"
#"In the Moonlight"
#"Parting Ways"
#"Education"

Outtakes

Three instrumentals featured on the "Touring Band 2000" DVD ("Thunderclap", "Foldback", and "Harmony") come from the early "Binaural" sessions. [ [http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/PearlJam/chords/band2000.html "Pearl Jam: "Touring Band 2000"] . SonyMusic.com.] Several songs were rejected from the album that eventually found their way on to the "Lost Dogs" collection of rarities. These include "Sad", "Hitchhiker", "In the Moonlight", "Education", "Fatal", and "Sweet Lew".(2003) Album notes for "Lost Dogs" by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet] . New York: Sony Music.] "Sad", originally called "Letter to the Dead", was called "a great pop song" by Ament, but he said the song didn't fit the album because the band doesn't "really [write] very many pop records."Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=812822 "Pearl Jam: Spreading The Jam"] . "Billboard". March 30, 2001.] "Sweet Lew", about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was cut from "Binaural" because it didn't fit the album according to Ament. "Fatal" was producer Tchad Blake's favorite song to come out of the recording sessions. "Strangest Tribe" and "Drifting" were also recorded around the time of the album's recording sessions, and both songs were released on the band's 1999 fan club Christmas single as well as "Lost Dogs".

Personnel

* Eddie Vedder – guitar, vocals, ukulele; credited as "Jerome Turner" for album concept
* Stone Gossard – guitar
* Jeff Ament – bass, inside photography
* Mike McCready – guitar
* Matt Cameron – drums
* April Cameron – viola
* Justine Foy – cello
* Mitchell Froom – keyboard, harmonium
* Pete Thomas – percussion
* Wendy Melvoin – percussion
* Dakota – canine vocal
* Tchad Blake – production, mixing, portraits
* Pearl Jam – production
* Brendan O'Brien – mixing
* Matt Bayles – engineering
* Ashley Stubbert, Adam Samuels – 2nd engineers
* R. Sahai, J. Trauger, WFPC2 science team, NASA – front cover
* R. O'Dell, K.P. Handron, NASA – inside cover
* J. Hester, P. Scowen, NASA – booklet cover
* Liz Burns – assistance with NASA photos

Chart positions

;Album

;Singles

References

External links

* [http://pearljam.com/releases/release.php?release=Binaural&type=Studio "Binaural" information and lyrics at pearljam.com]

succession box
before = "Bardot" by Bardot
title = Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
years = May 22, 2000 - May 28, 2000
after = "Mad Season" by Matchbox Twentysuccession box
before = "Bardot" by Bardot
title = RIANZ number-one album
years = May 28, 2000 - June 3, 2000
after = "The Marshall Mathers LP" by Eminem