Pearl Jam-Yield (1998)
Artist: Pearl Jam
Title: Yield
Label: Epic
Format: CD
Cat #: EK 68164
Year of Release: 1998
Country and Year of Edition Issue: US 1998 tri-fold digipak
Listed Condition: VG+/VG+
Sell Date: 5/3/25
Sell Price: $2.98
Discogs Last Sold: 5/2/25 VG+/VG+ $2.00
Low: $0.38
Median: $2.99
Average: $3.61
High: $10.33
Current low price: $1.02
Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 101
Have/Want: 4346/243
Where Sold: Maple Park, IL
Time it took to sell: 14 years
Where and When Bought: record club late 90's/early aughts
Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: C+
Sad To See It Go: No
I spent many years ignoring Pearl Jam after deciding early on they were not for me, being on the wrong side of the Green River/Mudhoney dividing line. I saw Pearl Jam on a five-band bill very early on before "Alive" rescued 10 from the clearout bins everywhere. The rest is history, written by someone not me.
Yield, their 5th album, was the only one I ever bought. Maybe it was a record club curio, I thought it made the Pazz and Jop poll, but it only made the lower regions of the Dean's List. Maybe it was a record club close out a few years after. I'm certain I didn't buy it in a store brand new or used. I seem to remember somebody saying that Pearl Jam "got good" so maybe I picked this up to investigate as a curio to see if they did. They were playing with Neil Young around the time and backed him on the excellent Mirror Ball.
Clearly, I didn't spend too much time on the subject in 1998, or ever. I don't even remember the "hits" especially "Learning To Fly" which had a 16 week run on Billboard peaking at 21 and sounds sort of like Buffalo Tom. I also don't remember the #47 song "Wishlist" or the video tracks "Do The Revolution" or "Low Light" with surfer Jocko Sutherland. I wouldn't even know who the fuck Jocko Sutherland was if I didn't just look him up or that he had anything to do with anything.
So as I listen to this a few times to get a feel for the music, I thought there were a couple things that stood out. There was a "Custard Pie" thing going on in "Pilate" and the Vedder plaintive yelp that made the hairs on my neck stand up in disgust seems oddly likeable on "Faithful" after the opening "Brain of J" where he sounds more ragged. The closer "All Those Yesterdays" had a nice outro of the song. I guess at the end of the day, Pearl Jam is something I almost irrationally take pride in avoiding. The band minus Vedder is not the problem. In fact, they are always good.
There simply are other things I'd rather put time into.
FOR FURTHER REVIEW:
Green River-Come On Down (1985)
Various Artists-This House Is Not A Motel (1989)
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