Breath and a Scream [#][*][Demo Version] - Pearl Jam, Gossard, Stone
State of Love and Trust [#][*] - Pearl Jam, Ament, Jeff
2,000 Mile Blues [#][*] - Pearl Jam, Ament, Jeff
Evil Little Goat [#][*] - Pearl Jam, Ament, Jeff
Ten, the debut album that sold 12 million copies and introduced the world to Pearl Jam in 1991, will be reissued in four (4) new and expanded editions on March 24, 2009. The reissue of Ten serves as the launch of a planned... more » two-year catalogue re-release campaign leading up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011.
Each Ten package will include two versions of the album: the remastered version of the original album PLUS an accompanying remixed version done by the band's long-time producer, Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen,AC/DC, Audioslave).
"The band loved the original mix of Ten, but were also interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it," says producer Brendan O'Brien. "The original Ten sound is what millions of people bought, dug and loved, so I was initially hesitant to mess around with that.After years of persistent nudging from the band, I was able to wrap my head around the idea of offering it as a companion piece to the original - giving a fresh take on it,a more direct sound."
Legacy Edition (2 CD set):
Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O'Brien, plus six bonus tracks:"Brother," "Just a Girl,", "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat."« less
Ten, the debut album that sold 12 million copies and introduced the world to Pearl Jam in 1991, will be reissued in four (4) new and expanded editions on March 24, 2009. The reissue of Ten serves as the launch of a planned two-year catalogue re-release campaign leading up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011.
Each Ten package will include two versions of the album: the remastered version of the original album PLUS an accompanying remixed version done by the band's long-time producer, Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen,AC/DC, Audioslave).
"The band loved the original mix of Ten, but were also interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it," says producer Brendan O'Brien. "The original Ten sound is what millions of people bought, dug and loved, so I was initially hesitant to mess around with that.After years of persistent nudging from the band, I was able to wrap my head around the idea of offering it as a companion piece to the original - giving a fresh take on it,a more direct sound."
Legacy Edition (2 CD set):
Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O'Brien, plus six bonus tracks:"Brother," "Just a Girl,", "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat."
LP sounds great (CD is a victim of the "loudness wars")
TF | Allentown, PA USA | 03/30/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Ten was & still is one great album. The "Redux/Remastered" version gives us a mix closer to Vs. & Vitalogy (i.e., the reverb/echo is gone). I really appreciate having both mixes because the original sounds closer to a concert and the Redux is closer to what we are used to from the later albums. Kudos to Brendan O'Brien's work.
Now the bad news - both the remastered CD and Redux version CD are hyper-compressed to make them sound louder - while reducing the overall music dynamics. Take a look at the comparision between the original Ten and the 2 newer discs at http://forums.pearljam.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=94732&sid=9e79a91b0c7b267c5b8ccf46f04071c9&start=45 (thanks to Dave Mack for the link).
As you can see, the newer versions look like a "brick" (i.e., white noise). If you think that music should look like a brick, then stop reading now. I really need to know who decided to do this to the CD versions. Bob Ludwig from Gateway Mastering handled the master and his position on the ridiculous "loudness war" is clearly stated here http://www.gatewaymastering.com/gateway_LoudnessWars.asp
Brendan O'Brien's work is so good he had to know that compressing the mix to get it louder just ruins the overall sound. I have to believe it was the producers and that Pearl Jam simply trusted them to put it together.
Maybe Pearl Jam really only listened to the LP. The good news is that the LP versions are not hyper-compressed (the LP had a separate master compared to the CD); however, the LP versions does not ship w/ the Unplugged DVD, which is an amazing and long sought after session. The DVD sounds great and as with most DVDs, it is not hyper-compressed.
For more information regarding the "Loudness Wars", check out the above links and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_wars"
Now THIS Is Deluxe Reissues SHOULD Be About!
B. J O'Connor | Holmdel,NJ USA | 03/28/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Remaster the original 1991 album to perfection,add a second disc which features a great 2008 Brendan O'Brein remix that strips away the dated reverb of the original mix and makes Eddie Vedder's vocals clearer and more upfront,gives the guitars additional bite and edge and adds kick and punch to the bass and drums.Include outtakes and demos,"Brother" being the standout with the slowed-down "State Of Love And Trust" being a close second.Contain all of the 1992 "MTV Unplugged" performance (availble for the first time on DVD)and compliment it with stellar picture and sound quality.(BTW, all discs were mastered by the talented Bob Ludwig.)Finish off with a nostalgic,colorful booklet and you've got a great,entertaining package worth its high price.Bravo!"
DVD Review: "Oceans" Edited, Missing "Rockin' in the Free Wo
Scotty D | 04/07/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"This DVD is a revisionist version of reality. "Oceans" has been edited to remove Eddie's ex-girlfriend's name and there's an entire song missing, an amazing rendition of "Rockin' In The Free World" written by Neil Young.
So many fans have waited years for this performance to come out on DVD. Thanks for nothing. I'll stick to my bootleg copy with the TCR timer; suggest you save your hard earned money and do the same."
Eleven
doomsdayer520 | Pennsylvania | 04/01/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Oldtimers know that Pearl Jam would never rip off their fans with unnecessary reissues, so rest assured that this package offers special goodies to its intended audience - hardcore fans with a collector's mindset. If you have a few hundred of the official bootlegs then you're in the market for the upcoming wave of reissues of the original albums. Here the immortal TEN definitely gets the deluxe treatment.
The item that excited me the most here is the DVD of PJ's memorable 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged, in which the longer-haired, better-dressed, and much moodier young PJ brought down the house. Last I saw this it was on a grainy and distorted old VHS tape a whole mess of years ago. Recall that TEN didn't become truly huge until nearly a year after it was released, and was still on the upswing at the time of the broadcast. The MTV Unplugged show is a unique historical memento showing a soon-to-be-enormous band at a crucial moment, and their talent and passion were already roaring out of the gate.
The other item of interest here is the new remixed version of TEN by later PJ producer Brendan O'Brien. The reason TEN has always sounded different than all the later albums is the reverb-heavy original mix from producer Rick Parashar, which sounded a bit murky but gave the album the huge anthemic sound that appealed to the masses. I agree with many fans that you shouldn't mess with history, and if it ain't broke don't fix it. It would help if everyone viewed the TEN remix not as a replacement for the original, but as a variation. O'Brien's remix removes a lot of unnecessary sludge, which brings the contributions of Mike McCready and Jeff Ament into sharper relief and makes Eddie Vedder sound more human. The sound is crisper overall and the remix is mostly pretty subtle. The only truly substantive changes I can detect are in "Once," "Why Go," and "Porch" which sound less metallic and more garage-y. I'm not sure if those songs actually sound better in the new remix, but they are cleaner.
As for the six leftovers added to the remix CD, there is some historical interest to be found. "Brother" (with vocals - an instrumental version appeared on the Lost Dogs compilation) and "Just a Girl" are intriguing for historically-minded PJ fans. There's a little less interest in early demo versions of the great soundtrack items "Breath and a Scream" (later re-titled "Breath") and "State of Love and Trust." The final versions of those songs are better. And you can avoid the cheeky studio jams "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat" - serious fanatics already know about PJ's improv habits from all of those collectible bootlegs.
But in the end, the true greatness of this reissue is the love that PJ have for their fans. This may or may not be better than the original, but it's surely more of an awesome thing. [~doomsdayer520~]"