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Well now we tackle No Code, the fourth studio album by Pearl Jam. Released August 6, 1996 on Epic Records, the album saw the band further experimenting with their sound, incorporating aspects of art rock, roots rock, and world music. The album also the first length debut of former Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons, who had previously appeared on “Stupidmop” off the previous album and the Mirrorball EP with Neil Young (and set Stone and Jeff up with Eddie). The album saw tensions between band members, with Stone Gossard walking out twice.

Although the album only went Plantinum and received mixed reviews. However, it’s gone onto to gain a better reception over the years and is held in particularly high regard by fans. So is the album an under appreciated gem or a total dud? Let’s start off with the first track and see how it is.

1. “Sometimes” (Eddie Vedder):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3QprJjmCZY

We start things off with “Sometimes”, a very mellow and understated tune that Vedder penned.

This is a rather unusual way to begin the album, I must say. Whereas the preceding three began with an intense rocker filled with piss and vinegar, here we get a very low key and contemplative track with more abstract lyrics by Eddie Vedder lyrics. It honestly verges somewhat into Cornell’s territory. The guitars very gentle, the bass and drums very light, and Vedder’s vocals almost whispered in a way, and over time it develops this hypnotic trance to draw you in.

I didn’t really get it when I first got the album but now I absolutely love this song and it’s a great way to let the listener know this isn’t just another Pearl Jam album.

2. “Hail Hail” (Vedder/Jeff Ament/Stone Gossard/Mike McCready):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=83zlG8RChDo

Alright, now we get a Pearl Jam rocker in “Hail, Hail”, the second single off this album. The song is about a relationship that’s falling apart but both of them are trying to make it work.

This was more of a grower for me as well, it kind of seemed like Pearl Jam by-the-numbers but over time, I started to get into this song more and more. It’s actually a really cool tune, it’s got a good rocking character to it; at the same time, it’s really solid from a lyrical standpoint. It really captures the decl me of a relationship when things were just so incredible and then it just declines over time, and even though you know deep down it’s beyond saving, you’re still desperately trying to salvage it.

This is a really good song and a good pick for a single.

3. “Who You Are” (Vedder/Jack Irons/Gossard):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PVIY7ogLmK8

And now we dig into the first single off the album, which was derived from drum music that Jack Irons had written. He would later use it on his first solo album Attention Dimension as the track “Sulhiana”. Check out that record, it’s pretty good actually.

This is a very unusual approach for Pearl Jam, it goes for the trippy, worldly feel to it. There is something almost spiritual about it in a way. It has a beauty to it that recalls the big forest. And the sitar, I normally hate the sitar but it works brilliantly here in adding a texture to the track.

This is such a great song man, and an awesome expanding of the box for the band.

4. “In My Tree” (Vedder/Irons/Gossard)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0_P135_jxiI

“In My Tree”, this also started off based off of drum music.

I want to use this to go on about a bad motherfucker. His name is Jack Steven Irons. Founding member of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, founding member of an underrated band known as Eleven, played with Joe Strummer and Neil Young, and basically made Pearl Jam. He’s one of my favorite drummers, very underrated player, a pretty unique and creative drummer who really adds something to the music he plays on. While Pearl Jam was definitely never as unhinged live as they were with Abbruzzesse behind the kit, Irons was perfect for his time in the band. And even Jeff and Mike have said they have no idea how the band could have survived without Jack there to maintain a calming presence throughout all the craziness of the Ticketmaster fight and the power struggle.

Beyond all of that, this is an incredible song, the vocals so full of passion, wonderful bass work by Jeff Ament that adds such a danceable quality to the track, a way to get totally lost in the song. The guitars shimmer throughout, and lyrically the tune has such an purity and an innocence to it.

This is in the running for my favorite Pearl Jam song ever and is definitely one of my favorites off this album. Just an incredible, underrated track that should be heard far more often.

5. “Smile” (Vedder/Ament):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mA6kYFeLAs4

And now we have “Smile”, which is a homage to ol’ Uncle Neil.

I’ll admit I’m not the hugest Neil Young fan, certainly not a Neil Young fanatic, but there is some Neil Young I really love like Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Harvest, After The Gold Rush, Rust Never Sleeps, really most of his seventies stuff is top notch. And I have to say, Pearl Jam does a very solid job paying homage to Neil Young, who the band backed on Mirror Ball a year before this album came out.

This song still feels quintessentially Pearl Jam, but it definitely shows them going into different territory. “Smile”, it’s a really cool tune.

6. “Off He Goes” (Vedder):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hthj9KZrgpo

Man, “Off He Goes”. This was the third single off the album and was written by Eddie about someone who’s friend is drifting away from them. He would later say that he was the friend as he felt he was drifting away from old friends due to his growing fame.

Where do I start with this song? First off, gorgeous lead work by Mike that is pure feeling and just perfectly captures the melancholy and pathos of this tune, all to a largely acoustic backing. The instrumentation just really makes the sorrow and bittersweet emotions of Eddie’s lyrics.

Speaking of lyrics, even though I now know what Eddie was getting at when he wrote them, he still left it open to where anybody could put themselves in the lyrics and he really was brilliant at that. I was always moving around as a kid and always getting bounced between schools, and with autism, it became that much harder for me to make friends or really even trust anybody. And it seemed like any time I got close to someone, they drifted away from me one way or another. This song really touched me and connected with me and my childhood which did feel very alone a lot of the time.

This is my favorite song off the album and possibly my favorite from their whole career. Certainly Top 5 at least.

7. “Habit” (Vedder):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKVxzgIHV4

And now we rock out yet again with “Habit”, which was about Mike McCready’s alcoholism early on in the band’s career.

God do I love this song, it’s an intense, slamming tune, and Eddie is really throttling throughout the track. And you hear it all in his voice, the anger, the sadness, the pain of seeing your friend go through addiction, which everyone in this band was all too familiar with. Be it Dave Krusen, Andy, or even Hillel in Irons’ case, and eventually Layne as well, this was sadly not out of the norm for them.

This is a badass song overall and one of my favorites on the album.

8. “Red Mosquito” (Vedder/McCready/Gossard/Ament/Irons):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H9hjhPx-ydw

We now go into “Red Mosquito”, Which was inspired by the events of Pearl Jam’s concert at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco the previous year. At the show, Eddie ended up getting food poisoning which forced him to sit out with Neil Young taking his place.

The song is more mid-tempo with Mike playing some really sweet slide guitar (with a Zippo lighter than belonged to Eddie’s grandfather). It’s a nice change of pace after “Habit” and has this nice semi-mellow feel to it, particularly the little breakdown before Mike’s solo, and Mike scorched on the slide. The unsung hero in some ways of Pearl Jam, I love Mike McCready, and I love this song. Let’s go to the next track.

9. “Lukin” (Vedder):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gf5ZP9nJ_tY

And now a stalker song, this is “Lukin”. This came out of Eddie and his then-wife staying at the home of Matt Lukin, founding bassist for both Melvins and Mudhoney, when they were dealing with a stalker chick. The brevity was also a tongue-in-cheek reference to Lukin criticizing the band for their song lengths.

Indeed it is a short song at one minute and two seconds and is just a nice quick burst of energy that comes and goes from the album. I could say it’s filler but it adds a nice flavor to the album as its most punkish track. So, killer filler, I love this track as well.

10. “Present Tense” (Vedder/McCready):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8G2WzH4AKpE

And now we arrive at “Present Tense”, which is about struggling with guilt over what happened in your past and trying to move forward.

This was one I didn’t quite get the first time I got this album but after living with it for some years, man this is a fine song. And it’s one I can definitely relate to because I’ve always struggled with not blaming myself for everything.

I should also mention the part where it starts to build up, Jack adds some cool little percussion flourishes and there’s also some cool keyboard or Mellotron type of stuff, all topped off with a bass solo of sorts. Jeff Ament- underrated mothaerfucker.

This is another winner for the album, I absolutely love it.

11. “Mankind” (Gossard):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FpuFZGGtTz0

Now we have a song with music, lyrics, and vocals all by Stone Gossard, who wanted to see if he could write a pop song.

This kind of reminds me of Foo Fighters, but more like on of the Foo Fighters’ filler tracks. It’s not horrible but there’s really nothing standout about it, this feels like something thrown on there to appease Stone so he won’t walk out and the album gets done, because I know there was a power struggle around this time and either he or Jeff walked out of the studio at some point.

This is a whatever song.

12. “I’m Open” (Vedder/Irons):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xmvdQREQJZg

And now “I’m Open”, credited to Eddie and Irons.

First off, that spoken word is so stupid and pretentious. Damn at least Jim Morrison was drunk off his ass, Eddie and Jack were sober when they wrote this bullshit. This song….sucks. Worst track on here.

13. “Around The Bend” (Vedder):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex8skOBObmU

We close the album with a lullaby that Eddie wrote for Irons’ newborn son.

I have to say, this is a beautiful song. Very soft, gentle, Eddie is in great voice and the band is just so gently rocking the little ones to sleep. Sometimes Pearl Jam can go straight into Nightmare Fuel but here, they go for good old Sweet Dreams Fuel. Even with all the anger, the anguish, the sadness, there’s always something to keep going for, rather it be to put your child to bed, or getting to hang out with friends, or to paint, have a walk, whatever.

What a wonderful song, I absolutely love it.

FINAL VERDICT

No Code isn’t perfect, but I can still say it is a very strong album, showing the band growing as writers and artists from where they started. Aiding them is ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers/Eleven drummer Jack Irons who, while not as aggressive or unhinged as Dave Abbruzzesse, proved to be an ideal fit, sympathetic to the sensibilities of his bandmates while offering his own flavor to the proceedings. It isn’t quite what one would expect from Pearl Jam starting with Ten, Vs, or even Vitalogy. The album also sees Vedder growing more comfortable as a lyricist and singer, going for a more reflective state as opposed to the Fury and angst he worked from early on.

I’d definitely recommend this album, certainly for people who might only think of Pearl Jam as the band that did Even Flow or Jeremy, I think they’d be pleasantly surprised that there’s more to this band than meets the eyes.