After having become a big fan of Grunge from hearing the Nirvana self-titled album (which was one of the first albums that I ever brought) and the amazing bleak vision of Alice In Chains,I decided to give Pearl Jam a try.due to hearing people mention them a lot with the other two Grunge bands that I was enjoying.And from the first moment of hearing the opening track to the bands first album (Ten),I instantly wanted to find more albums by the band right away.
With my dad having heard me play the bands albums over the years,I was very happy when,he surprised me by passing me a video that he had found of the band (although it did still have a 35p price tag stuck on the front of it!)
The outline of the documentary:
The documentary follows the alt-rock/Grunge band Pearl Jam just after they have finished doing their recent tour.With the band feeling rejuvenated from how well the tour went,they decide to instantly get back into the recording studio to make a new album (Yield).During the recording of the album,the band decide to take a huge risk by changing the way they write the songs,with it going from just one of them writing the lyrics (lead singer Eddie Vedder),to all five band members writing the songs together..
View on the film:
The first thing that I have to mention,is that the highlight of the film is easily the fantastic live "studio" performance of the band.With the band wisely deciding to not go the "traditional" way of studio recording of doing each section of the songs in separate booths,but to instead record and perform the songs the way they would at a live event.And due to the band being filmed at the same time,you are able to see them put a stunning amount of passion into the performances of the songs.Sadly due to the disappointingly short running time,director Mark Pellington is unable to get a real grip on Pearl Jam and their amazing history.For the interviews Pellington annoyingly makes all of them very short,with the only long interview in the film (about five minutes!),being an fun one with ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons,who revels that even after the band has sold millions of albums,they are still unable to believe that they have become so successful.
Final view on the film:
Some fantastic live "studio" performances of a great band,sadly let down by very disappointing interviews.
0 out of 1 found this helpful