Long after the fact, but here’s my rankings of PJ efforts:
9. Riot Act (Of the 15 or so songs on here, I still listen to three, and usually dump the rest. Not a good ratio).
8. Backspacer (4 great songs, 7 filler tracks. Better ratio than ‘Riot Act’, but not by much)
7. Binaural (Probably their most underappreciated effort, but one consistently stifled by bad/indifferent production. For great live versions of these songs, see the 2000-era bootlegs and “Live at Benaroya Hall”)
6. Self-Titled (Too self-consciously a “return-to-capital-R-RAWK” effort, but one that still packs a lot of wallop. Docked points for some U2-y sounding — and not in a good way — tracks like “Gone” and “Army Reserve.”)
5. No Code (The precise moment when their ballads started becoming more profound than their rockers. Lots of misses, but the effort to traverse the road less-traveled is appreciated, and songs like “Off He Goes” and “Smile” and “Red Mosquito” are amongst their most affecting.)
4. Ten (So many iconic songs, but there’s the barely-out-of-cock-rock production and mixing, and, let’s face it, the legacy of it. Still, so, so many amazing songs.)
3. Vs. (Was my favorite for a while, but many of its past adolescent favorites — “W.M.A.,” “Dissident”, “Rats” — have not held up well to adult scrutiny. But this the sound of a band coming into its own, and absolutely killing it.)
2. Yield (Just a simple, humane, understated rock record at a time when, thanks to the emergence of popularized rap-rock and teen pop, music was anything but. From a purely holistic POV, it’s the album, save for number one, that fills me with the most happiness, joy and contentment. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less.)
1. Vitalogy (What the article said. The masterpiece that holds up to personal post-everything embrace of experimental music, underground music, everything.)
Long after the fact, but here’s my rankings of PJ efforts:
9. Riot Act (Of the 15 or so songs on here, I still listen to three, and usually dump the rest. Not a good ratio).
8. Backspacer (4 great songs, 7 filler tracks. Better ratio than ‘Riot Act’, but not by much)
7. Binaural (Probably their most underappreciated effort, but one consistently stifled by bad/indifferent production. For great live versions of these songs, see the 2000-era bootlegs and “Live at Benaroya Hall”)
6. Self-Titled (Too self-consciously a “return-to-capital-R-RAWK” effort, but one that still packs a lot of wallop. Docked points for some U2-y sounding — and not in a good way — tracks like “Gone” and “Army Reserve.”)
5. No Code (The precise moment when their ballads started becoming more profound than their rockers. Lots of misses, but the effort to traverse the road less-traveled is appreciated, and songs like “Off He Goes” and “Smile” and “Red Mosquito” are amongst their most affecting.)
4. Ten (So many iconic songs, but there’s the barely-out-of-cock-rock production and mixing, and, let’s face it, the legacy of it. Still, so, so many amazing songs.)
3. Vs. (Was my favorite for a while, but many of its past adolescent favorites — “W.M.A.,” “Dissident”, “Rats” — have not held up well to adult scrutiny. But this the sound of a band coming into its own, and absolutely killing it.)
2. Yield (Just a simple, humane, understated rock record at a time when, thanks to the emergence of popularized rap-rock and teen pop, music was anything but. From a purely holistic POV, it’s the album, save for number one, that fills me with the most happiness, joy and contentment. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less.)
1. Vitalogy (What the article said. The masterpiece that holds up to personal post-everything embrace of experimental music, underground music, everything.)