Live At Benaroya Hall

Pearl Jam

RCA, 2004

http://www.pearljam.com

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/22/2005

When Nirvana went unplugged, it was haunting and beautiful. When Eric Clapton went unplugged, it was earthy and natural. When Pearl Jam went unplugged, it was kind of dull.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Pearl Jam put on this all-acoustic live show for YouthCare (except for the standard closer "Yellow Ledbetter") to mixed results. The dynamic of Pearl Jam's best music is the twin guitar interplay between Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, and asking them to switch to acoustic and subduing drummer Matt Cameron has the makings of a rather boring affair.

As with any Pearl Jam concert, there are fine covers, a range of songs from the band's entire catalog and a strong stage presence...plus, these guys are such good musicians that they make anything work. But it's too much of a good thing, especially since the vast majority of the music is the slower songs that were already acoustic to begin with.

The highlights include "Immortality," "Thumbing My Way" and "Nothing as it Seems," as well as usual highlights "Daughter" and "Black." As a joke, the one-minute thrashfest "Lukin" makes an appearance too. That's about it for originals.

Of the covers, "I Believe In Miracles" blows any previous version (even the original Ramones tune) out of the water. Eddie Vedder injects more passion into his words (after he precedes it with a story about how men tried to serve him papers right before the show) than most anywhere on the album as the guitars swell. It's a great snapshot of what could have been if the track listing had been pared down and perhaps a little more thought given to how to rearrange the songs.

Fans of the band or acoustic rock in general will want to give this a shot; anyone else should only save it until after they are immersed in all things Pearl Jam.

Rating: C

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