Pearl Jam is known as one of the greatest and most popular rock bands of all time. The band, with Eddie Vedder as a frontman, emerged out of the Seattle grunge scene in the early 90s. Their debut album ‘Ten’ is considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Besides ‘Ten’, the band has released 10 studio albums and numerous compilation albums. Picking the 10 greatest Pearl Jam songs isn’t an easy task, but let’s give it a try!
10. Porch
On number 10 a song from the album ‘Ten’. Despite the efforts to make this list as ten-less as possible (very hard), passing on Porch would be foolish. Porch is above all the very song that unleashes ‘crazy Eddie’. If this was a list of the greatest Pearl Jam live songs, Porch would’ve undoubtedly been number 1.
9. Just Breathe
The ‘Into The Wild’ influence is strong on this one. Just Breathe is a beautiful love song that deserves to be on this list. Although post-2000 Pearl Jam deserves more recognition, Just Breathe is the only post-2000 song that makes this list.
Read More: The Story Behind “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam
8. Given to Fly
Yield’s contribution to this list is Given To Fly. Guitarist Mike McCready borrowed Led Zeppelin’s Going to California for this song, while Eddie Vedder unleashed his inner poet.
7. Better Man
You can’t make a greatest Pearl Jam songs list without mentioning a song from ‘Vitalogy’. After contemplating between Better Man and Corduroy, I decided to go with Better Man. Eddie Vedder wrote this song in his pre-Pearl Jam days and even performed it with his first band ‘Bad Radio’. The song is about a woman trapped in a bad relationship. Eddie Vedder once said it was written for the “bastard that married his momma.”
Read More: The Story Behind “Better Man” by Pearl Jam
6. Jeremy
Jeremy rose to extreme popularity due to its shocking story and video clip. It’s the commercially most successful song from ‘Ten’ and a worthy number 6 on this list.
5. Yellow Ledbetter
The song doesn’t appear on an album, you can’t hear a word of what Vedder sings, and Hendrix’s influence on McCready is noticeably sky-high. Regardless of it all, Yellow Ledbetter is a fantastic song and number 5 on this list.
4. Even Flow
Even flow is a staple in Pearl Jam live shows and it’s the band’s most performed live song of all time. The band wasn’t particularly happy with Even Flow’s recording, but the success of the song likes to disagree with that.
3. Rearviewmirror
What applied to ‘Vitalogy’ applies to ‘Vs’, This list is not complete without mentioning it. Not that I feel obliged to, because Rearviewmirror is an amazing song on an amazing album. It’s also one of the first Pearl Jam songs that features Eddie Vedder on the guitar.
2. Alive
Alive was formerly called ‘Dollar Short’ on Stone Gossard’s (guitarist) demo tape. Stone was sending out tapes in order to find a new lead singer for his band. The tape reached Eddie via former Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. Eddie came up with lyrics to ‘Dollar Short’ while surfing and titled it Alive. It is famously part of the ‘Momma-Son’ tape that laid the foundation for Pearl Jam.
Besides that, and above all; The opening riff, deep lyrics, recognizable chorus, and epic guitar solo are all engraved in rock history. A worthy number 2 on this list
1. Black
Black deservedly takes the number 1 spot on this list. The heart-wrenching song about the pain of lost love truly exposes how complete the band Pearl Jam is.
Despite pressure from their record label the band refused to release Black as a single, citing it as too fragile and personal. Although Black was never released as a single, it’s a cornerstone song in Pearl Jam’s rich history. The live performance of Black during MTV unplugged is one of the most powerful performances of all time.
So, that wraps up this list! Pearl Jam is an amazing band and picking their 10 best songs wasn’t an easy task. Did I mention your favorite song? Did I blatantly miss a song? Please let me know in the comments down below!
