Classic Songs: ‘Present Tense’ by Pearl Jam.

Back in 1996, Pearl Jam released their fourth studio album called No Code. It was an album that moved as far away as possible from Pearl Jam’s album Ten with its moody experimentation. Like the Beatles, Pearl Jam showed that it was willing to grow and mature and try different musical arrangements. But it was also the album that seemingly put off many of my friends. (Some say it was the album that killed grunge and our loud expectations of what alternative rock should be.) Personally, at the time I loved it, and still today rate it highly as one of Pearl Jam’s best ever albums, as do most hardcore fans. Interestingly, many of my friends would come back to it years later with renewed enthusiasm. What was once an outlier in Pearl Jam’s back catalogue has come to represent the band we know today.

The best song on the album, apart from standouts like Off He Goes, In My Tree and Red Mosquito, in my opinion is Present Tense. Make no mistake Present Tense is a deep cut worthy of your attention as a modern classic for two reasons. Firstly, Vedder’s unmistakably poetic and introspective lyrics (a lesson about living in the moment) instantaneously strikes an accord with the listener. In the opening few lines Vedder sings, “Do you see the way that tree bends? Does it inspire? Leaning out to catch the sun’s rays? A lesson to be applied.” While it might not sound like a killer opening to many of the band’s detractors, there is no question that Vedder’s storytelling had stepped up a notch. It’s fair to say almost everything Vedder wrote during this period was meaningful and Present Tense, the centrepiece of No Code was no different. “You can spend your time alone, redirecting past regrets / Or you can come to terms and realise you’re the only one who can’t forgive yourself.” 

Secondly, the song is elevated to other-worldly beauty sonically with a standout performance from Mike McCready on lead guitar. Equally mesmerising is Stone Gossard distorted strumming and Vedder too, who tries hard to steal the show with his rhythm guitar at the end of the second chorus (approximately 3:30), which sounds like another song all together but acts as the important bridge (so to speak) to the stratospheric climax. The unsung hero on this track I believe is arguably Jeff Ament on bass. On the studio version, I just love the climax of the song where Ament’s bass and Jack Iron’s drums drive the rhythm section of the song and then suddenly almost disappear as the song subsides into its atmospheric conclusion. Even when played live, Pearl Jam pull out all the stops to make this emotive, stirring song even greater.