Pearl Jam’s 25 Best Deep Cuts, Part 1.

This is the first part of a 5-part series showcasing a collection of deep cut songs by Pearl Jam.  You won’t find Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Daughter or even Better Man on this list. It’s not that list. But how do you decide what constitutes a deep cut? Usually it refers to songs that aren’t released as singles. They are those non-singles that resonate with you long after you have finished listening to them. Other times, these underrated gems grow legs of their own and become fan favourites for one reason or another. Also when bands like Pearl Jam refuse to release singles, as was the case periodically throughout their career, we are forced to dive deep into their music in search of those songs that we can all relate to.

An argument can be made that Pearl Jam’s entire discography is made up of deep cuts. That alone is a scary thought, especially when contemplating a selected list like this. How do you decide which songs should be elevated as deep cuts from a back catalogue of eleven studio albums? (Pearl Jam’s twelfth studio album, Dark Matter, will be released on April 19, 2024.) Anyway, beginning here below I hope is a list of 25 songs that says sometime about who Pearl Jam are. It may not be your definitive list but it’s close to being a worthy list in my opinion. Without further ado, here are the first five.

Why Go (taken from Ten, 1991.)

Why Go, the fourth song on Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten (1991), has the almost impossible responsibility of bridging two of Pearl Jam’s greatest songs. It is sandwiched in-between Alive and Black but still somehow manages deliver the same energy as Pearl Jam’s most lively tracks from the album. Originally written on acoustic guitar, Jeff Ament made the fortuitous decision to bring to life Why Go on his trusty twelve-string bass. With Eddie Vedder supplying lyrics in the form a story about a young girl, committed to a psychiatric facility against her will, the song soars with blistering rage: “She scratches a letter/ Into a wall/ Made of stone/ Maybe someday another child/ Won’t feel as alone as she does/ It’s been two years and counting/ Since they put her in this place/ She’s been diagnosed/ By some stupid f*ck/ And mommy agrees.” 

In short, the song is distinguishable by Dave Krusen’s hard-hitting drum intro, arguably some of his best work on Ten, as he steers us through the frenzy that is Why Go. Standouts include Ament’s pulsating bass and Mike McCready’s guitar solo. 

Garden (taken from Ten, 1991.)

Garden is a deep cut in every sense of the word. Never released as a single, it instead stands as part of a group of moody mid tempo track stretched across the second half of Ten. It’s a haunting, atmospheric track, where its obscure melancholy lyrics, are open for interpretation. Interestingly, Vedder has explained the song as being about the Iraq war in 1991. The chorus hints at this as Vedder screams: “I will walk, with my hands bound/ I will walk, with my face blood/ I will walk, with my shadow flag/ Into your garden/ Garden of stone.”

But even that hasn’t convinced fans over the years, who interpret it from being about a bad relationship to greed. But that’s the beauty of how Vedder writes. For instance, “garden of stones” could mean a number of things, however it is in fact a metaphor for a cemetery. Anyway, Garden begins beautifully with Stone Gossard fingerpicking intro, a very typical example of how Gossard weaves his magic. Before long Vedder cryptically weaves a thoughtful message ahead of thrashing guitars. McCready again shines here with an electrifying solo, but Vedder, I believe, steals the show with  his rousing “I will walk” wail and it’s almost impossible not to scream along with him. 

Release (taken from Ten, 1991.)

Release, the final track of Ten holds up as a perfect example of a band perfectly in sync with each other. It is without a doubt the deepest, of deep cuts on Ten. Nothing comes close to it except maybe the emotionally heavy Black. But Black exists in a world of its own, as both a deep cut and one of Pearl Jam’s best-known songs, which actually forced its way onto the charts. It’s notoriety is due to Pearl Jam’s bidding that it never be released as an offical single because “fragile songs get crushed by the business,” as Vedder once declared. “I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think the band wants to be part of it.” 

That said, Release falls into that same category as Black. It showcases Pearl Jam’s musical diversity. Moreover, like Black, Release hits close to home as being the most personal-affecting, mournful, even hopeful and just maybe the loneliest track on Ten, in which Vedder poured out his soul into words about the father he never knew: “Oh, dear Dad, can you see me now?/ I am myself, like you somehow/ I’ll ride the wave where it takes me/ I’ll hold the pain, release me.”

Indifference (taken from VS, 1993.)

On so many levels this is an incredible song. From Eddie Vedder’s beautiful voice, the brushed drums to the eerie organ that accompanies the song throughout. But what truly elevates a song like this is Vedder’s potent lyrics. It’s worth noting that over the course of Pearl Jam’s early records, Vedder continued to hone his skills as a songwriter. He tapped further into the stories he wanted to tell, especially those that related to the agony of the human condition through to the trappings of fame. And on Indifference, the last track on Pearl Jam’s second studio album, VS (1993), Vedder is at his reflective best. He comes across as philosopher (of sorts) mulling over human desperation and futility. Interestingly, Vedder’s comments about the song are much more interesting, in which he once said it is truly a test of one’s own character to “do something to make some other peoples’ lives better than they are, even if it means going through hell.”

On Indifference, he practices what he peaches, even if it’s figuratively, where he puts himself through a series of ordeals to make someone’s life better. This is best represented in the second verse of the song: “I will hold the candle/ Till it burns up my arm/ Oh, I’ll keep takin’ punches/ Until their will grows tired/ Oh, I will stare the sun down/ Until my eyes go blind/ Hey, I won’t change direction/ And I won’t change my mind.”

Tremor Christ (taken from Vitalogy, 1994.)

Andy Greene from Rolling Stone believes it’s easy to hear The Beatles influence on Tremor Christ. But more than that, like so many other tracks of Vitalogy (1994), Tremor Christ is aggressive, frantic and weirdly beautiful. Personally I love Dave Abbruzese drumming here and Jeff Aments free flowing bass. Lyrically, my mind is blown by how seemingly difficult it is to make any real sense of this song. Yeah Andy Greene is right, this is so John Lennon (ish)! In short, deciphering Vedder’s encrypted lyrics is like reading scripture. There is a lot going on! Lyrics like “Gorgeous was his savior”, “Ransom paid the Devil” and “The smallest oceans still get big big waves” are all random clues. Truth be told there seem to be plenty of theories about what it all means. From the complexities of human existence, love and the challenges relationships bring, to navigating life’s ups and downs. But it could all add to nothing. Then again, I like to think the storm (in the song) is a metaphor for the chaos in our life. We are the sailor in the song, drifting by the storm, about to face the consequence of our actions. And like the sailor who, “Turns the bow back, tows and drops the line”, it’s also time for us to stop running from our past. And just maybe put our “faith and love in tremor Christ”.