Once a great rock band, Pearl Jam has settled into a pattern of retreaded guitar riffs, middling songwriting and FM soft rock theatrics. There's really no reason to revisit this album; it's simply an expression of a band merely existing to pay the bills and to relive the glory days. But we'll always have the live shows and "Vitalogy."

This is everything a PJ fan could hope for. It is the perfect combination of harder rocking songs (Getaway, MYM, My Father's Son), mid tempo rockers (LB, Swallowed Whole), some extremely successful experiments for the band (Infallible, Pendulum, SBM) and beautiful ballads (Sirens, YM). They also make a foray into blues territory with LTRP which is entirely sucsessful at being the 'fun' song on the album. FD is probably the only below par song and even then, it's not a clunker. All in all, excellent album with at least 5 entries which stand up to their best output (Getaway, MFS, Infallible, Pendulum, Yellow Moon).… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 9 out of ten, maybe a touch below that but very close.
Lightning Bolt is one of Pearl Jam's better albums overall. I was hoping for a strong showing (as I always am being a lifelong fan) and that's what I found. Admittedly I was not overly impressed with the first 2 tracks as they felt as though a throwback attempt to the glory days of Ten and VS. The rest of the album is excellent and easily up there with some of their best later work, Yield, Pearl Jam and Backspacer. Lightning Bolt and Swallowed Whole are a couple of crazy strong rocker tracks. Eddie Vedder's voice is commandingly strong throughout the entire album. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready and Jeff Ament still can bring on the sonic heavy stuff.… Expand

Still doesn't grab me yet as much as anything else they have done. Doesn't have that raw feel of the earlier stuff or the creative wanderings of the "avocado" album (which is my favorite of theirs). Maybe a few more listens will reel me in. Not a big fan of Backspacer and I would say this is a bit better than it. On a scale of 1 (worst album in history) to 100 (a classic) I would go with about an 83. Still a better album than the majority of music out now. Just not PJ at their best.… Expand

HAUNTING, FAMILIAR

I love Pearl Jam. I have since they first hit the scene, and I've been lucky enough to see them live seven times over the past twenty years. I'm way too biased to even pretend I can give you an objective view, but I can offer up the following observations of "Lightning Bolt":

• The music on this album covers more range than I think I've ever heard from them. From t their grungy roots to their emotional ballads to their experiments with jangly blues, new wave and psychedelia, everything is here.

• At the same time, there is a cohesiveness to this album that I can't really recall on any Pearl Jam album since No Code. Whenever I start listening, I feel compelled to listen to the whole thing. That did not happen with Backspacer or the Avocado album. I think part of it is lyric-based. Everything on this album seems thematically connected, as there is an ever-present tension between inner emptiness and soul satisfaction. There is no Johnny Guitar or George Bush monologue to contend with. The stories that are told are more first-person and feel less contrived.

• Ed is unafraid to let you into his heart, and that is a double-edged sword. If you buy into it and take his lyrics seriously, you will be richly rewarded. The band clearly is "all in" on Ed's style of songwriting at this point, and helps ensure that lyrics like the following, from "Sirens," pack the necessary emotional punch:

"It's a fragile thing This life we lead If I think too much I can get over- whelmed by the grace By which we live our lives With death over our shoulders"

If you aren't looking for your heart strings to be pulled, and you have had a problem with Ed's soft side in the past, then that issue will likely come up again for you in spades with this album. On the other hand, you'll probably still dig the way he wails on songs like "Infallible" and "Swallowed Whole," and "Mind Your Manners" and "Let the Records Play" will probably appeal to the pit mosher and barn stomper in you.

• There is a "somber hopeful" paradox that absolutely enthralls me. It goes hand in hand with what seems to be a new emphasis on setting the mood. After front-loading the album with three pretty straightforward songs of angst, Pearl Jam really starts revealing that mood at the song "Sirens", which combines the dark imagery of ambulance sirens with transcendent lyrics of love. The music finds a way to echo this, which to me is somewhat of a revelation on this record. The new concert opener, "Pendulum" is also dark and beautiful. "Swallowed Whole" is an anthemic uplifting tune that has an unexpected, navel-gazing Pink Floyd keyboard drop in the middle. "Yellow Moon" has the kind of splintering tension that harkens back to "Release". And while I originally thought "Future Days" was overly sappy, the dark church organ that booms during the "I believe" lyric keeps the tension tight in that song as well.

All in all, I think this is one of Pearl Jam's finest works, exploring new ground while deftly weaving together the skills the band has acquired over the years. All the songs feel fresh and beg to be played live, and in my opinion, there isn't any "filler", which cannot be said about every album by this band. Bravo!… Expand

Their best album since Binaural. Sirens is gorgeous. MYM rocks!!. Pendulum is haunted. Infallible pure genius. Yellow Moon really shine in dark. LB continues PJ legacy. Keep going guys!!. Spin/RS review is a joke!!!

This album will go greatly under-appreciated of course, as is the case with most of PJ's very solid catalog. But there's no doubt about it, this is probably the best PJ I've heard since Binaural, and maybe even Yield.