2008 Woodie Awards
'Ten' and 'Rio' left legacy and remain current
RED&BLACK REWIND
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Pearl Jam
"Ten"
Released in 1991
Grade: A
One was the son of a lawyer, an upperclass Seattle native.
One tossed pizzas with fellow rocker Pete Droge in their Northwestern hometown.
Another was a basketball playing former altar-boy from Montana.
The final piece of the puzzle was a diminutive surfer with tangled hair and the voice of an angel.
To make a long story short, the guys met in Seattle, named themselves Pearl Jam and proceeded to rock the world.
The first taste music fans ever had of Pearl Jam was in late 1991, when "Alive" began its slow and steady climb up the radio charts.
"Alive" was quickly followed by the release of "Even Flow," "Oceans" and "Jeremy."
By the end of 1992, the band had achieved rock god status, hanging on the success of its four hit singles.
This doesn't mean, however, that these four songs were the only good works that came from "Ten."
In fact, they are not even the best songs from the now-legendary album.
"Ten" begins, climbing slowly from nothingness with a piece known as "Master/Slave," a concoction of random sounds and moans, soft but growing.
Then, suddenly, the band launches into "Once." The journey begins.
"Why Go"
This track proves itself to be a rocking, up-tempo number that showcases the guitar work of both Stone Gossard and Michael McCready.
The song, written by Vedder and bassist Jeff Ament, is also one of the band's earliest stabs at a politically-driven song, something the band later became known for.
"Black"
Many fans consider "Black" to be the best song from "Ten." Some say it could be the bands best song thus far.
"Sheets of empty canvas, under sheets of clay. Her legs spread out before me as her body lay still ..."
All in all, "Black" is an amazing experience.
Vedder's touching lyrics are surrounded in a swell of notes and rhythms that overwhelm the senses.
"Porch"
A live favorite since the band's early days in 1990, "Porch" begins on an upbeat, surprising listeners.
"What the f*** in this world?," Vedder asks.
Vedder's lyrics continue to spill from his mouth before Gossard, Ament and McCready have time to find their fingerings.
This straight-ahead rock song with romantic lyrics continues to be a fan favorite everywhere Pearl Jam play.
"Release"
Two songs on the album, "Oceans" and "Release" echo the sea, with its rolling ebb and flow making one visualize the waves tossing about.
On the latter, Vedder's haunting vocals -- a true story inspired by a father he never met -- are accompanied by droning guitars and a lullaby-like bassline. Even the drum part contributes to the mood, with brushes lightly tapping against cymbals and drums.
Vedder's emotion-driven vocals and desperate cries slowly fade to silence.
"Master/Slave" begins again.
In reality, however, Vedder and company refuse to let anything silence them.
Since "Ten" was released in 1991, Pearl Jam has recorded five more albums of its own and one with veteran rocker Neil Young.
The band is currently in the studio working on a follow-up to 2000's "Binaural."
--Leah Newman
Most University students are about the ripe age of 20. To those who had their eyes open at a young age, they may remember a time when pop music wasn't so corporate and manufactured.
There was a time when five pretty-boy Englishmen sung songs about, well, we still don't know. But the band's style, music and look on life leaves a lasting impression.
Duran Duran began in England during the late '70s. The band was among the first few bands to really experiment with synthesizers and punk beats -- the new wave movement.
After quickly gaining a faithful audience in dance clubs around England, Duran Duran released the bands debut, self-titled album.
Not ever wanting to disappear in the new wave of British music, the band created a racey video for "Girls on Film," which was banned from the early days of MTV.
The next album, "Rio," really is what put posters of the band up on every teenagers bedroom wall -- male and female.
Many people called the band simply "pretty boys with no musical talent," according to VH-1's "Behind The Music" documentary of the band. In truth however, Duran Duran was, in fact, much more substance than style.
Most "pretty boy" music acts really have no substance and no experimentation in music.
Duran Duran created a softer version of new wave that was easier on the ears than The Cure or Joy Division.
Pretty much everyone has seen the videos for "Rio" and "Hungry Like The Wolf," but the rest of the album has still been ignored by many so-called '80s fanatic.
"Lonely in Your Nightmare" is probably the simplest song on the album with few synthesizers and a repeating guitar riff by Andy Taylor. The song calls out to a love lost in their own problems.
"Save A Prayer," the infamous song about a one night stand, is probably the song everyone knows but forgets who sings it.
Listing the highlights of the album would be incredibly difficult. Each of the nine songs could easily stand on their own and still sound just as cool. But the album in its entirety is what makes it a classic.
"Rio" is such an important album for its time because it truly was the sort of second-coming of "Beatlemania" in almost every sense. The music was great and the band members were cool.
Duran Duran went on to release several more albums during the '80s with all five original members. Three out of the five members had all left by 1997, leaving only Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes to carry on the spirit.
The band still sells out concerts wherever they go, even packing Earthlink Live in Atlanta every night for five nights.
Hardcore Duran Duran fans had their dreams come true with news from last summer.
All five original members, including the three not-related Taylors, rejoined the band and are recording an album for release sometime later this year.
-- Parker Davidson
"Rio"
Released in 1982
Grade: A
