We have yet to actually dislike a Pearl Jam album but admit it's been a long time since we were thrilled by one. Something seemed to have infected Eddie Vedder after the band's loose Mirror Ball / Merkin Ball collaborations with Neil Young. It was almost as if he was afraid to let any joy enter the music any more for fear his icon would disapprove. Vedder's vocals ceased to jump, and most songs fall into one of two categories; they were either raging screams of anger and despair or they were quiet ballads that barely moved beyond a handful of notes. There were deviations form these formulas, but the majority of the band's middle work fits those categories.


