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Lost Dogs: Rarities and B Sides
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Lost Dogs: Rarities and B Sides
Current price: $19.99
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Lost Dogs: Rarities and B Sides
Current price: $19.99
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At the peak of
alt-rock
in the '90s,
Pearl Jam
were the biggest band in the world.
Nirvana
may have kick-started the
explosion, but not long after
Nevermind
knocked
Michael Jackson
's
Dangerous
off the top of the charts,
overtook their fellow Seattleites, selling many more copies of
Ten
than
, as the album achieved saturation play on radio and
MTV
, thereby setting off a wave of imitators, ranging from
Stone Temple Pilots
to
Seven Mary Three
and scores of bands that have been lost to time. They defined the sound of the decade, at least in terms of mainstream
. But, like all their fellow
grunge
rockers (though not like
Smashing Pumpkins
), they bristled at the notion of stardom, and ducked the spotlight. After following
with the effectively scattershot
Vs.
in 1993, each subsequent record played to a smaller audience, partially because the group decided to follow an idiosyncratic muse while shutting out the outside world by doing few videos and interviews and then sinking into a long rather futile battle with Ticketmaster that sapped their strength, as well as their popularity. By the end of the decade, they were selling far fewer records and they had the occasional hit -- such as the fluke Top Ten
"Last Kiss"
(included on
Lost Dogs
) -- but they were a far cry from being the biggest band in the world, even if they retained a passionate following.
The shift from world's biggest band to world's biggest cult band was a deliberate move, of course, one that came about through their precisely crafted, often humorless, deliberately idiosyncratic records that came after
. If a song didn't fit the specific mood of an album, it was shelved. This meant that there was a lot of material that was never heard (apart from the occasional concert or bootleg, naturally), or some of it drifted out on singles released through their fan club. Then, it being the '90s, the golden age of the multipart international single and benefit compilation albums, there were a number of officially released songs that never made it to a proper
album. These two things meant that a
rarities collection was necessary, and when they reached the end of their contract with
Epic
ten years after
, the group assembled the double-disc, 30-track set
. Completists, who likely have much of this material anyway, should note that this is not a complete collection of B-sides and non-LP tracks -- there's nothing from the
Singles
soundtrack
, the
Merkinball
EP is absent, scores of live B-sides are thankfully left behind. Instead, this is a selection of the best B-sides, stray singles, and compilation tracks, enhanced by no less than 11 previously unreleased cuts and presented in a non-chronological sequence. This approach has a considerable benefit for the band, since, for one, it doesn't play like a dumping ground for rarities; like all
albums, it follows its own internal logic and has its own flow. Better still, the album benefits from what it chronicles: the loosest, hardest-rocking, most relaxed, and most intimate music the band cut. Since their proper albums are so somber and tightly controlled, it seemed as if the band didn't have a sense of humor, or even gave themselves a chance to breathe. These songs not only prove that assertion false; they capture what the band sounded like at its peak -- they capture their passion, their open-heartedness, their stance as true believers. This spirit was damped on the albums since they deliberately shied away from it and obscured it with ventures into experimentalism, but here, they not only sound committed but also eclectic and alive. This is where the nonchronological sequencing is a plus -- everything here sounds like it could date from their heyday of the first of the '90s, even though much of it dates from later. This is further proof that
consciously turned away from the big, anthemic sound and spirit that won them a mass audience with
-- they still had the songs and sound, they just chose to bury it.
crackles with that passion and it has another advantage: unlike most of
's album, it's a fun, compulsive listen. More than any other album in its catalog,
captures what
stood for and what it felt like at their peak. It may not have any of their defining songs -- apart from concert favorite
"Yellow Ledbetter,"
that is -- but it does define their spirit, which is why, against all odds, it's the best album
has yet released. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
alt-rock
in the '90s,
Pearl Jam
were the biggest band in the world.
Nirvana
may have kick-started the
explosion, but not long after
Nevermind
knocked
Michael Jackson
's
Dangerous
off the top of the charts,
overtook their fellow Seattleites, selling many more copies of
Ten
than
, as the album achieved saturation play on radio and
MTV
, thereby setting off a wave of imitators, ranging from
Stone Temple Pilots
to
Seven Mary Three
and scores of bands that have been lost to time. They defined the sound of the decade, at least in terms of mainstream
. But, like all their fellow
grunge
rockers (though not like
Smashing Pumpkins
), they bristled at the notion of stardom, and ducked the spotlight. After following
with the effectively scattershot
Vs.
in 1993, each subsequent record played to a smaller audience, partially because the group decided to follow an idiosyncratic muse while shutting out the outside world by doing few videos and interviews and then sinking into a long rather futile battle with Ticketmaster that sapped their strength, as well as their popularity. By the end of the decade, they were selling far fewer records and they had the occasional hit -- such as the fluke Top Ten
"Last Kiss"
(included on
Lost Dogs
) -- but they were a far cry from being the biggest band in the world, even if they retained a passionate following.
The shift from world's biggest band to world's biggest cult band was a deliberate move, of course, one that came about through their precisely crafted, often humorless, deliberately idiosyncratic records that came after
. If a song didn't fit the specific mood of an album, it was shelved. This meant that there was a lot of material that was never heard (apart from the occasional concert or bootleg, naturally), or some of it drifted out on singles released through their fan club. Then, it being the '90s, the golden age of the multipart international single and benefit compilation albums, there were a number of officially released songs that never made it to a proper
album. These two things meant that a
rarities collection was necessary, and when they reached the end of their contract with
Epic
ten years after
, the group assembled the double-disc, 30-track set
. Completists, who likely have much of this material anyway, should note that this is not a complete collection of B-sides and non-LP tracks -- there's nothing from the
Singles
soundtrack
, the
Merkinball
EP is absent, scores of live B-sides are thankfully left behind. Instead, this is a selection of the best B-sides, stray singles, and compilation tracks, enhanced by no less than 11 previously unreleased cuts and presented in a non-chronological sequence. This approach has a considerable benefit for the band, since, for one, it doesn't play like a dumping ground for rarities; like all
albums, it follows its own internal logic and has its own flow. Better still, the album benefits from what it chronicles: the loosest, hardest-rocking, most relaxed, and most intimate music the band cut. Since their proper albums are so somber and tightly controlled, it seemed as if the band didn't have a sense of humor, or even gave themselves a chance to breathe. These songs not only prove that assertion false; they capture what the band sounded like at its peak -- they capture their passion, their open-heartedness, their stance as true believers. This spirit was damped on the albums since they deliberately shied away from it and obscured it with ventures into experimentalism, but here, they not only sound committed but also eclectic and alive. This is where the nonchronological sequencing is a plus -- everything here sounds like it could date from their heyday of the first of the '90s, even though much of it dates from later. This is further proof that
consciously turned away from the big, anthemic sound and spirit that won them a mass audience with
-- they still had the songs and sound, they just chose to bury it.
crackles with that passion and it has another advantage: unlike most of
's album, it's a fun, compulsive listen. More than any other album in its catalog,
captures what
stood for and what it felt like at their peak. It may not have any of their defining songs -- apart from concert favorite
"Yellow Ledbetter,"
that is -- but it does define their spirit, which is why, against all odds, it's the best album
has yet released. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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