Pearl Jam Twenty Hardcover – Bargain Price, September 13, 2011

Allow me to make one thing perfectly clear right up front...while I love Pearl Jam and consider myself a big fan, I also don't have the kind of encyclopedic knowledge that I know some people have for the band. I can't honestly tell you how much of the material in this book, the little tidbits and snippets and nuggets of information from the band, their fellow musicians, and their friends is already known and how much of it is revelatory and new.What I can tell you is my own impression of the book, and that's that this is a fantastic book that any fan will love. It is a great companion piece to the year-long celebration that has been PJ20. It begins with a great, long foreword by Cameron Crowe primarily about the role Pearl Jam has played in rock music and how they have managed to survive by, in his words, actively seeking less. There's a great note from Bono to Crowe that's quoted in the intro asking why Eddie won't just let the band release a summer album full of hit singles. This is followed by a short focus on each (current) band member (excluding Boom, who gets a bit shorted in general), which includes a very brief biography--essentially their birthday, where they were born, and a quick summary of their early musical resumé--and answers to a few background questions, the same questions asked of each member, about how they got started in music and what their earliest influences and most memorable experiences were. This is all pre-PJ information.The book then jumps into the biography of the band, beginning with the years 1962-1989 and the evolutions of Green River, Shadow, Bad Radio, and Soundgarden. At this point the book is still largely a straight narrative by the author, with occasional quotes thrown in. These are accompanied by some great early pictures of the various band members. Once the book gets into 1990 the narrative style shifts into an emphasis on specific dates or general time periods ("last week of October," etc.) and more of a tale told by the band and its friends. Generally each time period, at least early on in the book, has a short description saying a major event that occurred at that time followed by at least one quote from a band member or friend of the band, which range from Chris Cornell to Ann Wilson to Dave Grohl, Pete Townshend, Ben Harper, and others. Some of these sound like they are contemporary reflections, while others sound like they are quotes from the time. Either way it works just fine. I found these quotes, again with the disclaimer above, to be very informative and exciting and at times funny, like when Eddie is describing how, without having met Mike, he tried to have Mike kicked out of the band during his first meeting with Jeff and Stone in LA prior to sending them his Mamma-Son demo tape, solely because he liked three-piece and four-piece bands better than five-piece. Later in the book these quotes become fewer and far between and the sections are more just a quick description of an event that occurred, although still informative.As to the organization of the book, each chapter is a different year, from 1990 to 2010. Within these chapters are the aforementioned chronological narratives combined with, when applicable, special sections that highlight particular events. Mostly these are the stories and releases of the different PJ studio albums, but there are also sections on TotD, their Neil Young collaboration Mirror Ball, Roskilde, Lost Dogs, and Into the Wild. There is no 2011 chapter to describe the PJ20 events. Again there is a greater emphasis on the band's earlier years, with 1990 - 2000 taking up about 210 pages and 2001 - 2010 taking up about 120. Some of the chapters are pretty short, particularly the "non-album-year" ones. The book is absolutely filled with photos, either in the background behind the text, as full-page photos, multi-page photos, or small pieces that are stuck into blank space on the pages. And that's a great picture of Stone with Anthony Kiedis in drag at the beginning of Chapter 1999.If you are a fan I think you will love this book. It is the band telling its story largely in its own words, and the insights and stories that come out of that are well worth the price. The photos often help to tell that story. If you want to see the band finally opening up about their own legacy, I have a feeling you'll see all that in Cameron Crowe's upcoming Pearl Jam Twenty film (I've got my ticket). If you want to read about it at your own pace and get a probably more detailed narrative than what the film will be able to show, then be sure to pick up this book. It is a great companion to the wild ride that has been Pearl Jam's first 20 years, and a worthy addition to your collection of PJ20 memorabilia.If you have any specific questions about the book or its content, be sure to shoot me a comment and I'll respond as soon as I can. I didn't want to overload everybody with a really long review. Thanks!

I'm a huge Pearl Jam fan since the beginning and a member of their official fan club (Ten Club). They are definitely one of my favorite bands of all time. I'm so happy with this book! It's a great companion piece to the PJ20 film, but even if you haven't seen that, you can really enjoy this book. It's full of photos, memorabilia, notes, artwork etc. and has the words of the band members themselves, as well as other artists like Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, U2, and other musicians that toured or worked with Pearl Jam. The book takes you year by year (a chapter for each year) from the very beginning (the days of Green River & Mother Love Bone) to 2010. There are also chapters describing the making of each album from Ten up to Backspacer.There are so many interesting stories and funny anecdotes that I hadn't heard before. Some crazy stuff happened on those tours! I love reading the band's own words on how they wrote each song and what the songs mean. And, to be honest, I am a huge Eddie Vedder fan and I really loved having lots of pictures of him, from 20 years of pictures!If you are a big Pearl Jam fan, get this book! You will love it!

Absolutely amazing book, full of great photos and year by year chronicle of the band, in their own words. Much of it follows Crowe's documentary, even in the quotes, but it is a HUGE book and there are lots of fantastic photos. Very tastefully done, bypassing much of the stupid drama that has dogged the band throughout its career and placing the focus where it should be: on the music. Some of the full-page spreads are very well done, and a few, like the one about the 2000 Roskilde tragedy, are truly heart wrenching. Very glad I got this book - I look at it all the time!

Pearl Jam 20 book is an incredible and most comprehensive book about Pearl Jam I have ever read and has given me more appreciation for the band members and their music - and I am a die hard fan! The book chronicles the formation of the band from the inception of Green River to the present. The best part of the book is that there are so many quotes that it feels like you are backstage and the band is reminiscing with you telling you their personal journeys in their own words. The sections about each individual album are so insightful. The pictures are amazing many from their personal collections. If you are a die hard fan you will appreciate all the work that Cameron Crowe went into making this book. Even if you think you know everything about Pearl Jam you will find something you did not know when you read this book. It is an essential for anybody who is a fan and also for those who are just discovering the world of Pearl Jam!

If you are a fan of Pearl Jam you will love this book. It's oversized with great pictures and artwork. The book is done in an oral history style with interviews from band members, other Seattle based bands, like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains members, as well as from Cameron Crowe. The book is broken down into chapters that describe one year in the band's history. Example is 1990 will tell all of the history of Eddie meeting up with the other members of the band and the formation of Pearl Jam from the ashes of Mother Love Bone. Overall it's a great book and I highly recommend it.

Absolutely loved all the insights into the band members, the formation and the history of a band I love

***See title thingy above... I've want to get back to my new book..Thanks Again for your quick excellent service✌

The book is just beautiful, especially if you lose the outer paper cover. As for content, I found it to have a very repetitive structure. Good artwork. Interesting stuff that you wouldn't ever know. And of course I understand that the frontman always gets the lion's share, but it would be nice to "hear" more from the rest of the band. But it's well worth it!

Excelente libro

tolles Buch

Consegna puntuale e condizioni del libro fedeli alla descrizione

All perfect ultra fast delivery

Muito bom na qualidade de impressão das imagens e conteúdo! Para quem é fã, vale super a pena ter em sua coleção.