Ten Pearl Jam Artist

{|Nirvana|}'s {|Nevermind|} may have been the album that broke grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream, but there's no overestimating the role that {|Pearl Jam|}'s {|Ten|} played in keeping them there. {|Nirvana|}'s appeal may have been huge, but it wasn't universal; rock radio still viewed them as too raw and punky, and some hard rock fans dismissed them as weird misfits. In retrospect, it's easy to see why {|Pearl Jam|} clicked with a mass audience -- they weren't as metallic as {|Alice in Chains|} or {|Soundgarden|}, and of Seattle's Big Four, their sound owed the greatest debt to classic rock. With its intricately arranged guitar textures and expansive harmonic vocabulary, {|Ten|} especially recalled {|Jimi Hendrix|} and {|Led Zeppelin|}. But those touchstones might not have been immediately apparent, since -- aside from {|Mike McCready|}'s {|Clapton|}/{|Hendrix|}-style leads -- every trace of blues influence has been completely stripped from the band's sound. Though they rock hard, {|Pearl Jam|} is too anti-star to swagger, too self-aware to puncture the album's air of gravity. {|Pearl Jam|} tackles weighty topics -- abortion, homelessness, childhood traumas, gun violence, rigorous introspection -- with an earnest zeal unmatched since mid-'80s {|U2|}, whose anthemic sound they frequently strive for. Similarly, {|Eddie Vedder|}'s impressionistic lyrics often make their greatest impact through the passionate commitment of his delivery rather than concrete meaning. His voice had a highly distinctive timbre that perfectly fit the album's warm, rich sound, and that's part of the key -- no matter how cathartic {|Ten|}'s tersely titled songs got, they were never abrasive enough to affect the album's accessibility. {|Ten|} also benefited from a long gestation period, during which the band honed the material into this tightly focused form; the result is a flawlessly crafted hard rock masterpiece. ~ Steve Huey