The Pearl Jam song inspired by Pink Floyd
Over the many decades since their emergence, countless acts have tried to replicate the brilliance of Pink Floyd and, ultimately, come up short. They are an act that transcends eras, and the band’s timeless sound continues to strike a chord with every new generation that discovers music. However, there will never be a group that matches their unique dynamic, although Pearl Jam came close on one specific track.
Pearl Jam have occasionally allowed themselves to channel their rock forefathers, which once led to them catching the wrath of Robert Plant. The Led Zeppelin singer once half-jokingly accused the group of ripping off his former band on their track ‘Given To Fly’. Guitarist Mike McCready denied the charge but later admitted, “I’ll certainly cop to ripping off some Zep in my songs at times, but that wasn’t the case on this one.”
The grunge icons tend to hold their hands up if they have attempted to pay homage to their heroes, such as Pink Floyd on the 2013 track ‘Sirens’ from their album Lightning Bolt. McCready later explained how he attempted to funnel his inner David Gilmour into the song, which is audible for all to hear.
Although the song arrived in 2013, the origin of ‘Sirens’ relates to an evening in 2011 when McCready was in attendance to watch Roger Waters perform The Wall. Following the show, he was hit with an irresistible shot of inspiration to embrace his love of Pink Floyd, which the guitarist allowed to breathe into his next creation.
McCready later explained to Guitar Player: “It was another lead part that I consciously wrote to be a permanent fixture in the song. I was trying to channel some David Gilmour. I’d seen The Wall tour around this time, which was the most incredible show I’d ever seen.”
Elaborating on his love of the Pink Floyd maestro, McCready added: “I love Gilmour; he is the master of delay, subtlety, underplaying and knowing when to hit exactly the right note. His solos are songs within a song. I don’t know if he works them out or not. We cover ‘Comfortably Numb’, and I have to do that solo exactly note for note. You can’t improvise on it; it just doesn’t sound right.”
As McCready stated, Pearl Jam have infrequently covered ‘Comfortably Numb’ since 2015, having played the much beloved Pink Floyd track on over 20 occasions. Taking on such a widely cherished song would be daunting for many, but the Seattle heroes have retained the original’s magic. However, Vedder adds a sprinkling of originality by offering up his trademark vocals.
Furthermore, in 2012, Vedder was given the privilege of performing the classic track with Waters in New York, which shows the respect between the acts goes both ways. Five years later, the Pearl Jam frontman again joined the Pink Floyd musician during a show in Chicago to play the iconic track.
While ‘Sirens’ still unapologetically sounds like a Pearl Jam song because of Vedder’s unmistakable contribution, musically, there’s a strong hint of Pink Floyd, which McCready injected into the track that provides it with a cosmic element that feels straight off The Wall. Although the influence is evident, they pay their respects appropriately rather than attempting to cosplay as a Pink Floyd cover band.
