The Pearl Jam song that took over 100 takes to record
Pearl Jam remain one of the most popular modern rock bands of all time. Their card-carrying fan club is filled with obsessives who follow the band around the world to hear their music. They have a connection with their fans from the stage that other bands would struggle to replicate. Their arena shows end up having the feel of singing songs around a campfire with friends, and it’s all because of Pearl Jam’s commitment to their music.
With classic albums such as Ten, Yield, Backspacer and No Code, the band has many records they can draw from when they play live, and regardless of what comes up, fans will be happy. However, like every musical outfit, there are a few songs that people would expect to be played, given they’re such big fan favourites. One of those songs is the 1991 hit ‘Even Flow’.
The track was recorded slightly before Eddie Vedder joined the band but the lyrics hadn’t been penned yet. Vedder wrote the words after joining and dedicated them to the tale of a homeless man neglected by society.
The song was incredibly popular with fans and is considered a favourite amongst the band as well. Drummer Matt Cameron once said it was his favourite track from the album Ten. “I distinctly remember hearing the chorus for ‘Even Flow’ and thinking that’s HUGE. So hooky, it’s got a really rad Zeppelin huge rock feel to it. Although we’ve played it a couple of thousand times since I’ve been in the group, I think that’s the quintessential Pearl Jam song.”
The band has a clear connection with the track because of how much time they dedicated to recording it. The band confirmed in an interview that the song took over 100 takes to get right. It became a part of their lives as they constantly tried to nail the sound of the track and get it recorded in a way that truly did the song justice.
While it was an act of perfectionism, the difficulty with nailing the track stemmed from how much it plays with time signatures. “The chorus is one tempo and the verse is another,” they said, “And never the twain shall meet… It was overthinking, you know, when you’re working on something that you’re in love with and you’re thinking, well, it’s not quite there yet. Then you look back on it and it’s like, any one of those first five takes will have been fine.”
It’s nice to know that Pearl Jam is as committed to their music as their fans are to them. There is a reason why they are so continually successful, and it rings through in the quality of their music. ‘Even Flow,’ one of their most successful songs, is a testament to their excellent musical ability and is the product of their 100% commitment to perfecting their sound.
