20 years of Pearl Jam on film

Fans of the band Pearl Jam, rock music lovers and anybody who appreciates superior filmmaking will have a great time watching Pearl Jam At Twenty. Recently released on DVD, it is a feature-length documentary that is made up of hours of never-before-seen footage, concert performances and interviews by Pearl Jam. Presented with rich colors and fantastic sound, the docu is not only a portrait of the band but also one of the best rock films ever made.

Pearl Jam was one of the most successful bands to emerge from Seattle during the Grunge Era. Known for its bare bones, grating sound and dark themes, it was seen as the embodiment of the tortured souls that made up the era’s Generation X denizens. Nirvana and its departed frontman Kurt Cobain were the most popular music figures of the time. But Pearl Jam proved to be the most enduring and its members are the ones who survived the miasma prevalent during the early ’90s.

Pearl Jam is now made up of lead guitarist Mike McCready, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, drummer Matt Cameron, and the iconic poet and vocalist Eddie Vedder. It has survived a lot of ups and downs and has now happily settled into maturity. That means a scaling down of the noise and the use of more mainstream arrangements. And while some purists may howl about how commercial Pearl Jam has become, its fans have accepted the change and now allow their older ears to appreciate the mellowed sounds.

The music footage of the film were culled from private sessions and various concerts from different parts of the world. One of these was Not For You at the Folk Arts Theater, that was recorded during the band’s first visit to the Philippines on Feb. 26, 1995. Makes one wonder what has become of the FAT, where we used to watch a lot of the big shows.

Pearl Jam At Twenty director Cameron Crowe

But back to Pearl Jam. You will find a lot of the big hits here all performed live plus demos, TV appearances and instrumentals. You can watch these on the video or listen to the songs in the soundtrack album, which is also available. Alive, Garden, Why Go, Black, Blood, Last Exit, Crown Of Thorns, Walk With Me featuring Neil Young, Just Breathe, Say Hello To Heaven, Times Of Trouble, Of The Girl, Need To Know, It Ain’t Like That, Indifference Rearviewmirror, Nothing As It Seems and others. I missed the early hits Jeremy and Evenflow, but the band must have its reasons for not including these songs or probably no good performance footage was available for director Cameron Crowe to use.

Speaking of Cameron, I believe that every band in existence today should dream of having a long video directed by the Academy Award winner. A former writer of Rolling Stone Magazine, he is a screenwriter and director behind such enjoyable films as Singles, Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire. He has a unique feel for what rock fans want and a sensitive insight into what goes on inside a rock band. His Almost Famous is partly autobiographical. He made Pearl Jam at Twenty both grand and intimate. It looks like it was put together with so much love and an eye towards documentation that will hold up for ages.

I watched Pearl Jam At Twenty after reading a New York Times article about the dire status of rock music in the U.S. of A. nowadays. Hip-hop has indeed taken over the market and the rock acts seem to be unable to withstand the onslaught. Only Daughtry and the Foo Fighters were cited for having come up with noteworthy and most of all commercially viable releases.

This is very sad. And watching Pearl Jam while it was starting out, during its glory days and its present state in this video makes the thought even sadder. This is all in the past. I am glad Crowe captured this piece of music history. But on the other hand, it is also a fact that that is what the film is about. And rock music might just become that. History.