Rating: Summary: The Yield Sessions Jam! Review: The "Single Video Theory" is a recording that documents the "yield" sessions. Picture quality is magnificent, it comes in b/w and color format. There are almost no silly effects, or cheesy editing techniques except in one of the last tracks, where the video is divided into 4 sources on screen that change every once in a while. It looks fairly cool when two or more sources combine to make a larger one, or a section of the original one. Sound quality is awsome! Its mixed by Brendan Obrien, the producer from almost every single pearl jam album. Every single song sounds different than the final cuts (the actual songs in yield) And there are a few comments from the band, that make the whole package great. I love this video so much that i found myself making an audio copy so that i could hear the songs and commentaries whenever i want to without the necessity of a vcr. This is a must have for any PJ fan, for it gives an insight into the involvement of the band in making a record, and the recording process of the whole thing. Its also like a mini interview. Plus there are a coule of tracks (or maybe improvisations) in here, that you will not be able to get aywhere else. In fact these outtakes or improvs are cool and make you wish they made a whole song out of them. This video ROCKS!
Rating: Summary: Cool live stuff Review: This is a great video, if only for the fact that it finally gives us fans who haven't seen Pearl Jam in concert a chance to see how the band works live. There's not really that much valuable conversation with the band; they touch on a couple of the themes they wanted to pursue on "Yield," but mainly, the focus of this video is the performances. The live stuff is cool, and it's interesting to see how the band members interact with each other in the studio. Also, the live variations of the songs are a little different, and it's cool to compare those to the final products on "Yield." They play every song except "Pilate" and "Push Me, Pull Me"; not real losses there, as those are some of the less interesting songs. The renditions of "Wishlist" and "In Hiding" are emotional and thrilling; but the greatest moment of the video is the performance of "Do the Evolution" at the end. Vedder's style comes through on this performance - which, in fact, is rare on this video. But overall, this video is thoroughly entertaining, as anything with live Pearl Jam would be.
Rating: Summary: It's Eddie...that's really enough. Review: I reviewed this DVD before. And then, like the 8-track, it disappeared. This video is great. But there have been superior PJ-DVD performances released since this one that should be considered. But I really don't care...I mean, I'm am a PJ fan from the word "Go". Entertainment really doesn't get much better than this band. And if you've stumbled across this, you already know what I'm talking about. This isn't selling a plastic rotisserie oven at 3:00 am...this band needs no marketing. This isn't an infomercial for car wax, where the English-accent sporting guy lights up the hood of an old American muscle car with a lighter...this is solid.Eddie shines in this DVD...and so does the rest of the band. Granted, navigation in this thing is horrible. You have to fast-forward to the tracks you want to see/hear. But you really can't blame them (PJ) for not making it easier. This is still my favorite band...and probaly always will be. And it's really a pretty simple equation for me...character. This band has 10X the amount of most...pure character, through and through. Content, depth, no "wardrobe malfunctions" like during the Super Bowl, just genuine, serious lyrics accompanied by equally serious tunes. If you want solid PJ, pick this one up, you won't be disappointed. Sure, you'll curse the navigation, but Eddie will never make it easy for us. It's like trying to open a brand new DVD...you're going to sweat it a little bit. And you might suffer a laceration or two. But ultimately, you'll be happy. I love this band, and I love this DVD. I really couldn't care less about the inexcusable navigation...it's a small price to pay. Eddie et al, served it up, and I bought...hook, line, and sinker. And I've been revisiting it ever since. Peace, Phil Hoolehan
Rating: Summary: Something Better than PJ's Single Video Review: This is not just another narcissistic music video catalogue but an attempt to capture creativity and it is done artfully revealing some of the inner churnings of a band that is semi-elusive compared to their popularity, Pearl Jam. What is surprising to me about ?Single Video Theory? is that it captures the ?everyday-ness? of the band members as they struggle and revel in the creation of their 5th studio album, ?Yield? And in that everyday-ness we are surprised to find that they come off as everyday people, albeit immensely talented rage rockers at that, but we are brought into the ?ordinary? of an ?extraordinary? band. What's truly great in the interspersed nature of band interviews, improvs you don't hear on the record, versions of the songs in their early stages (also not on the record), and the pure love for music and creativity that comes across. PJ's best drummer to date (and their has been a few) Jack Irons soaks his arm in a vat of ice as he recoups to once again spread rhythmic intricacies across the skins. Eddie and Stone Gossard go back and forth about who does the e-bow in "Wishlist" and meanwhile we as viewers and fans have a window to the inception of songs. It is truly an irreplaceable experience. This DVD shows the band at their peak. It doesn't feature some of the quirks of most DVD's like individual chapters or extras, but it does reveal the studio essence of the band...like an inside window to the soul for the opening band to the sun ever evolving.
Rating: Summary: It's an emotionally drenched look at the way pj makes music! Review: well of coures i was exited about the video, because i'm such a die hard fan, i really did'nt know what to expect, but after the amazing rendition of wishlist and the conflicts between the band members on how to finish the song was a rare upclose look of the bands chemistry and how they fabricate thier music, the interviews were a little abstract, but their main message came across loud and clear,and that message is, we are happy with what our position in the music world and we are happy with what we are doing, and the mainstream media can go fuck themselves!!!!! but mostly the video concentrates on the live sessions, it's just another great fabrication, from one the most well known bands in the world If your a Pearl JAM fan you should defenitlly buy this video!
Rating: Summary: 4.5 stars. 1st official video release Review: who am i kidding? if you're a PJ fan, you already have this album. if you're not, what i say in this review aint going to change a thing. for the fans out there: well, i was just like the rest of you when i heard about this release. outright giddy. PJ ducking exposure all these years and not much media coverage about them, it was a pleasant surprise when they annouced this video release along with their album, yield. being that i was sorta tired of all the unofficial bootleg videos, i wanted something professionally shot, something with a clear view of the band. and we got that and more. this video gave us fans much insight into the recording of yield, jampacked with interviews from the 4 members and the beloved jack irons. why not five stars? well, if you are comparing it to other music dvds out there, then by far, this is a five-star product. if you are comparing this to other pj dvds, then it falls a bit short. this dvd contains no extras and runs less than an hour.
Rating: Summary: Very, very good -- but not great. Review: This is simply a must-have for all Pearl Jam fans. It offers a rare glimpse into the band's practice studio, while also providing interviews with each band member talking about PJ's musical evolution from Ten to Yield. A bit lacking in length and depth, it nonetheless impresses with the musical renditions of some of Yield's best songs, in addition to a new musical interlude. The interviews themselves are a bit empty, but nevertheless the video shines as a whole, and leaves you wanting more. It's a shame that the Australian bootleg CD was removed from the package, and I've yet to see a store that publicly honors (if at all) the rumored deal for a free CD with the purchase of the video, but still a solid buy. I highly recommend it for even a casual fan. END
Rating: Summary: great but too short Review: well I should've given it 4 stars because it's brilliant but too short.But I just can't help it when it comes to PJ.I can't get enough of PJ and I never get tired of them.I have a band myself so it was a great thing to see the masterminds at work from the inside. And you can see it here that they are same as everyone else..they argue, they have problems communicating with each other..just like in my band..but of course they have greater talent and skills and you can see it on this great DVD.Another flaw of this dvd in my opinion is that it isn't made in chapters but I can understand that they see it as whole and didn't want to divide it.The music is of course great and it has the atmosphere you can hear on the Yield album plus the songs are in a bit different versions (my favourite Wishlist isn't edited) It is great musically and it also has great camerawork. There few funny moments but I won't tell you, you just have to buy...it's worth the money.I watch it almost once a week I got so addicted:)It's really great for causal music fan and (especially) for PJ fan.keep on rockin' in the free world!peace
Rating: Summary: pure genius Review: this is a great dvd from a supremely talented band this is music at its best.thank god for the nineties.this dvd is highly recommended.
Rating: Summary: Feels like VHS. Review: I'm gonna say this: This is a good little featurette. It's nice to have this notoriously press-shy band sharing their views on the creative process and how they work together. It's cool. It's definetly better than Metallica's awful DVD included in their latest record. It's definetly interesting to watch the band rehearse, and there are some versions of the songs in here that are actually quite better than the versions on the album Yield ("In Hiding", Wishlist", "All Those Yesterdays"). But still... there's a problem with this. It's way too short. It's about 45 minutes long which is hardly worth the price of the DVD. Plus, with NO chapter stops (what a pain in the neck to have to fast-forward through just to hear the (excellent) rendition of "Lowlight" at the tail end of the video) and NO menus, this feels like you're watching a VHS tape. The sound quality is good, and the visuals are great, but it's just too little content. This would've been a great add-on to the Yield record. But sadly, this was 1998, and that wasn't a common practice then.
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