Pearl Jam ‘Ten’ Re-release

Posted in Pearl Jam. Written by Albert Costill on January 10th, 2009

As probably many of you have heard, Pearl Jam will be re-releasing their 1991 debut album Ten on March 24, 2009. The band will be re-releasing the album in four different formats, basically ranging from a package for the causal fan to a package for the uber die hard PJ fan who is willing to go bankrupt for the band.

Here’s how the packages will differ, courtesy of Pearl Jam’s official site.

1. Legacy Edition (2-disc set in mini-LP style slipcase):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· Re-designed packaging

2. Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD specially designed hardbound package):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of “Oceans” with 5.1 surround sound audio remix

3. Vinyl Collection (2-LP set)
· LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
· LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien

4. Super Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD, 4 LPs and replica cassette in linen-covered, slip-cased clamshell box):
· Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
· Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: “Brother,” “Just a Girl,” “State of Love and Trust,” “Breath and a Scream,” “2,000 Mile Blues” and “Evil Little Goat”
· DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of “Oceans” with 5.1 surround sound audio remix
· LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
· LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien
· LP 3 & 4: Drop in the Park – Live at Magnuson Park in Seattle on September 20, 1992 (audio mixed by Brendan O’Brien)
· Cassette: replica of original “Momma-Son” Pearl Jam demo cassette featuring “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps”
· Package also includes an Eddie Vedder-style composition notebook filled with replica personal notes, images and mementos from the collections of Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament, a vellum envelope with replicated era-specific ephemera from Pearl Jam’s early work and a two-sided print commemorating the Drop in the Park concert.

I can’t wait until March 24, and drop the $140 for the Super Deluxe Edition!

But re-releasing Ten isn’t enough, as the band is doing some pretty cool (although not revolutionary) gimmicks for fans to enjoy.

For one, Ten will be coming to Rock Band as a download on March 24. While “Alive” was enough to hold us over, having the entire album on there to jam out to will be a blast. Man, I can’t wait to belt out “Porch”.

The second thing that the band is doing is teaming up with Verizon, the guys already teamed up with Verizon during their brief 2008 tour for some bootlegs. Basically each week Verizon subscribers will be to purchase tracks Ten. This will begin on January 13 with “Once” and will continue for 10 consecutive weeks, that’s clever. Fans can also get the videos for “Jeremy”, “Alive”, “Even Flow”, and “Oceans”, as well as, ring tones and ringback tunes.

OK, still with me?

Ten will be the first re-release in the Pearl Jam catalog, as the band will re-release all of their albums in time to celebrate their 20th Anniversary in 2011.

So what can we expect for future re-releases?

I have a strong suspicion that the other re-releases won’t be as expansive as Ten. I think the guys want to begin with a bang and will then settle down a bit.

I wouldn’t expect anymore remastered albums. The band wanted to deconstruct Ten for a long time. In fact, they had Brendan O’Brien remix “Black”, “Once” and “Alive” for their greatest hits package in 2004.

However, I can see second discs filled with unreleased tracks and demos. While Lost Dogs was great, their were a lot of rarities left off. And, these were the tracks that fans actually are aware of, who knows what PJ has hidden away. Then there are demos that fans would love to have a clean version of, like “Better Man” from the Vs. sessions.

I also think that DVD’s will keep rolling out. Pearl Jam are known for their epic performances and they’ve had some legendary gigs that fans still rave about. How cool would it be to have a DVD of the band’s performance during their Atlanta or Boston shows in ‘94? They could also throw in their performances from Letterman or SNL.

Finally, vinyls are a must. Some vinyls, like Ten, are fairly easy for fans to pick up. But, the vinyls for No Code, Yield and Binaural are a bit harder to find, or more expensive. Just make it easy for everyone and have the vinyls re-released as well.

Image via Wikipedia