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I Choose To Feel

A Pearl Jam Song Countdown (2000 and Beyond)

by Benjamin Ray

By the dawn of the new century, Pearl Jam had transitioned into the second phase of their career. Grunge and alt-rock was done. Drummer Jack Irons (the third drummer in the ’90s for the band) had left after 1998’s Yield. The band had hit with a cover of the oldie “Last Kiss” in 1999, but the question remained: what now?

The survival strategy turned out to be twofold: Embrace a classic rock sound/style and approach touring like a jam band. Rather than innovate—for the most part—the band would hone a specific sound of earnest rock, occasionally juiced up with hints of punk, and still with the moody yet beating heart that makes the band so beloved. They would embark on long tours that attracted loyal crowds and change up the setlist every night to stay fresh. Albums became less frequent and less vital, because the live show had become the draw—whether it be the Binaural tour that saw all 72 shows released, playing a benefit at Benaroya Hall, playing the Apollo, playing Wrigley Field in the wake of the Cubs’ World Series win, or playing a Fresno show with original drummer Dave Krusen as a one-off treat.

Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, who had briefly worked with members of Pearl Jam in Temple of the Dog to record some demos in 1990, joined as the permanent drummer in 1998 on the Yield tour after Irons left.  Eddie Vedder has called him the best drummer on the planet; Mike McCready has said that Cameron turned Pearl Jam into a better band. Certainly, their longevity would bear that out.

This ranking will look at every Pearl Jam song released from the year 2000 forward, looking not only at the six albums released in the last 23 years but the Lost Dogs compilation tracks and stray singles. For those interested, check out my other Pearl Jam ranking essay here, which provides a comprehensive overview of the band’s work in the 1990s.

104. “Wasted Reprise,” Pearl Jam: Not really a song, just Eddie singing part of “Life Wasted” over a solo organ, just to clear the decks for the final few songs on the album.

103. “Arc,” Riot Act: A minute of solo Eddie wailing. Kind of annoying, but interesting only to show that a) he could do more with his voice than critics gave him credit for, and b) it appears to lay the groundwork for his excellent solo Into The Wild soundtrack five years later.

102-93. The 2019 fan club singles:

               “History Never Repeats”
               “Gimme Some Truth”
               “Love, Reign O’er Me”
               “Santa Cruz”
               “Falling Down”
               “Santa God”
               “Jingle Bells”
               “Angel”
               “Don’t Believe In Christmas”
               “Someday At Christmas”

I don’t really know what was going on here. I’m thinking these were all recorded during the very long delay between 2013’s Lightning Bolt and 2020’s Gigaton and all released on Spotify around the same time. But I don’t know why. The Christmas songs are just awkward and I think each one was also probably a Lifetime movie at some point. The Who cover is expectedly fine, but that’s about it. For completists only; none of these are songs you would ever play to convince anyone to like Pearl Jam.

92. “Bu$hleaguer,” Riot Act: It was inevitable that the band would record a protest song during the Iraq war and the Bush administration, but this was not the way to do it. Vedder mumbles in the corner snarky lines like “Born on third / Thinks he hit a triple” and the song, such as it is, just falls apart. I’m no Bush apologist, but the best protest songs stand the test of time even as they are of the moment, and this is just cranky and smug.

91. “Parachutes,” Pearl Jam: Stilted time changes, Vedder singing in a high register, and general aimlessness? This is irritating as hell.

90. “Alright,” Pearl Jam: Overly precious yet also dull.

89. “Olé,” single: This was the only new Pearl Jam released between Backspacer and Lightning Bolt, and it was… confusing, as I recall. Vedder shouts, then tries to cram in too many words, then repeats himself, and says Olé a lot, and you just want it to stop. The nervy energy of the band is in full force, I suppose; as an instrumental this would have been more fun.

88. “Grievance,” Binaural: Somehow, this one was nominated for a Grammy, proof that whoever runs that organization doesn’t know shit. So many better PJ songs exist, and this awkward number gets the nod? Ugh.

87. “Rival,” Binaural: Not sure what this is other than annoying. It’s sort of a rock waltz, with some bar-band piano, but it’s the sort of boozy that you feel when you’ve had just one too many, not the fun boozy where you’ve had just enough that everything is awesome.

86-84. “Amongst The Waves,” Backspacer; “Big Wave,” Pearl Jam; “Swallowed Whole,” Lightning Bolt: Eddie Vedder likes to surf. There, saved you 11 minutes.

83. “Yellow Moon,” Lightning Bolt: Not enough here to warrant repeated listens; it blends into the background.

82. “Sleeping By Myself,” Lightning Bolt: I’d be surprised if anyone in the band had input on this besides Eddie, as it sounds like the earnest from-the-heart music that shows up in his solo work. It’s just not a fit for the whole band, and it gets a bit corny after a while.

81. “Sweet Lew,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): Admittedly, this is not a good song. The computer blips, Jeff’s off-key spoken words and a lack of structure automatically doom it to an oddity that only the faithful will enjoy, and probably not even then. It’s Ament’s “Temporary Secretary,” if you will. But lyrically, there’s an effective story about disappointment when meeting your childhood heroes; the Lew in the title is better known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and we all know how much Pearl Jam loved basketball. They say don’t meet your heroes; Jeff Ament did, and wrote about it.

80. “Soon Forget,” Binaural: I’ve never been a big fan of Vedder and his ukelele, and so this short number seems indulgent and crude, as it’s just the singer crooning about how useless and greedy the rich are.

79. “Sleight Of Hand,” Binaural: A case of sound over substance. I’ll bet this was fun to record in the cool new sound system, but the song is a slow fever dream with too much production, cool as it sounds at the time.

78. “Ghost,” Riot Act: Can’t get too excited about this one. McCready tries to save it with some guitar heroics, but the song doesn’t warrant it.

77. “Come Back,” Pearl Jam: Sappy, slow, maybe an attempt at a torch or blues song, but not pulling it off.

76. “All Or None,” Riot Act: A rather dull album closer, though the chorus is good.

75. “Future Days,” Lightning Bolt: A touching elegy for a friend of Eddie’s who drowned. Not especially memorable, but moving.

74. “Help Help,” Riot Act: Pearl Jam by numbers. Nothing much to recommend here.

73. “Force of Nature,” Backspacer: See #74.

72. “Cropduster,” Riot Act: See #74.

71. “Buckle Up,” Gigaton: See #74.

70-69. “Need To Know” and “Be Like Wind,” PJ20: This is sort of cheating, I guess, because this is just a demo, but these are the only songs from the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s excellent documentary that hadn’t already been released in another form. They’re interesting curios to show the band working; the former is an early take on “The Fixer” and the latter is a moody solo McCready guitar figure.

68. “In The Moonlight,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): Having Matt Cameron join the band rejuvenated the songwriting; there were more finished tracks left off this album than any album since Ten. But this is one of Cameron’s rare lesser offerings as a songwriter; the blues riff is new to the band, but Vedder’s mumbling and a general feeling of “meh” permeates. McCready’s solo even fades out halfway through as the song ends, and that’s just not cool.

67. “Thin Air,” Binaural: Vedder mumbles his way through this one, and then it ends, and nothing is different.

66. “Retrograde,” Gigaton: See #74. I’m sorry to be repetitive, but there’s a fair amount of latter-day Pearl Jam that’s just dull.

65. “Other Side,” Lost Dogs (“Save You” B-side): Jeff Ament wrote this acoustic piece about longing for your partner, whether you’re alone in the city or whether he/she has passed on. The chorus is sung a bit awkwardly but the verses are rather touching.

64-63. “Lightning Bolt,” Lightning Bolt and “Take The Long Way,” Gigaton:  I don’t have any opinions on these songs. They come and go.

62. “Life Wasted,” Pearl Jam: A lot of energy went into this song, in an attempt to shake off the cobwebs and ennui that cluttered half of Riot Act four years prior. It’s fine musically, but Vedder ruins it with his overdriven vocals in the verses, and the chorus is lacking.

61. “4/20/02,” Lost Dogs (Riot Act outtake): A gut cry and elegy all at once for Layne Staley, the former singer of Alice In Chains and a Seattle contemporary of the band who died of an overdose, but not before influencing many bands who followed (Godsmack, et al). As a song, it’s not especially great, but it wasn’t meant to be, as Vedder has something to get off his chest: “So all you fools who sing just like him / Feel free to do so now, because he’s dead… So sing just like him, fuckers / It won’t offend him, just me.”

60. “Evacuation,” Binaural: A sort of attempt to meld the sound of Vitalogy and Yield, not altogether successful. Proof that the band had moved on from the past, but that’s about it.

59. “Parting Ways,” Binaural: Not a compelling song, but a necessary one, in light of Eddie’s breakup with his partner Beth around this time. The viola at the end is a lovely touch.

58. “Never Destination,” Gigaton: A fun, if derivative, rave-up.

57. “Undone,” Lost Dogs (“I Am Mine” B-side): Left off of Riot Act, and for good reasons: It’s bright, pleasant and unnecessary.

56. “Can’t Deny Me,” single: Released in 2018 and originally intended for Gigaton but rightfully shelved, as its overly strident sound wouldn’t have fit. It’s a protest tune against gun violence and was something of a modern rock hit; too raw and shouty to endure, but something the band needed to say after the Parkland shooting. It’s refreshing to see that passion after all these years; it’s why we love these guys.

55 “Army Reserve,” Pearl Jam: The band was no stranger to writing songs from a female point of view, one of the few big-name rock bands who ever bothered to do that. This one tells a brief story of a mom whose husband is away at war and who has to continue to reassure her children that Dad is OK and is coming home, even if she knows that may not be true.

54. “Of The Girl,” Binaural: A subdued number, a little too warm and chill, perhaps, but something different.

53. “Unthought Known,” Backspacer: Rather average in its verse, but exploding into a triumphant chorus, with lyrics about what we are actually doing with our lives, and what we can experience when we break out of our self-imposed limited thoughts.

52. “My Father’s Son,” Lightning Bolt: This is the flip side of “Man Of The Hour,” an excoriation (whether personal or universal) of an absentee and/or subpar father. “Now father you're dead and gone and I'm finally free to be me / Thanks for all your dark gifts for which I've got no sympathy,” growls Eddie, and he means it.

51. “Fatal,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): A solo Stone Gossard write, performed with pathos by Eddie; it’s hard to discern the meaning from the somewhat oblique lyrics, but many fans interpret is as being about an affair.

50. “Hitchhiker,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): Gotta love a song that starts out with Vedder shouting “You fool!,” but this one just sort of chugs along. Surprised that Vedder wrote it solo, as it has Jeff Ament all over it, at least to me. The off-the-rails breakdown in the middle is interesting, though.

49. “Get It Back,” single: Released in late 2020, several months after Gigaton, as part of a voting rights effort. It’s solid, especially in the choruses. You can usually count on a Matt Cameron song like that.

48-47. “Get Right” and “Green Disease,” Riot Act: Two short pop-rockers with some great staccato drumming from Cameron.

46. “Down,” Lost Dogs (“I Am Mine” B-side): Nothing terribly memorable about this one, just a fun rave-up with a solid solo.

45. “Marker In The Sand,” Pearl Jam: Solid, if unremarkable, and Vedder’s yelping gets old.

44. “Gonna See My Friend,” Backspacer: Much like Binaural nine years prior, Backspacer opened with three quick blasts of punk-meets-Who rock blasts. The song’s energy is just fine, kickstarting the shortest Pearl Jam album, but Vedder’s singing is almost desperate, compared to the natural fire in the similarly-felt “World Wide Suicide” three years prior, and it’s a detriment here.

43. “1/2 Full,” Riot Act: This one could have been better; the snarling guitar opener portends attitude, and Vedder sort of tries, but it doesn’t come together in the way McCready intended it to.

42. “Comatose,” Pearl Jam: Every PJ album has to have one of these, a nervy punk song where Vedder yelps about something. It’s a grand tradition extending from “Leash” to “Spin The Black Circle” to “Do The Evolution” to here.

41. “Getaway,” Lightning Bolt: The band’s 10th album starts off with this decent offering, a consolidation of strengths.

40. “Johnny Guitar,” Backspacer: A character study, evidently inspired by an album cover Vedder saw, and little more than a fun rocker.

39. “Superblood Wolfmoon,” Gigaton: An upbeat romp. Cameron drums the heck out of it.

38. “Supersonic,” Backspacer: A ferocious rave-up, Ramones energy meets Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” with an off-kilter guitar solo skronking around the middle.

37. “River Cross,” Gigaton: A solemn piece driven by slow organ and occasional drumming. Eddie sings the hell out of it, repeating “Won’t hold us down” like a mantra. To me, there’s a throughline from a young Eddie singing “I’m still alive” to a wised-up mature Eddie singing “Can’t hold us down.”

36. “The End,” Backspacer: A lovely song (strings and acoustic guitar only) about growing old, told from the viewpoint of someone dying (maybe from dementia, or another terminal illness). The song definitely resonates more with each passing year, especially with the chilling hard stop after Vedder’s final lyric (“I’m here, but not much longer”).

35. “Comes Then Goes,” Gigaton: An inspired acoustic ballad that acts an elegy for Chris Cornell, who had taken his own life before the recording. Even more than Layne Staley, the band felt Cornell’s death. Vedder found himself the only one standing from the “Big Four” (five, if you count STP), and fans were half-joking that people needed to check on him.

34. “Unemployable,” Pearl Jam: Great slice of life tune—some say Springsteenesque—about a blue-collar man losing his job and lying awake at night, thinking about his unpaid bills, getting up to smoke even though he hates it, and realizing his life is “sacrifice… was a dream that had to die.”

33. “The Fixer,” Backspacer: Only two PJ songs were nominated for Grammys from the year 2000 forward; this is the second, and better one (the first was “Grievance,” and don’t get me started). This one is almost pop-rock, Eddie accenting the third word of each verse by swooping it up an octave, and a general positive vibe.

32. “Education,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): A fine Vedder-penned song with a sort of mystical gypsy feeling and some notable vocal gymnastics; McCready, as usual, crushes in his brief solo. In an alternate universe, this one and “Sad” (coming later on this list) would have appeared on Binaural in place of some of the duller tracks, and perhaps the album would have been better received by the faithful.

31. “Mind Your Manners,” Lightning Bolt: As noted elsewhere, every album needs its short punk-rock song, just to prove the guys can still do it, and to provide a little juice to the slate of midtempo tunes that fill the rest of the albums. This one is as good as the others, particularly the bridge and solo.

30. “Seven O’Clock,” Gigaton: A much more effective protest song than the others higher up on this list, with some of Eddie’s most complex lyrics. It’s a potent jab at Trump (“Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, they forged the north and west / Then you’ve got Sitting Bullshit as our sitting president”), but that’s only a brief reference (and could apply to any president, really, for whom you are not a fan). The song concerns fighting for what you believe in even if the powers that be are actively trying to take it from you. Which would never happen in America, of course.

29. “Sirens,” Lightning Bolt: While in a hotel room on tour, Vedder heard some sirens out his window, and it got him thinking about the fragility of life… wondering if those sirens were coming for him. The resulting lyric is a great one about holding on to what matters because you’re afraid to lose it; it’s also proven to be one of the band’s biggest hits, racking up 88 million (!) listens on Spotify.

28. “Let The Records Play,” Lightning Bolt: This one is somewhat divisive among fans, but I think its chunky riffage and joy of music is addictive fun. It’s a dad-rock update on “Spin The Black Circle” from two decades prior. Life got you down? Have a drink and put on your favorite album.

27. “Love Boat Captain,” Riot Act: During the Binaural tour, at the Roskilde festival in Denmark, nine people were trampled to death while the band played. Eddie had asked the crowd to step back, but they continued to surge forward throughout the show, and at one point he had to stop the music and implore everyone to take one step back. Then again. Then again. And when there was space, there were nine bodies on the ground who didn’t move. Eddie fell to his knees in horror. This song (co-written by new band member and keyboardist Boom Gaspar) attempts to honor their memory: “Lost nine friends we'll never know, two years ago today / And if our lives became too long, would it add to our regret?” (Note: For obvious reasons, this is the only show that was not released from that tour).

26. “Got Some,” Backspacer: Maybe “The Fixer” got the Grammy nod and the airplay, but this is the better song, a surging, unpretentious rocker that gets you pumped. What exactly does Eddie have? No idea. It doesn’t matter.

25. “Severed Hand,” Pearl Jam: A loping, assured rocker, one of the unsung gems from the avocado album.

24. “Who Ever Said,” Gigaton: What starts as a generic Pearl Jam song gives way into a completely different song halfway through, gaining in steam before restating the main theme. It’s a condensed epic, not something the band often attempts, and it’s a very good song.

23. “Infallible,” Lightning Bolt: A great minor-key descending riff drives this song about mankind’s blind belief that we’re indestructible. Some interpret this as a call to action on climate change, some to refusing to change one’s ways in a relationship (I’m right, she’s wrong); interpret it how you like, since it applies to most people in some way or another. (Except my wife, who, if she’s reading this, is always right.)

22. “Can’t Keep,” Riot Act: There’s a warm, burnished sound to Riot Act that was also present on Binaural and that envelop the listener like a hug, the only Pearl Jam albums to do this (No Code was similar in spots, but too willfully weird). It’s a song about breaking away from restrictions, whether they be imposed by others or by a belief that suicide is the only way out; some feel this song was written in response to Elliott Smith’s suicide.

21. “Light Years,” Binaural: More than any other, this song really set the tone for how all future Pearl Jam would sound. It’s classicist rock, with thoughtful lyrics, a confident instrumental midsection and a sense of growing up. That self-assuredness was welcome and wholly deserved.

20. “Gone,” Pearl Jam: A moving ballad about leaving something for good. If you’ve left home, or left a bad relationship, or a job, or moved to a new state, etc., then you’ll feel this one.

19. “I Am Mine,” Riot Act: This is one where Vedder’s murmur actually fits the song, feeling like a conversation with a friend where you leave feeling uplifted.

18. “Man Of The Hour,” single/Big Fish soundtrack: A lovely, moody piece about losing your father and realizing all he did for you. It was written specifically for the movie, but the themes apply universally to any male figure who influenced you when you need it most.

17. “Sad,” Lost Dogs (Binaural outtake): Lost Dogs is one of the great rock odds’n’sods album, with quite a few songs that should have made albums but were relegated to B-sides. There’s a great riff here and a propulsive energy that would have livened up the second half of its parent album, had it appeared. Which it should have, instead of “Rival” or other such nonsense.

16. “Just Breathe,” Backspacer: It took 18 years, but Pearl Jam finally wrote a flat-out love song without sounding cheesy. Eddie’s breaking voice every third word, the absolute sincerity of his delivery and the exquisite music results in a truly moving song.

15. “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” Gigaton: It’s cool, it’s different, there’s a definite vibe that carries the song here, but it’s the final minute that raises this up so high, as Vedder’s voice circles around itself over an electro-pop beat.

13-14. “Breakerfall,” and “God’s Dice,” Binaural: I’ve long sung the praises of Binaural to the unconverted, especially the first half of the album, and these rollicking, brief openers (together, the songs total 4:45) shows a band refocused on the future. With Cameron as permanent drummer, and the band alone among its peers, it was the moment they leaned into the sound that would define their future.

12. “Speed Of Sound,” Backspacer: This song gets under your skin. Maybe it’s the spare, elegant guitar licks that underpin the chorus in lieu of words, maybe it’s Vedder’s lyrics about living with regrets, maybe it’s how Cameron’s drums aren’t in the normal 4/4 time, maybe it’s the overall melancholic feel.

11. “I Believe In Miracles,” single and/or Live At Benaroya Hall: The band had played this Ramones cover live and electric, and it was fine. But then in 2003 they slowed it down and made it acoustic at the benefit Benaroya show, and the song took on vibrant new life. The hopeful lyrics don’t really fit with an electric and/or punk ethos; Vedder sings this the way it should have been sung, imbuing his trademark earnestness into “I used to be on an endless run / Believed in miracles ’cause I’m one / I have been blessed with the power to survive / After all these years, I’m still alive.” That it called back to one of the band’s early alternative anthems may have been a happy accident; either way, it felt like a continuation of life and hope. A single live acoustic version, from a different show, was also released in 2019, but the Benaroya one is the one to seek out.

10. “Of The Earth,” non-album live track: Perhaps this is cheating, because this song has never been released in any format; I’ve only ever heard it on Pearl Jam’s SiriusXM satellite channel. But man, is it worth finding, because McCready just goes off. The man has only gotten better with age as a guitar player and this one allows him and the band a long jam session that just sweeps up the listener. Maybe it wouldn’t work in the studio, like most jam bands, but it’s easily one of the best songs the guys have performed in the last two decades.

9. “Thumbing My Way,” Riot Act: A beautiful acoustic piece about getting back to someone or something that you love, that holds your heart, even if it takes a while. It’s an open road piece—thumbing is an allusion to hitchhiking—that should accompany any journey.

8. “Nothing As It Seems,” Binaural: Expansive, moody and compelling, this is the band’s space rock moment, and an expansion of their capabilities as they settled into their second phase. Bassist Jeff Ament played an upright bass, McCready added a distortion pedal but faded so as not to overpower the song (until his excellent solo) and the band realized it had something cool and different and released this as the first single from the new album. Further enhancing the brooding atmosphere are Ament’s lyrics, concerning his childhood in Montana; it’s opaque, and even Ament later admitted that it was fragments of something darker from his past that he couldn’t quite verbalize.

7. “Pendulum,” Lightning Bolt: A gorgeous song about depression, or at least the lows and highs of life, with some of Eddie’s best vocal work of his career. He’s only grown into a better singer with each passing year; his holding of the note on the word “ago” could break your heart.

6. “Save You,” Riot Act: A double-tracked monster riff and Cameron’s cavernous drums propel this song, ferocious but not in the faux-punk-scream way that the band would later adopt when they were trying to rock (“Mind Your Manners,” etc.). The live wire in the song is driven by the lyrics, which are an annoyed, pleading shout to those friends who live self-destructive lives. “I’m not living this life with you, I’m selfish and clear / And you’re not leaving here without me,” Eddie sings. “Fuck me if I care, but I’m not leaving here / You helped me when I was down, I’ll help you when you’re down / Why are you hitting yourself / Come on, hit me instead.”

5. “You Are,” Riot Act: A vastly underrated track, and proof of Matt Cameron’s songwriting skills (as alluded to at the top of this essay). There’s a mechanical feel to it, enhanced by guitars everywhere, which McCready and Gossard set to a delay so each note vibrates past its initial sound. It’s a cool effect and many fans consider it among the best, if not the best, track on the disc. (Bitchspork, that other music review site, barely mentioned it in their ass-backward take on the disc, which tracks). 

4. “World Wide Suicide,” Pearl Jam: An anti-war track that came along at just the right time, and the most energetic and cutting song since probably 1998’s “Do the Evolution.” It’s a surging blast of energy that calls out those who send soldiers to far-off lands to die, nothing more, nothing less.

3. “Quick Escape,” Gigaton: Cameron’s drums drive this spacious, confident rocker about the joy of traveling, especially with people you like. There’s a brief swipe at Trump, which is quickly forgotten with the wordless backing vocals behind Eddie and, to close the piece, McCready’s best solo on record in over a decade. Like “Alive,” it’s a moment you don’t want to end, and it really kicks the song up a notch or six, particularly when he and Cameron are dueling each other.

2. “Insignificance,” Binaural: A crashing, dramatic rocker, and an ominous look at how humans cause the destruction of others without even knowing it. Specifically, Eddie would later say this was referring to Boeing, headquartered in Seattle (“forgive our hometown”), the aerospace company that helped make weapons of war (“bombs dropping down” and “human tide rolls in”), and those same factory workers who then went to the bar on the weekends to drink and listen to music and consume without thinking about the effects of their actions. But it’s not as didactic as that sounds and it’s so easy to get caught up the sweep of the music that it takes a minute for that message to sink in.

1. “Inside Job,” Pearl Jam:Eddie wears his heart on sleeve. It’s why we love this band. And I grant you that rock and roll is this band’s DNA, but emotion is interwoven into the music and lyrics just as much as slashing guitars and old-school punk-meets-classic rock ethos. This song is stunning, opening with a long piano/acoustic guitar duet that sets the mood before Vedder’s murmured, almost offhand vocals, which eventually explode into the full band at just the right time. It’s a song of hope, ultimately: “How I choose to feel / Is how I am / I will not lose my faith / It’s an inside job, today,” Vedder sings, with passion, with the music then shifting to a major key. McCready gets a triumphant guitar solo to close the seven-minute song, and you have the finest piece of music the band has recorded in the last 23 years.