Here’s where I should probably say something like "break out the flannel!" but I never put it away. So join me, fellow grunge lifers, in celebrating today’s announcement that Pearl Jam is giving Ten the royal reissue treatment, releasing four different versions in varying degrees of complexity on March 24, 2009. This is a no-brainer purchase, as far as I’m concerned; the only question is, just how big of a fan am I? There’s a vinyl version, which I can’t buy cause I gots no record player. There’s the "Legacy Edition," which gets me the remastered record, producer Brendan O’Brien’s remix of the original tracks, and some bonus songs. There’s the "Deluxe Edition," which throws in a DVD of the band’s MTV Unplugged show. Or there’s the "Super Deluxe Edition," featuring a head-popping number of goodies including a replica of an old PJ demo cassette and one of Ed’s ever-present composition notebooks.
When I got my first CD player, Ten was the first disc I bought. I believe I purchased it from the Columbia House Record and Tape Company, before they figured out I had like seven accounts under a number of pseudonyms and shut my little scam down. I still have that CD. I need a new copy. This could not be better timed. And yeah, I’m not even ashamed to admit the "Super Deluxe Edition" is the one I want.
Check out the full details here as you join me and EW.com editor Mike Bruno in reliving our teenage years with some tunes. We wanted to embed the video for "Even Flow," but it’s been disabled upon request; instead, please enjoy this live performance from 1991. Especially the hats. Let’s all take a minute to enjoy those hats.
Well paint me pearl and jam me in the ear… best news I have heard all year!
See the complex rhyming schemes I took from my life long enfatuation with Pearl Jam???
Yeah… me neither!
this brings editions to a whole new level.
i mean, yeah some DVD have like The Dark Knight has like 5 editions, but thats a DVD. but for a CD, well they might some mighty bucks i tell you that.
that vinyl one sounds interesting.
I am stoked to get the ‘Deluxe Edition’ with the DVD of ‘Unplugged’!
I feel that my flannel has always been at arms length. This is great news. Hail to Pearl Jam! Hopefully a tour is soon to follow of the Ten standards.
I have many favorite movies, and many favorite TV shows, but my all time favorite album/cassette/CD is without a doubt Pearl Jam’s TEN. Pearl Jam Rocks! Eddie is the best lyrist ever!
Of the top selling debut albums of all time, it must be said that only one of those artists has shown true staying power:
Alanis Morrisette, Hootie, Boston, Guns N Roses (R.I.P.)…
“Ten” earned its place on that list, and Pearl Jam have solidified their place among the top rock bands of all time.
where do we buy it????
What a great album !! Shouldn’t EW feel a little embarrassed that they left this album off their Top 100 albums in the last 25 years ? Yes, I am still bitter about it.
It’s about time that Unplugged sees the light of day, that’s what made me a huge Pearl Jam fan!
I will be “super-deluxing” all the way. “Ten” has never lost its lustre. I still feel the same thrill I did all those years ago whenever I hear a track from it. I love that the band continues to experiment and explore, but it’s hard to top the raw emotion of that first record, the one that made me pledge my undying devotion to Eddie Vedder, after having purchased it on CD at Target–sorry it wasn’t something cooler like The Electric Fetus or some other indie record store. It was a high school graduation present to myself, and I have kept it long after having ditched all the other trappings of 1992.
I’ve never been clear on the idea of “remastering” modern-era CDs. Does this mean that there was some deficiency in the original CD release of “Ten”? I can see remastering stuff recorded on old-as-the-hills analog tapes that was never meant to be digitized in the first place, but how will we benefit from remastering an already clean sounding recording? Just wondering….
Whitney, you dont have to worry, stores where I live are starting to carry record players integrated with CD players and other stuff, and stand alones to hook into your audio receiver. The stores are carrying Sony vinyl sans pj, but have made a merchandising mistake in my mind as the CD’s, vinyl, and record players are all in separate sections of the electronics dept & dont refer one to the other 2, so the experiment could die before it gets really started. Me! I went for the super deluxe too, hope they give us some notice before our credit cards are charged, I only get paid once a month. Hot holy grunge!!
Sandy Aka warmbreath
Actually, it is important to remaster this album. There is a very noticeable “pop” in the bass part on the track “Black”. Almost like they mis-cut the bass track during the editing process. I love the record but this bothered me to no end. I hope they catch it and take it off. Then it will be even better.
Ten was the first CD I ever listened to, Pearl Jam was the first band I ever saw live, and Pearl Jam is the only thing I listen to on solo road trips. Super Deluxe Edition, thank you!
I was so happy about the reissue of Ten…until the year 1991 was mentioned in the article. Christ, am I that old?