Pearl Jam releases CD of B-side gems

CD REVIEW

Every once in a while a band will come along with enough energy to over-create, that is, to make so much music it would dilute the overall presence of the music if everything was released at the pace at which it's created.

After 13 years as a band, one of the last bastions of Seattle's grunge-rock era, Pearl Jam, has finally gotten around to releasing a collection of B-sides, outtakes and rarities sure to please even casual fans of the group.

Spanning the band's entire career, the 31-song, double-disc set is a good mix of new, old, unreleased and well-known tunes.

Also included is a nifty little booklet that gives the listener some background information on each song.

In the liner notes for "Down," an outtake from the "Riot Act" sessions, lead singer Ed Vedder says, "This one suffered from the 'one thing is not like the others' syndrome."

But the syndrome he's talking about is what makes this such a great collection of songs.

The die-hard fans get treated to revampings of underground favorites like "Dirty Frank," "Wash" and "Black, Red and Yellow."

And the casual listener will be impressed with songs like "Yellow Ledbetter" and "Footsteps," being left to wonder how these songs ever became B-sides in the first place -- both were released with "Jeremy."

Add to that mix a few unheard gems like "Undone" from the "Vs." sessions and "Fatal," a song good enough to have been a single from "Binaural," and most rock 'n' roll fans will be thoroughly satisfied.

A complaint or two before I start receiving royalty checks from Sony. I understand including "Last Kiss," as it was, sadly, PJ's highest-reaching commercial release ever, peaking at No. 2 on Billboards Hot 100.

But if we're taking cover songs into consideration (see also: "Leaving Here") what about "Crazy Mary" and "Sonic Reducer," both which had been previously recorded?

And if we're lucky enough to get "Hard to Imagine" from the "Chicago Cab" soundtrack and "Dead Man" from the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack, then we should be able to expect two of the best PJ tunes ever in "State of Love and Trust" and "Breath" from the Singles soundtrack.

Personally, I think PJ would have been better off releasing a three-disc set so collectors could have access to anything and everything out there. I mean, "Olympic Platinum" is hilarious and deserves to be heard by the general public.

Overall though, the mood flows well for each disc. The first starts out hard and heavy with "All Night," from "No Code," and before ending with the one- time-only performance of "Bee Girl," fans are taken from the beach ("Gremmie Out of Control") to a Social Distortion show ("Down") to a photography session with Dennis Rodman ("Black, Red, Yellow").

Well, "Bee Girl" isn't the last song on the album, but I'll let Mr. Vedder's tribute to Alice In Chains' lead singer Layne Staley, "4/20/02" speak for itself.

"So sing just like him, it won't offend him, just me, because he's dead."