Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation
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- Create Date：2022-08-12 07:51:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Steven Hyden
- ISBN：0306826429
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Summary
A leading music journalist’s riveting chronicle of how beloved band Pearl Jam shaped the times， and how their legacy and longevity have transcended generations。
Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album， Ten， they have sold 85M+ albums， performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world， and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame。 In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack Of A Generation， music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life， career， and music of this legendary group， widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time。 Long Road is structured like a mix tape， using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories。 Each chapter tells the tale of this great band — how they got to where they are， what drove them to greatness， and why it matters now。
Much like the generation it emerged from， Pearl Jam is a mass of contradictions。 They were an enormously successful mainstream rock band who felt deeply uncomfortable with the pursuit of capitalistic spoils。 They were progressive activists who spoke in favor of abortion rights and against the Ticketmaster monopoly， and yet they epitomized the sound of traditional， male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll。 They were looked at as spokesmen for their generation， even though they ultimately projected profound confusion and alienation。 They triumphed， and failed， in equal doses — the quintessential Gen-X tale。
Impressive as their stats， accolades， and longevity may be， Hyden also argues that Pearl Jam’s most definitive accomplishment lies in the impact their music had on Generation X as a whole。 Pearl Jam’s music helped an entire generation of listeners connect with the glory of bygone rock mythology， and made it relevant during a period in which tremendous American economic prosperity belied a darkness at the heart of American youth。 More than just a chronicle of the band’s career， this book is also a story about Gen- X itself， who like Pearl Jam came from angsty， outspoken roots and then evolved into an establishment institution， without ever fully shaking off their uncertain， outsider past。 For so many Gen-Xers growing up at the time， Pearl Jam’s music was a beacon that offered both solace and guidance。 They taught an entire generation how to grow up without losing the purest and most essential parts of themselves。
Written with his celebrated blend of personal memoir， criticism， and journalism， Hyden explores Pearl Jam’s path from Ten to now。 It's a chance for new fans and old fans alike to geek out over Pearl Jam minutia—the B-sides， the beloved deep cuts， the concert bootlegs—and explore the multitude of reasons why Pearl Jam’s music resonated with so many people。 As Hyden explains， “Most songs pass through our lives and are swiftly forgotten。 But Pearl Jam is forever。”
Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album， Ten， they have sold 85M+ albums， performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world， and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame。 In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack Of A Generation， music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life， career， and music of this legendary group， widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time。 Long Road is structured like a mix tape， using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories。 Each chapter tells the tale of this great band — how they got to where they are， what drove them to greatness， and why it matters now。
Much like the generation it emerged from， Pearl Jam is a mass of contradictions。 They were an enormously successful mainstream rock band who felt deeply uncomfortable with the pursuit of capitalistic spoils。 They were progressive activists who spoke in favor of abortion rights and against the Ticketmaster monopoly， and yet they epitomized the sound of traditional， male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll。 They were looked at as spokesmen for their generation， even though they ultimately projected profound confusion and alienation。 They triumphed， and failed， in equal doses — the quintessential Gen-X tale。
Impressive as their stats， accolades， and longevity may be， Hyden also argues that Pearl Jam’s most definitive accomplishment lies in the impact their music had on Generation X as a whole。 Pearl Jam’s music helped an entire generation of listeners connect with the glory of bygone rock mythology， and made it relevant during a period in which tremendous American economic prosperity belied a darkness at the heart of American youth。 More than just a chronicle of the band’s career， this book is also a story about Gen- X itself， who like Pearl Jam came from angsty， outspoken roots and then evolved into an establishment institution， without ever fully shaking off their uncertain， outsider past。 For so many Gen-Xers growing up at the time， Pearl Jam’s music was a beacon that offered both solace and guidance。 They taught an entire generation how to grow up without losing the purest and most essential parts of themselves。
Written with his celebrated blend of personal memoir， criticism， and journalism， Hyden explores Pearl Jam’s path from Ten to now。 It's a chance for new fans and old fans alike to geek out over Pearl Jam minutia—the B-sides， the beloved deep cuts， the concert bootlegs—and explore the multitude of reasons why Pearl Jam’s music resonated with so many people。 As Hyden explains， “Most songs pass through our lives and are swiftly forgotten。 But Pearl Jam is forever。”
Reviews
Natalie
，
The book covers Pearl Jam's （so far） 31-year career: roughly chronologically， although each chapter teases out themes that have recurred throughout their time together。 It is not a biography of the band， so casual readers are likely not going to be able to follow parts of it。 It is not quite a journalistic examination of the band， because Hyden's fandom overwhelms his objectivity at points。 Nor is it quite a fan's exploration of what the band has meant to him or other fans。 Given all this， I'd s The book covers Pearl Jam's （so far） 31-year career: roughly chronologically， although each chapter teases out themes that have recurred throughout their time together。 It is not a biography of the band， so casual readers are likely not going to be able to follow parts of it。 It is not quite a journalistic examination of the band， because Hyden's fandom overwhelms his objectivity at points。 Nor is it quite a fan's exploration of what the band has meant to him or other fans。 Given all this， I'd say it was a Pearl Jam "experience。" Early on， it was amazing。 Hyden evoked what Pearl Jam felt like for many young listeners in the early and mid 90s。 I found myself so excited by the detailed descriptions of milestone moments in their career that I toggled between reading chapters and finding YouTube clips so I could relive the moments he was describing。 In some ways， this is the easy part of the Pearl Jam story。 There's no shortage of Pearl Jam， "Seattle sound，" and alt-rock lore to draw from。 And this is key: I have no idea what his sources actually were， beyond materials that were already out there。 Hyden is not revealing new information about the band; rather， he is packaging and interpreting existing content。 He's a close reader of albums and lyrics， and a speculator about authorial intent。 More on this in a bit。The harder part of the Pearl Jam story is where this book falls down--the "Side B" of their career from Binaural to Gigaton， a period spanning over 20 years and 2/3 of their time as a band。 For someone who owns all 70+ bootlegs from the 2000 Binaural tour， Hyden surprisingly fails to capture precisely why this band is unmatched as a live band。 All the giddiness I felt in "reliving" key moments through his depictions of their early career felt flat in his assessment of their later years。 He cannot capture the magic of their live shows， and he does not seem to fully get the beauty in their later albums。 It makes for a real letdown。 Part of this ties to how he's approached his subject--the close reading of music and speculation about why Pearl Jam did what they did。 The close reading is cringe-worthy at times， largely because he frequently gets the words wrong。 This goes beyond typos: he's building the meaning of his analysis on incorrect reads of lyrics publicly and easily accessible on the band's website。 And， look: Eddie Vedder is notoriously easily to mishear， and not just on songs like Yellow Ledbetter， where he turns mumbling into an art form。 But if you are going to close-read the text， double check to make sure you get it right。 （This happened at least a half-dozen times， and each time I found myself double-checking lyrics that I thought I'd had correct but could very well have misheard in past listens。 Per Pearl Jam's self-published lyrics， I did not。） Yet even when he gets the lyrics right， the close reading of the lyrics and albums is jarring when he becomes judgmental about the quality of the lyrics or songs。 In his preface， he says that he's trying to tell a story about the band， how they managed to survive and evolve where so many contemporaries did not （quite literally at times）， and how they shaped and were shaped by their generation。 His assessment of the quality of the music--particularly for later albums--often runs counter to those themes。 He does not clearly articulate why the band could be putting out the so-so music he claims they generated on later albums and still be the band that evolved and survived。 In this， he stumbles in meeting the purpose he sets out。 But perhaps the greater misstep here is how he attempts to analyze the members of the band--their probable thoughts， feelings， influences， and motivations。 He does not interview the band and makes clear early on that that's not his purpose for the book; he says that they have had their own chance to tell their story in 2011's Pearl Jam Twenty， and he does draw much of his first-person quoting from that book and other published interviews。 Yet he regularly attempts to build narratives around not just the music but the band members themselves--primarily Eddie Vedder--based on his own speculation about how they see themselves in their music or in the larger rock pantheon。 Frankly， if I wanted that， I would just wait for Pearl Jam Forty。Moreover， he gets some of his facts wrong。 For instance， he claims that Pearl Jam never covered Mother Love Bone's "Chloe Dancer" with "Crown of Thorns"--a claim that becomes the basis of his speculation about Stone and Jeff's posthumous relationship with Andy Wood。 It's also a claim that is factually incorrect and easily checked， since Pearl Jam has on their website a list of every song they've played and when they played it。 His assertion--already a somewhat specious take--completely falls apart。 This happens a various points in the text。 Lastly， this book overly centers Eddie Vedder; given that I am like the heart-eyes emoji for Eddie and pretty much always have been， I am surprised to be saying this。 I love the Into the Wild soundtrack， and have seen his solo shows many times。 Eddie is a wonderful performer， but his musical longevity does not stem from his solo work。 Nor does PJ's longevity stem strictly from the musical chops each band member brings to the table。 There are a few important nods to what Jeff and Stone had to do to make this band work in a way Mother Love Bone probably would not have， had Andy Wood survived。 And oddly， for all the focus on Eddie as the benevolent dictator of the band， Hyden misses how Eddie had to give up control in the same way that Stone and Jeff did to keep the band alive。 He also skimmed over all the other work that the rest of the band has done: their solo or side projects， their other artistic and philanthropic endeavors， etc。 Had Hyden done more of this， it would have been a much more interesting and relevant book， because arguably it's the work outside the band's albums that has been the greatest contribution to their ability to continually gravitate back together。 I wanted to love this book， and if you had asked me to write this review around the time he was describing the Vs。 or Vitalogy eras， I would have given it 4 or 5 stars。 Hyden just tries to do too much here， deviates too often from his named purpose， and gets sloppy in his analyses。 It's not a bad read for a Pearl Jam fan， but perhaps it should be read less as a deep or definitive read of the band's longevity and more as a fan trying to work through his own feelings about the band， their music， and the 90s music scene。 I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review。 。。。more
Julien L
，
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book。I like reading books about things I don't like or am not super invested in。 In this case， I like reading books about bands I don't like， and I really don't like Pearl Jam: the inherent fakeness of Grunge and its marketed aesthetics when it was really just the new form of pop music， the nondescript nature of the music （it feels generic to me; "Alive" is a moving song though）， and Vedder's "yarling"， as Hyden puts it。 Yet， the reason I like reading t Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book。I like reading books about things I don't like or am not super invested in。 In this case， I like reading books about bands I don't like， and I really don't like Pearl Jam: the inherent fakeness of Grunge and its marketed aesthetics when it was really just the new form of pop music， the nondescript nature of the music （it feels generic to me; "Alive" is a moving song though）， and Vedder's "yarling"， as Hyden puts it。 Yet， the reason I like reading this stuff， and reading criticism in general， is it forces me to think outside of my own box; in this case， it forces me to engage with Pearl Jam like how a longtime fan and critic might see them。Make no mistake， Long Road does what good criticism does best: it explores the tenets and values of the music itself while contextualizing the artist's legacy and place in both its and the contemporary sociohistorical moment。 Hyden connects Pearl Jam from everything to the Iraq War to Columbine， as well as delineating their influences from The Who and Neil Young and the Grateful Dead。 It gave me a solid appreciation of the 'Jam's place in the musical continuum; They are an act who carved out a place for themselves after being the biggest thing in the world at one point in time， and that niche is a solid one with roots in heartfelt， emotional songwriting， honest self-deprecation， and jam band tendencies。 Even though I still don't like their music， I can respect the efforts they made as an artist。What I didn't care for about this book， was what I found to be a lack of a central thesis or argument。 Sometimes the book doesn't know what it wants to be; is it a work of criticism contextualizing the band's place in time？ Is it a chronological biography charting the band's progression over time？ Is it a personal memoir about Hyden's relationship to Pearl Jam's music？ The lack of a unifying force or point means the book is trying to do a lot of things at once。 It doesn't always succeed， especially in moments that feel like they come out of left-field。 As someone who teaches writing composition for a living， a thesis is always a good thing to have in your pocket if you find yourself lost， both as reader and as writer。 If this book does have a thesis， it's that "Pearl Jam is good enough to be worth writing about"， which， in my opinion， doesn't amount to much。I also think sometimes there is a tonal mismatch。 There is nothing wrong with Hyden's autobiographical elements; in fact， I find the memoir pieces to be particularly valuable， showcasing the kind of effect PJ's work might have on a young man and an older man's mind， but sometimes the wistful nostalgic tone he takes on extends to the other， non-memoir parts of the writing， which causes a kind of jarring tonal disruption。 Reading about tragedies like Roskilde with a certain kind of whispery wistfulness around them was very strange to say the least。That being said， I liked the book， and I can reasonably say Pearl Jam's existence is kind of necessary for rock music， even if I'll never be a fan。 They're signifiers of both a moment in time and certain kinds of music lovers， ones who have deep， emotional connections with songs and the past of their lives， who use songs to represent moments in their lives that were both happy and unhappy。 That is the value of this type of book for me， even if it is a little all over the place。3 1/2 stars/5 。。。more
Amy
，
I was so excited to receive an ARC of this from Netgalley because Pearl Jam was the soundtrack to my high school years。 This book does not disappoint。 Using 18 of the band's songs， the author tells the story of the band。 Pearl Jam fans and Gen X fans especially will enjoy this！ I was so excited to receive an ARC of this from Netgalley because Pearl Jam was the soundtrack to my high school years。 This book does not disappoint。 Using 18 of the band's songs， the author tells the story of the band。 Pearl Jam fans and Gen X fans especially will enjoy this！ 。。。more
Tiffany Porath
，
Thank you Netgallery for advanced reader’s copy of Long Road， by Steve Hayden。 My first Pearl Jam concert was the last footnote in the book。 Yes， I’m a little late to the “Jamily”！ Steve does a really good job incorporating Pearl Jam stories to his perspectives of the 90’s / early aughts alt rock and grunge scene。 He shares the evolution of the band up through Gigaton。 Besides highlighting the band’s history he brings readers through how the band has grown through the decades and how their music Thank you Netgallery for advanced reader’s copy of Long Road， by Steve Hayden。 My first Pearl Jam concert was the last footnote in the book。 Yes， I’m a little late to the “Jamily”！ Steve does a really good job incorporating Pearl Jam stories to his perspectives of the 90’s / early aughts alt rock and grunge scene。 He shares the evolution of the band up through Gigaton。 Besides highlighting the band’s history he brings readers through how the band has grown through the decades and how their music has， too。 。。。more
Ashleyreadsabook
，
Let me start by saying I love Pearl Jam which is why I requested a copy of this book。 I’ve loved watching documentaries on the band and frequently rock out to Ten decades after it has been released。 With that said I had high hopes for this book。However， it fell flat for me。 I did learn or maybe I was reminded of things I forgot about the band and their evolution。 But through out the book I couldn’t help but feel like the author was trying to please everyone。 By this I mean he would point out som Let me start by saying I love Pearl Jam which is why I requested a copy of this book。 I’ve loved watching documentaries on the band and frequently rock out to Ten decades after it has been released。 With that said I had high hopes for this book。However， it fell flat for me。 I did learn or maybe I was reminded of things I forgot about the band and their evolution。 But through out the book I couldn’t help but feel like the author was trying to please everyone。 By this I mean he would point out something negative or unpopular but then in the next sentence would say something like but that’s not a bad thing or that’s what I like about the album。。etc。 It just felt like he was giving backhanded compliments or just didn’t want anyone to feel like he was disagreeing with their views on the band or album。 I have to commend the author and editors though on the detail and research that went into this book。 I mean who wouldn’t want to spend their time watching bootleg videos of Pearl Jam concerts or listening the every Pearl Jam album song by song？ Sounds like an enjoyable job to me。 I’d recommend to anyone who really likes reading non-fiction and is a very big Pearl Jam fan。 。。。more
AndiReads
，
30 years ago （！！！！） Pearl Jam erupted onto the scene and Steven Hyden， a well known rock critic has created the a engaging and entertaining look at the group。 Hayden is focused on the career arc of Pearl Jam， and the model that they created for other bands。 Hyden claims that PJ is an anomaly because they started big （on radio， in arenas） and now is equally popular in a counterculture way via bootlegs and devoted fans。I have always been a PJ fan， an Eddie Vedder fan and a grunge listening flannel 30 years ago （！！！！） Pearl Jam erupted onto the scene and Steven Hyden， a well known rock critic has created the a engaging and entertaining look at the group。 Hayden is focused on the career arc of Pearl Jam， and the model that they created for other bands。 Hyden claims that PJ is an anomaly because they started big （on radio， in arenas） and now is equally popular in a counterculture way via bootlegs and devoted fans。I have always been a PJ fan， an Eddie Vedder fan and a grunge listening flannel wearing Gen xer。 I wasn't sure if this story was for me but I found it incredibly nostalgic and enjoyable。 Long Road - a look at the storied career of a well known band that survived， is broken into 18 chapters titled by PJ classic songs。 There is so much I didn't know， and lots that I wanted to hear again。 If you are a Gen Xer， a PJ fan or just love rock music， this book is surely for you！#Hachettebooks #Hachette #Netgalley #Netgalleyreads #LongRoad #PearJam #PJ10 #Steven Hyden 。。。more
Kristen
，
I read a free ARC of this book through NetGalley。When Ten was released in August 1991， I had just turned 15。 Although I was never an intense music fan of any band or singer， Pearl Jam was the band of my high school years and I still love their early music。 But I was like a lot of people who sort of forgot about them in the late 90's when radio stations moved to more poppy music or women with guitars （Sean Colvin， The Indigo Girls， Sarah McLachlan etc。）。 I have never seen Pearl Jam live， and I do I read a free ARC of this book through NetGalley。When Ten was released in August 1991， I had just turned 15。 Although I was never an intense music fan of any band or singer， Pearl Jam was the band of my high school years and I still love their early music。 But I was like a lot of people who sort of forgot about them in the late 90's when radio stations moved to more poppy music or women with guitars （Sean Colvin， The Indigo Girls， Sarah McLachlan etc。）。 I have never seen Pearl Jam live， and I don't think I even have an old copy of Ten on CD。 So when I saw this book I impulsively requested it and I'm glad I did。 This is not a history of the members of Pearl Jam so much as of the band itself， and the cultural and political times in which they have existed for the last 30 years。 （Damn， I'm old。） It was an interesting analysis of their catalog， and the way that Pearl Jam affected， and was affected by， the world。 And there is a fair amount of comparison and contrast to other "grunge" bands of the early 90's， most of whom are now gone due to the death of members from substance abuse and depression。All in all， I really enjoyed this book and have taken it as a nudge to revisit both Pearl Jam and some of their peers and influencers， and to appreciate the fact that they continue to tour and make music。 。。。more
Chet
，
Between the years of 1991 and 2003， I would have counted Pearl Jam among my all-time favorite bands…maybe even my number one。 When Riot Act was released， I found my interest waning， though I still loved everything prior and I still own all of the records up to that point and have still found things to enjoy on every record since。 I know there are much bigger fans out there （I know some of them） who own everything the band has ever produced including many of the “official bootlegs”。 I never had t Between the years of 1991 and 2003， I would have counted Pearl Jam among my all-time favorite bands…maybe even my number one。 When Riot Act was released， I found my interest waning， though I still loved everything prior and I still own all of the records up to that point and have still found things to enjoy on every record since。 I know there are much bigger fans out there （I know some of them） who own everything the band has ever produced including many of the “official bootlegs”。 I never had the money to seek out everything in the catalog back in the 90’s， but much of that output has been officially released since， so I’ve heard it。 The point is that I’m not a casual Pearl Jam fan who only knows the hits， but neither am I a “superfan” who listens relentlessly and collects memorabilia and music from the band。 My reason for telling you all of this is that your enjoyment of Long Road will likely be predicated upon what you expect from it。 If you go into this book expecting a basic biography， you will likely be disappointed， because this is not a standard biography。 While Steven Hyden does touch on biographical elements， he expects you to know the basics by now。 Long Road is more of a critical analysis of Pearl Jam’s legacy and influence。 If you already know how the band got it’s name and don’t need another long explanation of the Mamasan， then you are likely ready to expand your thought process of a band that will stand next to Led Zeppelin and The Beatles in the lexicon of music history。 Much like those bands， there has been an astounding amount written about Pearl Jam but Hyden’s book is a welcome addition for those who want to read about the band， but don’t want to read everything。Steven Hyden is a good writer and Long Road is a well-written book。 “Your Favorite Band is Killing Me” and “Twilight of the Gods” are both good books and this carries on his tradition of adding a personal touch to rock history and analysis of his favorite music。 Hyden clearly loves the band and their music and Long Road reads like a love letter。 However， he doesn’t shy away from talking about some of the missteps along the way （most notably， Eddie Vedder’s grumpy guy act） and the maturation of the band members through over two decades together。 Long Road will likely not provide any new information for those who devour everything they can find on the band， but it will probably entertain them enough to warrant a read。 Conversely， a PJ newbie could find a worse place to start learning about the band。 Though Long Road is a book for fans， there is enough about the history of the band to keep a neophyte interested while providing some much-needed context about the “whys” as much as the “how’s”。 There are no interviews with the band members here （though Hyden does quote regularly from previous interviews） and there are no deep dives into their lives。 There are not any astounding revelations here， but if you want to reminisce about your old love for a band from your youth or “geek out over Pearl Jam minutiae”， then you， like me， will find Long Road to be a fun read。 I had a blast reading Long Road and I’m even more excited to see the band live again in September 2022。 Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Geff Ratcheson
，