Gripping and passionate, this engaging single puts the listener in the shoes of some of
Pearl Jam's most breathtaking moments during their live 2000 tour supporting
Binaural near their home in Bellingham, WA. The tune
"Light Years" is the featured headliner that, with its poetic quality and message of longing, loss, and death, was intriguing enough to captivate fresh new fans during radio airplay. With their more enduring and darker tones set in place, fans of
Pearl Jam receive a raw and sincere taste of the band's new musical and melodic direction, perhaps ignited with the additional presence of newcomer
Matt Cameron on drums. Perhaps most moving and alluring is the second track, a live outtake of frontman
Eddie Vedder's creation,
"Grievance," a tune of gripping intensity, raw angst, and mesmerizing guitar changes. They featured this song along with
"Light Years" during their appearance on
Saturday Night Live in early 2000. The final piece is the soft caressing of one of
Vedder's more humorous moments with the buzzing crowd.
"Soon Forget," featuring solely himself and the ukulele, is a spontaneous delight, delivered in short but chilling fashion. Charming and witty with intent, the lyrics are honest and pinpoint much of today's reality, including the lines "Sorry is the fool who trades his soul for hi-rise rent, seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get, and it's fitting, he's barely living...a day he'll soon forget." The audience is thoroughly captivated, getting their much-requested fill-up of a rare group in rare form during a special stage in their musical career. ~ Shawn Haney
