Dissident [EP] - Pearl Jam (CD 1995)

When thinking of some of the great Pearl Jam singles, most will think about either the Jeremy Single, or the Alive single. The reason for this is these two singles have brand new songs on the single never heard before by your 'average' Pearl Jam fan to date. Myself, not being an average Pearl Jam fan, prefers either the Dissident single, or the Jeremy Single best. The Dissident single is not your average single. It has more songs than some bands have on a whole album. There are seven songs (No new songs, except many live version songs). And yes, there are bands out there that have released six and seven song albums. One of the great things about the dissident single is the fact that if you do not own either the album Ten or V.S. (the two best Pearl Jam albums hand down), then this is a nice addition for a lot cheaper. The album contains songs from both the new cd at that time (V.S., released in 1993), and the oldest of all the old school Pearl Jam rock (Ten, released in 1991).

Track Listing

1. Dissident
2. Release (live)
3. Rearviewmirror (live)
4. Even Flow (live)
5. Dissident (live)
6. Why Go (live)
7. Deep (live)

This was the first Pearl Jam record that including live songs. Now just about every Pearl Jam single has a song or two that is live. Also as you can see each and every song listed was either first released on the album Ten or V.S. Many people say after those two albums everything went downhill for Pearl Jam. I SOMEWHAT agree. There has never been anything quite like Ten or V.S. released yet except for maybe a few new singles for example: "I Got Id," "Breath," and "State of Love And Trust."

The album starts of with the number five rockin' track from V.S. that the whole single is surrounded around. And that song is Dissident. Dissident will never sound better, than it did on the actual album. You just can't beat it, the sound, guitar, vocals is just unbeatable by anyone. Indeed, an amazing piece of work recorded by a legendary band in Pearl Jam.

Next comes, a bit of a softer song that you may have heard at the very end of the album Ten. The song is called Release, and it is a live version, that was executed very well as far as vocals, and guitar. Perhaps one of the best live tracks ever released by Pearl Jam.

The next song (my personal favorite on both the album V.S. and this single.) The songs name is rearviewmirror and it could not have sounded any better on this album. The fast, speedy guitars by Mike McCready, and the fast paced screeching voice of Vedder bring back many memories. One of the fastest paced songs ever released songs by the band. And that's what it's all about.

The song 'Even Flow,' originally released on the album Ten. Or Track two. Another fast paced, heavy hitting song that could easily be compared to by the song Dissident off V.S. The live version, however, of this song is much, much better than the original version off Ten. It has a much faster, better beat also, but is still basically the same.

Why Go is another decent song off the album 'Ten,' and to tell you the truth I am a little surprised to see it on this album. Why Go, along with Release, and Deep really were not two very popular songs by the band, and they probably would have been a lot better off with a live version of Alive, Black, or Jeremy. Either way another great live track.

One of the poorer songs off the album Ten is back, and really nothing special. That song is Deep. It is nothing great but is still a decent song and sounds okay live.