35 Years Ago Today, This Quintessential Grunge Album Ushered in the Age of 90s Alt-Rock Dominance

On August 27, 1991, the recently formed Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten. This album spawned three hit singles, “Alive”, “Even Flow”, and “Jeremy”, with the latter earning them two Grammy nominations in 1993. The music video for “Jeremy” earned Pearl Jam four MTV VMAs, including the coveted Video of the Year.

Ten is highly regarded as a quintessential grunge album. At the time, grunge was spreading beyond Seattle and the Sub Pop formula. The growing genre gained widespread attention in the early 90s, and began to subtly evolve with more alt-rock influences. While Ten is one of several grunge staple albums, it really drew much more from classic rock and alternative.

The album didn’t immediately make this mark, however. Ten didn’t hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 until late 1992. But by then grunge and alt-rock were on their way to dominating the music trends of the 90s. And Pearl Jam played a huge role in that takeover.

Pearl Jam’s Debut Album Was Initially Described as Derivative, but Years Later Is Considered an All-Time Original

Ten became a commercial success for Pearl Jam, and remains one of their most successful albums. That likely has a lot to do with the sensibilities of the decade. The album had grit, but it was also anthemic, expansive. It was exactly what cynical, disaffected Gen-X young adults were looking for.

Retrospectively, it’s been hailed as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. Definitely one to hear before you die, and even the all-time greatest debut album. Reviews at the time praised its introspective focus, bolstered by Eddie Vedder’s lyrics and “from-the-gut vocals”. It was described as “raucous”, “uniquely compelling”, and “hypnotic”. Additionally, a 1992 print review for Q magazine said Ten “may as well be the face of 90s metal”.

A strange choice to call Pearl Jam “metal”. But grunge hadn’t solidified yet, it wasn’t a household name. It was on its way, though, and Ten was kicking it into high gear. But not everyone was thrilled with the album at the time.

Entertainment Weekly and NME reviewers found it derivative of Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Mother Love Bone. Considering that two former members of the defunct Mother Love Bone formed Pearl Jam, that was a little on the nose. In a 1992 print review, NME made the bold accusation that Pearl Jam was “trying to steal money from young alternative kids’ pockets”. Apparently, they were also unworthy of the Nirvana comparisons.

But 30 years later, and Ten is widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2021, it was even inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Just goes to show how tastes change, how music criticism dulled its edge, and the way that retrospectives often overlook an initially poor reception.

Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns

The post 35 Years Ago Today, This Quintessential Grunge Album Ushered in the Age of 90s Alt-Rock Dominance appeared first on VICE.

Read MoreMusic Archives – VICEMusic, grunge, Noisey, On This Day, Pearl Jam