Pearl Jam Records

It was 1992 when a friend of mine first bought a record. Not a compact disc, not an iTunes track, and NOT a band's "digital book." A 12" by 12" vinyl record. I remember squinting at his new, fledgling record collection and thinking, "What on Earth?"

We were in high school and records were nowhere to be found ---except maybe in our parent's attic. Records, it was thought, were for past generations ---not us! The Eagles, The Beach Boys, or The Beatles, after-all, were associated with records ---not The Replacements, The Goo Goo Dolls or the Pixies.

That was before Pearl Jam.

Background
80's and early 90's music seemed borne of the compact disc. Music, more and more, was being created digitally. Studio productions that brought us Paula Abdul, Madonna, and Roxette. Syncopated drum beats and layered vocals ---a trend that crested with Milli Vanilli in 1991.

By 1992, "alternative music" was emerging and, like an expensive martini, was being consumed in small doses. Initially. By 1996, "alternative music" had seeped into the bloodstream and became popular music. Sound Garden, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana had arrived.

Through it all, Pearl Jam released their music on compact disc AND vinyl records. The records came in beautifully-designed packages with full-up art and custom-made vinyl. A collector's dream.

Pearl Jam alone seemed to keep the vinyl record viable in the 90's ---offering us an "alternative" way to listen to their music. How very rock and roll.

Most of my friends now own the "90's alternative" library of music, and Pearl Jam records, on their iPods and iPhones. But, it is my ol' friend's Pearl Jam LPs I covet. Pearl Jam's records, for me, still represent that reversion to the musical mean.

Band History
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike McCready (lead guitar). The band's current drummer is Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden, who has been with the band since 1998.

Formed after the demise of Ament and Gossard's previous band Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album Ten. One of the key bands of the grunge movement in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was criticized early on—most notably by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain—as being a corporate cash-in on the alternative rock explosion. However, over the course of the band's career its members became noted for their refusal to adhere to traditional music industry practices, including refusing to make music videos and engaging in a much-publicized boycott of  Ticketmaster. In 2006,  Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."

Since its inception, the band has sold 30 million records in the U.S., and an estimated 60 million albums worldwide. Pearl Jam has outlasted many of its contemporaries from the alternative rock breakthrough of the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands of the decade. Allmusic calls it "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s".

Pearl Jam Vinyl Records
We've found 17 vinyl records released by Pearl Jam with the UK and special Collector's Edition of Ten being the most collectable. The Fixer LP is difficult to locate ---therefore a little more expensive than the others.

The hard-to find LP is the Rare original 1992 UK Epic label limited edition 11-track vinyl 'basketball' PICTURE DISC LP, housed in a special printed PVC sleeve with colour card back insert - now very hard to find in such stunning condition!