Pearl Jam are the undisputed kings of the live album. They have sanctioned literally hundreds of sound-desk recordings as part of their ‘official bootleg’ series.
Typical of excessively remixed and remastered ‘live’ records, Live On Ten Legs captures little of the feelgood-factor that is a feature of PJ onstage and in full-flight. It’s simply redundant, an unnecessary addition to their already extensive back catalogue.
Taken from their 2003-2010 period, it’s an overly polished and slightly surreal representation of the band’s storied career. It lacks continuity and emotional tension, ingredients essential to great live albums. Worse yet, classic early LP Ten and return-to-form latest effort Backspacer account for about half of the 18 tracks. The rest of their career is essentially glossed over.
Admittedly, despite these failings, Pearl Jam remain a live act par excellence, delivering each tune with an archetypal ‘last day on earth’ fervour.
A raw, heartfelt version of Joe Strummer’s ‘Arms Aloft’ kicks things off in style. Elsewhere, PIL’s ‘Public Image’ is numbingly predictable, whatever vitality it had in performance lost in translation. Overall, this is a record that over-plays the obvious at the expense of the numerous lesser known gems. Disappointing.