AltWeeklies Wire
Pearl Jam Steps Back, Goes Pop -- and Makes One of the Best Albums of its Careernew
With Backspacer, the "grunge" godfathers seem intent on rewriting their story. It's their best record since 1998's Yield, thanks to the presence of producer Brendan O'Brien, who was allowed by the band to have a hand in picking apart the songs. The result is an economical and wholly replayable Pearl Jam album.