Yield (album)

Yield is the fifth album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on February 3, 1998 through Epic Records. Following a limited tour for its previous album, No Code, released in 1996, the band went into the studio in 1997 to record its follow-up. The music on the record was proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound.

Yield debuted at number two on the Billboard charts, but like No Code soon began dropping down the charts. However, the album was well-received critically, and eventually outsold No Code. The band did more promotion for the album, including a return to full-scale touring and the release of a music video. The album has been certified Platinum in the United States.

Recording

For its fifth album, Pearl Jam again worked with producer Brendan O'Brien. Yield was recorded throughout 1997 in Seattle, Washington at Studio X and Studio Litho, the latter of which is owned by guitarist Stone Gossard. The album was then mixed by O'Brien at his mixing facility at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia.

Compared with Vitalogy and No Code, Yield represented a true collaboration between all members of the group. Frontman Eddie Vedder had made the final decisions for Vitalogy and No Code, however at the end of the No Code sessions Vedder suggested to bassist Jeff Ament that it would be great for the other members to bring in more complete songs in order to take pressure off of him. Ament said that "everybody took that to heart." Ament revealed that Vedder's reaction to the individual member's new material made "everybody energized about their place in the band." Vedder worked with the other band members on their own material before work was started on his.

Guitarist Mike McCready noticed a change in Vedder's attitude during the making of Yield, stating, "I used to be afraid of him and not want to confront him on things...We talk more now, and hang out...He seems very, very centered now." Vedder said that the band was able to "team up" for the album. The band spent a large amount of time rehearsing the songs until they had a good take. Ament stated that "Yield was a superfun record to make. And so much of it was Ed kind of sitting back." Ament said that "everybody really got a little bit of their say on the record...because of that, everybody feels like they're an integral part of the band." The music documentary, Single Video Theory, features interviews with the band about the making of the album and was filmed in November 1997 during the band's rehearsal sessions for its shows opening for The Rolling Stones.

Music and lyrics

Overall, Yield resembles the straight-ahead rock approach of the band's early work. Gossard said, "The songs were a little bit more structured. I don't know if it was poppier, but it seemed more professional. O'Brien said that the band made a conscious effort "to really put together the best, most accessible songs they possibly could." Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly stated that the band has "turned in an intermittently affecting album that veers between fiery garage rock and rootsy, acoustic-based ruminations. Perhaps mindful of their position as the last alt-rock ambassadors with any degree of clout, they've come up with their most cohesive album since their 1991 debut, Ten." "Given to Fly", the album's first single, was noted for its similarity to Led Zeppelin's "Going to California".

Lyrically, Yield continued with the more contemplative type of writing found on No Code. Several songs on the album were inspired by literary works, including Daniel Quinn's novel Ishmael ("Do the Evolution"), Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita ("Pilate"), and the writings of Charles Bukowski ("In Hiding"). Gossard penned the lyrics for the songs "No Way" and "All Those Yesterdays", and Ament, making his first lyrical contributions to a Pearl Jam album, penned the lyrics for the songs "Pilate" and "Low Light". Ament said, "[to] watch Eddie put his heart into singing lyrics that I wrote, was an experience I can't put into words." According to Vedder, "Given to Fly" is about "rising above anybody's comments about what you do and still giving your love away," "Do the Evolution" is about "someone who's drunk with technology, who thinks they're the controlling living being on this planet," and "In Hiding" is about "taking a fast from life."

Release and reception

The album was proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound. Yield sold 358,000 copies during its first week of release, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 album chart. Yield was held off the top spot by the Titanic soundtrack. Yield became Pearl Jam's first album not to peak at number one on the Billboard charts since Ten in 1991. However, the album achieved Platinum status, and eventually outsold its predecessor No Code, selling 1,500,000 copies in the United States.

Rolling Stone gave Yield four out of five stars. Reviewer Rob Sheffield said that "before, the band's best songs were the change-of-pace ballads...Yield marks the first time Pearl Jam have managed to sustain that mood for a whole album." He added that "Vedder is singing more frankly than ever about his life as an adult," and that the album "shows that Pearl Jam have made the most out of growing up in public. Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated that the band "applies its introspection to spiritual possibilities and its guitars to chomping, snarling, exuberant riffs." He said "the songs sound bolder and more confident, even when they invoke private crises. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B, saying that "the overall tone is less pretentious than in the past, reflecting a looser, even marginally whimsical, worldview."

Two singles were released from Yield. The lead single "Given to Fly" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 21. The album's other commercially released single, "Wishlist", charted on the Hot 100 at number 47. "Given to Fly" was the most successful song from Yield on the rock charts, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts and spending a total of six weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. Album tracks "In Hiding" and "Do the Evolution" also charted on the rock charts. The band hired comic book artist Todd McFarlane to create an animated video for the song "Do the Evolution" from the album. It was the band's first music video since 1992. In 1999, the song "Do the Evolution" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance and its music video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form.

Imagery and design

The cover art image for the album shows an empty road underneath a bright blue sky with a yield sign on the right-hand side of the road. The front cover art image was taken from a photograph of a road outside Billings, Montana. The photograph was doctored to form a 360° panorama. The cover of the cassette version has slightly different artwork, moving the yield sign from the right of the road to the left side and reversing the picture of the road. Regarding the liner notes art, there is a yield sign hidden in every picture in the booklet. In 1999, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Recording Package.

The album title is rooted in the idea of "yielding to nature", a theme central to Daniel Quinn's novel Ishmael. The band members read the book while working on the album. Regarding the title, McCready said, "I think the title Yield has to do with maybe being more comfortable within ourselves, with this band....we're all a little bit older and a little more relaxed and maybe just kind of yielding to those anxieties and not trying to fight it so much...That's what it kind of feels to me – yielding, letting something else happen and going with it.

Tour

Pearl Jam promoted the album with tours of New Zealand, Australia, and North America in 1998. Following the band's tour of Australia and before its summer tour of North America began, drummer Jack Irons left the band due to dissatisfaction with touring. He was replaced with former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. Cameron learned over 80 songs in two weeks.

Pearl Jam's summer tour of North America marked the band’s return to full-scale touring and the use of Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam once again began using Ticketmaster in order to "better accommodate concertgoers." The first leg of the tour focused on the West Coast of the United States and the Midwestern United States, and then the band moved to the East Coast of the United States for the tour's second leg. The North American summer tour was a tremendous success, and after it was completed the band released its first live album, Live on Two Legs, which featured select performances from the tour. McCready stated that the band released the live album due to the strength of Pearl Jam's shows on the tour.

Track listing

1. "Brain of J." (Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder) – 2:59
2. "Faithfull" (McCready, Vedder) – 4:18
3. "No Way" (Stone Gossard) – 4:19
4. "Given to Fly" (McCready, Vedder) – 4:01
5. "Wishlist" (Vedder) – 3:26
6. "Pilate" (Jeff Ament) – 3:00
7. "Do the Evolution" (Gossard, Vedder) – 3:54
8. "●" (Jack Irons) – 1:06
9. "MFC" (Vedder) – 2:27
10. "Low Light" (Ament) – 3:46
11. "In Hiding" (Gossard, Vedder) – 5:00
12. "Push Me, Pull Me" (Ament, Vedder) – 2:28
• Contains a sample of "Happy When I'm Crying", a song written by Irons and released on Pearl Jam's 1997 Ten Club Christmas single.
13. "All Those Yesterdays" (Gossard) – 7:47
• "All Those Yesterdays" contains the hidden track "Hummus" at 5:04

Outtakes

The album's singles featured two B-sides from the Yield recording sessions that weren't included on the album, "Leatherman", which is about the Leatherman vagabond from the 19th century, and "U". "Leatherman" was a B-side on the "Given to Fly" single and "U" was featured on the "Wishlist" single. Neither of the original recordings were included on the Lost Dogs collection of rarities, although a re-recorded version of "U" was included. "Whale Song", sung by Irons, was also recorded during the Yield sessions and was eventually included on the Music For Our Mother Ocean Vol. 3 compilation as well as Lost Dogs. "Happy When I'm Crying" was recorded around this time and was released on the band's 1997 fan club Christmas single.

Personnel

• Mike McCready – guitar
• Stone Gossard – guitar, bass; credited as "Carpenter Newton" for album concept
• Eddie Vedder – vocals, guitar
• Jeff Ament – bass, photography, layout
• Jack Irons – drums
• Brendan O'Brien – production, mixing
• Pearl Jam – production
• Nick DiDia – mixing on "Push Me, Pull Me", recording
• Matt Bayles – sound engineering (at Studio Litho), additional engineering
• Sam Hofstedt at Studio X, Ryan Williams at Southern Tracks – sound engineering
• Rodney Mills' Masterhouse – mastering
• Jerry Gay, Greg Montijo – photography
• P. – Jeff Ament glacier photo
• Barry Ament, George Estrada, Coby Schultz – layout

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1998	Australian Albums Chart	1
	New Zealand Albums Chart	1
	Norwegian Albums Chart	1
	US Billboard 200	2
	Canadian Albums Chart	2
	Belgian Albums Chart (Vl)	3
	Belgian Albums Chart (Wa)	34
	Swedish Albums Chart	3
	Austrian Albums Chart	4
	Dutch Albums Chart	4
	Finnish Albums Chart	4
	German Albums Chart	4
	French Albums Chart	6
	Swiss Albums Chart	6
	UK Albums Chart	7
	Hungarian Albums Chart	8

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1998	"Given to Fly"	Finnish Singles Chart	5
		Norwegian Singles Chart	6
		New Zealand Singles Chart	12
		UK Singles Chart	12
		Australian Singles Chart	13
		Irish Singles Chart	18
		US Billboard Hot 100	21
		US Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
		US Modern Rock Tracks	3
		Canadian Singles Chart	24
		Swedish Singles Chart	29
		Dutch Singles Chart	36
		Swiss Singles Chart	39
		German Singles Chart	67
	"Wishlist"	UK Singles Chart	30
		US Billboard Hot 100	47
		US Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
		US Modern Rock Tracks	6
		Australian Singles Chart	48
	"In Hiding"	US Modern Rock Tracks	13
		US Mainstream Rock Tracks	14
	"Do the Evolution"	US Modern Rock Tracks	33
		US Mainstream Rock Tracks	40
		Canadian Singles Chart	50

References

External links

• Yield information and lyrics at pearljam.com