Binaural (25th Anniversary Edition)＜完全生産限定盤＞

シアトル グランジの雄=パール・ジャム 『Binaural』発売25周年記念 Blu-ray Audio(ATMOS)

90年代を席巻したグランジ/オルタナティヴ・ロックの象徴的存在として一世を風靡。2017年にはロックの殿堂入りも果たし、今日に至るまでアメリカの国民的バンドとして、トップの人気を誇るパール・ジャム。2000年リリースされ、全米2位を獲得した通算6作目となるアルバム『Binaural』(バイノーラル)25周年を記念し、空間オーディオ・ブルーレイ(ATMOS)をリリース。
「Light Years」や「Nothing As It Seems」等、トラックの音符や歌詞ひとつひとつが、驚くほどあなたを包み込むのを感じて下さい。当時の思い出を蘇らせるもよし、新たな発見をするもよし、パール・ジャムの『バイノーラル』に身を任せてみてはいかがだろうか。

If anything, Pearl Jam was even more in the wilderness -- at least as far as the mainstream was concerned -- at the beginning of 2000 than they were in the second half of the '90s. Even with "Last Kiss," their first big hit single since Ten, under their belts, they were an anomaly on the pop and rock scenes. They were the only one of their old grunge colleagues still standing intact, and they were genuinely alone. No peers, and too sincere to even consider fitting into a pop scene dominated by 'N Sync on one side and Limp Bizkit on the other. Not surprisingly, they chose to persevere, ignoring trends, completely in favor of being a classicist rock band. This should come as no surprise, since that's what they've done since No Code and, perhaps, Vitalogy, but the real surprise about their sixth studio album Binaural is that it finds the group roaring back to life without dramatically changing the direction they followed on No Code and Yield. Maybe the addition of a new drummer, former Soundgarden member Matt Cameron, has kicked the band to life, but that unfairly dismisses Jack Irons' worthy contributions. Instead, the difference is focus -- though Pearl Jam is trying a lot of different styles, certainly more so than on Yield, they pull it all off better. The songs are sharper, the production is layered, and the performances are as compassionate as ever, resulting in their finest album since Vitalogy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine