Neil Jam
Pearl Jam caps its tenure on Epic this week with its first hits collection. The double-disc, 33-track “rearviewmirror (greatest hits 1991-2003)” sports 16 top 10 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including the No. 1s “Daughter,” “Betterman” and “Given To Fly,” as well as 12 top 10 entries on the Modern Rock Tracks survey.
In lieu of new songs, “rearviewmirror” (the discs for which are split into an “Upside” and “Downside”) boasts remixes of three songs from the Seattle rock act’s seminal 1991 debut, “Ten.” Longtime producer Brendan O’Brien was behind the boards for new mixes of “Once,” “Alive” and “Black.”
Beyond such staples as “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” “Dissident,” “Wishlist” and “Even Flow,” the album includes the live favorite “Yellow Ledbetter” (which reached seven Billboard charts in the mid-’90s despite never being promoted to radio) and “Man of the Hour,” penned for the 2003 Tim Burton film “Big Fish.”
Meanwhile, Reprise this week unveils the first “Greatest Hits” package from Pearl Jam mentor Neil Young. The 16-track set boasts such classics as “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Southern Man,” Young’s sole No. 1 hit, “Comes a Time” and “Cinnamon Girl,” along with the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cuts “Ohio” and “Helpless.”
“Greatest Hits” is also available with a bonus DVD featuring the original stereo master mixes of the music. When each song is played, the DVD displays the vinyl cover of the album from which it is drawn spinning on turntable. Bonus features include a photo gallery, lyrics and music videos for “Harvest Moon” and “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
