Five against One by Kim Neely
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Book Reviews of Five against One
Book Review: Excellent history of the band. Must for any fan.
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent. The best written account of Pearl Jam that I have read. I was most impressed by the nuggets of information that I didn't know about previously, especially the alternate version of the "Jeremy" videoBook Review: Flawed and Biased Coverage
Summary: 3 Stars
I was a huge PJ fan in their early years, stuck with them in the "middle" years, and became a huge fan again recently when they released the 72 live bootlegs (I have 'em all and am still trying to listen to all of them). With this new interest I decided to read this book. I loved learning more about the history of the band, but the way the author constructed the book is flawed and biased. First of all, the only band member to make significant contributions is former drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who's a cool guy but he got fired from the band back in 1994. Some very old interviews with Stone, Mike, Jeff, and Eddie are used as background, but clearly the author did not consult them extensively, or else they chose not to participate (more likely). Thus you get extensive coverage of Abbruzzese but nothing about key group members Jeff, Stone, and Mike except some very vague personality descriptions and second hand opinions from other people.Then there's the coverage of Eddie Vedder, who clearly did not make any direct contributions to the book. Kim Neely's only direct contact with him were some early interviews she did for Rolling Stone. Neely's attitude toward Vedder is difficult to comprehend and is a major flaw in the book. Early in the book, despite calling Vedder a "shrimp" at one point, Neely seems to like him and thinks he's a great guy. But as the book progresses, Neely increasingly tries to belittle Vedder and is determined to cut his public image down to size. This is especially true in the section on Eddie's upbringing, in which his painful family life is described. About the only source used for this section is Eddie's stepfather Peter, whom Eddie has often vilified in the press. I feel that Peter is a good guy and that Eddie has been unfair to him. But then again, Neely is attempting to research the past to create a true psychological thesis on Eddie's personality and emotions, and it is downright irresponsible to try to do this without talking to the person you're writing about. So Neely has failed to illuminate Eddie's lyrics and public persona with this so-called psychological research, and only comes across as a muckraker with some sort of score to settle. I wonder what Eddie did to Neely in real life, besides ignoring her. Plus, why not get into the backgrounds of the other guys this extensively? Aren't they interesting enough?
Another big flaw is the problem that sinks many biographies and history books - ignoring recent history and glorifying the good old days. The period of the band's formation, and up to around 1993, is covered in ridiculous detail, while everything since then is glossed over so quickly that you'd think nothing interesting happened. The best evidence of this is Neely's descriptions of each PJ album. Every single song on "Ten" is described in detail, including the sound, the lyrics, and the songwriting process. Most songs on "Vs" are described, and a few on "Vitalogy" are detailed while the rest are sped through in a few vague sentences. And then the albums "No Code" and "Yield" (the most recent at the time of the book) are given just one paragraph each with very brief descriptions of just a few selected songs.
The story is mostly entertaining, but it is hard to take the writer and the structure of the book seriously. And if you're interested in the band's recent history in any way, you're gonna have to go elsewhere.
Book Review: After reading this I knew TOO much about Pearl Jam.
Summary: 3 Stars
It took me about 3 days to read Kim Neely's book about my all-time favorite band. From a journalist's perspective, the book was well-written, and I have enjoyed Neely's articles in Rolling Stone. There are a few parts that are misleading, as the eager Dave Abbruzzesse (former drummer) is always ready and willing to talk about his departure from the band and how his bandmate Vedder mistreated him. However, the comments from the band are not as plentiful, so the entire case is not presented. The early sections prove interesting as Neely details what the Seattle music scene was like. Even more intriguing are the chapters concerning Pearl Jam's early tours and what an emotional strain they were on their singer. After reading those parts one can come to more of an understanding of what this band had to deal with to get their music heard. These excellently detailed chapters of the early years lead the reader/fan to a sort of letdown at the end of the book, where the band's last two albums were barely spoken about. "No Code" and "Yield" are key albums that represent the transition of the band's mindset and music. The book annoyingly focuses on the negative parts of their career rather than the postitive parts where the whole band seemed to be in good spirits in the time that the last two records came out. Neely makes Vedder's life seem like a soap opera as she devotes a whole section entitled "Blood" to detail his life. This is good writing. But that's all it is, because while I read it, I felt uneasy about knowing everything about Eddie Vedder's life...I realize that he is just a common guy like myself, and I probably wouldn't enjoy having the bad parts of my life written up into a book. A question comes to mind when I read this part, like where's the Stone Gossard detailed life story at? or the Jeff Ament? Mike McCready? Jack Irons? These are members of the band also, just as important as Vedder is, and if you're going to call a book "The PEARL JAM story"--then u should deliver upon that promise and equally report about the members. The book does bring to light a few themes in the music and trivia that I was not aware of. As far as books go, this isn't a bad read... but if u do read it, be sure that's not your only source and that u educate yourself furthur about Pearl Jam, this book leads u to a greater understanding of some of the aspects of the band, but not all of them. --Kirk RobinsonBook Review: Man Bites Dog More Interesting Than Other Way Around
Summary: 3 Stars
When you're a gifted writer, especially one with a reporter/journalist background, you tend to write about the things you think are most likely to get a reaction. That is, to generate buzzing press about someone, something, some issue. That is what Kim Neely has done with this intriguing novel about Pearl Jam. While Neely tells the story of how the band formed as Pearl Jam, following their much-publicized pre-history, she also opens wide the door to the chamber of Eddie Vedderism, or the science of dissecting the singer's psyche through delving into his past, exhibiting various behavioral tendencies, and even speaking to the very people in his life who would have much-less-than-flattering things to offer. In doing this, Neely creates a renewed fascination in a study in which most people would have otherwised stopped immersing by now. The book, published in 1998, devotes most of its attention to early Pearl Jam happenings and developments, and spends less and less time as the band's chronology progresses. As well, the book focusses almost exlusively on Vedder, almost as if to suggest that fans and critics worldwide would not be interested in knowing more about the other 7 members of Pearl Jam (including all drummers to have ever been involved with the band by 1998). While I enjoyed reliving all the defining moments in my love for Pearl Jam, and learing a bit more about the Dave Abbruzzese phenomenon, this petrie-dish treatment of Vedder was at times indulgent, too familiar, and tiring. Which leads me to restate my view on reporters, and question their motives in delivering the "news" the way Neely does in this book. For Part Two, "The Continuing Journey Into The Under Drawers of Eddie Vedder", scrapping info on Pearl Jam's enigmatic frontman in favour of some morsels of musical exploration, or even a sophmore-level seminar on the other band members would make this reader more charmed.Book Review: entertaining but lacking
Summary: 3 Stars
After I read this book, I was left wondering if the band had had any fun whatsoever in their entire career. It started off very interestingly with a nice detailed description of how things were in the Seattle area and how the band was formed. However, the book spends a little too much time painting a negative picture of Eddie and seemed to be skeptical of everything he claimed. While it is good for a book to be honest, it is also important for a book to be fair and this book is a little too one sided. It tells many one sided stories from "sources close to the band." I'm sure Eddie Vedder has made some mistakes over the years, as have we all, and I'm sure he'll admit that, but this book makes him look like a real jerk sometimes and he is not deserving of that after all that he's done for music. I also felt that some of the accounts of Vedder's childhood were private and should not have been described in this book. I hope that no one looks up my school record if I ever become successful. It's funny though because this book is well written and yes you should probably read it if you are a Pearl Jam fan because some of the early information is interesting. Just don't believe everything you read. If you believe that Pearl Jam is for real then don't let this book leave you to think otherwise.