Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)

Pearl Jam Twenty: Directed by Cameron Crowe. With Cameron Crowe, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard. A documentary on the band Pearl Jam that marks their 20th anniversary in the year 2011.

“Twenty years after Pearl Jamu0026#39;s debut album Ten took the music world by storm, Cameron Crowe directs this documentary that chronicles and celebrates the bandu0026#39;s history, impact and longevity. Crowe starts way back in 1988 when guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were part of Mother Love Bone, a band that were popular due to singer Andy Woodu0026#39;s charismatic personality and song writing talent. After Woodu0026#39;s overdose and untimely death, Gossard and Ament founded Pearl Jam, along with the hugely talented singer Eddie Vedder and lead guitarist Mike McCready. The band went on to be one of the most successful bands of the 90u0026#39;s, and were seen as the natural rivals of fellow u0026#39;grungeu0026#39; band Nirvana.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCroweu0026#39;s documentary is hugely detailed, combining the standard talking heads with old interview footage, home video, and concert footage. Crowe apparently worked his way through 12,000 hours of footage of the band for the film. It was well worth it, as we get to see rare, grainy footage of Woodu0026#39;s exciting performances with Mother Love Bone, as well as the extremely moving performances by Vedder and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell as part of Wood tribute group Temple of the Dog. The talking heads are no mere conduits that progress the film along, they are as informative and moving as the performances, as Vedder and Cornell, especially, open up and give tearful recollections.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt also covers the bandu0026#39;s battle with ticket giant Ticketmaster, and how they objected to the fact that their fans were getting ripped off just to see a live band. It shows Pearl Jam as one of the few bands that remember their roots and are a dying breed. It was strange for me to watch this film, viewing the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden as part of music history. I grew up with my old brother listening to the music, so I remember the whole u0026#39;grungeu0026#39; craze quite well. I really only remember stripy shirts and long hair, but Pearl Jam Twenty reminded me of how good the music actually was. This is a must-see for fans of the band or the era, or for those enjoy an involving documentary. Crowe clearly knows his s**t (he was a journalist for Rolling Stone after all) and his passionate touch is all over it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ewww.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com”