At the time, there were no clues that Ten would change rock forever. In 1990, Mother Love Bone’s former guitarist, Stone Gossard, and bassist, Jeff Ament, along with a San Diego surfer named Eddie Vedder, formed the band Mookie Blaylock—quickly renamed Pearl Jam. Their 1991 debut, Ten, contained so many now-classic riffs and melodies, it’s hard to believe it took over a year to find that recognition. It was more dramatic and indebted to classic rock than the soon-to-be-defined new genre of grunge would suggest, but had the kind of heartfelt gravitas that could mobilize both a generation and a city: Seattle would never be the same. Vedder used his platform to confront dark issues such as suicide (“Jeremy”), homelessness (“Even Flow”), and incest (“Alive”) with a life-affirming baritone that not only spawned a flood of imitators but set Pearl Jam on a trajectory to becoming one of the biggest bands ever.
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