Riot Act is the seventh studio album by Pearl Jam, released on November 12, 2002. The album’s music was diverse, including songs influenced by folk, art rock, and experimental rock. The lyrics deal with mortality and existentialism, influenced by both the political climate following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the accidental death of nine fans during Pearl Jam‘s performance at the 2000 Roskilde Festival.
The album cover, photographed by Jeff Ament, features two skeletons with crowns. The forged metal figurines were created by blacksmith Kelly Gilliam. According to Ament, the band had trouble coming up with a name for the album. After the artwork was finalized and the tracks sequenced, the band spent weeks trying to come up with a title. Eddie Vedder suggested the Riot Act, and the band members went along with it because they were tired of trying to find a title.
Riot Act was the first Pearl Jam album to feature Kenneth Boom Gaspar on keyboards, most notably on the song Love Boat Captain. Riot Act features a diverse sound, including experimental and folk songs. The Musical Experiments spawned several songs on the album with alternate tunings, including You Are, All or None and Bu$hlaguer.
A sample of I Am Mine, the first single released from the album. The song has a warm, acoustic sound and lyrics written by Eddie Vedder about personal freedom.
A sample of Save You, the second single released from the album. The song is heavily influenced by garage rock. Riot Act‘s lyrics were more direct than on previous albums, in response to the political climate that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Some songs feature lyrical collaborations between Vedder and other members of the group: one with Ament (Ghost), one with Cameron (You Are), and two with Stone Gossard (Bu$hleaguer and All or None). The only lyrical contributions from band members other than Vedder include Matt Cameron with Get Right and Jeff Ament with Help, Help
. The album’s lyrics address existential issues (Love Boat Captain, Cropduster and I Am Mine), as well as social and political concerns (Green Sickness, Bu$hleaguer and 1/2 Full). The lyrics of Save You represent the anger felt by anyone who sees a close friend wasting their life. Regarding Love Boat Captain, Vedder said, “Love is a resource that corporations will not be able to monopolize”.
Vedder said that Cropduster is “about the man’s giant ego, which is the most important thing.” on the planet”. Regarding the green disease, Vedder stated that he was baffled with the salaries of corporate CEOs and managers and “how anyone can justify taking so much at the expense of other people’s livelihoods”, bu$hleaguer is a satirical commentary on President George W. Bush.
Tracklist:
- Can’t Keep
- Save You
- Love Boat Captain
- Cropduster
- Ghost
- I Am Mine
- Thumbing My Way
- You Are
- Get Right
- Green Disease
- Help Help
- Bu$hleaguer
- ½ Full
- Arc
- All or None
The album’s singles featured three B-sides from the Riot Act recording sessions that did not make the album: Down, Undone and Other Side. Down and Undone were B-sides on the I Am Mine single, and Other Side appeared on the Save You and Love Boat Captain singles. All three were included in the 2003 Lost Dogs rarities collection, although “Undone” appeared in a slightly different form.
Also recorded during the sessions was “4/20/02“, a song in honor of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley, which Vedder wrote the day he heard the news of Staley‘s death. According to Vedder, “4/20/02” was not included on Riot Act because the band already had too many songs, but it was included on Lost Dogs, albeit in the form of a hidden track. Last Soldier, a live version of which was recorded at the 2001 Bridge School Benefit and included on the band’s 2001 fan club Christmas single, it was written by McCready and Vedder in response to the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001.
Riot Act reached number five in the US on the Billboard 200 album chart, with 166,000 copies sold in its first week of release. The album would end up selling only 575,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan, down from the 850,000 sold by its predecessor Binaural. Riot Act has been certified gold by the RIAA. It became the band’s first album not to crack the top two on the Billboard 200. Riot Act topped the charts in Australia, where it went platinum and finished among the best-selling albums of the year in both 2002 and 2003. Riot Act it also reached number two in Italy and New Zealand, three in Norway, and number four in Canada.
Three singles were released from Riot Act. The lead single I Am Mine entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 43 and reached number six on the modern rock charts. While Save You was released as the second single for North America, “Love Boat Captain” was the second single for international markets. Save You did not chart on the Hot 100, but did chart on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. Music videos for several songs on the album, including I Am Mine, Save You, Love Boat Captain, Thumbing My Way, and 1/2 Full, were filmed at Seattle’s Chop Suey club in September. 2002.
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament: bass guitar, cover, inside photos; credited as (Al Nostreet) for album concept
Matt Cameron: drums, percussion, rhythm guitar on (You Are)
Stone Gossard: guitar
Mike McCready: guitar
Eddie Vedder: guitar, vocals; credited as (ev) for typist
Additional musicians and production
John Burton: additional engineering
Danny Clinch: additional inside photography
Boom Gaspar: Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes
Kenny Gilliam: forged metal figures
Sam Hofstedt: engineering
Adam Kasper: production, recording, piano
Gregg Keplinger: drum technician
Brad Klausen: LBC illustration, layout and design
Brendan O’Brien: mixing
Pearl Jam: production
George Webb: guitar technician
