Riot Act  (Audio CD) 
by Pearl Jam

It's strange to think Pearl Jam was once herded under the grunge umbrella alongside pathos-spewing acts like Nirvana and Alice in Chains. The Seattle group's eighth album (give or take the 72 bootleg-style double CDs they released in 2001) has more in common with classic rock institutions like Crazy Horse and the Band than the snarling forces that were trying to tear away at their legacies. Appropriately, Riot Act is built on thematic pillars--love, death, politics--and fueled by dense, uncompromising power chords. It takes yet another step away from the courteous tones of the band's cornerstone LPs, Ten and Vs, and proudly flaunts egotism ("I know I was born and I know that I'll die/ The in-between is mine," Eddie Vedder sings on "I Am Mine") and a dark underbelly ("Green Disease"). But it's far from insufferable: If any band can make self-obsession sound hospitable, it's Pearl Jam. And when Vedder sneaks in the line "All you need is love" on the rollicking "Love Boat Captain," he proves that despite his furrowed-brow demeanor, he's a born entertainer. --Aidin Vaziri