Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is looking back as the band’s debut album, Ten, turns 35 on Aug. 27. The record dropped in 1991 and helped define ’90s grunge and alternative rock. It later went Diamond and gave the band hits like “Even Flow,” “Alive” and “Jeremy.”
The five original members — McCready, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Eddie Vedder and Dave Krusen — had played in other groups like Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog before forming Pearl Jam. “It was the combination of efforts of those five guys,” McCready says. They’d played in bands for years, and everything came together in this one.
McCready says he felt Ten was special from the start. When Vedder first came in and they worked on “Once,” McCready says he immediately knew something big was happening. He didn’t know how big, but the band did.
Now, 35 years on, McCready calls playing Ten songs live a “mythical” and “spiritual” experience. He says the crowd has made songs like “Alive” and “Even Flow” larger than the originals. “It’s more of a universe in itself,” he says.
Fans can expect those classic tracks to keep living onstage. For many listeners, Ten remains a milestone record and a powerful part of Pearl Jam’s live shows.
