Pearl Jam “Ten” released 30 years ago today, August 27th, 1991. In ‘91 I had  no cash for records having just moved into my first college apartment so a friend of mine made me this tape; I’m not sure what year I got the CD but probably sometime in the later 90′s when vinyl wasn’t widely available. My roommate and I listened to a lot of Pearl Jam – she was a bigger fan than I was and even saw them before they were really huge at a relatively small club, the R and R Station in Madison, WI in March ‘92. I can’t remember why I didn’t go with her. Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve listened to Ten because I got pretty sick of it in the 90′s and I’m not sure I’ve fully recovered. It’s over the top with anthemic grungy sounds and angst and I’m guessing for those reasons it made it to the big time. Pearl Jam’s debut album hit #2 on the US charts in ‘92 and is considered one of the best releases of the 90′s. Three of the singles released from Ten became hits, still played today on classic rock radio stations: “Alive” (#16 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and also #16 in the UK), “Even Flow” (#3 US Mainstream Rock chart, #27 UK) and “Jeremy.” “Jeremy” went to #79 on the main US chart, #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart and to #15 in the UK and its video won four MTV Video Music Awards in 1993, including Best Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, and Best Direction. The final single from Ten, “Oceans,” was only released overseas in ‘92 and then in the US in ‘95 but it didn’t chart here. As I listen to the whole album in its entirety for the first time in at least 25 years, I realize I still know all the songs and still like a lot of them: the big hit anthems “Alive” and “Even Flow” plus  “Black,” “Why Go” and “Porch.” I still have a hard time listening to “Jeremy” though – it’s a super-painful song.