Artist Waves Turntable Tuesday

This Week’s Album — Pearl Jam’s No Code

Welcome to our first installment of Artist Waves Turntable Tuesday. This column will feature a suggested listening album of the week. Also, be on the look out for “Turntable Tuesday — Guest Picks” where the week’s selection will be picked by Artists featured here at Artist Waves.

Pearl Jam’s previously releases TEN, VS., and Vitalogy seem to demand attention- In a way, hitting you in the head and yelling, “Hey, Look at Me!!!!”….. No Code on the other-hand, sneaks up slowly, looking for your heart and soul, then whispers…“psst..hey, listen to me…”

Pearl Jam — No Code

Released 5 years to the day after their debut album TEN and the bands fourth studio album.

RELEASED- August 27, 1996 Epic 67500 Length: 49:37

Re-Released — Sept 2, 2016

MUSICIANS

Mike McCready — Guitar
Jeff Ament — Bass
Stone Gossard — Guitar, Vocals
Jack Irons — Drums
Eddie Vedder — Vocals, Guitar

PRODUCED BY: Brendan O’Brien and Pearl Jam

MIXED BY: Brendan O’Brien and Nick DiDia

RECORDED AT: Chicago Recording Company, Kingsway Studio New Orleans, Seattle’s Studio Litho (Seattle)

Fun Facts:

The album cover art is created with 156 Polaroid photos that unfolds into a 2×2 square.

One photo on the front cover is the eyeball of Dennis Rodman, former NBA player and friend of the band.

One photo is of Eddie Vedder’s foot after being stung by a stingray.

When viewed from a distance, the photos blend to form the No Code triangle eyeball logo.

— Bassist Jeff Ament on Lead Guitar when the band plays “Smile” — Photo: Lincoln, Nebraska 2014

(Center) Stone Gossard on bass guitar during “Smile”

It’s traditional that Bassist Jeff Ament plays Lead Guitar and Stone Gossard takes up the bass for the song “Smile” during live performances.

The CD and vinyl came with lyrics printed on the back of replica Polaroids.

13 Polaroid photos were created for the 13 songs on the album. However, only 9 came packaged inside the album.

TRACKS

Outtakes — Two outtakes from the recording sessions ended up as B-sides, “Black, Red, Yellow” on the “Hail, Hail” single and “Dead Man”, which was originally intended for the film Dead Man Walking, on “Off He Goes.” Both songs were included on the 2003 Lost Dogs collection of rarities, along with four other tracks from the No Code sessions, two of which ended up in compilations — “Leaving Here”, which appeared on Home Alive, and “Gremmie Out of Control,” featured on Music for Our Mother Ocean Vol. 1. The other rejected songs were “All Night” and “Don’t Gimme No Lip.”