Review of Pearl Jam: Single Video Theory (1998) by Rory S — 09 Apr 2004

It was a long time coming, but I finally found and bought Single Video Theory last year (at the EMP store). I had heard a lot of great things about it, and wanted to see it for myself. The movie/documentary more than lived up to its hype.

The film/docu. combines footage of the band performing/recording and candid interviews with each of the five members of Pearl Jam. The performances (of all the songs from their album Yield, except Push Me Pull Me, Pilate, and Red Dot - the latter was played in the credits) are all amazing, and just as good as the fans have come to expect from such a revered and great band. The interviews were all serious for the most part - not serious as in you-feel-like-frowning serious, but not exactly laughing either, though I did chuckle at the part where Eddie blamed Stone, saying that Stone was "the problem" (and, of course, I had to say "Dammit Ed, don't blame it all on my Stoney!").

There are no real 'videos' to speak of in this DVD/VHS. MTV/VH1 (or any other music video station) could've used any of the performance footage for a vid, but they didn't - so don't complain about how Pearl Jam doesn't release any videos: they do, MTV just doesn't play them! (VH1 either, for that matter).

Anyway, pick this up the next time you see it. It is an essential part of a Pearl Jam fan's collection.