PEARL JAM LIVE!: 35 Years of Legendary Music and Revolutionary Shows, 90s nostalgia on steroids

PEARL JAM LIVE!: 35 Years of Legendary Music and Revolutionary Shows
SELENA FRAGASSI
publisher (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$35.00 hardcover, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Pearl Jam Live! celebrates the iconic rock band, the fan culture, and the music they created through interviews, photos, and more.

A must-have for every Pearl Jam fan, this beautifully designed volume traces 35 years of the groundbreaking grunge group through photos, interviews, and all the fascinating facts.

Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder, and Matt Cameron are Seattle’s own alternative rock band that sprang to the top of the charts (and into the angsty hearts of millions of global fans) in the 1990s. Though each of the members and the band itself has faced their ups and downs in the four decades since they came together, they continue to release new music and maintain a loyal fan base.

On July 7, 2025, Matt Cameron made the surprise announcement that he was leaving Pearl Jam after a long 27-year run that began back in 1998. This book celebrates the many years, albums, and tours that Matt was a part of before stepping down.

In Pearl Jam Live! music journalist Selena Fragassi delves into the band’s origins—from their beginning as Green River to their earliest influences—to their biggest successes in the ’90s, to their continued achievements today and the lasting legacy they’ve left in the alt-rock canon. Along the way, readers will also explore:

The creation of Pearl Jam’s biggest hits, such as “Even Flow” and “Last Kiss”

The fan culture that built up around the band, from the small gigs and mall tours of their earliest years to performances at Lollapalooza and their Gigaton tour

Pearl Jam’s influences, from classic rock to pop, and their place in rock history

The lasting legacy of a band proudly celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary

Step by step, through interviews, photos, and sidebars full of fun facts and trivia, you’ll learn something new about the band on every page. This book is the perfect companion to your lasting reverence for Pearl Jam.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A defining act for much of its history, Pearl Jam's made millions very happy at its shows...more on its radio sides. (Wow, I'm really old.)

bet at least a few of these are familiar

What a zooming sound the past makes as it races past me. I'm glad I've lived long enough to see the culture of my middle age become nostalgia. My ambition is to live long enough to see 2001 Cadillacs on the auction floor at a Mecum antique-car auction.

Imagine if I'd kept that Pearl Jam concert program....

What we all need is a dose of "Alive" blasting on the car radio while cruising across the country in that 2001 Cadillac I mentioned above. Closest thing we're gonna get is a trip down memory lane with Author Fragassi telling us who the people are we've forgotten, where we know 'em from, and what was happening at that time:

Everything in its place. We're going through a lot of territory, there needs to be some razzmatazz to be visually over)stimulating, this is the alt-rock 90s after all!

Pearl Jam...thirty-five years as a touring band...no wonder Matt Cameron retired in July. He's bloody exhausted! Still, there are a lot of wonderful memory holes to fall into in this excitingly designed volume...but choose the tree-book, trust me. Your 90s-nostalgic giftee will love it.