JDIZZY's 365 # 142: Off He Goes

Off He Goes - Pearl Jam (1996)

The 1 2 3 punch of Ten, Vs. and Vitalogy makes many a music fan overlook what came next for Pearl Jam. No Code is their most understated album, and in that respect it is unmatched in the 90's alternative movement. The band was just coming off the best selling single day sales in history, which this album would not match. There are no "classic" singles, but the combined whole is undoubtedly one. It is meant to be taken in full, like Weezer's Pinkerton and R.E.M.'s New Adventures In Hi-Fi, both from the same year. It was rumoured that this song is about the soon-to-be drug casualty Layne Staley, but it could be about anyone whose friends have watched them hopelessly descend into addiction. Eddie Vedder has always praised and covered the work of Cat Stevens and John Lennon. In this song, he becomes a mixture of both, a font for uncounted millions who simply cannot do anything to better a situation. Not bad for the third single from a 3 and a half star album, according to the venerable allmusic.com.