‘Ten’ at 30: A track-by-track breakdown of Pearl Jam's iconic album

“Once” is a fitting track to mark Pearl Jam’s debut. It’s somewhat of a full circle moment for the band as “Once” is one of the songs guitarist Stone Gossard included on a tape he sent out in hopes of finding a singer. The tape made its way to Eddie Vedder, who at the time was working in a gas station in San Diego. Vedder wound up recording vocals for “Once” along with two other songs and returned the tape to Seattle. The band immediately invited Vedder to come to Seattle and the rest is history.

“Even Flow” is one of the most famous songs in Pearl Jam’s catalog, but it’s also the one recording on Ten the band still may be unhappy with. Bassist Jeff Ament has said he “knew it was a great song all along,” but that it “got the worst take on the first record.” Guitarist Mike McCready has also claimed that songwriter Stone Gossard may still be unhappy with it to this day. "We did 'Even Flow' about 50, 70 times. I swear to God it was a nightmare. We played that thing over and over until we hated each other. I still don't think Stone is satisfied with how it came out."

“Alive” marks the very first single from Pearl Jam as it was released 51 days before Ten came out. Like “Once,” “Alive” was one of the songs included on Stone Gossard’s tape that made its way to Eddie Vedder down in San Diego. Mike McCready’s guitar solo has gone on to become one of the most famous in the band’s catalog and has ended up on numerous “Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time” lists.

“Why Go” continues many of the lyrical themes that have been found up to this point in the album and tells the story of a girl who gets sent to psychiatric treatment against her will. Dealing with the themes of loneliness, anger, and the thought that the rest of the world is crazy, the song showcases Vedder’s storytelling talent.

Perhaps the most personal song on the record, “Black” elicits a variety of emotions in listeners. It was one of the first instances where Eddie Vedder’s brilliant lyricism was on full display. In fact, Pearl Jam refused to make “Black” a single despite pressure from their record company to do so. “Those fragile songs get crushed by the business,” Vedder has said. “I don't want to be a part of it. I don't think the band wants to be part of it.”

The inspiration behind “Jeremy” is one of the more famous stories in Rock lore. It’s also a song Pearl Jam had an incredibly difficult time getting right in the Ten recording sessions. “We knew it was a good song, but it was tough getting it to feel right—for the chorus to sit back and the outro to push over the top,” bassist Jeff Ament said. “The tune went from practically not making it on the record to being one of the best takes. I'm not sure if it's the best song on the album but I think it's the best take… Most of the time if something doesn't work right away, I just say f*** it—but this was an instance when perseverance paid off.”

The story of “Oceans” also serves as a behind-the-scenes peek into the brilliance of Eddie Vedder’s songwriting process. In a 2009 interview with Seattle Sound Magazine, Vedder shared the story behind the song. “I remember for ‘Oceans,’ someone asked me to put change in the parking meter for them. I went and did that and then I came back and was locked out. It was drizzling and I wasn't dressed for an outing in the rain. I had a scrap of paper and a pen in my pocket, and they were playing this song [inside]. All I could hear was the bass coming through the wall, this window that was boarded up. So I wrote the song to the bass. I wasn't even listening to hear the song at first. When I heard a break, I'd start pounding on the door... trying to get out of the rain. So as I was doing that, I thought, f*** it, I might as well write something."

On paper, if you were to look at the accolades of each song on the record, it’d be easy to assume that Pearl Jam phoned it in on the latter part of the album. Oh how naive that would be. “Porch” was another one of the songs that found its way to Vedder in San Diego. The song is notable for its live performances as during the instrumental break, Vedder would often make use of the stage climbing up rafters or jumping into the crowd.

Pearl Jam has never been one to avoid a political statement and they made that much known on their debut record. The origins of “Garden” stem from Eddie Vedder’s reaction to seeing then President George H.W. Bush go on television to discuss the Gulf War. “Why were we doing this? And why were we going off?” Vedder said.

“Deep” may be one of the most underappreciated tracks on Ten. From a musical standpoint it touches on a variety of influences. Mike McCready’s guitar blares a psychedelic wah reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. The thumping rhythm section puts listeners in a trance with its head nodding grunge. From a lyrical standpoint, Vedder delivers a deeply emotional story about a person who’s falling deeper and deeper into despair without hitting rock bottom.