I'd agree with your rankings. Matt's the best. Not only does he really adapt well to their changing sound and fit the modern day Pearl Jam more than Dave A or Jack Irons would, he also writes some killer songs ("The Fixer," "Evacuation," "You Are," "In The Moonlight," "Cropduster," "Johnny Guitar"). I totally agree with you that those songs are heavily underrated, and I was thrilled to see "Moonlight" in Wisconsin this past weekend.
Cameron, however, does NOT fit the band as well on the Jack Irons live stuff. The opening to "In My Tree" (my favorite PJ song) sounds like "Hot For Teacher" with Cameron on the drums.
Irons was great, but I can't imagine the band's sound continuing to evolve in the direction it has with him on drums. He was a major part of their best record (No Code), and it should stay that way.
Dave A. was great in his own way. He did write "Go." But listening to their early stuff, it's hard not to imagine him beating the shit out of the drums on every song. "Daughter" sounds like it's begging for a softer touch. He was excellent for their early 90's attitude.
It's Dave Krusen, right? I don't know if you got a bit of a Nickelback thing in mind there.
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My album rankings:
1.) No Code
2.) Binaural
3.) Ten
4.) Vitalogy
5.) Yield
6.) Riot Act
7.) Backspacer
8.) Vs.
9.) Pearl Jam
No Code will always be special for me. I was 14 when it came out, and it was such a different sound for the band, but it immediately hit me as something magical. "In My Tree," "Present Tense," and "Smile" are unlike anything else they've ever done.
I've tried to rank other stuff higher than Ten, but it's just so damn good. You KNOW nothing from Riot Act - which I love - is as good as "Release."
Binaural is a fucking awesome record. I was shocked they didn't play a single song from it at PJ20.
Yield is weird for me. It has some amazing tracks like "Faithfull" and "Pilate" and "All Those Yesterdays" but it feels so overproduced. And songs like "MFC" and "Do the Evolution" sound soooo much better live.
I really want to rank Backspacer above Riot Act, but I don't like that the second half of the record sounds WAY too much like Eddie solo stuff. "Speed of Sound," "Unthought Known," and "The End" are obviously Ed songs that don't sound they have much input from Mike or Stone. Riot Act is one of my favorites. It has such a great flow but because of that, there aren't a whole lot of standouts. I think my favorite might be "1/2 Full" or "Cropduster."
The self-titled record sounded too much like they were trying to spark some of their older sound. It's too forced. And songs like "Marker in the Sand" and "Big Wave" are kind of forgettable.
