Ten (Pearl Jam album)

Ten is the debut studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 20, 1991,<ref name="RIAA"/> through Epic Records. Following the dissolution of their previous band Mother Love Bone in 1990, bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard began rehearsing with new guitarist Mike McCready. The group recorded a five-song instrumental demo tape that included contributions from Matt Cameron on drums. Copies of the demo were eventually given to drummer Dave Krusen and vocalist Eddie Vedder, both of whom were invited to audition for the band in Seattle. Many of the songs on Ten were instrumental jams or reworked Mother Love Bone songs for which Vedder composed new melodies and lyrics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Despite its reputation as a quintessential grunge album, Ten is often noted for displaying a stronger classic rock influence than other contemporary grunge releases, drawing comparisons to the work of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. The album is also characterised as having an anthemic, rich sound.<ref name="Huey"/> Ten was not an immediate commercial success, but by late 1992, it had reached number two on the Billboard 200. The album produced three hit singles: "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Jeremy".

"Jeremy" became one of Pearl Jam's best-known songs, and received nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 35th Grammy Awards. MTV put the video for "Jeremy" into heavy rotation; it received four awards at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and Best Group Video. In 2021, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Beyond its role in consolidating the mainstream success of grunge rock in the early 1990s, Ten is generally considered to have been instrumental in the rise and dominance of alternative rock throughout the decade.<ref name="blackdays">Pearlman, Nina. "Black Days". Guitar World. December 2002.</ref> The album has since been ranked by several publications as one of the greatest albums of all time. By February 2013, it had sold 13 million copies in the US, becoming the 22nd record to do so in the Nielsen SoundScan era,<ref name="billboard_a">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and has been certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Ten remains Pearl Jam's most commercially successful album.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Background

Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament had played together in the pioneering grunge band Green River. Following Green River's dissolution in 1987, Ament and Gossard played together in Mother Love Bone during the late 1980s. Mother Love Bone's career was cut short when vocalist Andrew Wood died of a drug overdose in 1990, shortly before the release of the group's debut album, Apple. Devastated, it took months before Gossard and Ament agreed to play together again. Gossard spent his time afterwards writing material that was harder-edged than what he had been doing previously.<ref name="crowe">Template:Cite magazine</ref> After a few months, Gossard started practicing with fellow Seattle guitarist Mike McCready, whose band Shadow had broken up; McCready in turn encouraged Gossard to reconnect with Ament.<ref name="secondcoming">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The three then went into the studio for separate sessions with Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and former Shadow drummer Chris Friel to record some instrumental demos.<ref name="goldmine">Greene, Jo-Ann. "Intrigue and Incest: Pearl Jam and the Secret History of Seattle (Part 2)". Goldmine. August 20, 1993.</ref> Five of the songs recorded—"Dollar Short", "Agytian Crave", "Footsteps", "Richard's E", and "E Ballad"—were compiled onto a tape called Stone Gossard Demos '91 that was circulated in the hopes of finding a singer and drummer for the trio.<ref name="blackdays" />

San Diego musician Eddie Vedder acquired a copy of the demo in September 1990, when it was given to him by former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. Vedder listened to the demo, went surfing, and wrote lyrics the next day for "Dollar Short", "Agytian Crave", and "Footsteps". "Dollar Short" and "Agytian Crave" were later retitled "Alive" and "Once", respectively. Gossard and Ament heard the demo with Vedder's vocals and lyrics, and were impressed enough to fly Vedder out to Seattle for an audition. Meanwhile, Vedder had written lyrics for "E Ballad", retitled "Black". Vedder arrived on October 13 and rehearsed with the band (now joined by drummer Dave Krusen) for a week, writing eleven songs in the process. Vedder was soon hired as the band's singer, and the group signed to Epic Records shortly thereafter.<ref name="blackdays" />

Recording

The band, then named Mookie Blaylock (after the basketball player of that name), entered London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington in March 1991 with producer Rick Parashar to record its debut album. After working with Parashar on Temple of the Dog, Stone and Ament asked him to co-produce and engineer Ten. Parashar also contributed piano, organ, percussion, co-wrote vocal harmonies and co-wrote the intro/outro of the album. A few tracks were previously recorded at London Bridge in January, but only "Alive" was carried over from that session. The album sessions were quick and lasted only a month, mainly due to the band having already written most of the material for the record. "Porch", "Deep", "Why Go", and "Garden" were first recorded during the album sessions; everything else had been previously recorded during demo sessions at some point. McCready said that "Ten was mostly Stone and Jeff; me and Eddie were along for the ride at that time."<ref name="tenpast">Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin. August 2001.</ref> Ament stated, "We knew we were still a long way from being a real band at that point."<ref name="Coryat">Coryat, Karl. "Godfather of the 'G' Word". Bass Player magazine. April 1994.</ref>

The recording sessions for Ten were completed in May 1991. Krusen left the band once the sessions were completed, checking himself into rehab.<ref name="goldmine"/> According to Krusen, he was suffering from personal problems at the time.<ref name="goldmine"/> Krusen said, "It was a great experience. I felt from the beginning of that band that it was something special," and added, "They had to let me go. I couldn't stop drinking, and it was causing problems. They gave me many chances, but I couldn't get it together."<ref>Acrylic, Kim. "Interview with Dave Krusen of The Kings Royal" Template:Webarchive. Punk Globe. January 2009.</ref> In June, the band joined Tim Palmer in England for mixing. Palmer decided to mix the album at Ridge Farm Studio in Dorking, a converted farm that according to Palmer was "about as far away from an L.A. or New York studio as you can get."<ref name="blackdays" /> Palmer made a few additions to the already-recorded songs, including having McCready finish up the guitar solo on "Alive" and tweaking the intro to "Black. Palmer overdubbed a pepper shaker and a fire extinguisher as percussion on "Oceans".<ref name="blackdays" />

In subsequent years, band members have expressed dissatisfaction with the way the album's mixing turned out. In 2001, Ament said, "I'd love to remix Ten. Ed, for sure, would agree with me. It wouldn't be like changing performances; just pull some of the reverb off it."<ref name="tenpast"/> In 2002, Gossard said, "It was 'over-rocked', we were novices in the studio and spent too long recording, doing different takes, and killing the vibe and overdubbing tons of guitar. There's a lot of reverb on the record."<ref>"Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". Total Guitar. November 2002.</ref> In 2006, Vedder said, "I can listen to the early records [except] the first record...it's just the sound of the record. It was kind of mixed in a way that was...it was kind of produced."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

According to Guitar World, Mike McCready's undisguised Stevie Ray Vaughan passion saw him bring Strats back into vogue. The guitarist described his playing on "Black" and "Even Flow" as an SRV “rip off”. Both guitarists used Marshall JCM800s for dirty tones and Fenders for clean parts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music and lyrics

Ten has been described as a grunge,<ref name="Huey"/><ref name="Spin2019">Template:Cite web</ref> alternative rock,<ref name="Huey"/><ref name="Spin2019"/> and hard rock album.<ref name="Huey"/> Several of the songs on the album started as instrumental compositions that Vedder added lyrics to after he joined the band. Regarding the lyrics, Vedder said, "All I really believe in is this fucking moment, like right now. And that, actually, is what the whole album talks about."<ref>Neely, Kim. "Right Here, Right Now: The Seattle Rock Band Pearl Jam Learns How to Celebrate Life". Rolling Stone. October 31, 1991.</ref> Vedder's lyrics for Ten deal with subjects like depression, suicide, loneliness, and murder. The album also tackles social concerns such as homelessness ("Even Flow")<ref>Clay, Jennifer. "Life After Love Bone". RIP. December 1991.</ref> and the use of psychiatric hospitals ("Why Go").<ref>Vedder, Eddie. "Interview with David Sadoff" KLOL FM, Houston, Texas. December 1991. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.</ref> The song "Jeremy" and its accompanying video were inspired by a true story in which a high school student shot himself in front of his classmates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Many listeners interpreted "Alive" as an inspirational anthem due to its decidedly uplifting instrumentals and chorus.Template:Citation needed Vedder has since revealed that the song tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a son discovering that his father is actually his stepfather (his real father having died long ago), while his mother's grief turns her to sexually embrace her son, who strongly resembles the biological father.<ref name="crowe"/> "Alive" and "Once" formed part of a song cycle in what Vedder later described as a "mini-opera" entitled Momma-Son<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (the third song, "Footsteps", appeared as a B-side on the "Jeremy" single). Vedder explained that the lyrics told the story of a young man whose father dies ("Alive"), causing him to go on a killing spree ("Once") which leads to his capture and execution ("Footsteps"). It was later revealed that Vedder's lyrics were inspired by his long-held hurt in discovering at age 17 that the man he thought was his father was not, and that his real father had already died.<ref name="blackdays" />

While Ten deals with dark subject matter, it has generally been seen as a high-water mark of the early 1990s alternative rock sound, with Vedder's unusually deep and strong (and later much-imitated) voice alternating between solidity and vibrato against the unrestrained, guitar-heavy, hard rock sound that drew influence from Led Zeppelin and other rock bands of the 1970s. Ten's musical style, influenced by classic rock, combined an "expansive harmonic vocabulary" with an anthemic sound.<ref name="Huey"/> Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that the songs on the album fused "the riff-heavy stadium rock of the 1970s with the grit and anger of '80s post-punk, without ever neglecting hooks and choruses."<ref name="Erlewine">Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [[[:Template:AllMusic]] "Pearl Jam > Biography"]. AllMusic. Retrieved on June 22, 2007.</ref>

Ten features a two-part track entitled "Master/Slave" that both opens and closes the album. The first part begins the album, before "Once" starts, and the second part closes the album, after "Release". It begins about ten seconds after the album's closer "Release" as a hidden track, but both count as one track on the CD. The song is entirely instrumental (except for random unintelligible words Vedder utters throughout) with a dominant fretless bass line making up the core of the song (which Ament referred to in a 1994 Bass Player magazine interview as "my tribute to (fretless bass instrumentalist) Mick Karn"),<ref name="godfather">Coryat, Karl. "Godfather of the 'G' Word". Bass Player Magazine. April 1994.</ref> along with some guitar and sounds that seem to come from the drums. Producer Rick Parashar stated in 2002, "As I recall, I think Jeff had, like, a bass line...I heard the bass line and then we kind of were collaborating on that in the control room, and then I just started programming on the keyboard all this stuff; he was jamming with it and it just kind of came about like that."<ref name="blackdays" /> In a 2021 interview with Kyle Meredith, Ament also revealed that he took inspiration from Cheap Trick's bass sounds for songs "Why Go" and "Jeremy".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Outtakes

The album's singles featured two B-sides from the Ten recording sessions which were not included on the album, "Wash" and "Yellow Ledbetter". The former was a B-side on the "Alive" single while the latter was featured on the "Jeremy" single and eventually became a radio hit in 1994. Both songs were included on the 2003 Lost Dogs collection of rarities, although the included version of "Wash" is an alternate take. The song "Alone" was also originally recorded for Ten; a 1992 re-recorded version of the song is on the "Go" single. Another version of "Alone", with re-recorded vocals, appears on Lost Dogs.<ref name="billboard">Cohen, Jonathan. "The Pearl Jam Q & A: Lost Dogs". Billboard. 2003. Retrieved on May 9, 2008.</ref> According to McCready, "Alone" was cut from Ten because the band already had enough mid-tempo songs for the album.<ref name="billboard"/> The song "Dirty Frank", which was released as a B-side on the "Even Flow" single and often thought to be a Ten outtake, was recorded after Ten was released. Thus, "Dirty Frank" is not from the Ten recording sessions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The song "Footsteps" began as an instrumental demo and was compiled onto the Stone Gossard Demos '91 tape. Vedder added vocals to this version after he received the demo tape. The music for "Footsteps" was also used for Temple of the Dog's "Times of Trouble".<ref name="billboard"/> "Footsteps" was featured as a B-side on the "Jeremy" single, however this version is taken from a 1992 appearance on the radio show Rockline.<ref>"Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology" Template:Webarchive. FiveHorizons.com. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.</ref> This version of "Footsteps" is also featured on Lost Dogs, however a harmonica intro has been overdubbed on to the recording.

Other songs rejected from the album but later included on Lost Dogs are "Hold On" and "Brother", the latter of which was turned into an instrumental for Lost Dogs.<ref name="billboard"/> "Brother" was cut because Gossard was no longer interested in playing the song, a decision which Ament objected to and almost caused him to quit the band.<ref>(2003) Album notes for Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.</ref> The version of "Brother" with vocals appears on the 2009 Ten reissue and became a radio hit that same year.<ref>"'Slumdog' Barks While Taylor Swift Nets 10th Week At No. 1" Template:Webarchive. Billboard. February 25, 2009.</ref> Both "Breath" and "State of Love and Trust" were recorded with the intention of the two songs possibly appearing in the film Singles.<ref>Crowe, Cameron. "Making the Scene: A Filmmakers Diary" Template:Webarchive. Rolling Stone. October 1, 1992. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.</ref> The versions heard in the film and on its soundtrack were recorded a year later in 1992.<ref name="kicking"/> The versions from the Ten sessions appear on the 2009 Ten reissue. Other songs rejected from the album but included on the 2009 Ten reissue are "Just a Girl", "2,000 Mile Blues", and "Evil Little Goat".

Release and promotion

Packaging

The album's cover art features the members of the band at the time of recording in a group pose and standing in front of a wood cut-out of the name "Pearl Jam", with their hands risen high and holding one another's. The wood cut-out was constructed by Jeff Ament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ament said, "The original concept was about really being together as a group and entering into the world of music as a true band...a sort of all-for-one deal."<ref name="reissue"/> Ament is credited for the album's artwork and art direction,<ref name="credits">[[[:Template:AllMusic]] "Ten: Credits at Allmusic"]. AllMusic. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.</ref> Lance Mercer receives credit for photography, and both Lisa Sparagano and Risa Zaitschek are credited for design.<ref name="credits"/> Ament stated, "There was a bit of headbutting going on with the Sony art department at that time. The version that everybody got to know as the Ten album cover was pink and it was originally intended to be more of a burgundy color and the picture of the band was supposed to be black and white."<ref>Quinn, Bryan. "Q+A session with Pearl Jam" Template:Webarchive. Daily Record. March 9, 2009.</ref> Pearl Jam's original name was taken from the professional basketball player Mookie Blaylock.<ref name="Erlewine"/> It was changed after the band signed to Epic Records, as record executives were concerned about intellectual property and naming rights following Blaylock's inking of an endorsement deal with Nike. In commemoration of the band's original name, the band titled Ten after Blaylock's jersey number.<ref>Papineau, Lou. "20 Things You Should Know About Pearl Jam" Template:Webarchive. VH1.com. June 30, 2006. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.</ref>

In some versions (mainly CD and cassette releases), the cover is in gatefold form, folded in such a way that only the band members' hands are visible.

Tour

Template:Main Ament stated that "essentially Ten was just an excuse to tour", adding, "We told the record company, 'We know we can be a great band, so let's just get the opportunity to get out and play.'"<ref name="Coryat"/> Pearl Jam faced a relentless touring schedule for Ten.<ref name="kicking">Gilbert, Jeff. "Alive & Kicking". Guitar World. September 1992.</ref> Drummer Dave Abbruzzese joined the band for Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the album. Halfway through its own planned North American tour, Pearl Jam cancelled the remaining dates in order to take a slot opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the band's Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour in the fall of 1991 in North America. The spot was arranged by Jack Irons, who had called his former band asking for them to get an opportunity to his friend Vedder.<ref name="kiedis">Template:Cite book</ref> The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana were also supporting acts. Nirvana was initially brought in because the tour promoters decided that Pearl Jam should be replaced with a more successful act,<ref name="kiedis"/> but the departure of the Smashing Pumpkins still kept the group in the concert bill.<ref name="kiedis"/> Epic executive Michael Goldstone observed that "the band did such an amazing job opening the Chili Peppers tour that it opened doors at radio."<ref name="tenpast"/>

In 1992, the band embarked on its first ever European tour. On March 13, 1992, at the Munich, Germany show at Nachtwerk, Pearl Jam played Ten in its entirety in order midway through its set.<ref>"Pearl Jam Shows: 1992 March 13, Nachtwerk Munich, Germany – Set List" Template:Webarchive. PearlJam.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.</ref> The band would only do this again in 2016 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, as the arena management homaged the band's tenth straight sellout concert in the city.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Following the European leg, Pearl Jam did another tour of North America. Goldstone noted that the band's audience expanded, saying that unlike before, "everyone came."<ref name="tenpast"/> The band's manager, Kelly Curtis, stated, "Once people came and saw them live, this lightbulb would go on. During their first tour, you kind of knew it was happening and there was no stopping it. To play in the Midwest and be selling out these 500 seat clubs. Eddie could say he wanted to talk to Brett, the sound guy, and they'd carry him out there on their hands. You hadn't really seen that reaction from a crowd before..."<ref name="tenpast"/> When Pearl Jam came back for a second go-around in Europe the band appeared at the Pinkpop Festival and the Roskilde Festival in June 1992. The band cancelled its remaining European dates in the summer of 1992 after the Roskilde Festival due to a confrontation with security at that event as well as exhaustion from touring.<ref>"Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology: Part 2" Template:Webarchive. FiveHorizons.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.</ref> Ament said, "We'd been on the road over 10 months. I think there just came a point about half way through that tour it was just starting to get pretty intense. I mean just being away from home, being on the road all the time and being lonely or being depressed or whatever."<ref>Davis, Kathy. Template:Usurped. TwoFeetThick.com. July 30, 2007. Retrieved on April 28, 2008.</ref> The band would go on to play the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Ministry and Ice Cube, among others.

2009 re-release

On March 24, 2009, Ten was reissued in four editions (Legacy, Deluxe, Vinyl, and Super Deluxe). It was the first reissue in a planned re-release of Pearl Jam's entire catalogue that led up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011.<ref name="reissue">Template:Cite news</ref> The extras on the four editions include a remastering and remix of the entire album by producer Brendan O'Brien, re-designed packaging, six bonus tracks ("Brother", "Just a Girl", "Breath and a Scream", "State of Love and Trust", "2,000 Mile Blues", and "Evil Little Goat"), a DVD of the band's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged (including a bonus performance of "Oceans", which along with "Rockin' in the Free World" was originally excluded from the broadcast version), vinyl versions of the album, an LP of the band's September 20, 1992 concert at Magnuson Park in Seattle (also known as Drop in the Park), a replica of the original Momma-Son demo cassette, and a replica of Vedder's composition notebook containing personal notes and mementos.

Regarding his remix of the album, O'Brien stated, "The band loved the original mix of Ten, but were also interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it...The original Ten sound is what millions of people bought, dug and loved, so I was initially hesitant to mess around with that. After years of persistent nudging from the band, I was able to wrap my head around the idea of offering it as a companion piece to the original—giving a fresh take on it, a more direct sound."<ref name="reissue"/>

The Ten reissue sold 60,000 copies in its first week, the second biggest selling week for the album since Christmas 1993.<ref name="AskBillboard">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Since Billboard considers the Ten reissue a catalog item, Ten did not appear on the Billboard 200, Top Modern Rock/Alternative, or Top Rock Albums, since those charts do not include catalog items.<ref name="AskBillboard"/> Had it been included on the Billboard 200, the 60,000 copies sold of the Ten reissue would have placed it at number five.<ref name="Billboard040109">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The reissue also re-entered the Australian Albums Chart at number 11, giving it a new peak chart position in Australia and its highest chart placing since June 14, 1992.<ref name="www.australian-charts.com">Pearl Jam in Australian Charts Template:Webarchive. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.</ref>

Tying in with the re-release of the album in March 2009, the entire album was made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series of video games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, three Ten-era bonus tracks were made available for the Rock Band video game for those who purchased the Ten re-release through Best Buy: "Brother", "Alive", and "State of Love and Trust", the latter two as live versions taken from the band's September 20 concert.<ref>"Best Buy Exclusive" Template:Webarchive. BestBuy.com.</ref>

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, music critic David Fricke praised Ten, saying that Pearl Jam "hurtles into the mystic at warp speed." He also added that Pearl Jam "wring a lot of drama out of a few declarative power chords swimming in echo."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Allan Jones of Melody Maker suggested in his review of Ten that it is Vedder who provides Pearl Jam "with such a uniquely compelling focus".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Q, Dave Henderson called it "raucous modern rock, spiked with infectious guitar motifs and powered with driving bass and drums," and said it "may well be the face of the 90's metal."<ref name="Henderson"/> Stereo ReviewTemplate:'s Ron Givens said that the band "sounds larger than life, producing a towering inferno of roaring guitars, monumental bass and drums, and from-the-gut vocals."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Don Kaye of Kerrang! defined the album as "introspective and charged with a quiet emotional force".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Greg Kot wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "Occasionally overwrought and unrelentingly humorless, the music nonetheless exerts a hypnotic power at its best."<ref name="Kot"/>

David Browne was less enthusiastic in Entertainment Weekly; he found Pearl Jam to be derivative of "fellow Northwestern rockers like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and the defunct Mother Love Bone", and felt that it "goes to show that just about anything can be harnessed and packaged."<ref name="Browne"/> NME accused Pearl Jam of "trying to steal money from young alternative kids' pockets",<ref>Gilbert, Jeff. "New Power Generation". Guitar World: Nirvana and the Seattle Sound. 1993.</ref> with reviewer Angela Lewis deeming the band unworthy of comparisons to Nirvana and Soundgarden.<ref name="Lewis"/> Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, gave the album a "B−" and viewed it as another in a "slew of Seattle albums" that "modulate the same misguided ethos", which he said was "hippie" rather than "punk". Christgau described it as "San Francisco ballroom music" whose "distinguishing characteristics" could only be discerned by listeners if they "take the right drugs".<ref name="Christgau"/> He later gave Ten a "two-star honorable mention", citing "Once" and "Even Flow" as highlights, and quipped, "in life, abuse justifies melodrama; in music, riffs work better".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Reviewing Ten in retrospect, AllMusic staff writer Steve Huey called it a "flawlessly crafted hard rock masterpiece" and felt that Vedder's "impressionistic lyrics" are more effective through his passionate vocal delivery rather than their "concrete meaning."<ref name="Huey"/> Charles R. Cross wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that Ten sounded less original and more self-important than Nirvana's Nevermind, but it also showcases the band's intricate guitar style and Vedder's distinctive singing.<ref name="Cross"/>

Legacy

Defined by Kerrang!'s George Garner as "arguably the greatest rock debut record of all time",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ten, in 2003, was ranked number 207 on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,<ref>"207: Ten". Rolling Stone. November 2003. Retrieved on April 27, 2007.</ref> and 209 in a 2012 revised list. In 2020 it was raised to the 160th position on the list, which was carried over for the 2023 edition.<ref name ="500 greatest">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Readers of Q voted Ten as the 42nd greatest album ever;<ref name="Q2003">"Q readers 100 Greatest Albums Ever". Q. January 2003.</ref> however, three years later the album was listed lower at 59th.<ref name="Q2006">"Q Readers 100 Greatest Albums Ever". Q. February 2006.</ref> In 2003, VH1 placed it at number 83 on their list of the 100 greatest albums of rock and roll.<ref name="VH1greatest">100 greatest albums of rock & roll (100 - 81) Template:Webarchive. VH1.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.</ref> In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organised a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and Ten was placed at number 66 on the list.<ref>"Oasis album voted greatest of all time" Template:Webarchive. The Times. Jun 1, 2006</ref> It was also ranked number 15 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World on the magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.<ref name="guitaralbums">"100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time Template:Webarchive". Guitar World. October 2006.</ref> In 2007, the album was included at number 11 on the list of the "Definitive 200" albums of all time developed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers.<ref name="rockhall">"Definitive 200". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 2007.</ref> The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In December 2020, the album was announced as one of many inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 class.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades for Ten

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Guitar World	United States	"100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time"<ref name="guitaralbums"/>	2006	15
Rolling Stone	United States	"10 Greatest Debut Albums (Readers' Poll)"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2013	1
National Association of Recording Merchandisers	United States	"Definitive 200"<ref name="rockhall"/>	2007	11
Pause & Play	United States	"The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1999	11
Q	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest Albums Ever"<ref name="Q2003"/>	2003	42
		"100 Greatest Albums Ever"<ref name="Q2006"/>	2006	59
Rolling Stone	United States	"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"<ref name ="500 greatest"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2012	209
Spin	United States	"Top 90 Albums of the 90s"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1999	33
		"100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005"<ref name="Spin100">Template:Cite journal</ref>	2005	93
VH1	United States	"100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll"<ref name="VH1greatest"/>	2003	83
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1998	15
Nieuwe Revu	Netherlands	"Top 100 Albums of All Time"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1994	25
Musik Express/Sounds	Germany	"The 100 Masterpieces"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1993	68
Rolling Stone	Germany	"The 500 Best Albums of All Time"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2004	20
Juice	Australia	"The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1999	101
Viceversa	Italy	"100 Rock Albums"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	1996	99

Commercial performance

Ten initially sold slowly upon its release, but by the second half of 1992 it became a breakthrough success, attaining an RIAA gold certification.<ref name="blackdays"/> Almost a year after its release, the album finally broke into the top ten of the Billboard 200 album chart on May 30, 1992, reaching number eight. Ten would eventually peak at number two for four weeks. It was held off the top spot by the Billy Ray Cyrus album, Some Gave All.<ref name="scaggs">Scaggs, Austin. "Eddie Vedder: Addicted to Rock". Rolling Stone. April 21, 2006. Retrieved on June 30, 2008.</ref> The album spent a total of 264 weeks on the Billboard charts,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> making it one of the top 15 charting albums ever. By February 1993, American sales of Ten surpassed those of Nevermind, the breakthrough album by fellow grunge band Nirvana.<ref>Snow, Mat. "You, My Son, Are Weird". Q. November 1993.</ref> Ten continued to sell well two years after its release; in 1993 it was the eighth best-selling album in the United States, outselling Pearl Jam's second album, Vs.<ref>Holden, Stephen. "The Pop Life" Template:Webarchive. The New York Times. January 12, 1994. Retrieved on April 30, 2008.</ref> As of February 2013, Ten has sold 13 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan,<ref name="billboard_a" /> and has been certified 13× platinum by the RIAA.<ref>Gold and Platinum Database Search Template:Webarchive. RIAA. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.</ref>

Ten produced three hit singles: "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Jeremy", all of which had accompanying music videos (The music video for "Oceans" was released only outside of the U.S.). The singles all placed on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. The song "Black" reached number three on the Mainstream Rock chart, despite never being released as a single. The video for "Alive" was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video in 1992. "Jeremy" became one of Pearl Jam's best-known songs, and received nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1993 Grammy awards. The video for "Jeremy", directed by Mark Pellington, was put into heavy rotation by MTV and became a huge hit, receiving five nominations at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, of which it won four, including Video of the Year and Best Group Video.

Track listing

Original release

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Personnel

Pearl Jam

• Dave Krusen – drums, timpani on "Oceans"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jeff Ament – bass guitar, twelve-string bass on "Why Go", "Jeremy", and "Deep"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Eddie Vedder – vocals
• Mike McCready – lead guitar, acoustic-electric guitar on "Alive"
• Stone Gossard – rhythm guitar, slide guitar on "Deep"

Additional musicians

• Rick Parashar – piano, organ, percussion
• Walter Gray – cello
• Tim Palmer – fire extinguisher and pepper shaker on "Oceans"

Production

• Dave Hillis – engineering
• Don Gilmore, Adrian Moore – additional engineering
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Lance Mercer – photos
• Tim Palmer – mixing
• Rick Parashar – production
• Pearl Jam – production
• Jeff Ament – art direction/concept
• Eddie Vedder – additional art
• Steve Pitstick – additional art
• Lisa Sparagano, Risa Zaitschek – design

Charts

Original release

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Weekly chart performance for Ten by Pearl Jam

Chart (1991–96)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2
Finnish Albums The Official Finnish Charts<ref name="FINchart">Template:Cite book</ref>	14

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Chart (2020)	Peak position

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Weekly chart performance for the 2009 re-release of Ten

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Croatian Albums Chart<ref name="Top of the Shops">Template:Cite web</ref>	24
Irish Albums (IRMA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	38
US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1

Chart (2014-2025)	Position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	29
Polish Albums (OLiS)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Ten by Pearl Jam

Chart (1992)	Position
Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	46
UK Albums (OCC)	79
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	11

Chart (1993)	Position
Canadian Albums (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	48
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	56
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	11
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	94
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	8

Chart (1994)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref name=aria94>Template:Cite web</ref>	62
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	71
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	23
UK Albums (OCC)	128
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	58

Chart (1995)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	49
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	106

Chart (1996)	Position
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	185

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	167
Canadian Metal Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	85

Chart (2019)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	78

Chart (2020)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	84

Chart (2021)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	121
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	67

Chart (2022)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	137

Chart (2023)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	123

Chart (2024)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	97

Decade-end charts

Decade-end chart performance for Ten

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
US Billboard 200<ref name="1990sbb">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	14

See also

• List of 1991 albums
• List of 1990s albums considered the best
• List of best-selling albums in the United States

External links

• Template:Official website
• Ten at Discogs (list of releases)