Riot Act was recorded over two extended sets of jams and rehearsals in 2002. While Pearl Jam has effortlessly created some of their best work this way, on Riot Act it feels as if the well of inspiration was running dry. Very few individuals can continually just sit down and let a song flow from them. Experimenting with a more restrained approach to recordings, the instrumentation was held at bay which upon initial listens is quite refreshing. The somber recording reveals layers to Vedder's lyrics, yet the album doesn't quite hold up on repeated listens. Like the three records that precede Riot Act (No Code, Yield and Binaural), all of these tracks enhance themselves in concert. There's an inner proclamation from the band in Vedder's solace seeking lyrics, which are some of the best he ever written, yet one can't help but feel that there is simply too many second-rate songs here. At fifteen songs, Riot Act is prolonged and unfocused. Somewhere amidst these fifteen songs (not to mention "Down", arguably the band's best b-side since "Yellow Ledbetter") there is a really great record. The length of the album distracts the listener and leaves them with an unmemorable listening experience, which is a disservice to the songs. The songs on Riot Act have more of a first draft essence to them almost as if they grew out of a few quick jam sessions. At times, spontaneity works magic however, lightning doesn't always strike and the band would have been smart to continue to work on these songs, let them evolve and beef up the arrangements.

"Can't Keep" grovels for acknowledgment but the band plods along letting the intensity build on the album's opener. "Save You" feels like the Pearl jam of old, vociferous and raging with a pointed finger sermon to those who waste their lives, its Pearl Jam at their most resounding. "Love Boat Captain" features a groove in the chorus that's endearing. "First comes love then comes pain" alludes to the incident at Roskilde. It is evident right from the get go this is a band who isn't wasting time in expressing their emotions. The album gets off to a weighty start where the lyrics and the downcast arrangements suit one another. Other keepers are the album's first single, "I Am Mine", written right before the first show following the Roskilde tragedy. The song rebukes itself in solace with a sunny solo from Mike McCready that ends too soon. "Green Disease" is a showcase for drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Jeff Ament as their sturdy backbeat twists and turns down entrancing itself inside you and is a scathing attack on the CEO's of major corporations "Behind the wall a fat man snores". The album's one undeniable gem, "Thumbing My Way", finds Vedder reeling emotionally from his experiences from the previous few years. Everything about this song is gentle; the lyrics, instruments and even the delivery. He speaks of the challenges life gives you in the face of what seems to be hopeless obstacles. How does one live with the pain? More importantly, how do they continue with their life? "No matter how cold the winter, there is a spring time ahead" Vedder grumbles in a tranquil vocal, but midway through the song, he finds a turning point. Beneath the plaintive strums of a few acoustic guitars, the listener is transformed from grieving to a road of salvation. Of all the reserved numbers on the record, the arrangement for "Thumbing My Way" appears to be perfectly augmented. One doesn't always know what the answer is to difficult life decisions, but sometimes, almost as if they were an answer to a prayer, they appear from out of nowhere. Equally powerful, "Arc" is a harrowing howl by Vedder dedicated to the nine people who lost their lives at the 2000 show in Roskilde. The song was performed a mere nine times on the following tour and was left all of the bootlegs out of respect to the nine who lost their lives on that tragic day. "Arc" is mood music that in its short time pulls at your heart strings and sends you on an emotional roller coaster ride. The only issue I have with the song is it should have closed the record and left the listener with a poignant daze.

The prevailing issue with Riot Act is its lack of focus. Many of the songs feel in progress and lack the emotional punch the best Pearl Jam songs bring you. "You Are" is attention-grabbing, but feels like it could have been so much more. "Get Right" is delivered in a monotone vocal by Vedder. It feels like it has the promise to lift off, but never quite does, even if I love the chorus. "1/2 Full" finds the band evoking the blues, but once again, the rough jam would have felt more at home on a b-side. "Bu$hleaguer" is a controversial song written about George W. Bush. When performed in concert, many fans chose to leave their seats until the song had concluded. My problem with the song is that it isn't the least bit memorable. At times, it's better to evoke a sense of feeling or spirits to conjure up emotions rather than being too clear and concise in your lyrics. Four years later, "World Wide Suicide" would provide a far more aggressive listening experience without being as specific. "Help Help" feels like two different songs that are fighting with one another. While the album's closer "All or None" feels overdone, especially after the anguished "Arc".

Riot Act is still a very crucial record with illuminating lyrics many choose to overlook. However, it's also deemed to be the band's least sonically rewarding. Records live inside of you and despite some of their faults; a song like this can appear out of nowhere and just reinvigorate you, much the way "Thumbing My Way" did for me. Pearl Jam was experiencing change at this point in their lives and was at a creative, commercial and personal crossroads. They finished out their Sony contract with this record and the future was open wide. In their hands they looked for the delicate balance of life and death and sought solace in their music. While Riot Act doesn't punctuate your soul as fiercely as previously records, it still provides a poignant sting.