But that shouldn’t surprise anyone listening because Pearl Jam has only been getting better since its debut effort and arguably weakest album Ten. And that artistic progression doesn’t stop with these Seattle grunge survivors’ latest album.

For those Pearl Jam fans who tuned out after Vs. and missed the mature musical mixes of Vitalogy and No Code, the songs on Yield are hardly going to bring you back to the land of Pearl Jam fanatica.

It’s too bad too because the intertwining guitar work on Pilate and the soaring vocals of outspoken frontman Ed Vedder Given to Fly have never sounded better.

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And what has kept Pearl Jam going strong amidst all the complaining from fans to lighten up is its ability to play together so well.

With few exceptions, pop bands only put out great singles. By the same measure, great rock n’ roll bands just make great albums and don’t care if the songs invade air waves. You won’t hear any songs from Yield on the radio for too long, but this is one album that will be stuck in compact disc players for a long time.