Pearl Jam’s fondness for making potentially excellent albums is marred by their serious flaws. There’s always several songs in nearly every one that seem made intentionally for the sonic recycle bin (I’m talking about stuff like "Lukin" and "Pry, To"). This not only drops their rating to a mere decent but fits the Unifying Theory of Life as espoused by Sick Boy, the pretty-faced druggie of Trainspotting: "Once you had it but you lost it. It’s certainly a phenomenon in all walks of life."

Seriously, after Vitalogy did Pearl Jam have anything to offer as good as Ten or Vs.? The second-rate parade of albums like Yield, No Code, Binaural and the execrable Riot Act of 2002 validates me. This has been a massive disappointment and I’ve been waiting a long time for Pearl Jam to make an earnest return to form.

I didn’t get it on this one. Still, after a two-year hiatus it’s hi-ho, back to grunge we go. Behold Pearl Jam (Sony-BMG Phils, 2005) the eighth studio album on the Pearl Jam catalog.

The single "World Wide Suicide" has received thumbs up from many critics and it’s a suitable honor. There’s nothing there you can’t dig, what with the driving melody and Vedder’s furious, anti-war vocals. Hot tracks abound as in the magnificent opener "Life Wasted," where Pearl Jam reclaim their energy, attack and glory of their brand of grunge. "Severed Hand" and "Marker in the Sand" are first-rate rockers that seem sketchy at first listen but grow on you fast, gaining more subtlety as you go. The cherry on this cake is "Big Wave" where huge riffs combined with a killer groove smack of surfer-happiness and a rowdy lust for life.

In the tradition of Pearl Jam albums, the tasty, slow-burn ballad here is the seven- minute long "Inside Job." With lyrics penned by Mike McReady, the atmosphere on this song is a great ender, especially with a line like "Underneath this smile lies everything / All my hopes, anger, pride and shame."

As good as the melodies and Strat-smoking licks are there’s always that feeling that Pearl Jam can do way better. There’s nothing really wrong here but throwaways like "Come Back," "Parachutes," "Gone" and the totally unnecessary "Army Reserve" (I know Bush-bashing is still in vogue, but enough already) bring down what would have been an even keel of an album.

The forays into folk and country still stick out like a sore thumb. I know the guys had a good thing going with Neil Young but leave these other projects in their own place, please. Oh, and what’s with the deconstructed avocado on the cover?

It’s hard to imagine that Pearl Jam were huge rock stars once (prompting Kurt Cobain to call them corporate rock sell-outs) but it’s clear they’ve left those days behind and the best we can expect of them is decent creative output.