Five Against One: The Pearl Jam Story by Neely, Kim (1998) Paperback

by Kim Neely

More than any other band, Pearl Jam embodies the alternative style that dominates rock today. From their early days as fame-ducking grunge pioneers, through their headline-making battle with Ticketmaster, to their current status as self-assured survivors, Five Against One brings to life Pearl Jam's tumultuous ascent to superstardom in rich detail. A compelling portrait of the band's elusive leader Eddie Vedder and family photos never seen before by the public make this a must-have for every Pearl Jam fan.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Collections, Rock N Roll, Biography Memoir

Unknown Binding

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Liv | little joy club · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic insight into the early days of Pearl Jam and who and what inspired their music. Just need someone to now write about the last 17 years of the band...

[Aiva Gru · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not expect a book could make me like my favorite band so much less. 😐

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today Pearl Jam's 10th studio album Lightning Bolt is available. Three nights ago my brother and sister-in-law saw them live in Pittsburgh. I listened to their music and read Five Against One by Kim Neely. This book was published in 1998 when their 5th album Yield was just coming out. By now it seems Neely should be working on a 2nd volume as Pearl Jam's jam just keeps going and going. Neely was a Rolling Stone reporter in the early days of Seattle's grunge explosion. She presents lead singer Eddie Vedder and the band as a conflicted group of guys. They achieved fame so quickly after the release of their 1st album Ten (my all-time favorite album), that they really never were starving, struggling artists. Because of that and Eddie's intriguing past they appear in the book to be tortured artist types. It is nice to know that they have weathered the early days of fame and are still together as a band (with a different drummer from the early days, but Matt Cameron seems to be a permanent member now)making music and putting on kick-ass concerts. Eddie was born 5 days after me and the other guys are around the same age, so I have enjoyed watching them age and mellow. I lived in Seattle during those early days and this book was a fun reminder of that time. Grunge may have been fueled by angry young rockers, but I have always found their music invigorating and life-affirming. One thing Neely might consider putting in part 2 is Eddie's change of heart when it comes to models. At the end of Five Against One he was still married to long-time girlfriend Beth Liebling. They divorced in 2000. He is now married to MODEL Jill McCormick and they have two kids. So much for disliking the cliche of rock stars who marry models ;) If you like Pearl Jam, Seattle, grunge or flannel you would enjoy this book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read from my teen years because I haven’t stopped thinking about the story of Eddie getting the lightbulb from the Space Needle for 15 years…unfortunately the rest was nothing that couldn’t be better experienced watching the PJ20 documentary. The book paints Eddie in a particularly unflattering light which I would be more open to if it didn’t seem like the only people willing to spend a long time talking to this journalist at the time of writing were the former drummer with a chip on his shoulder and Eddie’s stepfather (who has, orange flag at best imo, devoted his life to helping men in divorce and custody proceedings)

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

The perfect book for the Pearl Jam fan who is more interested in drama than all that pesky music they kept making for some reason. The main purpose of the book seems to be to deconstruct the myths Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder built up around themselves, which is worthwhile to an extent. These days we know what Pearl Jam's about, selling Kiss-like amounts of merchandise at Rolling Stones prices to a fanbase of the well-off who they have catered to after discovering they have more disposable income. The whole debacle with their $80 Deluxe Edition of the PJ20 documentary (which of course gushed about their Ticketmaster stance and how they'd never try to screw their fans) was enough to end any debate about whether or not they were at all interested in money. And it's fine that they are, it's their JOB, just don't try to sell me a load of bull about how you are only in it for the music. And I didn't really need this book to illustrate it for me. The rest of the book is devoted to the drama surrounding Dave A's tenure in the band and the Ticketmaster fight. What about that album No Code, you know that one beloved by so many fans (at least those that bother to listen to anything past the first 3 albums, which is all the radio plays)? Well there's a short paragraph about that crammed into pages of Ticketmaster crap. Looking for any stories about time in the studio or how songs on any of their albums came about and were recorded? Sorry, Dave and Eddie are arguing again and we need to breathlessly report every detail. If they do give a detail, such as Dave throwing his sticks as heard on Vs, it's to illustrate the behind the scenes drama.
Eddie's childhood is gone into with nauseating detail, more than anybody needs to know to understand/appreciate the music, it's just that Eddie's stepfather was apparently one of the few people who were interviewed for this book and the author milked it for all it was worth.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, but of course I'm a big Pearl Jam fan, so...duh.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting information and insight into my favorite band, but considering how much Pearl Jam has matured and evolved in the 28 years since this book was published, most of it is irrelevant.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since moving to the Seattle, WA area in 1996, I'd been fascinated with the story of the bands that made it big in the early 90's like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains in particular. I was turned onto Mother Love Bone by a co-worker at Sierra On-Line when he found out I liked Pearl Jam. I then found out the tragic story of the singer of Mother Love Bone and how some of those members continued on first with Cornell of Soundgarden for one album then finding Eddie Vedder and the rest is history. But this book which I just stumbled upon on one of my local library visits really filled in all the holes. Finally I'm finding out all the details of this "Grunge" period.

I finished the book and the last part was a bit heavy talking about Pearl Jam's fight with TicketMaster. They went on into way too much detail there. I was interested in finding out about how they canned the drummer Dave and replacing him, for no reason other than Eddie made friend with another drummer at some point and wanted the switch. Eddie and Dave never got along very well mainly it seemed since Dave wasn't buying into Eddie's act about not wanting to be famous and always acting like he wished they were playing small venues only...etc...Dave didn't pretend to believe Eddie and Dave liked to show he was excited to be in a popular band. Something Eddie didn't think was cool. Read it for yourself!

[keatssycamore · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book for Ange because she loves Pearl Jam. However, she never read it. This should come as no surprise as NO ONE reads rock biographies. Do they?

Except me. Sadly, I don't have strong feelings about Pearl Jam so my reading had a time-killing/because-it-was-there thing happening that kept me from ever becoming engrossed. IOW, I gave it only a a superficial read and found it informational. Though I will say I think the writer was doing something right descriptively in the sense that Eddie Vedder manages to come off terribly without diminishing his essentialness in the enterprise.

[jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was very little in this that isn't stuff that most people who like PJ already know. And there was some stuff, that I'm not even sure was true. It's been a while since I've read it but I remember, on several occasions, just going, "wtf." It was entertaining and quick to read, but I didn't have that satisfied feeling after finishing it that I like to have after finishing a book. It was more like, "eh. Well that's done."

[Bob Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find that Rolling Stone writers or former writers for the magazine have a very specific style of prose. Kim defiantly writes in this way.

The first 20% of the book deals with pre-Eddie Vedder.

I took twice as long reading this book as it should have, I'm not sure if I was disinterested or that it focused on details I didn't care about.

In the end I finished it, and 3 stars isn't meant to dissuade anyone interested in the subject matter.

[John Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books about famous people make you like/admire them more for being good people, sone books about famous people make you not admire them and you maybe wish you hadn't read it. This book falls in the later category. While I'm not sorry I read it, I have come away thinking that Eddie Vedder is/was kind of a little bitch. I know he doesn't care what I think, but reading this has kind of tainted how I feel about Pearl Jam.

[Bruce Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humanizing - if I were to sum it up in one word. Like Pete Townsend's book, Eddie Vedder's idol, it doesn't always paint the prettiest picture. Internal politics in terms of the power structure and chemistry with drummers, I thought that it was a great read. It goes deep into Eddie Vedder's past to teach about the why and the who. It brought me closer to the band and their music.

[Joe · Rating 1 out of 5]

kim neely shits out a half true, half soap opera, half science fiction turd, attempting to cash in on the foamy remains of grunge. The best fucking thing about this book is the picture on the front cover, and the fact that you can probably buy it used for under a buck.

don't read this book.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great history of the band, but the author cleary did not like Ed Vedder.

[Msb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and lacking style, this book is terrible. Don't bother.

[Jessica Biggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was written 23 years ago, but still a fascinating and enlightening expose on the early years of this secretive band. The writing was engaging and honest, showing that no man, or band, is perfect

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was, and still am, a big Pearl Jam fan. Though it was sacrilege to say back in the day, I preferred them to Nirvana. I thought Eddie's lyrics were better and overall the musicianship of the band was superior (except for Dave Grohl's drumming, maybe). So I was looking forward to this deep dive behind the scenes of the band.

Unfortunately the author doesn't seem to have been given much access, apart from a couple of Rolling Stone interviews they used the off-cuts from to bolster up this book. The research is pretty damn thorough though, sourcing what the band said in other interviews and re-using it. But maybe I'm wishing for too much, for a band that is notoriously hard to pin down to even do an interview - or at least was back then - it's no wonder they didn't want to sit down and give a detailed, first-hand account of everything that happened.

The book dragged in two places for me. The first was the beginning, where the author spends way too much time on previous bands everyone was in. Yes, that's interesting for a page or two, for a bit of background, but we didn't buy this book to find out about other bands that went nowhere, get to the meat of the subject quicker!

The other section that dragged for me was the story of Eddie's parents' make-up/ break-up relationship and his on again, off again stepdad. I know Eddie has mined this turbulent time in his life a lot in his lyrics, so, again, a bit of background is interesting enough, but this just went on and on and on, to the point where I wondered if I was reading some doomed romance novel.

The author also, intentionally or not, paints the band, Eddie especially, as kind of assholes. This seems like a baffling decision. You do KNOW who will be the main buyers of this book, right? It ends up being more of an Eddie biography than a band one. Mike's struggles with alcohol are given scant mention, and the longer the book goes on the less important the rest of the band seem to become, with Eddie dictating what should happen and the rest of them just falling in line like employees scared of losing their jobs.

This is an average account of the band's history; both triumphs and troubles, during the first years of their success. The book ends with the Yield album about to be released, which I suppose covers their salad days. There are some interesting stories I hadn't heard, but it's not one I'd recommend to a die hard fan.

[Chris Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Proceed with caution

Overall, this is not a bad book…if you're not old enough to remember when Pearl Jam was huge — maybe you're coming to this band because they are your parents’ favorite band, or you're just finding out what 90s alternative music was all about — then this isn't a bad place to start.

To be sure, reading this book in 2023, and about 14 years on from my own Pearl Jam fandom being reignited, this is a weird read. I want to take exception with a lot of what's in this book - particularly the reliance on sources that seem to have an axe to grind with the band or with Eddie Vedder. But the truth is, in the late 90’s I probably would have read this to confirm some of the things I had started to think about the band. They were so huge and inescapable (and imitated) that by the time Vitalogy came out, I wasn't running to the record store on release day (as I had done for Vs.). I think No Code was a Columbia House purchase and it took a bit for me to buy Yield. All three of those are among my favorite albums now (by Pearl Jam or any band), but at the time, I was a little worn out by the aftermath of “grunge” label.

The sections dealing with ticketmaster were the most illuminating for me. I knew the basic story there but not all of the details. The origins of the band are well known to those of us on board in the early days, so aside from a few anecdotes and details, not much there that I did not know. The section dealing with Eddie’s childhood is entirely too long, and far too dependent on his step dad’s account of events.

I hope that someday we will have a book that tells this band’s story in a more journalistic fashion - something like Bob Spitz’s books on the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Until then, for those looking to learn about the band, you'll have to make due with books that partially tell the story.

[Liora_Kirshbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's refreshing that the band members were portrayed as actual humans with all their flaws and contradictions (and there was quite a good amount of questionable behaviour on Vedder's part). Instead of perpetuating the myth of brooding, anti-commercial, fame-hating grunge saints, the book reveals that Vedder, in particular, was quite calculating and controlling when it came to the band’s trajectory and image.

I found certain passages a bit too long, while others felt unnecessarily intrusive. For instance, the sealed court documents detailing Eddie’s emotional turmoil after living with his "father" felt really icky to read, such details are nobody's business.

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this really fascinating although appreciate it probably would divide diehard fans due to the less than flattering portrayal of Eddie vedder. You get the sense that Dave, the drummer who got fired has a chip on his shoulder and might be a bit of an unreliable narrator. Whatever the real truth, this is a very detailed portrayal of a band unprepared for massive success and how complicated the dynamics in that situation can be. Would be interested to read a “sequel” of how the next 20 years played out!

[Erik Hermeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interessant om het verhaal van de begin periode van Pearl Jam te lezen en het verhaal rond de vader van Eddie Vedder. Ook is het verhaal met Ticketmaster (Pearl Jam wilde een tijd geen shows doen die geregeld waren met Ticketmaster) en hoe ze hiermee omgaan interessant.

Het boek zelf leest niet lekker, veel details en de informatie komt voornamelijk uit interviews die eerder gepubliceerd zijn.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was debating between 4 and 5 stars. I just really love a music bio. This being one of my favorite bands, I had to go with a 5. It takes me a while to read them, as I listen to the music and watch YouTube interviews/concerts mentioned in the book. I learned a lot about the Seattle music scene and the beginnings of Pearl Jam. A fun read.

[diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

at the time I read this book, I was SO in love with Eddie vedder. this book was super emotional for me to read, and I loved all the insight to the early days of Pearl Jam. this book made me laugh and cry, and it’s interesting how it was written so long ago and PJ is still around 20 years later.

[Smørph Willy Mørph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written with a level of quality that I rarely get the choice to read. Kim Neely has very obviously given much time, care and effort into this book, and I recommend it 10/10 and no less for any Pearl Jam fan.

[Curtis Kise · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Rockstar!"

[Laura Neill]

Es

[Mario Corradi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow burner but incredible views from an era I wasn’t from but wish I could be a part of!

[Joe Leemans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great detailed account of one of the initial Seattle bands to hit the charts, especially of Eddie Vedder.

[Lisa Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl Jam !!

Great read. Author takes you thru the years and provides a lot of insight on the inner workings of this legend of a band. A+