Pearl Jam’s Debut Album Not an Immediate Success

This week on the WPDH Album of the Week, we'll feature the debut album from Pearl Jam, Ten.

Ten is the debut album from Pearl Jam, recording at London Bridge Studio in Seattle. The album was recorded between March 27, and April 26 of 1991. Ten was released on August 27, 1991, through Epic Records.

Ten is often referred to as the quintessential grunge record, but it has a strong classic rock influence. The album features characteristics that remind me of Jimi or Zeppelin. The album was not an immediate success, but by late 1992, it had reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. Three hit singles were released from the album, Alive, Jeremy, and Even Flow.

Ten is considered to have responsible for the rise of alternative rock and grunge throughout the 1990s. Ten has been certified 13x platinum, yeah, that's a lot of records sold, over 13 million copies sold in the United States, and the album is Pearl Jam's most successful album.

Ten has also certified 6x platinum in New Zealand, 7x platinum in Canada and Australia, 3x platinum in Denmark, and certified gold in many other countries around the world. Ten did win four MTV Video Music Awards in 1993 including Video of the Year and Best Group Video. The year before in 1992, the video for Alive was nominated for Best Alternative Video.

The tracklisting for Ten: