Origin and Recording
The original version of "Brother" features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard. A version of "Brother" with vocals appears on the 2009 Ten reissue, while an alternate vocal version circulates among fans on an in-house disc labelled Rarities Unreleased Cuts that leaked onto the internet.
While the band was working on Ten the song became a point of contention between Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament. In a story described in the liner notes of the Lost Dogs album, Gossard decided he was no longer interested in playing the guitar riff which almost caused Ament to quit the band.
Guitarist Mike McCready on the song:
I remember Jeff really loving it and Stone either not liking it or being indifferent about it. Jeff and Stone were arguing a lot about this song and were kind of mad at each other. Jeff got so pissed he went off and started dunking basketballs. It was like, "What's up, dude?" He got really pissed. He related this story to me recently. It was the typical Stone goes one way/Jeff goes the other. That is just how they work. They have been together forever and the dynamic between the two of them makes things work. There was a big, heated argument. But I thought it was a cool song with a cool vibe. It may have been an example of mid-tempo-itis. I recall the big argument between the two. Jeff said it was almost like he was going to quit. It was serious shit.
Ament on the song:
I was really, really into that song. Stone wrote that song musically. There was a point during the recording of Ten that Stone was like, "Eh, I'm over it." And I was like, "No! Let's work on it." We actually got in a big fight about it in the studio. It didn't end up getting worked on anymore. It got to a point and Stone was over it. I think maybe to some degree Ed probably wasn't totally happy with where it was at, so it never came out. I think there's great guitar on that song.
The song was featured on the rarities compilation album, Lost Dogs, but without any lyrics, only the instrumental parts. When it came time for the band to select tracks to include on Lost Dogs, Gossard remained uninterested in the song and Vedder decided he was no longer pleased with his lyrics. Vedder suggested to McCready that he overdub some guitar parts in place of the lyrics and this is the version that appears on Lost Dogs. McCready said, "Ed didn't really like the original lyrics. He was like, 'Hey man, if you want, go in and put some guitar stuff on it.' I didn't have really any idea what to do, but I went down and listened to it and thought I'd do some Brian May-style layered guitars on it. I guess this is a final chapter and a lyrical burial."
Read more about this topic: Brother (Pearl Jam Song)
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