Release and Reception
Regarding the choice of "Nothing as It Seems" as the band's first single from Binaural, vocalist Eddie Vedder explained, "With that one we felt like we...weren't trying to fool people. It actually felt like we were offering them something fairly challenging. We obviously respect the audience." "Nothing as It Seems" was the most successful song from Binaural on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number ten on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, "Nothing as It Seems" charted on the Rock Top 30 chart where it peaked at number two and stayed there for three weeks. "Nothing as It Seems" reached the top 30 in the UK and peaked at number seven on the Australian Singles Chart. "Nothing as It Seems" reached number 98 in Germany, number 83 in Switzerland, the top 50 in New Zealand, the top 40 in the Netherlands and Sweden, the top 30 in Ireland, and was a top ten success in Italy and Norway.
In its review of the song, Billboard said, "Pearl Jam has once again thrown radio a curve with 'Nothing As It Seems'." In addition, it was stated, "This slowly unfolding track is moody and dark, marked by guitars that kick off the cut with acoustic strumming, then eventually explode into white-hot squalls. Along the way, there's a host of strange effects at play, from Eddie Vedder's echo-drenched vocals to Matt Cameron's hollowed tom shots." In his review of the song, David Stubbs of NME said, "Listening again to his gravelly, broodily opaque vocals here, it's hard to remember why anyone ever gave Eddie Vedder house room. This is the sort of 'grunge' sound that tractors get stuck in after three days of rain. "Nothing As It Seems" is, however, thoroughly redeemed by a good old-fashioned, studio-treated, Hendrix-style guitar solo, visceral and distressed, high and mighty." In its review of Binaural, The Guardian called the song "brooding and mysterious" and one of the album's "best moments." The song has been compared to the style of Pink Floyd. Although the song was not a major commercial success, it has been cited as a Pearl Jam fan favorite.
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Famous quotes containing the words release and, release and/or reception:
“We read poetry because the poets, like ourselves, have been haunted by the inescapable tyranny of time and death; have suffered the pain of loss, and the more wearing, continuous pain of frustration and failure; and have had moods of unlooked-for release and peace. They have known and watched in themselves and others.”
—Elizabeth Drew (1887–1965)
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“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)