Album · Pearl Jam
Backspacer by Pearl Jam
Backspacer is an album by Pearl Jam, released in 2009. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 126 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Just Breathe”, on 62 lists with a best position of #2.
Backspacer, Pearl Jam's ninth studio album, came out on September 20, 2009, on the band's own Monkeywrench label, and it's the brightest, briskest thing they'd done in years. Writing started in 2007, and they cut it from February through April 2009 with Brendan O'Brien back in the producer's chair for the first time since Yield, splitting the work between Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and O'Brien's Southern Tracks in Atlanta.
After the politically charged Riot Act and the self-titled record, Eddie Vedder sounds almost buoyant, and he credited the lift to Barack Obama's election. Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron keep things lean and punchy: at 36 minutes and 38 seconds it's the shortest Pearl Jam studio album. "The Fixer" jolts along, "Just Breathe" is a quiet, tender turn, and the album topped the Billboard 200, their first number one there since No Code.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Backspacer on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just Breathe | 62 | #2 | – | 2009–2026 | |
| 2 | The Fixer | 47 | #2 | – | 2009–2022 | |
| 3 | Amongst The Waves | 17 | #23 | – | 2009–2012 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.