In addition to the remastered original album which helped usher in an entire movement in rock music, the deluxe edition of Pearl Jam’s Ten includes a true gem – a DVD of the band’s MTV Unplugged performance (although not including songs performed but not aired in the original broadcast), a curious oddity – a complete remix of the album by Brendan O’Brien (which brings out a few new sounds but ultimately offers little new and only begs the question why anyone felt it was necessary), and a few treasures – a few demos including “State of Love and Trust” and “Breath” and the pseudo-new “Brother”; missing is a more comprehensive collection of B-sides and rarities (several were released on the Lost Dog compilation but they would have been perfect for this), more comprehensive album liner notes (all that’s included is some artwork and photos of knickknacks; even the lyrics included in the original album have been removed) and maybe a concert performance of the album (or an audio disc of the Unplugged show)…the new additions are nice but in the end you can’t help but feel it would be more complete with some more complementary material for such a stellar album.

Original album rating: 10 / 10

Deluxe Edition rating: 8 / 10

August 27, 1991 (original release)
March 24, 2009 (reissue)

Epic