Alive by Pearl Jam
Difficulty
Guitar
Three stars
Vocals
Three stars
Drums
Three stars
Bass
Three stars
Band
Three stars
Album
Ten
Release Year
1991
Genre
Grunge
Supervision Recommended
Listen to Song
Video
The Story
This is a breakthrough song in Pearl Jam’s history, one of the band’s first songs and personal disclosure from Eddie Vedder. It began life as a song that guitarist Stone Gossard wrote for his previous band Mother Love Bone, and somehow the tape got from Seattle to San Diego, where Eddie Vedder was working in a gas station.
He wrote words for the song, drawing on a past personal crisis: As a teenager Vedder found out that his supposed father was actually his stepfather and that his real father was dead.
The song has gotten a bit more celebratory over the years, and it now ranks with “Even Flow” as the most-played song at Pearl Jam shows.
Trivia
“Alive” was the first non-lip synched video ever played on MTV.
Gameplay Hints
Think fast and stay on your toes for this song. The guitar part has fast shifts down the frets as you switch from single notes to two-finger chords, then three-finger chords. The solo is quite difficult and has strings of four HOPOs, not unlike the end of “Green Grass & High Tides.” Our testers say it’s immensely fun.
Where Are They Now?
Still alive and going strong.
Note: Any song or music video featured on RockBand.com may not represent the same version of the song used in any Rock Band content (including Rock Band games, Track Packs or our downloadable content). Rock Band content may feature or be based on alternate recordings or cover versions of any of the songs presented here.
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