Mike McCready of Pearl Jam says the band is almost done with their new album, and credits producer Andrew Watt for getting them out of their comfort zone.
McCready told Guitar World that “I think there’s a few tweaks here and there that have to happen, and we’re probably not going to have anything out this year. But Andrew Watt brought an energy and a youthfulness and a great ear to us that I think we needed.”
He also thinks that Matt Cameron‘s best drumming with Pearl Jam happened on the sessions for this album. “Matt Cameron’s playing better than I’ve ever heard him in a long time. I mean, of course I’ve heard him with Soundgarden and of course he’s incredible and always has been. But he’s playing more like that now – he’s kinda loose. Andrew pushed him to play however he wanted to play. How Matt’s playing on this record has made it amazing in my mind.”
McCready also revealed that he’s working on his own project, a rock opera inspired in part by Chris Cornell. “I love Chris and I’m working on a little project about the Seattle scene and a musical kind of rock opera thing. It’s just from my experience in the Seattle music scene, and he’s part of it.” He added, “I’m just in the middle of it. I’m working on a script and I’ve got about 18 songs that I’m working on, and I’m singing on it. It’s been a long journey.”
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