Pearl Jam’s first official live album, nestled snugly between the Yield and Binaural albums in the band’s discography, is a rough-around-the-edges but worthy depiction of the band’s charismatic live presence. Most noticeably for fans, Eddie Vedder’s voice wobbles at times, but that’s the worst that can be said for it. There’s a pretty fantastic tracklisting, from the opening anthem of Corduroy to the closing Neil Young cover Fucking Up, with plenty of hits taken in along the way. Indeed, the only real criticism you could make is the lack of Alive and Jeremy, but we do get Given To Fly, Hail Hail, Daughter, Go, Black, and a raucous Even Flow to make up for it.

Recorded on Pearl Jam’s summer 1998 tour, this live album is actually a great way to get to know the band. From rock jams to the more laid-back songs like Off He Goes, the range of moods is excellent, and the band’s skills are at their highest. Guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard at on fine form, and Matt Cameron, freshly joined on drums at the time, does a great job. The band as a whole are pretty faultless, even managing a flawless rendition of then-new single Do The Evolution and the mass crowd singalong with Better Man will bring tears to the eyes of many a Pearl Jammer. Clearly, plenty of real fans were present at the recordings, for the crowd reactions are little short of excellent, from the whoops at the start to the respectful silence towards the end.

Pearl Jam are infamous for their many official live ‘bootlegs’, and whilst some are good, Live On Two Legs is one of those live albums that are mandatory for fans of the band. Any fan will tell you Pearl Jam are excellent live, and whilst I haven’t yet had the experience of seeing them for myself, I imagine it would be much like this. What more can be said? Mandatory for any fan of the band.