He was a huge part of the bands early success. I was hoping for something similar to Jason Newsted's appearance in Metallica documentary "Some Kind Of Monster". He could have aired out some things out and reflected on his time in the band.
shareFor me, Pearl Jam was:
1.a. Eddie
1.b. Dave
Then the rest of the band.
It still kills me that Dave was kicked out the way he was and I was really hoping that this movie would shed some light into what exactly happened. His drumming and mannerisms brought so much life into the band. Subsequently, Irons and Camerons drumming seems so boring and tom heavy.
All of the drummers have been great. It's a shame they totally ignored Dave and Jack's roles in the band as if they were non-factors but as I expected, PJ's philosophy is pretty much "if you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all". Which is at least better than trashing them.
shareThe problem there is that Pearl Jam's "philosophy" shouldn't control, unless it's a film produced by Pearl Jam and the record company to serve as advertising. I get that Crowe has little use for criticism or even an objective viewpoint and lots of room for homage, nostalgia, etc., but come on: a documentary about Pearl Jam that barely mentions Dave Abbruzzese, why they canned him, how they canned him, etc.?
You don't even have to trash the guy, since I think they're on record as saying it was largely because of a personality clash between how Dave viewed being a rock star and how Eddie and Jeff viewed being a rock star. That plays right into a main theme of the film. And it would at least attempt to document history.
The recent Foo Fighters documentary, Back and Forth, also has a reverence that borders on outright commercialism (I think the FF might have been producers on it, actually), but in that film dealt with former band members head-on, and I think it was an effective way of saying what Grohl and the band was about by showing what they broke away from, how they handled things, etc.
I think they glossed over the drummer thing for a variety of reasons. First of all, I think the Dave A stuff was brutal for them at the time (and even potentially makes Eddie and Jeff look bad). Also, by not delving into it too deeply, they can avoid mentioning Jack Irons alleged mental health problems. Lastly, I think they honestly feel they have the best drummer for them now, that they have come into their own. I disagree, as I am mostly a No Code/Yield girl. I liked Jack's feel. Matt's drumming, while perfect for Soundgarden, is not what I like about Pearl Jam. I like them a little looser. Most of the fans I speak to disagree with me totally, though.
shareI wonder if he got his shoulder stick figure tattoo removed?
shareThat the documentary did not deal with the Dave Abbruzzese firing came off as taking the cowards way out. PJ will never (at least publicly) admit it but Abbruzzese was by far the best drummer they ever had. His work on Vs. and the subsequent world tour as well as on Vitalogy was incredible. He had a sense of swing that no other PJ drummer has ever had. The guy's fills were perfect. His firing has been discussed a lot over the years and the consensus is that it was Eddie Vedder's decision - 100%. Eddie got hacked off when Abbruzzese appeared on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine after Vs. went through the roof with sales. Word is that the other band members did not want to fire Abbruzzese but Eddie demanded it. The worst drummer PJ has ever had is, sadly, their current drummer, Matt Cameron. He is simply the wrong drummer for this band. No swing whatsoever. His fills are out of place. His style just does not work for PJ's music. Nice guy but the wrong drumming style.
The other thing is that his firing apparently really screwed up Abbruzzese's life. Not too surprisingly. He could've been a part of history and become rich but instead, for no good reason, he was kicked out of PJ at the height of PJ's success.