It was a moderate top 20 success in New Zealand.Ĭhris True of Allmusic called "Even Flow" "the somewhat less ballady more swaggering follow up to the breakout single 'Alive'." True said that the song "doesn’t even really have an intro-it just starts and keeps going-and the band seems more in the groove than on the overly earnest 'Alive'." True said that the song "confirmed that Pearl Jam were more than just one hit grunge rock wonders. "Even Flow" peaked at number 27 in the UK and number 22 on the Australian Singles Chart. In Canada, the song reached the top 80 on the Canadian Singles Chart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was released as a single in 1992 with a previously unreleased B-side titled "Dirty Frank", which can also be found as an extra track on European releases of Ten and as an alternate version on the compilation album, Lost Dogs (2003). The original version was used in single releases in the United States. The alternate studio recording of "Even Flow", which was recorded in 1992 with Abbruzzese, was released as a CD single and 12-inch white vinyl in the United Kingdom. While the "Even Flow" single was released commercially to international markets in 1992, the commercial single was not released in the United States until Jand was only available as a more expensive import version beforehand. You should just know that those people ain't all crazy and sometimes it's not their fault. In addition to being illiterate, he may also be mentally ill, as he "looks insane" when he smiles and struggles to keep coherent thoughts ("Even flow, thoughts arrive like butterflies/Oh, he don't know, so he chases them away").Īt Pearl Jam's Maconcert in Miami, Florida at the Bayfront Amphitheater, Vedder introduced the song by saying, "I thought I'd throw in a bit of street education while you still have an open mind…Right across the street there's a little homeless community that lives under the bridge. The subject sleeps "on a pillow made of concrete" and panhandles passersby for spare change. The stark lyrics by Vedder for "Even Flow" describe the experience of being a homeless man. I tried to steal everything I know from Stevie Ray Vaughan and put it into that song. I just followed him in a regular pattern. Stone (Gossard, Pearl Jam guitarist) wrote the riff and song I think it's a D tuning. That's me pretending to be Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a feeble attempt at that. The vocal line that appears in the main verse begins with a very prominent tritone interval. "Even Flow" features a funky riff by Gossard. A remixed version of the song was included on the 2009 Ten reissue. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Even Flow" was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, Ten (1991).
"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam.