“A nightmare”: The 1991 Pearl Jam classic that made them hate each otherAs Pearl Jam can attest, making an album rarely consists of sitting around in a converted studio in a Malibu mansion while drinking herbal tea and taking regular breaks for a dip in the ocean. It may have sold millions of copies worldwide, but nobody, Pearl Jam included, expected it to do so, even though they drove themselves to the brink during the recording process. Nevertheless, the song wasn’t a miracle that came to them easily after a shot of inspiration out of the blue. No matter what they went with, Pearl Jam had just strapped themselves to the musical equivalent of a nuclear rocket. While there was obviously luck, good fortune, and Nirvana’s Nevermind turning the masses on to bands like Pearl Jam, another band would have taken their slot if they didn’t give Ten everything they had.