15 Things Only Pearl Jam Fans Will Understand

15. Alive's Closing Solo Is Pure Sex

There are many pulsating solos to be found in Pearl Jam's back catalogue, but the outro guitar work on Alive is possibly the best of the bunch. After Vedder's tale (of a man who finds out that his biological father died and he's been unknowingly living with his stepfather his whole life) comes to a close, guitarist Mike McCready puts things over the edge with a freewheeling, mesmerising and almost out-of-control solo.

McCready didn't nail it right away, with Ten's mixer originally splicing a bunch of failed attempts together in order to get the desired effect. Not content with that, McCready went back into the studio and completely knocked it out of the park, getting the song in one take. The result is what you hear on the album.

Considering how complex the solo is, it's amazing that he managed to get it in one shot (even if he did have a bunch of other tries beforehand). But Pearl Jam fans are glad he did, because the finished product provides an incredible, cathartic feeling, even if Mike did try to play it off as him borrowing from Ace Frehley's solo on Kiss' She (borrowed itself from Robbie Krieger's solo on The Doors' Five to One).