Pearl Jam's album 'Ten' coming to Rock Band 2 in 2009 (Update)

8:56 PM on 12.14.2008   |   Nick Chester

32 comments

Just announced, quietly by Mr. Geoff Keighley during the Spike TV awards, is word that Pearl Jam's classic debut record Ten is coming to Rock Band next year.

Available in March (likely to coincide with the March 24 reissue), the ten tracks will join "Alive," which already appears on the Rock Band 2 disc. Ten was originally released in 1991, and just last week (no joke) I told my wife that if this game doesn't come to Rock Band as DLC in 2009, I'd eat my own poo. 

Harmonix and MTV Games, I thank you. I didn't want to eat my own poo. Seriously.

[Update: A press release makes this official, and as I suspected, the DLC will be available day-and-date with the March 24 re-issue. All the info after the jump.]

PEARL JAM SIGNS WITH MTV GAMES AND HARMONIX TO BRING BAND’S DEBUT ALBUM, TEN, TO ROCK BAND  
 
Full Album to be Released as Rock Band DLC Day and Date with the Re-issue of “Ten”: Four Special Edition Packages in Stores on March 24, 2009  
 
NEW YORK, NY – December 15, 2008 – Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game development company, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today confirmed that Ten, the debut album that sold 12 million copies and introduced the world to Pearl Jam (http://www.pearljam.com) in 1991, will be offered for download in the Rock Band Music Store day-and-date with the re-issue of the album in stores on March 24, 2009.  
 
Paul DeGooyer, Senior Vice President of Electronic Games and Music for MTV Networks Music / Logo Group, added, “Just hearing the first few notes of Jeremy or Alive brings back all the raw emotion of this incredible, hugely important album. We are honored to be working with Pearl Jam to deliver Ten as it is re-issued.”  
 
In addition to the track “Alive” that is already available on the Rock Band 2 game disc, the Pearl Jam Ten download pack will include the additional 10 songs from the album:  

      1. Once
      2. Even Flow
      3. Why Go Black
      4. Jeremy
      5. Oceans
      6. Porch
      7. Garden
      8. Deep
      9. Release

Pearl Jam released Ten on August 27, 1991. The album reached #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, sold over 12 million copies and became one of the cultural touchstones of the 1990s. Songs such as “Alive,” “Black,” “Even Flow” and Jeremy became staples of rock radio, and still make frequent appearances on the band’s ever-changing concert setlists. The album was produced by Rick Parasher. Pearl Jam’s 1991 lineup was Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (guitar), Dave Krusen (drums), Mike McCready (guitar) and Eddie Vedder (vocals).
 
Rock Band 2 features the largest music catalogue of any music-based videogame to date including over 100 songs[1] on the Rock Band 2 soundtrack with an unrivaled blend of classic and new artists including AC/DC, Guns ‘N Roses, Bob Dylan, Pearl Jam, Motorhead and more! The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 30 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 500 tracks available to date via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the addition of complete and immediate backwards compatibility for songs purchased from Rock Band’s ever-expanding online music store and the ability to export most songs from the original Rock Band disc, Rock Band continues to deliver the largest library of music ever for a video game.