I still have 0 complaints except that the two ballads are a bit dull to me. Not horrible, just dull. Rest of it roxor IMO.
They haven't made a flawless album since their first one, so yeah a couple flaws are to be expected. Like most of their work, this one mostly kicks butt. Can't see how anybody who's a Pearl Jam fan could be disappointed, other than in the length.
I think it is solid the whole way through. My only complaint is there are no real "great" songs in the group, though.I rate PJ songs on a 4 point scale.
4-Great songs that never get old and I can listen to at anytime without needing to be in a PJ mood (Alive, RVM, etc etc). I put 2-3 songs from each CD on this list.
3-Good songs I thouroughly enjoy, but either I can hear them too many times, or I have to be in the right mood (Daughter, Once, Market in the Sand, I am Mine). A little less than half their catalogue I'd put in this category.
2-Songs that are OK, I don't hate them, but I'm not putting in a CD to listen to this song in particular, but I won't skip it either (WMA, Whipping, just about everything on Riot Act).
1-Filler that I don't really enjoy. I'll skip this stuff, and don't really need to hear it again (Rats, foxymophandlemama, etc.).
For Backspacer, there are a lot of 2s and 3s, but I haven't found any 4s yet. That's my only complaint.