Dragline (1993)

If Eddie Vedder were to ditch those Pearl Jam has-beens and hook up with Lawrence, Kansas' Paw, we might reach actual arena-rock nirvana. Because when, on Dragline, guitarist Grant Fitch mixes his metal-gnashing connect-the-riffs with sparkly melodic interludes, he's got stadium lights in his eyes. Unfortunately, Mark Hennessy's alterna-torment vocals fixate too much on misplaced boy-lust, and his Cobain wail seems almost scripted. B