Seattle's Pearl Jam has given the world its first album, and it's a Ten. Yes, that's the title of the Epic release; yes, that's the highest you can turn a volume control you're Spinal Tap; and yes, say critics, that's also where it reaches on the quality scale. A powerful, eclectic quintet-from left, guitarist Mike McCready, 26; drummer Dave Abbruzzese, 23; bassist Jeff Ament, 28; singer Eddie Vedder, 26; and guitarist Stone Gossard, 25- Pearl Jam combines the brute aggression of modern heavy metal with a surprising postpunk intelligence. A tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers has given the band enviable exposure. So will its role as the fictional rock group Citizen Dick in Cameron Crowe's film Singles, a look at Seattle rock life that opens in April. And so may its special mix. Pearl Jam's lyrics explore the existential angst of youth, but musically the group delivers a continual sense of hope, which may be why its version of the Beatles' ''I've Got a Feeling' connects with audiences. Seattle's other successes are fine by them too. ''The fact that Nirvana had a No. 1 record and a No. 6 single is, like, sick,'' laughs Ament. ''And it's beautiful at the same time.'' Pearl Jam might not mind its own stuff described that way.
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