not fit nicely into a commercial radio format, release their excellent Sound of Lies last year only to have it tank while the label stood by and watched. "That's why she wanted to get out," says a source close to the singer.
It's deja vu all over again for Pearl Jam. Sales of Yield, the latest from the '90s blockbuster band, started out strong, debuting at No. 2 and selling 358,000 copies its first week in stores, according to SoundScan. But, just like the systematic slide '96's No Code suffered over the ensuing weeks, Yield has had trouble gaining any chart traction, with its sales dropping steadily, to less than 35,000 copies a week. At that rate, the record will likely be out of the top fifty by summertime. (By contrast, Matchbox 20's rock album Yourself Or Someone Like You has been hanging around the top ten for months now.) Pearl Jam's post-Vitalogy fan base may have shrunk, but it has been remarkably consistent. A month-and-half after No Code hit stores it had sold 790,000 copies; over the same period Yield, sold 824,000. During its sixth
week out, No Code sold 48,000 copies, coming in at No. 20. For its sixth week, Yield sold 49,000, dropping to No. 19. There is still hope Yield will break from No Code's southern chart descent, though. The band's plaintive single, "Wishlist," continues to rise at radio, and Pearl Jam's extensive 40-date summer tour should generate new buyer interest and help stop Yield's bleeding. "The band is still very viable," says Mike Holloran, program director of XHRM in
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