The 1980s rise of one of the most influential bands of the grunge era, Seattle's Pearl Jam, paralleled the resurgence of that city's music scene. The band's phenomenally successful combination of elements of grunge with a commercial sheen, first heard on their debut album, TEN (1991), was seen as something of a sellout by some of their contemporaries, including a censorious Kurt Cobain. However the band later commendably made a principled, if ultimately unsuccessful stand against the conglomerate Ticketmaster's monopoly on concert ticket sales; it also consistently avoided playing giant stadiums in favor of smaller, more intimate venues. Pearl Jam's music and career is entertainingly and informatively examined in FIVE AGAINST ONE, Rolling Stone writer Kim Neely's well-researched biography, which recounts the origins and growing pains of one of the most successful rock acts of the 1990s, including its members' often rocky transitions from popular local heroes to internationally successful rock stars. Her breezily readable prose expertly navigates the complex twists and turns of the band's story, from its punk rock origins to its 1994 testimony before a congressional committee.