Vitalogy: Difference between revisions
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In a 1995 interview, ''[[Guitar World]]'' writer Jeff Gilbert described ''Vitalogy'' as "strange" and "very eclectic." McCready agreed, saying, "There is some weird stuff on there." McCready attributed the album's sound to the group recording it on tour.<ref name="guitar world"/> During this period Vedder began to contribute in a large capacity as a guitarist. Gossard said, "''Vitalogy'' is the first one where Ed plays guitar and he wrote three to four songs. I remember thinking, 'This is so different. Is anyone going to like this?'...It had a more [[Punk rock|punk]] feel to it. Simple songs recorded really quickly."<ref name="ReferenceA">"Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". ''[[Total Guitar]]''. November 2002.</ref> The album has a notable lack of guitar solos compared with the band's first two albums. McCready said, "''Vitalogy'' is not really a 'solo' album. I don't think the songs demanded solos; it was more of a rhythmic album."<ref name="guitar world"/> |
In a 1995 interview, ''[[Guitar World]]'' writer Jeff Gilbert described ''Vitalogy'' as "strange" and "very eclectic." McCready agreed, saying, "There is some weird stuff on there." McCready attributed the album's sound to the group recording it on tour.<ref name="guitar world"/> During this period Vedder began to contribute in a large capacity as a guitarist. Gossard said, "''Vitalogy'' is the first one where Ed plays guitar and he wrote three to four songs. I remember thinking, 'This is so different. Is anyone going to like this?'...It had a more [[Punk rock|punk]] feel to it. Simple songs recorded really quickly."<ref name="ReferenceA">"Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". ''[[Total Guitar]]''. November 2002.</ref> The album has a notable lack of guitar solos compared with the band's first two albums. McCready said, "''Vitalogy'' is not really a 'solo' album. I don't think the songs demanded solos; it was more of a rhythmic album."<ref name="guitar world"/> |
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[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] said that "thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, ''Vitalogy'' stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album."<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|title=''Vitalogy'' – Pearl Jam|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r207150|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|accessdate=March 21, 2009}}</ref> He added that "in between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music—the mantrafunk of 'Aye Davanita', the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of 'Bugs', and the chilling sonic collage 'Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me'." "Bugs" features Vedder playing an accordion that he found at a thrift shop,<ref name="Marks">Marks, Craig. "Let's Get Lost". ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. December 1994.</ref> while "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" was created using looped recordings of real patients from a [[psychiatric hospital]].<ref name="lycos">Vedder, Eddie. [ |
[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] said that "thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, ''Vitalogy'' stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album."<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|title=''Vitalogy'' – Pearl Jam|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r207150|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|accessdate=March 21, 2009}}</ref> He added that "in between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music—the mantrafunk of 'Aye Davanita', the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of 'Bugs', and the chilling sonic collage 'Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me'." "Bugs" features Vedder playing an accordion that he found at a thrift shop,<ref name="Marks">Marks, Craig. "Let's Get Lost". ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. December 1994.</ref> while "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" was created using looped recordings of real patients from a [[psychiatric hospital]].<ref name="lycos">Vedder, Eddie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070210062742/http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/PearlJam/echoes/echoes9.html "Pearl Jam's First Online Chat at Lycos"]. [[Lycos|Lycos.com]]. May 15, 2000. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.</ref> |
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Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite web | url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/vitalogy-19941215 |title=''Vitalogy'' |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 15, 1994 |accessdate=March 1, 2008 |author=Weisel, Al}}</ref> These include "[[Not for You]]", "Pry, To", "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]", "Bugs", "Satan's Bed", and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]". Vedder said, "I'm just totally vulnerable. I'm way too fucking soft for this whole business, this whole trip. I don't have any shell. There's a contradiction there, because that's probably why I can write songs that mean something to someone and express some of these things that other people can't necessarily express."<ref name="Marks"/> The lyrics of "Not for You" express anger at the bureaucracy of the music industry and "how youth is being sold and exploited,"<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> while Vedder said "Corduroy" is about "one person's relationship with a million people."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> In "Pry, To" the phrase "P-r-i-v-a-c-y is priceless to me" is repeated. Many think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] frontman [[Kurt Cobain]]'s suicide, although Vedder has denied this, suggesting instead that it's about "the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> The lyrics that appeared in the first live version of "Immortality" were altered before the song was released as part of the album. Vedder said regarding "[[Nothingman]]" that "if you love someone and they love you, don't fuck up...'cause you are left with less than nothing."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]" is a song about an abusive relationship.<ref>Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/58253/pearl-jam-tells-its-story-at-vh1-taping "Pearl Jam Tells Its 'Story' At VH1 Taping"]. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. June 2, 2006. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.</ref> Vedder wrote "Better Man" when he was in high school and performed it with his previous band, [[Bad Radio]]. Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'' due to its accessibility.<ref name="tenpast"/> |
Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite web | url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/vitalogy-19941215 |title=''Vitalogy'' |work=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 15, 1994 |accessdate=March 1, 2008 |author=Weisel, Al}}</ref> These include "[[Not for You]]", "Pry, To", "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]", "Bugs", "Satan's Bed", and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]". Vedder said, "I'm just totally vulnerable. I'm way too fucking soft for this whole business, this whole trip. I don't have any shell. There's a contradiction there, because that's probably why I can write songs that mean something to someone and express some of these things that other people can't necessarily express."<ref name="Marks"/> The lyrics of "Not for You" express anger at the bureaucracy of the music industry and "how youth is being sold and exploited,"<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> while Vedder said "Corduroy" is about "one person's relationship with a million people."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> In "Pry, To" the phrase "P-r-i-v-a-c-y is priceless to me" is repeated. Many think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] frontman [[Kurt Cobain]]'s suicide, although Vedder has denied this, suggesting instead that it's about "the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> The lyrics that appeared in the first live version of "Immortality" were altered before the song was released as part of the album. Vedder said regarding "[[Nothingman]]" that "if you love someone and they love you, don't fuck up...'cause you are left with less than nothing."<ref name="Hilburn, Robert"/> "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]" is a song about an abusive relationship.<ref>Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/58253/pearl-jam-tells-its-story-at-vh1-taping "Pearl Jam Tells Its 'Story' At VH1 Taping"]. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. June 2, 2006. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.</ref> Vedder wrote "Better Man" when he was in high school and performed it with his previous band, [[Bad Radio]]. Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'' due to its accessibility.<ref name="tenpast"/> |
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''Vitalogy'' was released first on vinyl on November 22, 1994, two weeks before its CD and cassette release, and debuted at No. 55 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.<ref>Basham, David. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451247/11292001/creed.jhtml "Got Charts? Creed Vs. Pearl Jam, Shakira's Machisma, Kid Rock's Curse"]. [[MTV|MTV.com]]. November 29, 2001.</ref> The LP sold 34,000 copies in its first week of release, and until [[Jack White]]'s ''[[Lazaretto (album)|Lazaretto]]'' album in 2014 it held the record for most vinyl sales in one week.<ref name="billboard6-18-2014" /> It was also the first album to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200 due to vinyl sales alone since the CD had become the dominant format at that time.<ref>Strauss, Neil. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E0DA1239F93BA35751C1A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "Music Lovers Are Voting for Vinyl"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. December 8, 1994. Retrieved on March 9, 2008.</ref> When ''Vitalogy'' was released on CD and cassette on December 6, 1994, it went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, selling more than 877,000 copies in its first week.<ref name="latimes12-15-1994" /> It was the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release ''Vs''.<ref>[ |
''Vitalogy'' was released first on vinyl on November 22, 1994, two weeks before its CD and cassette release, and debuted at No. 55 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart.<ref>Basham, David. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451247/11292001/creed.jhtml "Got Charts? Creed Vs. Pearl Jam, Shakira's Machisma, Kid Rock's Curse"]. [[MTV|MTV.com]]. November 29, 2001.</ref> The LP sold 34,000 copies in its first week of release, and until [[Jack White]]'s ''[[Lazaretto (album)|Lazaretto]]'' album in 2014 it held the record for most vinyl sales in one week.<ref name="billboard6-18-2014" /> It was also the first album to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200 due to vinyl sales alone since the CD had become the dominant format at that time.<ref>Strauss, Neil. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E0DA1239F93BA35751C1A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "Music Lovers Are Voting for Vinyl"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. December 8, 1994. Retrieved on March 9, 2008.</ref> When ''Vitalogy'' was released on CD and cassette on December 6, 1994, it went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, selling more than 877,000 copies in its first week.<ref name="latimes12-15-1994" /> It was the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release ''Vs''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080109033804/http://www.pearljam.com/timeline/ "Pearl Jam: Timeline"]. pearljam.com.</ref> ''Vitalogy'' has been certified five times platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]],<ref name="riaadb">[http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Vitalogy&artist=Pearl+Jam&perPage=25&go=Search Gold and Platinum Database Search]. RIAA.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.</ref> and, as of July 2013, has sold 4.77 million<nowiki> </nowiki>copies in the United States according to [[Nielsen SoundScan]].<ref>http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?/topic/113673-rem-pearl-jam-and-nirvanausa-album-sales/</ref> |
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''[[Rolling Stone]]'' staff writer [[Al Weisel]] gave ''Vitalogy'' four out of five stars, describing the album as "a wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often powerful." While Weisel praised several songs as "[matching] the soaring anthems of ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]''," he criticized some of the more [[Experimental music|experimental]] songs as "throwaways and strange experiments that don't always work."<ref name="rollingstone"/> [[Jon Pareles]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the album's diversity compared to the band's previous records. He commented that the band incorporated "fast but brutal punk, fuzz-toned [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]] and judicious [[Folk rock|folk-rock]], all of it sounding more spontaneous than before." Pareles felt that the band continued to be "unremittingly glum", and described the majority of the songs as "tortured first-person proclamations." Pareles concluded, "Vedder sounds more alone than ever."<ref name="thenewyorktimes">{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DC1030F937A35751C1A962958260 | title=Review: ''Vitalogy'' | accessdate=2007-12-13 | author=Pareles, Jon | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | date=1994-12-04}}</ref> ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' reviewer [[Christopher John Farley]] singled out "Bugs" as one of the album's "share of stinkers." Farley added, "But that's one admirably experimental failure on a largely successful album."<ref name="time">Farley, Christopher John. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982023,00.html Review: ''Vitalogy'']. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. December 19, 1994. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.</ref> Despite writing negatively of the album's "shapeless high-energy riff-rockers", ''[[Newsday]]'' staff writer [[Ira Robbins]] lauded ''Vitalogy''{{'}}s sound and called it a "compelling triumph of surface over substance".<ref name="Robbins">Robbins, Ira. "[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/101898398.html?dids=101898398:101898398&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+27%2C+1994&author=BY+IRA+ROBBINS.+STAFF+WRITER&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=RECORDINGS+Vedder+Victorious&pqatl=google Review: ''Vitalogy'']". ''[[Newsday]]'': 25. November 27, 1994.</ref> In a mixed review of the album, Mark Jenkins of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' perceived a lack of subject matter and lyrical substance as ''Vitalogy''{{'}}s weakness.<ref name="Jenkins">Jenkins, Mark. "[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72301432.html?dids=72301432:72301432&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+07%2C+1994&author=Mark+Jenkins&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Recordings%3B+Pearl+Jam%2C+Reaching+Too+Far%3B+Pointless+Tracks%2C+Morbid+Themes+Diminish+%60Vitalogy'&pqatl=google Review: ''Vitalogy'']". ''[[The Washington Post]]'': c.07. December 7, 1994.</ref> |
''[[Rolling Stone]]'' staff writer [[Al Weisel]] gave ''Vitalogy'' four out of five stars, describing the album as "a wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often powerful." While Weisel praised several songs as "[matching] the soaring anthems of ''[[Ten (Pearl Jam album)|Ten]]''," he criticized some of the more [[Experimental music|experimental]] songs as "throwaways and strange experiments that don't always work."<ref name="rollingstone"/> [[Jon Pareles]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the album's diversity compared to the band's previous records. He commented that the band incorporated "fast but brutal punk, fuzz-toned [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]] and judicious [[Folk rock|folk-rock]], all of it sounding more spontaneous than before." Pareles felt that the band continued to be "unremittingly glum", and described the majority of the songs as "tortured first-person proclamations." Pareles concluded, "Vedder sounds more alone than ever."<ref name="thenewyorktimes">{{cite web | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DC1030F937A35751C1A962958260 | title=Review: ''Vitalogy'' | accessdate=2007-12-13 | author=Pareles, Jon | publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' | date=1994-12-04}}</ref> ''[[Time magazine|Time]]'' reviewer [[Christopher John Farley]] singled out "Bugs" as one of the album's "share of stinkers." Farley added, "But that's one admirably experimental failure on a largely successful album."<ref name="time">Farley, Christopher John. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982023,00.html Review: ''Vitalogy'']. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. December 19, 1994. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.</ref> Despite writing negatively of the album's "shapeless high-energy riff-rockers", ''[[Newsday]]'' staff writer [[Ira Robbins]] lauded ''Vitalogy''{{'}}s sound and called it a "compelling triumph of surface over substance".<ref name="Robbins">Robbins, Ira. "[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/101898398.html?dids=101898398:101898398&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+27%2C+1994&author=BY+IRA+ROBBINS.+STAFF+WRITER&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=RECORDINGS+Vedder+Victorious&pqatl=google Review: ''Vitalogy'']". ''[[Newsday]]'': 25. November 27, 1994.</ref> In a mixed review of the album, Mark Jenkins of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' perceived a lack of subject matter and lyrical substance as ''Vitalogy''{{'}}s weakness.<ref name="Jenkins">Jenkins, Mark. "[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72301432.html?dids=72301432:72301432&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+07%2C+1994&author=Mark+Jenkins&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Recordings%3B+Pearl+Jam%2C+Reaching+Too+Far%3B+Pointless+Tracks%2C+Morbid+Themes+Diminish+%60Vitalogy'&pqatl=google Review: ''Vitalogy'']". ''[[The Washington Post]]'': c.07. December 7, 1994.</ref> |
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''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine gave the album four out of five stars, stating "It speaks volumes for Pearl Jam's continuing creative acumen that they can respond so confidently to a new punk scene that has sprung up."<ref name="q"/> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' gave the album an A- rating, writing that "Three or four of these songs are faster and riffier than anything else in P. Jam's book, token experiments like "Bugs" are genuinely weird, and in an era of compulsory irony [Vedder's] sincerity is something like a relief—a Kurtlike relief at that."<ref name="Christgau"/> David Browne of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the album a B+. He said, "''Vitalogy'' marks the first time it's possible to respect the band's music as much as its stance." He added that "despite its musical advances, ''Vitalogy'' leaves an odd, unsettling aftertaste. You walk away from it energized, but wondering what price Eddie Vedder, and Pearl Jam, will ultimately pay for it."<ref name="entertainmentweekly"/> ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' writer [[Jim DeRogatis]] gave it three out of four stars and commended Pearl Jam for their earnest songwriting. However, DeRogatis also wrote that the album "leaves you wishing that they'd just lighten up".<ref name="DeRogatis"/> ''[[USA Today]]''{{'}}s [[Edna Gundersen]] gave ''Vitalogy'' three and a half out of four stars and stated that it "delivers the band's most compelling, inventive and confident music to date", while calling it "the rebel yell of a band that is maturing without mellowing".<ref name="Gundersen"/> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' critic [[Robert Hilburn]] gave ''Vitalogy'' four out of four stars and viewed its music as an improvement over Pearl Jam's previous work, writing "This isn't just the best Pearl Jam album but a better album than the band once even seemed capable of making".<ref name="Hilburn"/> AllMusic staff writer [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] gave the album four and a half out of five stars, saying, "Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons."<ref name="allmusic"/> According to ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), "By ''Vitalogy'' PJ hit their apex … the band's creative zenith, finding them doing a ''[[Led Zeppelin III]]'' on acoustic tracks like 'Corduroy' and turning in a [[Tom Waits]]-like weird attack on 'Bugs'".<ref name="Cross"/> |
''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine gave the album four out of five stars, stating "It speaks volumes for Pearl Jam's continuing creative acumen that they can respond so confidently to a new punk scene that has sprung up."<ref name="q"/> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' gave the album an A- rating, writing that "Three or four of these songs are faster and riffier than anything else in P. Jam's book, token experiments like "Bugs" are genuinely weird, and in an era of compulsory irony [Vedder's] sincerity is something like a relief—a Kurtlike relief at that."<ref name="Christgau"/> David Browne of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the album a B+. He said, "''Vitalogy'' marks the first time it's possible to respect the band's music as much as its stance." He added that "despite its musical advances, ''Vitalogy'' leaves an odd, unsettling aftertaste. You walk away from it energized, but wondering what price Eddie Vedder, and Pearl Jam, will ultimately pay for it."<ref name="entertainmentweekly"/> ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' writer [[Jim DeRogatis]] gave it three out of four stars and commended Pearl Jam for their earnest songwriting. However, DeRogatis also wrote that the album "leaves you wishing that they'd just lighten up".<ref name="DeRogatis"/> ''[[USA Today]]''{{'}}s [[Edna Gundersen]] gave ''Vitalogy'' three and a half out of four stars and stated that it "delivers the band's most compelling, inventive and confident music to date", while calling it "the rebel yell of a band that is maturing without mellowing".<ref name="Gundersen"/> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' critic [[Robert Hilburn]] gave ''Vitalogy'' four out of four stars and viewed its music as an improvement over Pearl Jam's previous work, writing "This isn't just the best Pearl Jam album but a better album than the band once even seemed capable of making".<ref name="Hilburn"/> AllMusic staff writer [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] gave the album four and a half out of five stars, saying, "Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons."<ref name="allmusic"/> According to ''[[Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), "By ''Vitalogy'' PJ hit their apex … the band's creative zenith, finding them doing a ''[[Led Zeppelin III]]'' on acoustic tracks like 'Corduroy' and turning in a [[Tom Waits]]-like weird attack on 'Bugs'".<ref name="Cross"/> |
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Three singles were released from ''Vitalogy''. The lead single "[[Spin the Black Circle]]" (backed with [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] "[[Tremor Christ]]", also from the album), was the band's first to enter the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], reaching number 18.<ref name="billboard singles">[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=pearl-jam-p5118/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles]. ''[[AllMusic]]''. Retrieved on June 11, 2007.</ref> At the [[Grammy Awards of 1996|1996 Grammy Awards]], "Spin the Black Circle" won the band its first [[Grammy Award]], receiving the award for [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]].<ref name="rockonthenet"/> Neither of the album's other commercially released singles, "[[Not for You]]" and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]", charted on the Hot 100, but both placed on the [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock]] and [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock]] charts. Album tracks "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]" and "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]" also charted. "Better Man" was the most successful song from ''Vitalogy'' on the rock charts, spending a total of eight weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and reaching number two on the Modern Rock charts.<ref name="billboard singles" /> At the 1996 Grammy Awards, ''Vitalogy'' received nominations for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album|Best Rock Album]].<ref name="rockonthenet">[http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1996/grammys.htm 38th Grammy Awards]. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on September 5, 2007.</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 492 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]].<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/vitalogy-pearl-jam-19691231 492) Vitalogy]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. November 2003. Retrieved on April 27, 2007</ref> The album was listed at number 485 on the magazine's revised list in 2012. In May 2014, [[Loudwire]] placed ''Vitalogy'' at number ten on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/best-hard-rock-albums-1994/ |title=10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994 |date=May 20, 2014 |work=[[Loudwire]] |accessdate=May 21, 2014}}</ref> In July 2014 ''[[Guitar World]]'' placed the album on its "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |title=Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994 |date=July 14, 2014 |work=[[Guitar World|GuitarWorld.com]] |accessdate=July 14, 2014}}</ref> |
Three singles were released from ''Vitalogy''. The lead single "[[Spin the Black Circle]]" (backed with [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] "[[Tremor Christ]]", also from the album), was the band's first to enter the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], reaching number 18.<ref name="billboard singles">[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=pearl-jam-p5118/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles]. ''[[AllMusic]]''. Retrieved on June 11, 2007.</ref> At the [[Grammy Awards of 1996|1996 Grammy Awards]], "Spin the Black Circle" won the band its first [[Grammy Award]], receiving the award for [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]].<ref name="rockonthenet"/> Neither of the album's other commercially released singles, "[[Not for You]]" and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]", charted on the Hot 100, but both placed on the [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock]] and [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock]] charts. Album tracks "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]" and "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]" also charted. "Better Man" was the most successful song from ''Vitalogy'' on the rock charts, spending a total of eight weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and reaching number two on the Modern Rock charts.<ref name="billboard singles" /> At the 1996 Grammy Awards, ''Vitalogy'' received nominations for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album|Best Rock Album]].<ref name="rockonthenet">[http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1996/grammys.htm 38th Grammy Awards]. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on September 5, 2007.</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 492 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]].<ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/vitalogy-pearl-jam-19691231 492) Vitalogy]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. November 2003. Retrieved on April 27, 2007</ref> The album was listed at number 485 on the magazine's revised list in 2012. In May 2014, [[Loudwire]] placed ''Vitalogy'' at number ten on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://loudwire.com/best-hard-rock-albums-1994/ |title=10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994 |date=May 20, 2014 |work=[[Loudwire]] |accessdate=May 21, 2014}}</ref> In July 2014 ''[[Guitar World]]'' placed the album on its "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |title=Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994 |date=July 14, 2014 |work=[[Guitar World|GuitarWorld.com]] |accessdate=July 14, 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715053900/http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |archivedate=July 15, 2014 |df= }}</ref> |
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In 2011 Pearl Jam released a remastered ''Vitalogy'', along with ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'', in three formats: an Expanded Version, a three-CD Deluxe Edition and a Limited Edition Collector's Boxed Set. The Expanded Version will feature three bonus tracks: the previously unreleased guitar/organ-only mix of "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]"; a previously unreleased alternate take of "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]" from the Vitalogy session (recorded by Brendan O'Brien); and a previously unreleased demo version of "[[Nothingman]]", taken from the original DAT (recorded at John and Stu's in Seattle on October 14, 1993, featuring [[Richard Stuverud]] on drums). The three-CD Deluxe Edition features both the Legacy Versions of ''Vitalogy'' and ''Vs.'' with their bonus tracks and a copy of Live at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, April 12, 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pearljam.com/news/vs-and-vitalogy-20th-anniversary-editions|title=''Vs.'' and ''Vitalogy'' 20th Anniversary Editions|publisher=pearljam.com|accessdate=September 15, 2011}}</ref> |
In 2011 Pearl Jam released a remastered ''Vitalogy'', along with ''[[Vs. (Pearl Jam album)|Vs.]]'', in three formats: an Expanded Version, a three-CD Deluxe Edition and a Limited Edition Collector's Boxed Set. The Expanded Version will feature three bonus tracks: the previously unreleased guitar/organ-only mix of "[[Better Man (Pearl Jam song)|Better Man]]"; a previously unreleased alternate take of "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]" from the Vitalogy session (recorded by Brendan O'Brien); and a previously unreleased demo version of "[[Nothingman]]", taken from the original DAT (recorded at John and Stu's in Seattle on October 14, 1993, featuring [[Richard Stuverud]] on drums). The three-CD Deluxe Edition features both the Legacy Versions of ''Vitalogy'' and ''Vs.'' with their bonus tracks and a copy of Live at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, April 12, 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pearljam.com/news/vs-and-vitalogy-20th-anniversary-editions|title=''Vs.'' and ''Vitalogy'' 20th Anniversary Editions|publisher=pearljam.com|accessdate=September 15, 2011}}</ref> |
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| music2 = [[Stone Gossard]]<ref name="combatrock">Fricke, David. [ |
| music2 = [[Stone Gossard]]<ref name="combatrock">Fricke, David. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040319071152/http://thisladyluck.tripod.com/required/evrs03.html "Eddie Vedder's Combat Rock"]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. May 29, 2003.</ref> |
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| music9 = Vedder<ref>Scaggs, Austin. [ |
| music9 = Vedder<ref>Scaggs, Austin. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070219181511/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/qa/story/9961927/eddie_vedder_addicted_to_rock "Eddie Vedder: Addicted to Rock"]. ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. April 21, 2006.</ref> |
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!style="width:2.5em;font-size:75%"| [[GfK Entertainment Charts|GER]]<br /><ref>{{cite web |
!style="width:2.5em;font-size:75%"| [[GfK Entertainment Charts|GER]]<br /><ref>{{cite web |
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!style="width:2.5em;font-size:75%"| [[Irish Singles Chart|IRE]]<br /><ref name="www.irishcharts.ie">{{cite web |
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Vitalogy is the third studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, through Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded Vitalogy while touring behind its previous album Vs. (1993). The music on the record was more diverse than previous releases, and consists of aggressive rock songs, ballads and other elements making this Pearl Jam's first experimental album.
The album was first released on vinyl, followed by a release on CD and cassette two weeks later on December 6, 1994. The LP sold 34,000 copies in its first week of release, and until Jack White's 2014 album Lazaretto it held the record for most vinyl sales in one week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.[1] Upon its CD release, Vitalogy became the second-fastest selling album in history, only behind the band's previous release Vs., selling 877,000 copies in its first week.[2] The album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA in the United States. This is Pearl Jam's last album to feature drummer Dave Abbruzzese.[3]
Recording
For its third album, Pearl Jam again worked with producer Brendan O'Brien. The band wrote many of the songs during soundchecks on its Vs. Tour and the majority of the album's tracks were recorded during breaks on the tour. The first session took place late in 1993 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the band recorded "Tremor Christ" and "Nothingman".[4] The rest of the material was written and recorded in 1994 in sessions in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia, with the band finishing the album at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle after the tour's completion.[5] "Immortality" was written in April 1994 when the band was on tour in Atlanta.[6] Sources state that most of the album was completed by early 1994, but that either a forced delay by Epic, or the band's battle with ticket vendor Ticketmaster, were to blame for the delay.[7]
Tensions within the band had dramatically increased by this time. Producer Brendan O'Brien said, "Vitalogy was a little strained. I'm being polite—there was some imploding going on."[8] Bassist Jeff Ament said that "communication was at an all-time low."[8] Drummer Dave Abbruzzese stated that the communication problems started once guitarist Stone Gossard stopped acting as the band's mediator.[8] According to Gossard, Vitalogy was the first album in which lead vocalist Eddie Vedder made the final decisions.[8] At the time, Gossard thought of quitting the band.[9] Gossard said that the band was having trouble collaborating, so most of the songs were developed out of jam sessions. He added that "eighty percent of the songs were written 20 minutes before they were recorded."[4] During the production of Vitalogy, lead guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation to receive treatment for alcohol and cocaine abuse.[5][8]
Drums on "Satan's Bed" were performed by Abbruzzese's drum tech Jimmy Shoaf. On the day it was recorded, Abbruzzese was in the hospital having his tonsils removed. Vedder and Gossard asked for Shoaf's help to get a drum machine working, and after setting it up, the pair asked Shoaf to perform the same beat on the drums. He is credited on the lyric sheet as "Jimmy".[10] Months after finishing the initial recording sessions for Vitalogy, Abbruzzese was fired in August 1994 due to personality conflicts with the band members.[8] Gossard said, "It was the nature of how the politics worked in our band: It was up to me to say, 'Hey, we tried, it's not working; time to move on.' On a superficial level, it was a political struggle: For whatever reason his ability to communicate with Ed and Jeff was very stifled. I certainly don't think it was all Dave Abbruzzese's fault that it was stifled."[8] Jack Irons, the original drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Abbruzzese's successor, plays drums on "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me". Gossard said, "Jack entered the band right at the end of making Vitalogy. Jack's a breath of fresh air, a family man. Everybody had a strong sense of friendship with him immediately. He was just there to play drums and help out."[8]
Music and lyrics
In a 1995 interview, Guitar World writer Jeff Gilbert described Vitalogy as "strange" and "very eclectic." McCready agreed, saying, "There is some weird stuff on there." McCready attributed the album's sound to the group recording it on tour.[5] During this period Vedder began to contribute in a large capacity as a guitarist. Gossard said, "Vitalogy is the first one where Ed plays guitar and he wrote three to four songs. I remember thinking, 'This is so different. Is anyone going to like this?'...It had a more punk feel to it. Simple songs recorded really quickly."[11] The album has a notable lack of guitar solos compared with the band's first two albums. McCready said, "Vitalogy is not really a 'solo' album. I don't think the songs demanded solos; it was more of a rhythmic album."[5]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album."[12] He added that "in between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music—the mantrafunk of 'Aye Davanita', the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of 'Bugs', and the chilling sonic collage 'Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me'." "Bugs" features Vedder playing an accordion that he found at a thrift shop,[13] while "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" was created using looped recordings of real patients from a psychiatric hospital.[14]
Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.[15] These include "Not for You", "Pry, To", "Corduroy", "Bugs", "Satan's Bed", and "Immortality". Vedder said, "I'm just totally vulnerable. I'm way too fucking soft for this whole business, this whole trip. I don't have any shell. There's a contradiction there, because that's probably why I can write songs that mean something to someone and express some of these things that other people can't necessarily express."[13] The lyrics of "Not for You" express anger at the bureaucracy of the music industry and "how youth is being sold and exploited,"[6] while Vedder said "Corduroy" is about "one person's relationship with a million people."[6] In "Pry, To" the phrase "P-r-i-v-a-c-y is priceless to me" is repeated. Many think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide, although Vedder has denied this, suggesting instead that it's about "the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train."[6] The lyrics that appeared in the first live version of "Immortality" were altered before the song was released as part of the album. Vedder said regarding "Nothingman" that "if you love someone and they love you, don't fuck up...'cause you are left with less than nothing."[6] "Better Man" is a song about an abusive relationship.[16] Vedder wrote "Better Man" when he was in high school and performed it with his previous band, Bad Radio. Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from Vs. due to its accessibility.[8]
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Sun-Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[18] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork Media | 8.3/10[20] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
USA Today | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | A−[24] |
Vitalogy was released first on vinyl on November 22, 1994, two weeks before its CD and cassette release, and debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[25] The LP sold 34,000 copies in its first week of release, and until Jack White's Lazaretto album in 2014 it held the record for most vinyl sales in one week.[1] It was also the first album to chart on the Billboard 200 due to vinyl sales alone since the CD had become the dominant format at that time.[26] When Vitalogy was released on CD and cassette on December 6, 1994, it went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling more than 877,000 copies in its first week.[2] It was the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs.[27] Vitalogy has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA,[3] and, as of July 2013, has sold 4.77 million copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[28]
Rolling Stone staff writer Al Weisel gave Vitalogy four out of five stars, describing the album as "a wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often powerful." While Weisel praised several songs as "[matching] the soaring anthems of Ten," he criticized some of the more experimental songs as "throwaways and strange experiments that don't always work."[15] Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the album's diversity compared to the band's previous records. He commented that the band incorporated "fast but brutal punk, fuzz-toned psychedelia and judicious folk-rock, all of it sounding more spontaneous than before." Pareles felt that the band continued to be "unremittingly glum", and described the majority of the songs as "tortured first-person proclamations." Pareles concluded, "Vedder sounds more alone than ever."[29] Time reviewer Christopher John Farley singled out "Bugs" as one of the album's "share of stinkers." Farley added, "But that's one admirably experimental failure on a largely successful album."[30] Despite writing negatively of the album's "shapeless high-energy riff-rockers", Newsday staff writer Ira Robbins lauded Vitalogy's sound and called it a "compelling triumph of surface over substance".[31] In a mixed review of the album, Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post perceived a lack of subject matter and lyrical substance as Vitalogy's weakness.[32]
Q magazine gave the album four out of five stars, stating "It speaks volumes for Pearl Jam's continuing creative acumen that they can respond so confidently to a new punk scene that has sprung up."[21] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album an A- rating, writing that "Three or four of these songs are faster and riffier than anything else in P. Jam's book, token experiments like "Bugs" are genuinely weird, and in an era of compulsory irony [Vedder's] sincerity is something like a relief—a Kurtlike relief at that."[24] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+. He said, "Vitalogy marks the first time it's possible to respect the band's music as much as its stance." He added that "despite its musical advances, Vitalogy leaves an odd, unsettling aftertaste. You walk away from it energized, but wondering what price Eddie Vedder, and Pearl Jam, will ultimately pay for it."[18] Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis gave it three out of four stars and commended Pearl Jam for their earnest songwriting. However, DeRogatis also wrote that the album "leaves you wishing that they'd just lighten up".[17] USA Today's Edna Gundersen gave Vitalogy three and a half out of four stars and stated that it "delivers the band's most compelling, inventive and confident music to date", while calling it "the rebel yell of a band that is maturing without mellowing".[23] Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn gave Vitalogy four out of four stars and viewed its music as an improvement over Pearl Jam's previous work, writing "This isn't just the best Pearl Jam album but a better album than the band once even seemed capable of making".[19] AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars, saying, "Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons."[12] According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), "By Vitalogy PJ hit their apex … the band's creative zenith, finding them doing a Led Zeppelin III on acoustic tracks like 'Corduroy' and turning in a Tom Waits-like weird attack on 'Bugs'".[22]
Three singles were released from Vitalogy. The lead single "Spin the Black Circle" (backed with B-side "Tremor Christ", also from the album), was the band's first to enter the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 18.[33] At the 1996 Grammy Awards, "Spin the Black Circle" won the band its first Grammy Award, receiving the award for Best Hard Rock Performance.[34] Neither of the album's other commercially released singles, "Not for You" and "Immortality", charted on the Hot 100, but both placed on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. Album tracks "Better Man" and "Corduroy" also charted. "Better Man" was the most successful song from Vitalogy on the rock charts, spending a total of eight weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock charts and reaching number two on the Modern Rock charts.[33] At the 1996 Grammy Awards, Vitalogy received nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album.[34] In 2003, the album was ranked number 492 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[35] The album was listed at number 485 on the magazine's revised list in 2012. In May 2014, Loudwire placed Vitalogy at number ten on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list.[36] In July 2014 Guitar World placed the album on its "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[37]
In 2011 Pearl Jam released a remastered Vitalogy, along with Vs., in three formats: an Expanded Version, a three-CD Deluxe Edition and a Limited Edition Collector's Boxed Set. The Expanded Version will feature three bonus tracks: the previously unreleased guitar/organ-only mix of "Better Man"; a previously unreleased alternate take of "Corduroy" from the Vitalogy session (recorded by Brendan O'Brien); and a previously unreleased demo version of "Nothingman", taken from the original DAT (recorded at John and Stu's in Seattle on October 14, 1993, featuring Richard Stuverud on drums). The three-CD Deluxe Edition features both the Legacy Versions of Vitalogy and Vs. with their bonus tracks and a copy of Live at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, April 12, 1994.[38]
Packaging
The original title for the album was Life. The first single, "Spin the Black Circle", was released before the album was released, and on the back of the single it states "From the Epic album Life." The album title Vitalogy comes from an early twentieth-century medical book on which the cover art and liner notes are based.[8] Vitalogy literally means "the study of life."[15]
Vedder found the medical book at a garage sale. Ament stated, "Ed brought in that book, and we said man that would make a great album cover."[8] He explained that from Vs. onwards the band tried to take different approaches to packaging its records. Ament said, "We tried really hard, to make it like a book, kind of tipped it so it opened horizontally, which pissed off record stores: they had to put it in sideways."[8] The packaging cost an extra 50 cents per copy. Problems arose when the band discovered that later versions of the book were still under copyright. The band had to confer with their lawyers in order to work out a final version utilizing the material they wanted to include with the album.[8]
The booklet contains outdated discussions of health and well-being. Other notes in the booklet, dealing with life and death reflections, seem to be more personal, like a message typed on one of the last pages, supposedly referring to the loss of a loved one ("I waited all day. You waited all day...but you left before sunset...and I just wanted to tell you the moment was beautiful. Just wanted to dance to bad music...drive bad cars...watch bad TV...should have stayed for the sunset... if not for me."). The booklet also displays some poems or original sayings not belonging to the songs' lyrics, but to be interpreted as a commentary to the songs and, again, as a reflection on how life should or shouldn't be lived. An example is the poem typed on the "Aye Davanita" page. The song's subtitle is "The song without words", as it is an instrumental track. But the page displays a sort of poem about the wasted life of a young girl. Another episode of "intruder words" is on the "Not for You" lyrics page. After the second refrain, instead of the actual lyrics, the typed words give a hint about the Sisyphus myth ("Yeah, you call me Sisyphus love. Yeah, I move the rock. I just don't want to talk about moving the rock. Anything that distracts me from moving the rock"). The lyrics to "Whipping" are written on a copy of a petition to Bill Clinton against "pro-life" killings of abortion doctors. An X-ray of Vedder's teeth was pictured instead of lyrics on the page for "Corduroy".[6]
Tour
Pearl Jam promoted the album with tours in Asia, Oceania, and the United States in 1995.[39] The band was joined by new drummer Jack Irons. The short tour of the United States focused on the Midwest and the West Coast. The band continued its boycott against Ticketmaster during its tour of the United States, refusing to play in Ticketmaster's venue areas, but was surprised that virtually no other bands joined it in refusing to play at Ticketmaster venues.[40] The band chose to use alternate ticketing companies for the shows.
The tour of the United States faced various troubles. Ament said that the band and its crew had to "[build] shows from the ground up, a venue everywhere we went."[8] In June 1995, the band was scheduled to play at San Francisco, California's Golden Gate Park in front of 50,000 people. Before the concert Vedder was forced to stay at a hospital after suffering from the effects of food poisoning. Vedder left the hospital to play the show, however he was not able to finish and ended up performing just seven out of twenty-one songs with the band.[41] Neil Young filled in for Vedder for the rest of the show that day. Vedder said, "That whole [Golden Gate Park] thing was a blur based on some bad food. It was really, really bad. Looking back at it, it doesn't seem as intense as it was, but it was horrible. I just felt not human and looking back I should have got through that show somehow, and I think the fact that Neil [Young] was there made me feel like I could get off the hook in some way and I did go out for a few songs."[8] Because of Vedder's health the band was forced to cancel the remaining dates of its tour of the United States.[9] Some dates were reinstated while the rest were rescheduled for the fall. About canceling the dates, Vedder said, "I think we all agreed that it had gotten insane, that it was no longer about the music."[42] Ament later said, "We were so hardheaded about the 1995 tour. Had to prove we could tour on our own, and it pretty much killed us, killed our career."[8]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Eddie Vedder. All music is credited to Pearl Jam with the exceptions as (*). Actual music composers listed below
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Last Exit" | Abbruzzese, Gossard | 2:54 |
2. | "Spin the Black Circle" | Stone Gossard[43] | 2:48 |
3. | "Not for You" | Vedder[44] | 5:52 |
4. | "Tremor Christ" | Jeff Ament, Mike McCready[44] | 4:12 |
5. | "Nothingman" (*) | Ament | 4:35 |
6. | "Whipping" | Vedder[11] | 2:35 |
7. | "Pry, To" | Abbruzzese, Ament, McCready, Gossard, Vedder | 1:03 |
8. | "Corduroy" | Vedder[45] | 4:37 |
9. | "Bugs" | Vedder[46] | 2:45 |
10. | "Satan's Bed" (*) | Gossard | 3:31 |
11. | "Better Man" (*) | Vedder | 4:28 |
12. | "Aye Davanita" | Abbruzzese, Ament, McCready, Gossard, Vedder | 2:58 |
13. | "Immortality" | Vedder[45] | 5:28 |
14. | "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" (*) (Also known as "Stupid Mop"[47]) | Ament, Gossard, Jack Irons, McCready, Vedder | 7:44 |
Total length: | 55:30 |
- Reissue bonus tracks
All lyrics are written by Vedder
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
15. | "Better Man" (guitar and organ only mix) | Vedder | 3:55 |
16. | "Corduroy" (alternate take) | Vedder[45] | 4:44 |
17. | "Nothingman" (1993 demo featuring Richard Stuverud on drums) | Ament | 4:36 |
Outtakes
"Hard to Imagine", a song previously rejected from Vs.,[48] was also recorded during the Vitalogy sessions. This version found its way on to the soundtrack for the 1998 film, Chicago Cab. "Hard to Imagine" is also included on the 2003 rarities compilation, Lost Dogs, however that version is the one from the Vs. sessions.[49] According to Gossard, "Hard to Imagine" was cut from Vitalogy because it didn't fit with the other songs the band was writing at the time.[50] "Out of My Mind", which is featured as a B-side on the "Not for You" single, was premiered on the band's 1994 spring tour of the United States and was played twice.[51] According to Vedder, the song was just a live improv.[52]
Chart history
Album
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
|
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [33] |
US Main [33] |
US Mod [33] |
AUS [53] |
CAN [75] [76] [77] |
GER [78] |
IRE [79] |
NLD [80] |
NOR [81] |
NZ [55] |
SWE [82] |
UK [59] | ||||||||||||||||||
1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | 18 | 16 | 11 | 3 | — | 92 | 6 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
"Tremor Christ" | — | 16 | 16 | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
1995 | "Better Man" | — | 1 | 2 | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
"Corduroy" | — | 22 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"Not for You" | — | 12 | 38 | 29 | — | — | 26 | — | — | 10 | — | 34 | |||||||||||||||||
"Immortality" | — | 10 | 31 | 51 | 62 | — | — | — | — | 29 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes singles that did not chart. |
Personnel
|
|
Notes
- ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (June 18, 2014). "Jack White's 'Lazaretto' Debuts at No. 1, Sets Vinyl Sales Record". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Philips, Chuck (December 15, 1994). "Vitalogy' Makes for a Real Pearl Jam of a Seller". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Gold and Platinum Database Search. RIAA.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2007.
- ^ a b Garbarini, Vic. "Mother of Pearl". Musician. May 1995.
- ^ a b c d Gilbert, Jeff. "Alive". Guitar World. April 1995.
- ^ a b c d e f Hilburn, Robert. "All Revved Up (As Usual)". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1994.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81271-1, pg. 60
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin. August 2001.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert. "Working Their Way Out of a Jam". Los Angeles Times. December 22, 1996.
- ^ Reynolds, John, et al. "Who is the drummer on "Satan's Bed"?". TwoFeetThick.com. May 12, 2005.
- ^ a b "Interview with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready". Total Guitar. November 2002.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Vitalogy – Pearl Jam". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Marks, Craig. "Let's Get Lost". Spin. December 1994.
- ^ Vedder, Eddie. "Pearl Jam's First Online Chat at Lycos". Lycos.com. May 15, 2000. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Weisel, Al (December 15, 1994). "Vitalogy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Pearl Jam Tells Its 'Story' At VH1 Taping". Billboard. June 2, 2006. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ a b DeRogatis, Jim (December 11, 1994). "Wide-Ranging 'Vitalogy' Isn't Pearl Jam's Best". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Browne, David (December 9, 1994). "Vitalogy". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (November 20, 1994). "Album Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ Greene, Jayson (March 30, 2011). "Pearl Jam: Vs. [Legacy Edition] / Vitalogy [Legacy Edition]". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ a b "Pearl Jam: Vitalogy". Q (100): 248–49. January 1995.
- ^ a b Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Pearl Jam". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 625–26. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Gundersen, Edna (November 21, 1994). "Pearl Jam cuts the consumer culture no slack". USA Today. p. 01.D. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Christgau, Robert (February 21, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ Basham, David. "Got Charts? Creed Vs. Pearl Jam, Shakira's Machisma, Kid Rock's Curse". MTV.com. November 29, 2001.
- ^ Strauss, Neil. "Music Lovers Are Voting for Vinyl". The New York Times. December 8, 1994. Retrieved on March 9, 2008.
- ^ "Pearl Jam: Timeline". pearljam.com.
- ^ http://www.greasylake.org/the-circuit/index.php?/topic/113673-rem-pearl-jam-and-nirvanausa-album-sales/
- ^ Pareles, Jon (1994-12-04). "Review: Vitalogy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Farley, Christopher John. Review: Vitalogy. Time. December 19, 1994. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
- ^ Robbins, Ira. "Review: Vitalogy". Newsday: 25. November 27, 1994.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark. "Review: Vitalogy". The Washington Post: c.07. December 7, 1994.
- ^ a b c d e Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. AllMusic. Retrieved on June 11, 2007.
- ^ a b 38th Grammy Awards. Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved on September 5, 2007.
- ^ 492) Vitalogy. Rolling Stone. November 2003. Retrieved on April 27, 2007
- ^ "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994". Loudwire. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Vs. and Vitalogy 20th Anniversary Editions". pearljam.com. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Pearl Jam: Set Lists. pearljam.com.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81271-1, pg. 64
- ^ "1995 Concert Chronology". fivehorizons.com.
- ^ Marks, Craig. "The Road Less Traveled". Spin. February 1997.
- ^ Fricke, David. "Eddie Vedder's Combat Rock". Rolling Stone. May 29, 2003.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Jeff. "Prime Cuts: Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam!". Guitar School. May 1995.
- ^ a b c Hilburn, Robert. "All Revved Up (As Usual)". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1994.
- ^ Scaggs, Austin. "Eddie Vedder: Addicted to Rock". Rolling Stone. April 21, 2006.
- ^ (1994) Album notes for Vitalogy by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Pearl Jam: Spreading The Jam". Billboard. March 30, 2001.
- ^ (2003) Album notes for Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam, [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music.
- ^ Letkemann, Jessica. "Interview with Stone Gossard". Tickle My Nausea Pearl Jam Fanzine. 1998.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Songs: "Out of My Mind"". pearljam.com.
- ^ "2000 Concert Chronology part 3". fivehorizons.com.
- ^ a b Peaks in Australia:
- All except noted: Pearl Jam in Australian Charts. Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
- "Immortality": Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ a b c https://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=ZAgEAAAAMBAJ&q=pearl+jam#v=snippet&q=pearl%20jam&f=false. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
{{cite book}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b Pearl Jam in New Zealand Charts. Charts.Org.NZ. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
- ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Pearl Jam – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ a b "EveryHit.com". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
- ^ "Austrian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Longplay". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
- ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1994.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Schweizer Hitparade". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150715183553/http://www.infodisc.fr/Albums_Detail.php. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/129344/ranking/cd_album/. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 60, No. 25, January 23, 1995". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
{{cite book}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Canadian album certifications – Pearl Jam – Vitalogy". Music Canada.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1995 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "British album certifications – Pearl Jam – Vitalogy". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Vitalogy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – Pearl Jam – Vitalogy". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 60, No. 24, January 16, 1994". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Top Singles - Volume 61, No. 5, March 06 1995". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 1, August 14, 1995". RPM. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Single". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "The Irish Charts — All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
References
- Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
External links
- Vitalogy at Discogs
- Vitalogy information and lyrics at pearljam.com
- 1906 edition of Vitalogy: Encyclopedia of Health and Home at the Internet Archive.
- Pages with empty short description
- 1994 albums
- Albums produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)
- English-language albums
- Epic Records albums
- Pearl Jam albums
- Albums produced by Stone Gossard
- Albums produced by Eddie Vedder
- Albums produced by Jeff Ament
- Albums produced by Mike McCready
- Albums produced by Jack Irons
- Albums produced by Dave Abbruzzese