Pearl Jam: Eddie Vedder (vocals, guitar, accordion); Stone Gossard (vocals,
guitar, Mellotron); Mike McCready (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Jeff Ament
(vocals, acoustic & electric bass); Dave Abbruzzese (drums).
Additional personnel: Jack Irons (drums).
Recorded in Seattle, Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana.
The CD version of VITALOGY includes a 32-page book; the cassette version
includes a 16-page book.
“Spin The Black Circle” won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock
Performance. VITALOGY was nominated for 1996 Grammys for Album Of The Year and
Best Rock Album.
Wider in scope than any 70mm film, VITALOGY is the album on which Pearl Jam
demands that the pigeonholing cease and desist once and for all. Whether by
throwing meatless bones at some blindly zealous fans, or by moving their sound
out of the grunge-land that they once called home, Vedder & Co. present this
55-minute tour de force as a treatise to win over the alternative non-believers
and drop the excess baggage of fame.
There's nothing fancy to VITALOGY: no ACHTUNG BABY or OUT OF TIME-like
transformations, no post-modern gimmickry, no Steve Albini sound. Nevertheless,
VITALOGY is revolutionary by Pearl Jam standards because it presents a
collection of actually crafted songs, and succeeds in spotlighting the
band's growing diversity.
The proof is all over the place: “Corduroy” is an honest-to-goodness pop
song, disguised in Seattle garb; “Not For You” brings the band's Crazy
Horse fetish to the forefront, combining a folky melody with a ripping, electric
arrangement; while “Bugs,” “Aye Davanita,” and “Hey
Foxymophandlemama” are, respectively, an accordion-driven stomp, a raga-like
instrumental, and a feedback-laden sound collage. All are delivered with such
taste and assurance, that rather than sounding unnatural and forced, they only
further illuminate Pearl Jam's artistic strides. Each helps make VITALOGY a
proud notch on the band's growing musical belt.
What the critics say…
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.55) – Included in Rolling Stone's “Essential
Recordings of the 90's.”
Rolling Stone (12/15/94, pp.91–93) – 4 Stars – Excellent –
“…it's a wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes
ridiculous, often powerful…”
Spin (12/95, p.62) – Ranked #5 on Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of
‘95.’
Entertainment Weekly (12/9/94, pp.72–74) – “…one seriously demented
record…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…” – Rating: B+
Q (1/95, pp.248–249) – 4 Stars – Excellent – “…anything but the
sound of a band stuck in a rut…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…as a reaction [to] the lumbering heaviosity …of the old grunge
pioneers…”
Musician (1–2/95, p.71) – “…In 1994 rawness, unpredictability and
artistic depth are rare…America's most popular rock'n'roll band boasts all
three attributes–and sounds damn fine to boot…”
Village Voice (2/28/95) – Ranked #25 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz &
Jop Critics Poll.
Mojo (Publisher) (1/95, p.104) – “…VITALOGY is a deeply thought-out
representation of what fame means, and the vision it describes is not
pretty…[includes] themes of diverted passions, frustration and amorphous
discontent…”
NME (Magazine) (12/24/94, p.23) – Ranked #40 on NME's list of the `Top
50 Albums Of 1994.'
