View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (585 ratings)
- Date Released: December 6, 1994
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: Epic
- Copyright: 1994 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
One of the strangest mainstream rock albums of all time
-
We Say...
When Pearl Jam released Vitalogy in late 1994, they were essentially the biggest rock band in the world — and not just because Kurt Cobain had died earlier that year. Only two albums deep into their career, the band had been labeled the "voice of a generation" by TIME Magazine, inspired a freakishly devoted fanbase, and had already racked up enough massive radio smashes to fill out a greatest hits record. For most pop musicians, this moment would've been one of ultimate triumph, but Pearl Jam — and specifically the band's charismatic singer Eddie Vedder — freaked out, and the result is one of the strangest mainstream rock albums of all time.
Whereas the songs on Ten and Vs. were coated in heavy studio gloss, the group was now actively avoiding any concessions to mainstream success, deliberately sabotaging their most obviously ingratiating tunes with borderline lo-fi production and unpolished vocal takes, lending a muted, understated tone to eventual stadium anthems such as "Corduroy" and "Better Man." The entire record is booby-trapped with peculiar interludes seemingly designed to weed out fairweather fans, from the paranoid accordion-based rant "Bugs" to the disturbing, suicide-obsessed musique-concrete piece "Heyfoxymophandlemamathatsme." These experiments may not be the album's most brilliant and enduring moments, but they define Vitalogy's contrarian spirit and highlight its relentless morbidity and terror. The record is fascinating as a document of a rock star going through a public nervous breakdown, but it is also inspiring as an uncompromising work by a band hell-bent on transitioning from superstardom to a more manageable cult popularity entirely on their own terms. -
They Say...
Thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album. While it isn't a concept album, Vitalogy sounds like one. Death and despair shroud the album, rendering even the explosive celebration of vinyl "Spin the Black Circle" somewhat muted. But that black cloud works to Pearl Jam's advantage, injecting a nervous tension to brittle rockers like "Last Exit" and "Not for You," and especially introspective ballads like "Corduroy" and "Better Man." 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." Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
This album includes one or more tracks available only with a full album download.
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 12 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 12 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Last Exit |
2:54 |
|
| 02. | |
Spin The Black Circle |
2:48 |
|
| 03. | |
Not For You |
5:51 |
|
| 04. | |
Tremor Christ |
4:10 |
|
| 05. | |
Nothingman |
4:33 |
|
| 06. | |
Whipping |
2:33 |
|
| 07. | |
Pry, To |
1:00 |
|
| 08. | |
Corduroy |
4:37 |
|
| 09. | |
Bugs |
2:44 |
|
| 10. | |
Satan's Bed |
3:36 |
|
| 11. | |
Better Man |
4:28 |
|
| 12. | |
Aye Davanita |
2:55 |
|
| 13. | |
Immortality |
5:18 |
|
| 14. | |
Stupidmop |
7:23 |
|
14 Total Tracks, 54:50 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like Pearl Jam, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Pearl Jam fans
Credits
- Pearl Jam - Producer // Pearl Jam - Main Performer // Dave Abbruzzese - Drums // Jeff Ament - Bass // Jeff Ament - Guitar (Bass) // Jeff Ament - Vocals // Jeff Ament - Photography // Nick DiDia - Engineer // Brett Eliason - Engineer // Brett Eliason - Mixing // Stone Gossard - Guitar // Stone Gossard - Vocals // Stone Gossard - Mellotron // Jack Irons - Drums // Adam Kasper - Assistant Engineer // Mike McCready - Guitar // Mike McCready - Vocals // Mike McCready - Slide Guitar // Brendan O'Brien - Producer // Brendan O'Brien - Engineer // Eddie Vedder - Guitar // Eddie Vedder - Accordion // Eddie Vedder - Vocals // Trina Shoemaker - Assistant Engineer // Joel Zimmerman - Art Direction // Barry Ament - Artwork // Barry Ament - Layout Design // Lance Mercer - Photography // John Burton - Assistant Engineer
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC