This is the vitalogy review I wrote. This was the first one I wrote and not nearly as long as the others. Vitalogy is the greatest album not only by Pearl jam, but in the history of the entire known universe, and I defy anyone to disagree.

Sound: This is easily the grittiest of Pearl Jam albums. This was largely written and recorded in a period where the band was close to self-destructing, and the desperation comes across in the music and lyrics. That said, the production is excellent and the album does a better job of creating a consistent mood than any other album they've done. Vedder wrote much of the music on the album, and stylistically they really begin the movement away from the Ten sound and the guitar solo to songs that depend more on interweaving rhythm guitars and soundscapes. Songs no longer close like Alive or Go. Instead you have the jams of Immortality, Not For You, and Corduroy. This album has some deliberate filler (Pry, To, Bugs, Aye Davanita, and Stupid Mop) that were either musical experiments or just an FU to the music industry. Worth listening to once, and then programming out (although many fans enjoy Aye Davanita). [5]

Lyrics: Eddie's best album lyrically. With a few exceptions (the 'love' songs Nothingman, Betterman, and Tremor Christ - all lyrically brillaint in their own light) this is something of a concept album, a meditation on the price of fame, the desire to maintain a degree of authenticity in the music, and an exercise in therapy. From the albums' opening with Last Exit (Lives opened and trashed... look ma, watch me crash... no time to question... why'd nothing last). Eddie makes it clear that the band is an attempt to salvage meaning from music, to validate themselves in an industry that chewed up, commodified and spit out all the meaning in the grunge movement and the artists who embodied it. It runs through Spin the Black Circle, Not For You, Whipping, Corduory, Bugs, and Satan's Bed, working out these issues and telling a passionate and intimate story, before the final closing cryptic lines of immortality 'A truant moves on... cannot stay long... some die just to live. A lyrical tour de force that is perfectly in sync with the music. And Eddie's voice may be at its most primal here. [5]

Overall Impression: In my opinion this is the jewel in Pearl Jam's impresive crown. While not as immediately accessible as some of the other albums, there is not a single dud here, and much of their best work (Betterman, Corduroy and Immortality are my favorites)can be found. The pounding last exit, the punk intensity of spin the black cricle, the slow burn of Not For You, the jarring Tremor Christ, the haunting nothingman, the anger of Whipping, the epic Corduroy, the playful Satan's Bed, aching Betterman, and cathartic immortality tell a story no other album (by any band, I think) can match. Not only is this the best of the pearl jam records, this is arguably the best album of the 90's. I would sacrifice much of my cd collection to insure nothing happened to it. [5]

concept album my ass....................'Tremor Christ" a love song??????.......................you're kidding me right??...........

It's not even the best PJ album.

i agree whole heartidly, i friggin love vitalogy, i listen to it almost ebery day and still get goosebumps, i love it soooo much!!!

Amen brother

Vitalogy is all right. I like the anger, but the simplistic, redundant songs don't mix well with the weird songs and it gets old. Its my #4 PJ album probably, maybe lower

i'm kind of new to this board, so i dont want to piss off anyone yet, because im just feeling my way around and getting used to the personas here.

however, stip, youre wrong. vitalogy is not the bands best album and cannot possibly be one of the best albums ever, for saying this, im sorry, but youre a naive young fool.

it sounds the way it does, b/c of many different elements. the main ones being cobains death, the band abusing drugs/booze (especially mike), and the overwhelming pressure of stardom. vedder takes complete control of this album writing post-punk orriented material that leaves behind all of the groove that gossard/ament liked to work around. 3 rhythem guitars and fills. the production isnt as clean as it should have been and it leaves a murky background for vedder to scream and mumble over. the album is depresing, dark, and self descructive. but this is a concept album and it chooses to behave the way it does, thats what i appreciate about it most.

however its not their best work, because they didnt all work together. when they do so, they make magic.

vitalgoy is 3rd or 4th in my list.

its a neat cd

I was going to post something similar. It is their best work. I listened to it yesterday 3 times and it just reinstilled my belief. Your review hit the nail on the head.

Absolutley not. What is Tremor Christ if not a love song--albiet an unconventional one. And by concept album I mean that there is a unifying them running through the whole work, which I certainly think there is as well.

Now i agree with this review

Is too.

My feelings on Vitalogy.

http://www.theskyiscrape.com/phpBB2/viewt ... c&start=18

i also think its their best work, though i wouldn't go so far as to say best album ever, top 25 though.

Habit, Brain of J, and Red Mosquito were all played at some point while they were touring with Vitalogy. Were those songs written during those sessions or later?

They all premiered druing the 95 tour, late in the tour I believe. They are definitely post-Vitalogy products.

Vitalogy is their no. 6 rated for me, but its really subjective.

I really like the big neil style "f u music industry" lyrics. But the sound, i don't feel is as friendly or appealing as binauarl, no code, and vs. But its really opinion.

This is one hell of a cd and one of the best of the 90's, but there is no way in hell i'd sacrifice all of my other cd's just for this one. If there was any pearl jam album i'd sacrifice for it would be either vs, no code, or binaural. And even above those i hold born to run, nebraska, rust never sleeps, and others. I can't listen to studio pearl jam, i'm a live freak, eddie's voice is much more raw and powerful live and overall so much freaking better.

well.......

to the person who said that vitalogy was not very good b/c the band was experimenting with drugs i say this......
NAME ONE GROUP WHO DID NOT RELEASE THERE BEST MATERIAL WHEN THEY WERE ON DRUGS, PEARL JAM , AIC, SUBLIME, AEROSMITH, ZEPPELIN, THE CHILLI PEPPERS, NIRVANA, really theres no need to continue, i believe u catch my drift.

lukin u make a great point, livejam is where it is at

All due respect to Bill Hicks, but not only have some great album come out of drug use, but some REALLY TERRIBLE ones as well, especially booze.

Here's a better way to look at it. Young bands just beginning to experiment with new drugs, especially psychedelic drugs, have been known to have some notable creative explosions. Bands that have become mired in chronic drug use of any kind, but especially depressants like alcohol and heroin, have made some notably sloppy, predictable, and otherwise awful music. The list of truly great albums made under the influence of heavy drinking and hard drug use (i.e. white powders) is VERY short (Tonight's The Night comes to mind).

Regardless, the failings of Vitalogy were probably only tangentially related to any drug or alcohol use, and much more related to the highly fractured band dynamic in 1994 which resulted from success, fatigue, and personality conficts between the band members.