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 Post subject: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:57 am 
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The purpose of these threads is to take the time and go back and listen to the Pearl Jam albums you remember but haven't sat down with in a long time. What did you think? is it what you remembered? Given the album a spin









Part I: Ten
Part II. Vs.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:57 am 
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Gentlemen, start your Vitalogys

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:58 am 
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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:09 am 
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The Go intro is a little better, but I love how Last Exit starts with the tune up, like it's priming you for something special.

Last Exit is just a fucking beast of a song. It's like a bleeding tiger. I think my favorite part of it may be the way the drums stubbornly pound their way through the whole song, but the whole thing is just so good. This is their best intro song, bar none. Last Exit is probably the PJ song from this record I listen to the most these days, but it has all this extra power starting the album rather than just as a stand alone song---all this anticipatory power.

Great ending--the way it just comes crashing to a halt, and then right into the frantic and reckless STBC whcih just goes flying right off the rails while still staying straight.

Eddie's voice is already starting to wear a bit here. You can hear the loss of power from Vs. but there is just so much fire in it that these may be his best vocal performances. Compare STBC to Habit and you can hear the difference. There's a sloppyness to habit that makes the shrieking unappealing (to me, anyway) but there's a focus here, a sense not of self importance but of importance--like these songs known that they're important, that they have to be sung, and sung with conviction, or else--like there's something inside that will either find a way out or ignite its way free.


Man, the start of NFY is so good. Such a great slow burn. This is one of my favorite grooves in their whole catalog--simple and basic but inevitable and inexorable and oh so ominious. The song actually peters out for me towards the end,but the rest of the song is so good (and I love the slashing notes that mike and stone play over Eddie's simple guitar melody), especially the way it comes out of the bridge into the final verse with the notes ringing in the air, the bass line returning, and the way Eddie delivers the 'all that's sacred lyric.' They start to loose it a little bit in the final chorus (maybe too abrasive) and the outro is a bit too repetative compared to the MUCH stronger climaxes of Corduroy and Immortality.


I'm reading along in the book as I listen. This is the only pj record where the art really ADDS to the entire experience of the record.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:11 am 
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stip wrote:
The Go intro is a little better, but I love how Last Exit starts with the tune up, like it's priming you for something special.


That doesn't sound like a tune-up. I think they're just kind of... noodling around.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:13 am 
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stip wrote:
Gentlemen, start your Vitalogys

but the Oscars are on!

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:13 am 
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2 albums in and plat still does not care much for pearl jam.

Im interested in his blogging re: vitalogy


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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:19 am 
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theplatypus wrote:
stip wrote:
The Go intro is a little better, but I love how Last Exit starts with the tune up, like it's priming you for something special.


That doesn't sound like a tune-up. I think they're just kind of... noodling around.

It's Free Jazz, is it not?

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:20 am 
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Or is that some other improv?

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:21 am 
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the end of NFY goes on too long, but it makes for a great transition into Tremor Christ. This is such an ominous sounding record (Last Exit, Not For You, Tremor Christ, Corduroy, Betterman, Immortality)--Tremor Christ sounds like it's stalking you, and the effect is greatly enhanced by hearing all the songs in a row. Eddie is a little too hoarse from time to time on this song, but when his voice evens out it sounds so good.

I love how he delivers those last few lines (and I like that the bridge comes at the end of the song--a cool change of pace from normal structures and I like how the song moves from climax into the understated outro--kinda like the end of jeremy).

Tremor Christ is one of the most intriguing phrases Eddie ever wrote.

Great transition into nothingman. Everyone one so far is fantastic.

Nothingman sounds like warm rain. This is such a simple song, but Eddie carries it so well. I love how his voice is layered when he sings the 'he who forgets' lyric. Such a bittersweet song.

The move into whipping is a bit too abrupt, but it does give the rolling beginning a bit more force by the contrast. I think it says quite a bit about the strength of this record that this is one of the weakest songs on it. One of the best vocal melodies on the early records though. it kinda reminds of you could be mine by GNR. I never noticed that before. Dave A sounds great on everything so far. I think this record may have the best drumming on any PJ record. Everything is really well balanced on whipping.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:21 am 
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theplatypus wrote:
stip wrote:
The Go intro is a little better, but I love how Last Exit starts with the tune up, like it's priming you for something special.


That doesn't sound like a tune-up. I think they're just kind of... noodling around.



Maybe warm up would have been better.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:32 am 
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Pry, To is still pretty pointless, and since this isn't the guided tour thread I'm not gonna try to defend its inclusion. Since Corduroy has the slow muted build pry to doesn't even serve as a buffer.

I love how corduroy begins, although the immediate transition into the first verse always sounded a little too muted. It's jarring, but not necessarily in a good way. I never really noticed how good the vocal melody is in the second part of each verse (the I don't want to...parts) compared to the first part. It's so smooth compared to the first half.

Such a great bridge, and I like how seamless the transitions are here--it sounds like the whole song is one continuous thought rather than a series of constructed parts.

Great outro. I love the gradual shift in speed and how the climax ramps up into this cacophony of different parts, how it's disjointed and of a piece at the same time.


Bugs is the only 'art/filler' part of the record I actually like--the gross crunching sound underneath the accordion, the way you can hear eddie losing his patience during the song, and it's so discordant and sing-songy at the same time. I also like how it deflates at the end.


I think the whip cracks at the start of Satan's Bed are too much. This song always disappoints me on the record a little bit cuz I think they made it a little too dirty and crunchy, and it's such a great clean riff. I had already heard the atlanta 94 version before this, and that has always been the definitive satan's bed for me. The one on the record ends up feeling overworked. Good song, especially the way the guitars in the verses almost sound like brass, but it'll always fail to measure up to Atlanta. The chorus sounds a little too much like a party for this record, too.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:38 am 
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the dirty, crunchiness of the album cut of satan's bed is what makes it great

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:39 am 
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I kinda like that musical interlude into betterman but I'm also not sure it's necessary.

The guitars at the start of this song just sound so lonely, and Eddie sounds so delicate and fragile while still being dignified. this is one of the best songs ever sung by a guy from the perspective of a woman. The keys coloring the background here are pretty lovely.

I love the sing alongs at the shows but Eddie sounds so good whenever he sings this part of me wishes people would just shut up.

I love the sound stone gets out of his guitar on this one--actually everyone sounds really good. is there another song in the catalog that has this, I don't know what to call it, guitar tone? Betterman is pretty close to a perfect pop song. the only thing I don't think is great are the 'can't find a better man' call backs before the outro. I like how Eddie's moans are buried under the guitars rather than overpowering them.


Aye davanita is a fun little instrumental, I guess, but utterly unnecessary, and a bit too jaunty and playful given the two songs its sandwiched between. if they really wanted this on the record it should be between bugs and satan's bed.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:40 am 
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cutuphalfdead wrote:
the dirty, crunchiness of the album cut of satan's bed is what makes it great



I am sure i would love it a lot more if I didn't know the atlanta version first, which has a pretty different feel. I wonder if there is a correlation here between preference for the atlanta/vitalogy cuts and which one you heard first, since that listen would define expectations.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:40 am 
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Aye Davanita is absolutely necessary.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:41 am 
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stip wrote:
cutuphalfdead wrote:
the dirty, crunchiness of the album cut of satan's bed is what makes it great



I am sure i would love it a lot more if I didn't know the atlanta version first, which has a pretty different feel. I wonder if there is a correlation here between preference for the atlanta/vitalogy cuts and which one you heard first, since that listen would define expectations.

Yeah I got into the song with the album and I haven't heard a live version that I prefer over it.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:47 am 
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The start of Immortality is so good--another ominous start that moves from hollow to a sad sort of lushness so quickly. this record is BoB's finest work as a producer. I don't know that you could call immortality a dirge, but it has this wonderful sense of decay and ruin to it--like its coming from this dark old growth forest, teaming with life that never really gets to see the sun. I love how the music that follow his 'trapdoor in the sun lyric' the first time, almost sounds like it's echoing him.


How many guitars are playing in the studio version?

This is a really understated vocal performance. This is not my favorite mike solo (I tend to go in for the more over the top ones) but it fits the song so well, and the way it climaxes and then fades into the start of the last verse is great.

I wish they ended the album with the noodling at the end of Immortality--I bet it would circle around into last exit really nicely. I wonder if that was the intention before they added stupid mop.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:55 am 
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cutuphalfdead wrote:
Aye Davanita is absolutely necessary.


i believe that you like it, but that's not the same thing as being necessary.


Ugh, stupid mop. It's like a short tacked onto the end of a really awesome movie.

God damn this song is freaky. So unnerving. it's unhinged and disturbing, but it also feels cheap in its own way--so much of this record is sublime in a subtle, understated way, and then this piece, even though it's well put together, seems like a kid jumping up and down in class trying to get the teacher's attention--especially with that 'would you kill yourself' bit at the end.

As this drags on it also looses a bit of the tension. I'm kinda looking at the clock here waiting for this to end. Enough already...



Even with stupid mop cluttering the end of the record, Vitalogy is just an amazing listen from start to finish. This is their masterpiece.

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 Post subject: Re: Lets Actually Listen To The Albums: Vitalogy
PostPosted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:04 am 
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Vitalogy wouldn't be Vitalogy without Aye Davanita. It would be a great album, but not the same album. Same thing with any of the other songs. Is Bugs necessary?

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