Wasted Reprise


I have faced it...a life wasted
I'm never going back again
I escaped it...a life wasted
I'm never going back again
Having tasted...a life wasted
I'm never going back again
Oh i erased it...a life wasted
I'm never going back again



I think the reprise was a great idea, especially if you look at S/T as a record with thematic coherence (which I do). It is a nice reminder of the primary lesson the record wants the listener to take away, and the presentation itself is just gorgeous. I think there is a different subject singing the reprise, which is another reason why it’s done differently than on Life Wasted. Life Wasted was an exhortation by someone who had freed themselves for others to do the same. There was a sense of confidence lacking in the reprise. The subject of the reprise is more cautious and tentative. He realizes what he need to do, but the hard part is still ahead of him. It’s a quiet attempt to bolster a resolve which will be sorely tested in the next two songs.

I am not normally in the 'more experimental' pearl jam camp. I think they are a great rock band and I'm always happy with them sticking with what they know (which is NOT the same thing as making the same record over and over again). But moves like this (or Bugs, which I don't enjoy nearly as much) really impress me cuz there isn't anything forced about it. They tried something different that was a necessary part of telling a story--experimentation in service of a vision, rather than for its own sake. Come to think of it, Vitalogy could have used a reprise too.

I'd like to see them open life wasted with this in concert more often.

This song always reminds me of Tom Waits. I could picture it on Frank's Wild Years or Alice. So it's got that going for it too.

4 Stars

2nd best song on avocado

Works well where it is on the album. Love it live, especially as an intro to Betterman/Life Wasted. 3 stars.

angus has the worst taste in music

much better than Life Wasted

He's a loveable little scamp though, isn't he?


I think the Reprise was a good call on the record. It fits remarkably well between Gone and Army Reserve and it reminds me of a gentle start to a first encore. However, I find it hard to rate it as such, given that it's a mere snippet.

if your gonna be controversial and ridiculous might as well go the whole hogg

I love this record and I don't think calling the reprise the second best song is crazy. I don't agree. But I don't think it is crazy

I would lie if I say I like it more than Marker. I wouldn't lie if I say I like it more than all the other songs. Except Inside Job (Dublin vesion).

i see it as a nice bit of filler, that nestles in-between 2 of my favourite tracks on the album,. i don't really consider it a track as such, its under 1 min..but that doesn't mean i don't feel the song doesn't have significance on the album, it does and it fits in well but only becuase of the rest of the album.

if the album was an ep and you were to pick ur 4 fave tracks from it, would you put wasted reprise on it? becuase then you would have to put life wasted to get the comparison.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I have to say that I like Wasted Reprise better than Gone.

Funnily enough, I was listening to that last night. Goosebumps

Nice little interlude.
I think it would be a nice intro to Elderly Woman and Immortality too, among others.

i take this back, its a tie between stip and angus

ohhh good call on Small Town.

if only they could make it a little bit longer..

On the album it doesn't do that much for me. I will admit that I loved it live as an opener that lead into Life Wasted a la Albany.

It's cool. 4 stars.

I'm just throwing out rough numbers here...not necessarily accurate...but let's say Wasted Reprise is about a minute long. Well, Even Flow is about 4 minutes long...and it's proportionately (4x) better.

As others have mentioned, it definitely works well as a prelude to Betterman and/or Life Wasted at shows. But I really liked the placement of it at Lollapalooza, right before Alive.