Vitalogy
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| Vitalogy | ||
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| Studio album by Pearl Jam | ||
| Released | November 22, 1994 (Vinyl) December 6, 1994 (CD and Cassette) |
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| Recorded | November 1993 - October 1994 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington; Southern Tracks Recording and Doppler, Atlanta, Georgia; and Kingsway Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 55:30 | |
| Label | Epic | |
| Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Pearl Jam chronology | ||
| Vs. (1993) |
Vitalogy (1994) |
No Code (1996) |
Vitalogy is the third major release and a loose concept album by the band Pearl Jam, released on December 6, 1994. Varied and idiosyncratic, the album was another big hit for Pearl Jam, the album eventually achieving quintuple (5x) platinum status. Sparse productions and often bizarre lyrics (such as on "Bugs") made the album inaccessible without repeated listens. Eddie Vedder's hooks are a primary draw, built around furious guitar riffs and arrhythmic drum beats. The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996. In 2003, the album was ranked number 492 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
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[edit] Vinyl release
As Pearl Jam are connoisseurs of vinyl records,Vitalogy was first released on vinyl on November 22, 1994, two weeks before the CD release, and debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.[1] It was the first vinyl album to be listed on this chart since the introduction of compact discs. Furthermore, the lyrics and liner notes of Vitalogy express the band's preference for vinyl records over compact discs.
[edit] First week sales
When the album was released on CD and cassette on December 6, 1994 it became a #1 hit on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, selling more than 877,000 copies in its first week of release on CD and becoming the second-fastest-selling CD in history.
[edit] Overview
The album's biggest hits were found in "Better Man", "Tremor Christ", and "Spin the Black Circle". Vitalogy also included the hits "Not For You", "Corduroy", and "Immortality". The lead single "Spin the Black Circle", an homage to vinyl records, won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance. "Better Man" is a song from Vedder's previous band, Bad Radio. It was never released as a single, but became one of the band's biggest hits, peaking at #13 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart, reaching #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, and spending a total of eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Along with "Corduroy", another song not released as a single, it has become a live staple and continues to be played at almost every show. "Tremor Christ," the B-Side of the single "Spin the Black Circle," also managed to reach #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it has since largely disappeared from the band's set lists and rock radio.
Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy. These include "Not For You", "Pry, To", "Corduroy," "Bugs", "Satan's Bed", and "Immortality". In "Pry, To" the phrase "P-r-i-v-a-c-y is priceless to me" is repeated. (When played backwards the song contains a hidden message that sounds like "Oh, Pete Townshend, how you saved my life!" and contains variations of this. It is well known that Eddie Vedder is a huge fan of The Who.) Many think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about Kurt Cobain's suicide, although Vedder has denied this.[2] Many of the lyrics appeared in live versions of the song before Cobain's suicide, although some lyrics were altered following Cobain's death.
[edit] Album design
The album is packaged in a booklet which features clearly dated discussions of health and well-being, based on an early 20th Century book of the same name that Vedder found at a garage sale. The lyrics to "Whipping", an outtake from the Vs. sessions, are written on a copy of a petition to Bill Clinton against Pro-Life killings of abortionists while an X-ray of Eddie Vedder's teeth was pictured instead of lyrics on the page for "Corduroy".[2]
[edit] Additional musicians
Drums on "Satan's Bed" were performed by Dave Abbruzzese's drum tech Jimmy Shoaf. On the day it was recorded, Abbruzzese was in the hospital having his tonsils removed. Vedder and Gossard were working on the song, and asked for Shoaf's help to get a drum machine working. After setting up the drum machine, the pair asked Shoaf to perform the same beat on the drums. Shoaf noted later that he didn't expect his performance to actually make the record. He is credited on the lyric sheet as the drummer, but it was several years before the public found out who "Jimmy" was.[3]
Jack Irons plays drums on "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me". The song was a late addition to the album, recorded after Abbruzzese was fired from the band. Stone Gossard and Mike McCready were absent from the recording session and thus do not play on the song. "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" was given an alternate title ("Stupid Mop") on other copies of the album.
[edit] Track listing
- "Last Exit" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:54
- "Spin the Black Circle" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:48
- "Not For You" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 5:52
- "Tremor Christ" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 4:12
- "Nothingman" (Vedder, Ament) – 4:35
- "Whipping" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:35
- "Pry, To" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 1:03
- "Corduroy" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 4:37
- "Bugs" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:45
- "Satan's Bed" (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:31
- "Better Man" (Vedder) – 4:28
- "Aye Davanita" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:58
- "Immortality" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 5:28
- "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" (Ament, Gossard, Irons, McCready, Vedder) – 7:44
- Also known as "Stupid Mop"
[edit] Sample clip
- "Better Man" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Better Man" from Vitalogy
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Singles
- "Spin the Black Circle" / Tremor Christ (1994)
- "Immortality" / "Rearviewmirror" (performed by The Frogs) (1995)
- "Not For You" / Out Of My Mind (Live) (1995)
[edit] Album charts
| Album | Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
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1994 | The Billboard 200 | No. 1 |
| 1994 | UK Albums Chart | No. 4 | |
| 1994 | German Albums Chart | No. 8 |
[edit] Singles charts
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | Australian Singles Chart | No. 3 |
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | Irish Singles Chart | No. 6 |
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | UK Singles Chart | No. 10 |
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 11 |
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 16 |
| 1994 | "Spin the Black Circle" | German Singles Chart | No. 92 |
| 1994 | "Tremor Christ" | US The Billboard Hot 100 | No. 18 |
| 1994 | "Tremor Christ" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 16 |
| 1994 | "Tremor Christ" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 16 |
| 1995 | "Not For You" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 12 |
| 1995 | "Not For You" | Irish Singles Chart | No. 26 |
| 1995 | "Not For You" | Australian Singles Chart | No. 29 |
| 1995 | "Not For You" | UK Singles Chart | No. 34 |
| 1995 | "Not For You" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 38 |
| 1995 | "Immortality" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 10 |
| 1995 | "Immortality" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 31 |
| 1995 | "Corduroy" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 13 |
| 1995 | "Corduroy" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 22 |
| 1995 | "Better Man" | US Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 1 |
| 1995 | "Better Man" | US Modern Rock Tracks | No. 2 |
| 1995 | "Better Man" | US Top 40 Mainstream | No. 13 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA | Gold | February 2, 1995 |
| RIAA | Platinum | February 2, 1995 |
| RIAA | 4x Platinum | February 2, 1995 |
| RIAA | 5x Platinum | October 13, 1995 |
[edit] Credits
Pearl Jam:
- Eddie Vedder - Guitar, Accordion, Vocals
- Jeff Ament - Bass, Standup, Vocals
- Stone Gossard - Guitar, Vocals, Mellotron
- Mike McCready - Guitar, Vocals, Slide Guitar
- Dave Abbruzzese - Drums
Additional Musicians:
- Jack Irons - Drums (on "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me")
- Jimmy Shoaf - Drums (on "Satan's Bed")
Additional Personnel:
- Produced by Brendan O'Brien and Pearl Jam
- Recorded by Brendan O'Brien
- Engineered by Nick DiDia, Brett Eliason, Brendan O'Brien
- Assisted by Caram Costanzo, Adam Kasper, Trina Shoemaker, John Burton, Kevin Scott
- "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" recorded/mixed by Brett Eliason
- Artwork, Layout Design by Barry Ament
- Photography by Jeff Ament, Lance Mercer
- Art Direction by Joel Zimmerman
[edit] References
- ^ Basham, David. "Got Charts? Creed Vs. Pearl Jam, Shakira's Machisma, Kid Rock's Curse". MTV.com. November 29, 2001.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert. "All Revved Up (As Usual)". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1994.
- ^ Reynolds, John, et al. "Who is the drummer on "Satan's Bed"?". TwoFeetThick.com. May 12, 2005.
