Jump to content

Vitalogy: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 44: Line 44:
Compared with their previous two albums, ''Vitalogy'' was more varied and idiosyncratic. Sparse productions and often bizarre lyrics (such as on "[[Bugs (Pearl Jam song)|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. With ''Vitalogy'', the band started to incorporate more punk influences into their music. During this era Vedder began to be featured more on rhythm guitar.
Compared with their previous two albums, ''Vitalogy'' was more varied and idiosyncratic. Sparse productions and often bizarre lyrics (such as on "[[Bugs (Pearl Jam song)|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. With ''Vitalogy'', the band started to incorporate more punk influences into their music. During this era Vedder began to be featured more on rhythm guitar.


Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.<ref name="weisel">Weisel, Al. "Pearl Jam: Vitalogy". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. [[December 15]], [[1994]]. p. 91–92.</ref> These include "[[Not for You]]", "[[Pry, To]]", "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]", "[[Bugs (Pearl Jam song)|Bugs]]", "[[Satan's Bed]]", and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|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 (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]" may be about [[Kurt Cobain]]'s suicide, although Vedder has denied this.<ref name="Hilburn, Robert">Hilburn, Robert. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/la112094.shtml "All Revved Up (As Usual)"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. [[November 20]], [[1994]].</ref> Many of the lyrics appeared in live versions of the song before Cobain's suicide, although some lyrics were altered following Cobain's death.
Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.<ref name="weisel">Weisel, Al. "Pearl Jam: Vitalogy". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. [[December 15]], [[1994]]. p. 91–92.</ref> These include "[[Not for You]]", "[[Pry, To]]", "[[Corduroy (song)|Corduroy]]", "[[Bugs (Pearl Jam song)|Bugs]]", "[[Satan's Bed]]", and "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]". In "Pry, To" the phrase ''"P-r-i-v-a-c-y is priceless to me"'' is repeated. Many think that the lyrics of "[[Immortality (Pearl Jam song)|Immortality]]" may be about [[Kurt Cobain]]'s suicide, although Vedder has denied this.<ref name="Hilburn, Robert">Hilburn, Robert. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/la112094.shtml "All Revved Up (As Usual)"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. [[November 20]], [[1994]].</ref> Many of the lyrics appeared in live versions of the song before Cobain's suicide, although some lyrics were altered following Cobain's death.


==Imagery and design==
==Imagery and design==

Revision as of 17:22, 8 December 2007

Untitled

Vitalogy is the third major release and a loose concept album by the band Pearl Jam, released on December 6, 1994 through Epic Records. Upon its release, Vitalogy became the second-fastest-selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs. As of 2007, Vitalogy has been certified 5 times platinum in the United States.

Recording

Pearl Jam again worked with producer Brendan O'Brien. The majority of the album's tracks were recorded during breaks on the band's Vs. Tour.[1] Tensions within the band had dramatically increased by this time. According to guitarist Stone Gossard, Vitalogy was the first album in which Eddie Vedder made the final decisions.[2] Sources state that most of the album was completed by early 1994, but that either a forced delay by Epic or that the battle with Ticketmaster were to blame for the delay.[3]

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.[4]

Months after finishing the initial recording sessions for Vitalogy, drummer Dave Abbruzzese was fired in August 1994.[2] Jack Irons, the original drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Abbruzzese's successor, 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.

Music and lyrics

Compared with their previous two albums, Vitalogy was more varied and idiosyncratic. 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. With Vitalogy, the band started to incorporate more punk influences into their music. During this era Vedder began to be featured more on rhythm guitar.

Many of the songs on the album seem to be based on the pressures of fame and dealing with the resulting loss of privacy.[5] 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. Many think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about Kurt Cobain's suicide, although Vedder has denied this.[6] Many of the lyrics appeared in live versions of the song before Cobain's suicide, although some lyrics were altered following Cobain's death.

Imagery and 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. Other notes in the booklet, dealing with life and death reflections, seem to be more personal, like a message typed on one of the last pages, supposedly referring to the loss of a loved one ("I waited all day, you waited all day, but you left before the sunset. And I just wanted to tell you the moment was beautiful. You should've stayed for the sunset. If not for me"). The booklet also displays some poems or original sayings not belonging to the songs' lyrics, but to be interpreted as a commentary to the songs and, again, as a reflection on how life should or shouldn't be lived. An example is the poem typed on the "Aye Davanita" page. The song's subtitle is "The song without words", as it is an instrumental track. But the page displays a sort of poem about the wasted life of a young girl. Another episode of "intruder words" is on the "Not for You" lyrics page. After the second refrain, instead of the actual lyrics, the typed words give a hint about the Sisyphus myth ("Yeah, you call me Sisyphus love. Yeah, I move the rock. I just don't want to talk about moving the rock. Anything that distracts me from moving the rock"). 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. An X-ray of Eddie Vedder's teeth was pictured instead of lyrics on the page for "Corduroy".[6]

Album title

The original title for the album was Life. The first single, "Spin the Black Circle", was released before the album was released, and on the back of the single it states "From the Epic album Life." The album title Vitalogy comes from the early 20th Century medical book from which the cover art and liner notes are based. Vitalogy literally means "the study of life."[5]

Reception

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.[7] 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.

When the album was released on CD and cassette on December 6, 1994 it became a number 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, behind only the band's previous release Vs.[8]

The album was another big hit for Pearl Jam. The album received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album in 1996.[9] 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.[9] "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. Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from Vs. due to its accessibility.[2] Along with "Corduroy", another song not released as a single, "Better Man" 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.

The album eventually achieved quintuple (5x) platinum status.[10] Template:RS500[11]

Track listing

Template:Sound sample box align right

"Better Man"
Sample of "Better Man", from Vitalogy.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Template:Sample box end

All information taken from All Music Guide.[12]

All tracks by Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, except where noted:

  1. "Last Exit" – 2:54
  2. "Spin the Black Circle" – 2:48
  3. "Not for You" – 5:52
  4. "Tremor Christ" – 4:12
  5. "Nothingman" (Vedder, Ament) – 4:35
  6. "Whipping" – 2:35
  7. "Pry, To" – 1:03
  8. "Corduroy" – 4:37
  9. "Bugs" – 2:45
  10. "Satan's Bed" (Vedder, Gossard) – 3:31
  11. "Better Man" (Vedder) – 4:28
  12. "Aye Davanita" – 2:58
  13. "Immortality" – 5:28
  14. "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" (Ament, Gossard, Jack Irons, McCready, Vedder) – 7:44
    • Also known as "Stupid Mop"

Chart positions

All information taken from various sources.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Albums

Year Chart Position
1994 Australian Albums Chart 1
New Zealand Albums Chart 1
The Billboard 200 1
UK Albums Chart 4
German Albums Chart 8

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1994 "Spin the Black Circle" New Zealand Singles Chart 2
"Spin the Black Circle" Australian Singles Chart 3
"Spin the Black Circle" Irish Singles Chart 6
"Spin the Black Circle" UK Singles Chart 10
"Spin the Black Circle" US Modern Rock Tracks 11
"Spin the Black Circle" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 16
"Spin the Black Circle" German Singles Chart 92
"Tremor Christ" US The Billboard Hot 100 18
"Tremor Christ" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 16
"Tremor Christ" US Modern Rock Tracks 16
1995 "Better Man" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 1
"Better Man" US Modern Rock Tracks 2
"Better Man" US Top 40 Mainstream 13
"Corduroy" US Modern Rock Tracks 13
"Corduroy" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 22
"Not for You" New Zealand Singles Chart 10
"Not for You" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 12
"Not for You" Irish Singles Chart 26
"Not for You" Australian Singles Chart 29
"Not for You" UK Singles Chart 34
"Not for You" US Modern Rock Tracks 38
"Immortality" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
"Immortality" New Zealand Singles Chart 29
"Immortality" US Modern Rock Tracks 31

Personnel

All information taken from All Music Guide.[27]

References

  1. ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Alive-Pearl Jam's Mike McCready Says Goodbye to Drugs and Alcohol and is a Better Man For it". Guitar World. April 1995.
  2. ^ a b c Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten" Spin Online. August 2001.
  3. ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81271-1, pg. 60
  4. ^ Reynolds, John, et al. "Who is the drummer on "Satan's Bed"?". TwoFeetThick.com. May 12, 2005.
  5. ^ a b Weisel, Al. "Pearl Jam: Vitalogy". Rolling Stone. December 15, 1994. p. 91–92.
  6. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert. "All Revved Up (As Usual)". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1994.
  7. ^ Basham, David. "Got Charts? Creed Vs. Pearl Jam, Shakira's Machisma, Kid Rock's Curse". MTV.com. November 29, 2001.
  8. ^ "Pearl Jam: Timeline". pearljam.com.
  9. ^ a b "38th Grammy Awards". Rockonthenet. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  10. ^ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  11. ^ "492) Vitalogy". Rolling Stone. November 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  12. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Vitalogy". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  13. ^ "Pearl Jam – Billboard Albums". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  14. ^ "Pearl Jam - Vitalogy". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  15. ^ "EveryHit.com". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  16. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Longplay". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  17. ^ "PEARL JAM - VITALOGY (ALBUM)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  18. ^ "Pearl Jam Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  19. ^ "Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  20. ^ "PEARL JAM - SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE (SINGLE) (12661)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  21. ^ "PEARL JAM - NOT FOR YOU (SINGLE) (74329)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  22. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  23. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Pearl Jam / Single". musicline.de. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  24. ^ "PEARL JAM - SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE (SONG)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  25. ^ "PEARL JAM - NOT FOR YOU (SONG)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  26. ^ "PEARL JAM - IMMORTALITY (SONG)". New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  27. ^ "Vitalogy: Credits at All Music Guide". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
Preceded by
Forrest Gump: The Soundtrack by Various Artists
 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
December 18, 1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Forrest Gump: The Soundtrack by Various Artists
 RIANZ number-one album
December 18, 1994 		Succeeded by
Forrest Gump: The Soundtrack by Various Artists
Preceded by Billboard 200 Number-one album
December 24, 1994 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vitalogy&oldid=176594836"