PEARL JAM | VITOLOGY
Released in 1994, this album was slipping further away from the sound of Pearl Jams previous albums. Vitology marked the beginning of a looser and more experimental band that had been hiding behind the drive to feel relevant and powerful. After their debut album Ten established them as promising new force in Alt-Rock, it’s follow-up Versus dropped the reverb and over-production for a bare-bones fistful of raw energy.
Vitology didn’t quite continue on the same flavour profile, though it does cook with rock, punk, and balladry. This album is a unique one in their catalogue because it feels the most vulnerable without coming undone. It was a strange and ecclectic move forward, and not every track is perfect or even memorable for that matter. It had a notable lack of guitar solos and Vedder seemed to sing with less focus in a looser approach.
“Not For You” plays of a simple guitar pattern, an E chord slid up the fretboard, and never changes its form. Even in the songs lack of melody for a chorus it is still a great listen. By contrast, “Corduroy” is a sublime slice of heaven that ranks as one of the band’s best efforts of all time. The opening riff is insanely recognizable and the song crashes through its woody terrain only to come to the clear paths in its softer choruses, a sort of reverse play on the quiet loud quiet of the grunge days. The bridge is Pearl Jam’s best musical moment in history, as the chords fall on his vocal line “Everything has changed, absolutely nothing’s changed.”
“Tremor Christ” stabs with its punchy guitar parts and crackling snare, the song is discordant but transcendent at the same time. “Whipping” and “Spin The Black Circle” create the energy needed to tighten the album up. Immortality and Nothingman tread into ballad territory and feel like a cozy sit by the fireplace on a winter evening. The album wouldn’t have the same balance if it weren’t for those songs. The radio mainstay “Better Man” is as obvious as the band wanted to get on the album, a clear hit from the get go. It’s not nearly the best track on the album but it brought in a slew of fans though its universal reaction.
While some of the album fumbles into self-indulgence (Bugs, Satan’s Bed, Heyfoxymophandlemama, that’s me) the entire work still feels consistent and glued together. The packaging is brilliant and houses medical artifacts and vintage photos. It connects all the dots on the album’s literal meaning, “the study of life.” All together the vibe is diligent, unconstrained, and nourishing.
LAST EXIT
2.5 oz whiskey
2.5 oz orange liqueur
1 oz Aperol
2 oz fresh lemon juice
4 oz ginger ale
3 dashes bitters
*Shake the bourbon and orange liqueur with ice until very cold, then strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with ginger ale and bitters. Stir together. Garnish with an orange peel.