Pearl Jam - Vs. (Released 10/19/93 on Epic Records)
Pearl Jam is:
Eddie Vedder - Vocals
Stone Gossard - Guitar
Mike McCready - Guitar
Jeff Ament - Bass
Dave Abbruzzese - Drums
And now for my overly long band bio...
Ina sense, Pearl Jam began in the summer of 1990 when bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard, still recovering from the breaking up of Mother Love Bone, hooked up with guitarist Mike McCready and start to jam.With the help of current Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, the guys released a demo, which would eventually reach the San Diego surfer hands of Eddie Vedder (through the help of another soon-to-be Pearl Jam drummer, Jack Irons). After dubbing his own lyrics and vocals onto the tape and sending it back to Seattle, Mookie Blaylock (original Pearl Jam name) begin a small tour opening for Alice In Chains. In early 1991, the band enters a Seattle record studio to record their debut album, Ten, on Epic records. During the month-long recording, the band changed their name to Pearl Jam. After two years of ever-mounting fame, constant touring, and many minor releases, the band goes back into the studios in late '93 to record their second album, Vs. One week after being released on Epic Records, Vs. entered the Billboard Top 200 Album at #1 setting a SoundScan record with first week sales of 950,378 copies sold.
This album was much less praised/known then Ten, mainly due to that fact this was released just after the band had begun boycotting things like MTV (understandable) and ticketmaster, but the album is still rather good nonetheless.
Thank God they didn't have much history before then, because I'm tired of typing that stuff.
Go - 9/10
An interesting (to say the least) but very good way to start an album. This is slightly heavier then anything heard on Ten, and focuses more on bass then guitars during the track. It's definitely a stand-out track, as the chorus has stuck with me ever since I first heard it. with Vedder putting out some of his trademark vocals and Gossard putting a nice shred on it, I don't see any reason at all to skip this.
Animal - 9/10
A **** good followup. Animal sounds nothing like Go, as it's much lighter and altogether has a completely different feel. Also unlike Go, this song stands out for more then just the chorus. Aside from another great solo, there's just something catchy about this song.
Daughter - 8.5/10
Easily the most famous song of the album. Pearl Jam goes acoustic and makes a song that's more Ten-ish of the other songs here. The vocals and guitars fit perfectly together, and focuses more on melody than heaviness (although that's Pearl Jam usually does). With all that being said, the album has so far not been much of a disappointment. Unfortunately, the album is mostly downhill from here...
Glorified G - 6.5/10
Probably the most unique and experimental song on the album. The vocals especially are nothing I would've come to expect from Eddie Vedder. In the beginning, the guitars are completely goofy considering the past music they've made. Overall, the music was decent at least but I tend to skip over it often.
Dissident - 7.5
Starts out very promising. The song sounds very relaxing after something like Glorified G. It actually keeps up fairly well after the begining, with good vocals and memorabel guitars. Nothing specific about this song, but still a good one anyhow. I rather like it, and think I skip over it far too much.
W.M.A. - 7/10
Nice drum intro! this one is fairly consistent with the rest of the album. The vocals are unique, and the guitars a pretty quiet throughout the entire song. It's a pretty nice sound, and a quiet one at that. Another one I think I skip over too much...
Blood - 7.5/10
This one syands out simply because it's the loudest song on the album. It begins instantly with Eddie screaming, and the instruments blaring. For the most part, this keep up for the entire song, aside from rapid transitions from loud to extremely quiet. Pretty decent overall, complete with a creative solo.
Rearviewmirror - 8.5/10
A definite pick-up after the past few songs. Starts with a nice clear intro, and goes into a nicely written, beautiful chorus. It seems to be the most meaningful song on the album, and is definitely one of the better ones. Doubtlessly memorable, and a good way to keep people listening through the whole album.
Rats - 6.5/10
Another rather laid back song. Focuses mainly on bass/drum executed grooves then being full-distorted rock. The first half of the song is fairly quiet, until about half way through when the guitars come in and the vocals get heavier. Not too bad, but easily overlooked.
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town - 7.5
Well, it's got a hell of a title. This is another acoustic song, and is almost as good as Daughter. These guys sure know how to get acoustic. The instruments were well written, and the vocals fir very nicely once again. Definitely not a track skipper by many lengths.
Leash - 7/10
Much heavier by comarison to earlier songs. Nice mixture of the grooves of Rats combined with the up-beat heaviness of Animal. A pretty nice song, but I can never seem to get to it since it's at the end of the album.
Indifference - 6.5/10
Very, very slow and quiet compared to the rest of the album. The song is entirely drums and bass, with Eddie singing very low vocals. It's a nice, relaxed way to end an album, and for some reason seems to be a memorable outro.
And now for the conc...
An obvious change from Ten. The band seemed to have slowed things down and changed their style with this album. It's not as good as Ten, but is still pretty good overall. This album is less grungey then their earlier stuff, so I'm sure a lot of Pearl Jam fans won't like it. I'm urging you people to give this one a chance, as it just might grow on you like it did with me.
Recommended tracks:
Go
Animal
Daughter
Rearviewmirror<
Overall Rating - 7/10, but close to a 7.5...it's a tough choice. :thumb:
