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Peter: Hey! We’re doing another Pearl Jam album!

Are you psyched?!?

Tyler: Fired, up.

Peter: We did Ten a while back. Tonight we’re doing Vitalogy. This is actually their third album (we skipped Vs.). Were you familiar with Vitalogy going in?

Tyler: Around the time of its 1994 release, my sister bemusedly played me “Bugs.” Apart from that and “Better Man,” though, I was a stranger to this LP.

Peter: Fresh ears. I like it.

This is actually my favorite Pearl Jam album. I bought it at midnight the day it came out.

Picture it. Fargo. 1994.

Tyler: How many other devotees were there?

Peter: There was a pretty big group. It was on its way to becoming the second fastest selling album of all time (behind their sophomore effort, Vs.).

Tyler: You were there! Boots on the ground!

Peter: It’s true!

Tyler: A part of history, you.

Peter: It’s funny, around that time, I really thought rock had achieved its final form.

I thought, “By God, we’ve cracked the code! This is it!”

It came as quite a shock to me when music continued to change and evolve (the way it always does).

Tyler: You poor devil. Here you thought we’d reached the promised land.

Peter: Like the Biblical Peter, I was prepared to build a shelter atop this mountain to reside in the presence of God forever. Alas, it was not to be.

Tyler: Your search continues, and I wish you godspeed.

Peter: The album kicks off with “Last Exit,” an absolutely churning rocker in 5/4 time.

Tyler: It immediately announces Vitalogy as a leaner beast than Ten. That heavy early-grunge weight has been lifted some.

Peter: Yeah, the band really changed their sound on Vs., jettisoning much of Ten‘s classic rock sheen in favor of something leaner and more raw. On Vitalogy they pushed those boundaries even further.

Tyler: The album cover and the interludes to come are very late-‘60s/early-‘70s. Songs like “Last Exit,” however, are not.

Peter: That’s interesting. The cover was based on an old medical textbook Eddie found at a garage sale. Wikipedia told me that Vitalogy actually means “the study of life.”

Tyler: Well I’ll be.

Peter: It should be mentioned that they were actively culling the herd at this point. Songs like “Last Exit” weren’t for the casual fans.

For us diehards, that was thrilling. They were making music just for us!

Tyler: What a fine feeling, when fandom is truly rewarded.

Peter: It was pretty cool. Being part of the scene. “All my people right here, right now.” That sort of feeling.

Tyler: Our next track, “Spin The Black Circle,” rocks even harder. It thrashes.

Peter: It does. Stone wrote the riff. It was originally much slower. Eddie had him speed it up.

Tyler: There’s punk in this one.

Peter: Yes! Eddie was keen on emphasizing those influences around this time. Again, this isn’t for the casual fans.

Tyler: Was there any backlash to the change in sound?

Peter: I would say so. It’s hard to imagine how big they could have been if they had just recorded Ten II and Ten III. But I think they were wary of burning too brightly, of flying too close to the sun.

This went to number 10 in the UK. It’s their only top ten hit there. It went to number 2 in New Zealand!

Tyler: New Zealand, huh? That’s more surprising than it should be, given my utter lack of knowledge about that country. I guess those Kiwis really like their music hot under the collar.

Peter: Apparently.

Next up is “Not For You.”

Tyler: Something about this one feels a little closer to Ten than the other tunes.

Peter: Interesting. I suppose it’s slightly more accessible than the first two.

It’s ironic given that, as if it wasn’t already painfully obvious, here they come right out and say, “This is not for you.”

Tyler: The taunting! Harsh!

I kid.

Peter: It’s not for you, Tyler! You weren’t there at midnight, dammit!

Tyler: I was probably listening to Tuesday Night Music Club.

Peter: I’m sure that’s a fine record.

Tyler: It’s a fine launching pad for ol’ Sheryl.

Peter: They played this on SNL in ‘94. They were actually there to promote Vs. Nobody had heard this yet. Such a baller move.

Tyler: Oh wow. That’s damn cool.

Lorne doesn’t take to surprises!

Peter: They did it in rehearsal (you can see it on YouTube), so I assume he knew. They were just so big. I think he let them do whatever they wanted.

Tyler: Like Nikki Haley!

Peter: Oof!

Tyler: I could sit here taking potshots at modern SNL all night. I’ll spare us all.

“Tremor Christ” confused me greatly at first, until I realized that I knew the opening guitar stabs from their use as bumper music on Reds radio broadcasts.

Peter: For real? That’s awesome!

Tyler: Oh yeah. For years now.

Peter: I love that.

Tyler: Tune in! Catch the fever! All aboard the Cincy bandwagon!

Peter: Well, I love those guitars. I’m not a gearhead. I can’t tell you how they got that tone,  but I adore it. If you listen to modern day Pearl Jam the guitars are all bright and shiny. They’ve lost the grime! The grunge is gone!

Tyler: Those fools!

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