Review Summary: One of the most diverse and satisfying albums of the early '90s alternative era.
Sophomore albums can be tricky things, especially if your debut sold millions upon millions of copies and made you a critic's dream. When sophomore albums are done incorrectly (think Bush's Razorblade Suitcase) it will often end up with the new album being trashed and forever living in the shadow of their debut while still commanding legions of loyal fans and selling out arenas across the globe. A lot of bands have had this dilemma-however some of the greatest albums in history were sophomore efforts. Siamese Dream, Dirt, The Mantle, S.C.I.E.N.C.E, and Oceanic were all fantastic critically acclaimed records that stood as the second album in the band's catalog. However, there is one name missing on that list-and that is alternative masterpiece by Pearl Jam known as "Vs." Vs. fits all the descriptions of the sophomore slump-critics have always held it in comparison to their acclaimed first album "Ten", the band built an extremely loyal fanbase and the album shot straight to #1 and sold 950,000 copies in its first week, a record that would not be broken for 7 years (and of all people, the abysmal Limp Bizkit hold the record now). However, one thing is missing in this sophomore slump puzzle-Vs. is not a bad album. In fact, it's a pretty amazing, original and diverse record that is of course not as good as their debut but still a major landmark in alternative music.
Pearl Jam has a tendency toward odd openers, whether it's the weird chanting that opened "Once" on Ten or the gentle lullaby-sounding "Sometimes" from No Code, right from the get-go Pearl Jam's opening tracks tell you what's going on and what's in store for you over the next hour. "Go" is no exception-this is by far Pearl Jam's most abrasive and heavy album, and the soft distorted strums from the very beginning of the song give off a strange calm-before-the-storm feeling, as if a muddy riffage explosion is coming any minute. The funky, solid drum beat begins building with a nice gliding bass riff over it, but you still feel that the heaviness is yet to come as the drums & bass are pretty soft-sounding in the mix at this part. After a few soft strokes on the hi-hat and a little blip of amplifier feedback, the album gets off to a rollicking start with several whaling pounds on the snare drum and Pearl Jam's twin guitarists playing some thunderous power chords before Vedder comes in with his trademark vocals that make the whole sound of the band. A lot of the album's songs are short bursts of energy-only 4 of the album's 12 tracks eclipse 4 minutes in length. But the beauty of this is no filler whatsoever-sure there are some weak tracks but none of them are out of place. The band used all of their influences available to them when making the album-ranging from tribal beats and sliding bass riffs ("W.M.A.") to southern rock ("Glorified G") gentler, acoustic pastures ("Elderly Woman", the legendary "Daughter") some thrashy metal tunes ("Animal", "Blood") and even funk ("Rats"). Pearl Jam truly made one of the most diverse, eclectically influenced alternative albums in Vs. and use all their musical knowledge to their advantage.
Eddie Vedder is an incredibly capable vocalist with one of the most amazing and original voices I've heard in the genre. While Staley surpasses him in emotion and Cornell beats him in technicality, Vedder's signature tones are simply the most fun to listen to. Whereas Staley's shocking and depressing anecdotes and vocals will make you want to curl up into a ball and Cornell's signature belting technique is impressive but gets a bit grating after 15 songs, Vedder's style and vocals simply put you in a fantastic mood and the album flies by because of how much you're simply enjoying listening to it. Pearl Jam employs and odd lineup for the grunge era by including 2 guitarists in Stone Gossard and Mike McCready. The guitars have always been the focal point of Pearl Jam's music, and I say it shines nowhere more than on Vs. Perhaps one of the band's best riffs ever occurs in "Dissident" with Gossard's gentle electric hook being played over some squealing high-octave guitar tones by McCready, creating one of the most infectious riffs on the albums that you just end up losing yourself in. Despite its depressing tone, this is feel-good music all the way. The 2 guitarists also know how to bang their heads-"Blood" is one of the band's heaviest tracks to date, featuring drummer Dave Abbruzzesse's powerful snare pounds and cymbal hits and one of the most rocking, wailing distorted guitar riffs I'll ever hear this band play. The song is also a stylistic change for Vedder, who screams throughout almost the whole thing, yelling "IT'S, MY, BLOOD" a chorus that is bound to get stuck in your head just due to its force and emotion. At less than 3 minutes, it's a song that you wish could be longer but you know it would drag if it was.
Bassist Jeff Ament sure carries one hell of a groove. Ament's bass lines go all across the fretboard, often using tapping and string bends to his advantage to write some of the funkiest bass lines in alternative rock. He produces some of his finest material in his career with incredible licks found on "Rats" and "Glorified G", the song dedicated to redneck gun nuts featuring some of the funniest lyrics Vedder has ever written ("Got a gun, in fact I've got two, that's okay man cause I love God!"). "Rats" is a straight-up funk tune featuring Abbruzzesse's amazing sense of rhythm with his cool technical hi-hat techniques and unique fills all across the kit, and one of Ament's most infectious bass lines ever. It WILL get stuck in your head. I'm not warning you, I'm guaranteeing it. It's that catchy and good. Abbruzzesse only recorded two albums with the band but he was easily the best drummer they ever had. His incredible sense of dynamics made the band in their early days and they would not be nearly as successful without his amazing powerful beats ("Animal", "W.M.A.", "Blood", "Leash") or his incredible finesse drumming at low volumes ("Daughter", "Indifference"). Sure, Matt Cameron is a great drummer but Pearl Jam never really used his skill to full potential like Soundgarden did. Abbruzzesse possessed the one thing during his Pearl Jam tenure that Cameron lacked-spirit. Abbruzzesse's amazing drumming power was the core of the sound, the heart of the whole band if you will.
There are some negatives about the album but they're incredibly minor. "Glorified G"'s intro is a bit too bright and poppy for a band like Pearl Jam to be playing, but the song eventually saves itself so it's a pretty minor complaint. "W.M.A." goes on a bit long, reaching 6 minutes and it's one of the weaker tracks on the album, and the longer running time could have easily been reserved for one of the amazing (and fairly short) standout tracks. "Indifference" is a very pretty tune and a great closing track but the chorus is repeated tons of times and eventually gets extremely repetitive, especially since it only consists of one line ("How much difference does it make?"). Vedder's voice cracks at least 5 or 6 times in "Leash" and the song is very instrumentally basic and boring at times, only saved by an anthemic chorus with some of Abbruzzesse's best drumming on the album.
If I had to give you one song to judge Vs. on, maybe even the band's sound as a whole, without a doubt I would choose "Rearviewmirror". This song is basically just one big 5-minute buildup beginning with some really cool electric fingerpicking and a basic yet powerful and emotive drumbeat. The bass line is pretty minimalist and downtuned but also very fitting and definitely adds to the atmosphere of the track. Vedder's lyrics are simply heartbreaking, a writing habit he would hone more on the follow-up album Vitalogy. The lyrics describe walking away from a situation you have to get away from but you can't resist, but it is put into the metaphor of driving a car. It's hard for the protagonist to let go of whatever he's holding but in the end he's happy ("Saw things so much clear/once you were in my rearview mirror"). The final minute of this song is the most intense emotional minute of music Pearl Jam ever put to tape with the soaring twin guitar chords, Abbruzzesse's ridiculously powerful drumming (not to mention that he throws his sticks at the end) and Vedder's triple-tracked vocals with one track simply screaming "REARVIEW MIRROR" over and over again, this is without a doubt the best song on the album and one of their best to date, rivaled only by "Alive" and "Spin The Black Circle".
4.5/5.
Recommended tracks (asterisk signifies best song on the album):
Go
Daughter
Dissident
Blood
Rearviewmirror*
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
