Vitalogy takes awhile to get going. The first three tracks, "Last Exit," "Spin The Black Circle," and "Not For You" create a paradox in that you rarely hear such ground out, gritty rock described as tedious, but there you have it.
Thinks pick up with "Tremor Christ," which I especially love for the quality Eddie Vedder's voice takes on when he's howling (see 1:16).
Compare "Tremor Christ" to its following track, "Nothingman," a beautiful, introspective sounding song that is among Pearl Jam's best.
I've started taking notes when I'm listening to music, and while I'm a little embarrassed to write it, what I jotted down when listening to "Bugs" was: "demonstrating the fine line between art and retardation." It's a weird song, sounding like if Dr. Seuss had written the screenplay for Bug, but I think I really like it.
And, while we're on the topic of strange, you can't ignore the final track, "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me," a soundscape of eerie music, with a piped in interview track. Not really having any context or idea what was going on, I ended up making up my own story as to who was being interviewed, allowing me to create my own meaning for the song. Since all I can find (in about two minutes of searching) is that the speaking was from "looped recordings of real patients from a psychiatric hospital," there's a chance that I was right and that the song can keep its meaning.
Rating: 3.7 stars
Other great songs:
Corduroy
Better Man
Immortality
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