Vs.-PEARL JAM

Pearl Jam | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1993)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000028UK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MiniDisc  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (246 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,497 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pearl Jam's Best Album!, May 28, 2001

By 

Whitey D (Wilmington, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vs.-PEARL JAM (Audio CD)

Vs. is a rock album. As far as I'm concerned, Pearl Jam made only two true rock albums. Ten, and Vs. The others are more expermimental with punk, pop, and folk. Every song on this album is excellent. The guitar, drums, and vocals are at their best here. It is just a pure masterpiece.

Go-9.5/10- What a way to open up an album. This is just one hell of a rock song. Eddie's vocals tear through the song, and a strong bass line backs it all up.

Animal-10/10- Absolutely amazing rock song. The vocals are just primal. There's a sense of funk in this one. There's a great guitar solo in here that shouldn't be passed up.

Daughter-10/10- We've all heard this song. The first acoustic song Pearl Jam ever did. Great lyrics about child abuse and the solo really takes the cake. This song also has a great outro.

Glorified G-9/10- Another song with an almost funky sense. Interesting guitar riff. Great tongue in cheek lyrics about gun control.

Dissident-10/10- Easily one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs ever. Eddie's lyrics and vocals are just captivating. There's a great lead riff and rythym riff in this song that perfectly blend to create a beautiful combination of power and melody. Almost perfect.

WMA-8/10- This is the album's only rough spot. The song is too tribal and never gets going. The only thing that really saves it is Eddie's mesmorizing vocal performance. Overall though, I can't say anything too bad about this one, the lyrics are really great.

Blood-9/10- This is one hell of a rock song. The vocals are just awesome. Easily the hardest song on the album. The huge scream after the second chorus really jacks this one up. Interesting guitar too!

Rearviewmirror-10/10- An absolutely excellent song. Starts off as just a simple guitar riff and slowly grows into the mournful outro. The vocals are just perfect. Only Eddie Vedder can deliver a performance like that. Great lyrics that paint a picture of someone leaving an abusive situation and finally being free of the shackles. The guitar during the choruses and outro is just excellent. This song is perfection.

Rats-8.5/10- Cool song. Tough act to follow though. The lyrics are very cool, comparing the human race to rats. Ed's vocals during the verses are cool, a really low growl. Another cool guitar solo!

Elderly Woman-10/10- Beautiful and simple song. Most people think of it as a song about meeting someone you remember, but I almost see it as a reflection of growing old and wishing you could be as free as you used to be. Led by an acoustic riff by the way!

Leash-10/10- A thrilling song. This is a seriously hard rock song. I don't suppose it's perfect but I love the uplifting vibe.

Indifference-10/10- This song never quite jumped out at me until I really listened to it. It's now one of my favorite songs on this album. Great calm vibe and lyrics about struggling to go on. Beautiful.

Pearl Jam would never repeat this album's excellence. It is just a near work of perfection. EXCELLENCE!

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pearl Jam Will Become Your Very Own Kindred Spirit, February 5, 2000

By 

Kerissa M. Dickie "fivehorizonsmile" (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vs.-PEARL JAM (Audio CD)

OK. . . so i might be assuming too much if i say this album will change your life- but I'm saying it anyway! I'm a die-hard music lover, and as soon as i first heard pearl jam (at the tender age of 11) i fell head over heels. Being at such a vulnerable age and feeling so alone,i found a dear friend in pearl jam's TEN, and their lyrics helped me understand that all people go through hell sometimes. The lyrics of "Vs" (my fave pj album) empowered me and gave me music to laugh to, cry to, and cherish altogether. Eddie Vedder has such an amazing voice and their songs are so unique compared to any other. I am now 19 turning 30 ( i've gone through so much in my young life like deaths of loved ones, living around the world, and so much more) and i still cherish "Vs." to this very day. I reach for it when the world doesn't make sense, get into my car and shout out the lyrics to "rearviewmirror"- while i drive into the dark. . . and i stop feeling so alone in this world. I imagine that I know Eddie, because his lyrics are so in touch with all of the different emotions i go through and with all of the affect dynamics in my life. When I listen to Pearl Jam, I can close my eyes and feel the moisture of my first loves goodbye kiss on my cheek( so many years ago now it seems ), My mother's hand in mine and i feel the breeze on my face of a million new experiences and treasured moments that yet haven't entered my life. Pearl Jam's "Vs." is an album to treasure, I promise.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paint Ed BIG...., July 6, 2002

By 

Compulsive-Destructive Tendencies (the invisible world) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vs.-PEARL JAM (Audio CD)

What an appropriate name for this album. Lyrically, the themes are full of conflict. Black dude vs. white cops. Ed vs. the media. Children vs. their own parents. Five against one, and so on.
Musically, it's both angrier and more tender than Ten. While it doesn't have the consistency and overall depth of that album, it brings a new element into PJ's sound that continues to this day....experimentation and diversity. It's too hard to describe this album in general. One track at a time, please.

1. Go - In my opinion, probably the best PJ album opener ever. Written by the new drummer, it suceeds thanks to sounding like a harder version of a Ten song, and takes off on a blistering McCready solo.
2. Animal - For the first 8 seconds, this one sounds like Even Flow part 2. But then Ed starts counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 against 1..." and it becomes clear that the two songs have nothing in common. Continues the flow begun by "Go" perfectly.
3. Daughter - The only hit song from this album(and the only one blatantly ripped off by Sheryl Crow), I love the bipolar mood swings of this tune; at times it goes from uplifting to depressing and back without missing a beat. Plus you have to love the way it ends, with an ominous-sounding refrain about the shades going down.
4. Glorified G - I really hate this song; I admire the fact that they're already trying to ditch their established "sound" this early into their careers, but this one just annoys me. That's ok, cause look what follows...
5. Dissident - Amazing. I'd rank this up with "Release" and "Red Mosquito" as one of Pearl Jam's most beautiful songs ever. Reminiscent of Ten if only for of it's haunting chorus.
6. W.M.A. - When I first heard this, I hated it ... But after allowing the song to grow on me(along with picking up the rest of their albums and understanding what direction they had gone in), it's one of my favorites. I love the live version of "Daughter" that flows right into this one.
7. Blood - This song gets a bad rap. Why??? Personally I think the way Eddie lashes out at the backlash of fame and success is very cathartic and beautiful. And like W.M.A., this song was also very prophetic of what direction later albums followed.
8. Rearviewmirror - Holy (excrement), this has got to be one of this band's highest ranked songs ever. Starting as a simple riff until the entire band gradually EXPLODES, the whole of it is brilliant, much like Alive. There isn't a certain moment or highlight of the song you listen for, since the ENTIRE running time of the song is majestic from start to finish.
9. Rats - When Kurt Cobain accused PJ of not challenging their fanbase, and being a "safe rock" band, he obviously had gone temporarily deaf while this track was playing. Sounding like nothing off of Ten, this one kicks off with a funkyass bassline that erupts in a frenzied chorus that almost makes you want to bust a groove instead of mosh. Lyrics are somewhat corny, but I think they suit the music well.
10. blah blah blah....Small Town - Starts with a single acoustic guitar and Ed singing a very simple melody. Eventually builds into an epic ballad resembling 70's bands like Kansas or CSNY. Chorus is sort of lacking, but other than that it's all lovely.
11. Leash - I love songs that Eddie just screams his way through. I also love when they deviate from the normal verse-chorus-verse structure. And I love it when they put lyrics that aren't even sung in the liner notes, that give away the meaning of the song(is it the first one about abortion? Someone help me out). Heck, there's nothing I don't love about this song.
12. Indifference - Probably the best closing song for any of PJ's albums. Quietest song on the album, with a swing-time feel thing going on. It's just gorgeous, even though the ending kind of drags.

This album broke sales records when it first came out, and I'll bet caught all 950,000 people who bought one in the first week off-guard at least twice. If you like your music diverse, unpredictable, and soulful, you can't go wrong with this one. And if you're a PJ fan(to any degree), you don't deserve to LIVE if you don't own this.