Pearl Jam‘s Vitalogy has been waiting and watching the clock for three decades now.
The third studio effort from Eddie Vedder and company was first released on Nov. 22, 1994, 30 years ago Friday. Following in the footsteps of their 1991 breakout debut, Ten, and its 1993 follow-up, Vs., Vitalogy further cemented Pearl Jam’s status as among the biggest bands in rock, even as the grunge phenomenon was fading.
Like Vs., Vitalogy reached #1 on the Billboard 200, though it didn’t debut in the top spot. It actually began at #55 thanks to an initial vinyl-only release, before arriving on CD and cassette two weeks later, which vaulted it to #1.
At the time, Vitalogy set the record for most vinyl copies sold in a single week since tracking data started in 1991. Pearl Jam held onto that record for 20 years and was finally beat by Jack White‘s Lazaretto in 2014.
Vitalogy produced rock radio hits in “Spin the Black Circle,” “Not for You” and “Immortality.” It also spawned two of Pearl Jam’s most enduring songs, “Better Man” and “Corduroy,” though, amazingly, neither track was released as an official single.
Today, Vitalogy is certified five-times Platinum by the RIAA.
While by all accounts Vitalogy was a smash success — it also received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year — the era was not without its difficulties. Drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who played on Vs., was fired toward the end of recording and replaced by original Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. Additionally, the subsequent tour was hampered by Pearl Jam’s continued boycott of Ticketmaster, which lasted until 1998.
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