30 Years Ago: Pearl Jam Overcomes It All to Complete 'Vitalogy'

Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain took his own life in April 1994 – and many people saw the tragedy as a death knell for grunge, the Seattle-based phenomenon that had dominated and determined musical trends in recent years. The reality is that life (and even alternative rock) went on.

Proof came in the form of Pearl Jam’s third studio release, Vitalogy, which arrived on Nov. 22, 1994.

There wasn’t anything easy about the recording process, which was carried out in fits and spurts over several months amid Pearl Jam’s grueling tour in support of the previous year’s multi-platinum Vs. album. Sessions were conducted in New Orleans, producer Brendan O'Brien's base in Atlanta and Seattle.

The results would prove pivotal for Pearl Jam because Vitalogy marked a shift in their internal balance of power. After an era of early leadership from founding guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, frontman Eddie Vedder now held sway. His songwriting presence and overall creative vision would largely guide the band’s career from this point forward.

Meanwhile, lead guitarist Mike McCready was spending time in rehab, while drummer Dave Abbruzesse on his way to being marginalized and then fired. Pearl Jam came dangerously close to complete collapse in 1994. (Abbruzesse's drum tech would play on "Satan’s Bed"; his successor Jack Irons was on "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me.") "Vitalogy was a little strained," O'Brien told Spin in 2001. "I'm being polite: There was some imploding going on."

Listen to Pearl Jam's 'Better Man'

How 'Vitalogy' Took Pearl Jam Back to the Top

Pearl Jam ultimately managed to navigate these challenges and marshal their talents into an impressively varied collection of songs, ranging from the urgent punk rock catharsis of "Last Exit" and Gossard’s "Spin the Black Circle" (an ode to vinyl amid the compact disc's popular peak) to the stripped-down melodicism of Ament’s "Nothingman" and Vedder’s dual threat of "Better Man" and "Immortality."

In between, there were a few freakish departures, like the paranoid accordion madness of "Bugs" and the chanting "Aye Davanita." But Vitalogy more often provided copious new examples of Pearl Jam’s brooding, lyrically dense, but ever-catchy, brand of modern rock with "Not for You," "Tremor Christ" and "Corduroy."

And there was certainly no cause for concern once Vitalogy hit record store shelves –exclusively on vinyl at first and then on compact two weeks later. The LP quickly reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, nearly matching the record-breaking sales figures achieved by its predecessor. Pearl Jam would go on to ship an estimated five million units in America alone.

Grunge, it seemed, was alive and well — but only for the moment. Its leading champions (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Mudhoney) would each face disparate trials in the years that followed.

Meanwhile, Pearl Jam never saw such mainstream success again either, thanks to an ill-fated battle with Ticketmaster and their utterly contrarian next album, 1996’s No Code.