Pearl Jam
Vs.

After the worldwide success of their debut album "Ten", Pearl Jam entered the most tumultuous phase of their career: no promotional music videos for singles, the battle against Ticketmaster started a year after this album, and the death of Kurt Cobain, an event that would irreparably influence the magnificent "Vitalogy". But between these two albums, there is "Vs.", sometimes considered a transitional work but, for me, an album on par with the band's other great records.

The structure of the songs is simple and catchy except for a couple of exceptions with a contained duration, it would almost seem like an album for extensive radio play, stadium rock, if it weren't for the dark patina that artistically invades every song. The album's impact is also aided by Brendan O'Brien's production: a direct, almost garage-like sound, damn hard and realistic; a sound that perfectly matches the themes addressed by these successful young guys.

The album opens with two breakneck tracks, but not to be dismissed and labeled as "minor"; in this album, every song has a reason to exist; "Go" and especially "Animal", with their riffs, their wild outros and those minimal lyrics that say much more than a thousand words, are a perfect prelude to the album's first masterpiece: "Daughter", a song that could be labeled as a ballad if it weren't for the fact that the acoustic and electric guitars collaborate to create an unsettling, annihilating sound, taking us into another story of ordinary despair in any American town. The way Vedder treats the protagonist of this song is compassionate and angry, giving voice to all his sadness and insecurities. The album continues with an ironic attack on American rednecks, "Glorified G.", perhaps the most carefree track on the album in style and for its irony. "Dissident" is a beautiful moment of reflection to calm down and think about the dilemmas of existence, the choices that influence every moment of ours and the evils we still have to face, it doesn't matter which path we take, one cannot completely escape from the evil of existence; the melody, screamed by the guitars and Vedder's voice, has a great emotional crescendo, blending wonderfully into the album's second masterpiece (a very personal judgment): "W.M.A.", six minutes of an unwavering bass line, Abruzzese's drumming that hammers almost as if it were a voodoo ritual, Vedder's floating voice, and that damned text: a perfect attack on the average American, "he won the lottery by being born, big hand slapped a white male American. Do no wrong, so clean cut, dirty his hands, it comes right off.", a dark and funky psychedelic trip, a perfect interlude for the album. We return to the cold winter asphalt, the season suggested by the album cover, in the hardest possible way: "Blood", a track reminiscent of certain near-heart attack outbursts of Nirvana, a pounding, relentless stride that, as the booklet suggests, speaks of a heroin addict, the examination of American ills continues. And we enter another visceral masterpiece, reminiscent of certain emocore tracks of the era, a jewel of emotions with a punk heart: "Rearviewmirror", a simple riff, a story of escaping one's skeletons in the closet, an epic comeback against life. "Rats" is a pleasant sarcastic piece, pure rock alchemy, before letting us listen to my favorite song of the group: "Small Town", a simple acoustic ballad, six chords coming from Gossard's acoustic guitar, Vedder's full voice, and some sweet riffs from McCready, simplicity wins and the masterpiece is made, a poignant portrait of another ordinary life that suddenly finds its memories waiting and overwhelming him in a whirlwind of emotions and regrets, a song that cannot be described because of how perfect it is in its simplicity. "Leash" is another pure rock 'n roll track that I personally have never adored, but the album's conclusion raises the bar: "Indifference", a typical Pearl Jam track, a warm and sinuous down-tempo, which for its calm and keyboard notes, reminds me of some Doors pieces, a very fitting conclusion.

I know that track-by-track is not very well-regarded, but I wanted to highlight everything I think about this album, I do not consider myself a Pearl Jam fanboy but faced with certain works a piece of heart breaks, and inevitably subjectivity and personal thoughts triumph over the rest. A note of merit also goes to the beautiful booklet, with its sparse and dark style, with sketched images and photos of cold and desolate landscapes.