Pearl Jam: Vs. (2LP, 30th anniversary edition, 180g) [LEGACY]

Why you'll love it

This 30th anniversary edition spreads Vs. across two 180g LPs cut at 45 RPM, remastered for vinyl and housed in a gatefold. It sold 950,378 copies in its first five days, a SoundScan record that stood for five years, and spent five weeks at No. 1.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 30th anniversary edition
• 180g vinyl
• Cut at 45 RPM
• Remastered
• Gatefold jacket
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Following Ten was never going to be a relaxing job, and Pearl Jam took the sensible route of making something rougher. Vs. was their first album with producer Brendan O'Brien and drummer Dave Abbruzzese, cut at The Site in Nicasio, California, one song at a time and mixed as each was finished, with the band set up more or less as they play live.

The first week alone produced "Go," "Blood," "Rats" and "Leash." "Animal" and "Blood" bring in a jagged funk (Mike McCready says nobody sat down and decided to be funky; it came from the band exploring different directions), "Dissident" and "Rearviewmirror" build and build until something gives, and the two acoustic songs, "Daughter" and "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town," became two of the most loved things the band ever did.

Jeff Ament remembered wishing their first record had sounded like this. The band also declined to make a single music video for it, which is a bold marketing plan that seems to have worked out.

Also at Kops: more Pearl Jam on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Epic / Legacy (cat# 19658830051), a reissue of the 1993 album.