'Vs.' is a great hard rock album, sadly it is the last album like this that Pearl Jam would make. After this they would go in some sort of 'college radio' direction. That has never made sense to me. Why try to sound like the Pixies (who already had tons of clones... including Nirvana) when you can sound like a unique hard rock band up there with the Rolling Stones, Led Zep, and Guns N' Roses... that is pretty rarified air to enter... many try and many fail. I think Pearl Jam could have gotten that good if they had not changed styles.
While 'Vs.' is assuredly a hard rock record and also finds Pearl Jam really putting out their first ballads, I just can't help but think what they would have sounded like with Andrew Wood at the helm. He could do sleaze rock... look at 'Mindshaker Meltdown' so I am certain he could have held his own as a hard rocker. But ya' know I think Wood could have handled making ballads better then Vedder. Also Wood played piano! That would have added a whole new dimension! Maybe like Queen or something!
Also there is the whole issue of the Pearl Jams ultra-liberal political posturing. It started to infect their songs like 'Glorified G'. Listen if they want to talk about this crap on MTV interviews that is ok, but I don't really want to actually listen to it! With 'Vs.' they finally started to get too political.
Anyhow after this album I sort of bailed on Pearl Jam and would only like a few of their singles after this. Judged by their record sales many others did as well.
It would have been interesting to have seen them try and keep going in a 'Vs..' type direction but it was just not to be...
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