A late 1993 session in New Orleans yielded 'Tremor Christ' and 'Nothingman.' They would also spend time in their native Seattle as well as Atlanta working and recording new music, before eventually retreating to Bad Animals studio in Seattle after their tour completion to finish things up. With touring taking up a majority of the time, the band broke up their recording sessions. But he never grabbed power for power's sake.' Pearl Jam, 'Better Man' That's not to say Eddie's never done anything malicious. But the way Eddie grew into being the leader of this band was the most gradual, slow and respectful process that I've ever been involved in. Jeff and I have been very much in control of previous bands we've worked in. Eddie allows other people to lead in this band and to have certain roles that are very fundamental to the decision-making process. Eddie is a natural leader. Eddie can listen to reason Eddie can be swayed or talked in or out of certain things. But Eddie does not make all the decisions. As far as emotional and spiritual energy goes, he IS the leader of this band. He explained, 'There's no getting around the fact that Eddie is the man. But this band is a family, and it's a process that we have to grow with together.'Īccording to Gossard, Vedder becoming the band's leader was a gradual process. And I look forward to the time when I can become more indulgent with my songwriting. That wouldn't necessarily be good for Eddie, or anyone else in the band. It felt like what we needed to do to really break the band open.'Īs for making the decision for him to step back, the guitarist added, 'If it had remained always my band, my natural tendency would have been to get more complex and arrange things more and more. Eddie had 'Better Man' from a long time ago, but most of the songs were a result of jamming in the studio and coming up with a quick arrangement. Eighty percent of the songs were written 20 minutes before they were recorded. So the only way we could make something happen was by going into the studio and deciding on it then and there, in the moment. We really weren't collaborating with each other at the time very much. Gossard told Musician, 'It was probably the only record we could have made due to the problems we were going through in relating.

With the band often stretched for time demands and barriers starting to form, the one place they could connect was jam sessions and scheduled studio time. 'Communication was at an all-time low,' bassist Jeff Ament told Spin of the creative process at the time. The group also dealt with a growing alcohol and substance abuse issue with guitarist Mike McCready, made the decision to split with drummer Dave Abbruzzese and found themselves in the midst of a very public battle with ticketing giant Ticketmaster, forcing them to create their own alternatives in the ways of staging shows. Stone Gossard, who was viewed as the band's creative force and leader early on was stepping back while Eddie Vedder asserted himself even more. album and the dynamics in the group were changing. ' Vitalogy was a little strained,' revealed producer Brendan O'Brien to Spin, adding, 'I'm being polite - there was some imploding going on.' The disc was primarily penned while the band was on the road promoting their Vs.

But there was plenty of drama behind the scenes as they made the transition to writing and recording their third album, Vitalogy.

and were one of the hottest tickets on tour. Pearl Jam debuted to great acclaim with the Ten album, followed by setting opening week sales records with their follow-up Vs. Things couldn't have been better on the surface.

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