Animal (Pearl Jam song)
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| “Animal” | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Pearl Jam from the album Vs. |
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| B-side | "Animal" (live) / "Jeremy" (live) | |||||||||||||
| Released | 1994 | |||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, Cassette | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | March 1993–May 1993 at The Site, Nicasio, California | |||||||||||||
| Genre | Grunge | |||||||||||||
| Length | 2:49 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Epic | |||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam | |||||||||||||
| Pearl Jam singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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"Animal" is the third single from Pearl Jam's second studio album, Vs. (1993). It was released as a single in 1994. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Animal" later appeared on the band's greatest hits album, rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991–2003.
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[edit] Origin and recording
"Animal" originated as an instrumental demo called "Weird A" that was written by Stone Gossard in 1990.[1] The song includes elements of funk. Guitarist Mike McCready on the song:
I like the lead on that. George Webb, a guy who takes care of all our guitars and amps, was sitting there and I told him I'd do a solo for him. It ended up being the one we used on the record. I did it on a Gibson 335, too. That's a fun song to play.[2]
[edit] Release and reception
The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
"Animal" was described as a song "of a kind of ritual passion, tapping into something truly wild" in Rolling Stone magazine's review of Vs.[3] In Allmusic's review of the "Animal" single, it was stated that "Animal" displays "the raging Seattle grunge guitars and solid melodic sensibilities that enabled them to secure their status as one of the biggest rock bands in the world."[4]
[edit] Lyrical meaning
The song's actual meaning has usually been confused by fans with some thinking it's about the band's hatred towards the media and others thinking it's about gang rape. In an interview with Melody Maker in 1993, frontman Eddie Vedder stated:
I don't wanna talk about [who the anger is directed at]. It's not so much personal, it's just, some person at the record company said the other day that they wanted the vocals turned up. He wanted people to understand exactly what I was singing. So I told him what it was about and he said, 'You're right. Let's leave the vocals as they are. Maybe we don't really want people to understand it.[5]
[edit] Live performances
The song was premiered live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in San Francisco, California.[6] The song was performed at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1993, a rare occurrence for a song without a music video. Live performances of "Animal" can be found on the "Animal" single, the "Dissident"/Live in Atlanta box set, and the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Touring Band 2000.
[edit] Formats and track listing
Information taken from various sources.[7][4][8][9]
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[edit] Chart positions
Information taken from various sources.[10][11][12][13]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | New Zealand Singles Chart | 7 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 21 | |
| Australian Singles Chart | 30 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Pearl Jam Chronology Mookie Blaylock - 1990". PearlJam10YearsAgo.no.sapo.pt. February 27, 2002.
- ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Prime Cuts: Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam!". Guitar School. May 1995.
- ^ "Pearl Jam: Vs.". Rolling Stone. July 17, 1997.
- ^ a b Cater, Evan. Animal [US CD]. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Reynolds, John, Jessica Letkemann, and Kathy Davis. "Rearview Mirror: Thirty Three Songs In Their Own Words". TwoFeetThick.com. November 16, 2004.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Songs: "Animal"". pearljam.com.
- ^ Animal [UK CD]. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Animal Single. Lukin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ pjcollectors.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Pearl Jam Artist Chart History. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Pearl Jam – Billboard Singles. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ PEARL JAM - ANIMAL (SINGLE) (74326). Australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.
- ^ PEARL JAM - ANIMAL (SONG). New Zealand-charts.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
[edit] External links
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