Vitalogy is the third studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records.

Considered a departure from the grunge sound of the band's first two albums, the record focuses more on punk rock and hardcore styles in its production.

[4] The album received critical acclaim and has been certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of at least five million copies in the United States.

[8] Sources state that most of the album was completed by early 1994, but it was not released until November due to either a forced delay by Epic or the band's battle with ticket vendor Ticketmaster.

[10] Drummer Dave Abbruzzese stated that the communication problems started once guitarist Stone Gossard stopped acting as the band's mediator.

"[6] During the production of Vitalogy, lead guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation to receive treatment for alcohol and cocaine abuse.

[12] Months after finishing the initial recording sessions for Vitalogy, Abbruzzese was fired in August 1994 due to personality conflicts with other band members.

"[10] Jack Irons, the original drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Abbruzzese's successor, plays drums on "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me".

"[10] Overall, Vitalogy has been identified as a punk rock album by both critics and members of Pearl Jam, departing the grunge sound of the band's previous work.

"[7] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "thanks to its stripped-down, lean production, Vitalogy stands as Pearl Jam's most original and uncompromising album.

"[18] He added that "in between the straight rock numbers and the searching slow songs, Pearl Jam contribute their strangest music—the mantrafunk of 'Aye Davanita', the sub-Tom Waits accordion romp of 'Bugs', and the chilling sonic collage 'Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me'."

"Bugs" features Vedder playing an accordion that he found at a thrift shop,[19] while "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" was created using looped recordings of real patients from a psychiatric hospital.

[20] Tim Coffman of WhatCulture considers Vitalogy to be a delve into art rock, commenting that the band "[threw] every outlandish idea into the mix.

"[19] The lyrics of "Not for You" express anger at the bureaucracy of the music industry and "how youth is being sold and exploited",[8] while Vedder said "Corduroy" is about "one person's relationship with a million people.

think that the lyrics of "Immortality" may be about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide, although Vedder has denied this, suggesting instead that it is about "the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train.

Considered a "blatantly great pop song" by producer Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam was reluctant to record it and had initially rejected it from Vs. due to its accessibility.

The title Vitalogy, which literally means "the study of life",[22] came from an early 20th-century medical book that Vedder found at a garage sale.

[10] The booklet contains outdated discussions of health and well-being, as well as other notes, dealing with life and death reflections, which seem to be more personal, like a message typed on the "Immortality" page that seems to be referring to the loss of a loved one ("I waited all day.

[4] It was the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band's previous release Vs.[39] Vitalogy has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA,[5] and, as of July 2013, has sold 6.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

[41] Rolling Stone staff writer Al Weisel gave Vitalogy a positive four out of five stars, describing the album as "a wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often powerful."

He felt the band continued to be "unremittingly glum", and described the majority of the songs as "tortured first-person proclamations", commenting that "Vedder sounds more alone than ever.

"[43] Despite writing negatively of the album's "shapeless high-energy riff-rockers", Newsday staff writer Ira Robbins lauded Vitalogy's sound and called it a "compelling triumph of surface over substance".

[44] In a mixed review of the album, Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post perceived a lack of subject matter or lyrical substance as Vitalogy's weakness.

[45] Q magazine gave the album four out of five stars, stating: "It speaks volumes for Pearl Jam's continuing creative acumen that they can respond so confidently to a new punk scene that has sprung up.

"[33] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album an A− rating, writing that "Three or four of these songs are faster and riffier than anything else in P. Jam's book, token experiments like "Bugs" are genuinely weird, and in an era of compulsory irony [Vedder's] sincerity is something like a relief—a Kurtlike relief at that.

"[30] Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis gave tha album three out of four stars and commended Pearl Jam for their earnest songwriting.

[31] AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars, saying: "Pearl Jam are at their best when they're fighting, whether it's Ticketmaster, fame, or their own personal demons.

"[18] According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004): "By Vitalogy PJ hit their apex … the band's creative zenith, finding them doing a Led Zeppelin III on acoustic tracks like 'Corduroy' and turning in a Tom Waits-like weird attack on 'Bugs'".

The lead single, "Spin the Black Circle" (backed with B-side "Tremor Christ", also from the album), was the band's first to enter the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 18.

The three-CD Deluxe Edition features both the Legacy Versions of Vitalogy and Vs. with their bonus tracks and a copy of Live at the Orpheum Theater, Boston, April 12, 1994.