Pearl Jam and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the band’s seminal sophomore full-length offering “Vs.” with a series of special releases.
“Vs.” will be available in new vinyl and cassette configurations via various partners on November 17. Pearl Jam‘s own Ten Club features an exclusive 2LP Dreamsicle (translucent orange with white swirls) color variant vinyl and clear cassette. Target offers its own 1LP exclusive clear vinyl, an international clear vinyl will also be available outside of the United States, and a new black 2LP vinyl will be available in participating retailers.
Album and cassette preorders are available HERE.
Additionally, Pearl Jam and Legacy Recordings will unveil a brand new Atmos spatial audio mix of the album releasing tomorrow (October 20) on Apple Music alongside new visualizer videos for each track on the album.
Pearl Jam arrived like a tidal wave with “Ten” in 1991, unassumingly emerging as one of the most popular bands in rock music and culture at large. With all eyes on them for a follow-up, the musicians opted to hold nothing back, cut deeper, and deliver a dark and dynamic 12-track opus in the form of “Vs.” Powered by classics such as the heartbreakingly introspective “Daughter”, acoustic nostalgia of “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”, primal punked-up fury of “Blood” and downright raw catharsis of “Leash”, the album found the group at its rawest. From the explosion of “Go” through the poignant exhale of “Indifference”, it traced a journey through insecurity and uncertainty in the face of unwanted fame, stared down heavy themes such as abuse and neurodivergent learning disorders, raised a middle finger to America’s gun obsession and police brutality, tackled the topic of suicide fearlessly, and even managed to let light peek through the cracks with some of the group’s most treasured anthems ever.
Upon arrival, “Vs.” smashed records by moving over 950,000 copies during its first five days in stores, eclipsing the sales of the rest of the entire Billboard Top 10 combined. It clinched No. 1 on the respective chart for five weeks, logging the longest run at the top for any Pearl Jam release to date. It held the record for “most albums sold first week” for the next five years and set the record for “most first-week vinyl sales,” which would stand for the next 20 years.
Moving 10 million units worldwide, “Vs.” has since gone seven times platinum in the States. Meanwhile, “Daughter” just reached RIAA platinum status, while “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town” has gone gold.
