Animal (Pearl Jam song)

"Animal" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released in 1994 as the third single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). 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.

Origin and recording

"Animal" originated as an instrumental demo called "Weird A" that was written by Stone Gossard in 1990. 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.

Lyrics

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.'

Release and reception

The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Outside of the United States, the single was released in Australia, Austria, and Germany. "Animal" peaked at number 30 on the Australian Singles Chart and was a top ten success in New Zealand.

"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. 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."

Live performances

The song was premiered live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in San Francisco, California. 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.

Track listing

Compact Disc Single (US, Germany, and Austria)

1. "Animal" (Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder) – 2:47
2. "Animal" (live) (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 3:00
3. "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 5:31
4. Live tracks recorded at the Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia, April 3, 1994.Compact Disc Single (Australia) and Cassette Single (Australia)
5. "Animal" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:47
6. "Jeremy" (Vedder, Ament) – 5:18
7. "Oceans" (Vedder, Gossard, Ament) – 2:44
8. "Alive" (live) (Vedder, Gossard) – 4:57

Compact Disc Single (Australia) and Cassette Single (Australia)

1. "Animal" (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 2:47
2. "Jeremy" (live) (Vedder, Ament) – 5:31
3. "Daughter" (live) (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 5:07
4. "Animal" (live) (Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder) – 3:00
5. Live tracks recorded at the Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia, April 3, 1994.

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1994	New Zealand Singles Chart	7
	US Mainstream Rock Tracks	21
	Australian Singles Chart	30

References

External links

• Lyrics