10 Amazing Follow Ups To Masterpiece Albums

8. Vs. - Pearl Jam

Almost everyone in Pearl Jam at their inception have had some uncertain feelings about how their debut album Ten actually sounded. Despite it being one of the cornerstones of the grunge movement and helping Pearl Jam become one of the biggest acts in the world, Eddie Vedder in particular was always uncomfortable with how polished it was, sounding closer to an arena rock album than an authentic alternative record. By the time they were working on Album No.2, they had a clear direction in mind for where to go...and it wasn't going to be monster ballads by any stretch.

Coming after a long touring cycle and feeling more and more cynical about their place in pop culture, Vs. is the closest that Pearl Jam would ever come to making a full on punk record, taking the heavier sides of what happened on their debut and fine tuning them even more. While there are some more acoustic songs to lighten the mood like Daughter and Elderly Woman, there are some songs that verge on metal territory in some spots like the demented riff on Go or the ferocious sounds of Animal.

Even when they are trying some of the more experimental stuff like the funkiness of Blood and Rats, they sound like they are unleashing some sort of demon from their system when they actually sit down to play them. Then again, the fame machine can be pretty cruel to some of the best artists, so Pearl Jam decided to take all of that energy and make concentrated moments of musical chaos.

 
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