"Animal" is a pretty typical
Pearl Jam single, displaying 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. When the album containing "Animal,"
Vs., first appeared in 1993, lead singer
Eddie Vedder had one of the most interesting voices in rock music. Since then, scores of imitators have diminished its originality. But his guttural delivery of lines like "I'd rather be with an animal" still carry a punch that the imitators can't muster. The EP also contains two songs from the album
Ten, including "Oceans" and the landmark single "Jeremy," a song about an unpopular teenager who turns unexpectedly to violence which is even more disturbing in light of the rash of high school shootings that occurred in the late '90s. The primary attraction for
Pearl Jam fans who already own
Ten and
Vs. is the live recording of the hit "Alive," which features a fiery electric guitar jam and an introduction by
Vedder which displays his stand-up guy persona: "You survived today,"
Vedder magnanimously tells a soaking crowd. "No matter what band could come up here this thing wouldn't happen without you...It's you who's surviving the rain, it's you who's going to be sick tomorrow, it's you who we appreciate."