"Rearviewmirror" is a song by the American rock band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

. The song is the eighth track on the band's second studio album, '' Vs.'' (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily written by vocalist

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, '' rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)''.

Origin and recording

"Rearviewmirror" was one of the first songs to feature vocalist

on guitar. Vedder wrote the song.Garbarini, Vic
"Spit Fire"
''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

''. February 1995. Guitarist Stone Gossard said that the band played the song "exactly like he wrote it." Guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

experimented with an

EBow The EBow is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It was invented by the American guitarist Greg Heet in 1969 and introduced in 1976. The EBow uses a pickup and a magnetic feedback circuit to ...

on the song.Rotondi, James
"Blood On the Tracks"
''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

''. January 1994. At the end of the studio cut drummer Dave Abbruzzese can be heard throwing his drum sticks against the wall in frustration. This was in response to the pressure that was placed on him by producer Brendan O'Brien during the recording of the track.Neely, Kim. ''Five Against One''. Diane Publishing Company, 1999. After recording the track he punched a hole through the snare drum and threw it off the side of a cliff. Vedder finished recording the vocals for the song on the last day of recording for ''Vs.'' Vedder had an issue with the song being too "catchy."

Lyrics

Vedder about "Rearviewmirror":

We start off with the music and it kinds of propels the lyrics. It made me feel like I was in a car, leaving something, a bad situation. There's an emotion there. I remembered all the times I wanted to leave...

Reception

Regarding "Rearviewmirror", David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said, "For once, those rippling guitar chords wrap themselves around a real hook, and Eddie's clenched delivery is perfect for a song about the pain of leaving behind a hopeless relationship and moving on." Paul Evans of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' said that "when Vedder roars, 'Saw things...clearer.../Once you were in my rearviewmirror,' it seems that it's not only some personal sorrow that he's willing himself to tear beyond but the entire weight of the past itself."

Live performances

"Rearviewmirror" was first performed live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at Slim's Café. The song was performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in April 1994 in support of ''Vs.'' Live performances of "Rearviewmirror" can be found on the "

Dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

" single, various official bootlegs, the '' Live at the Gorge 05/06'' box set, and the live album '' Live at Lollapalooza 2007''. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs '' Touring Band 2000'', '' Live at the Showbox'', and '' Live at the Garden''. It is the first song on the soundtrack of MLB 2K11.

Credits

- vocals, rhythm guitar * Stone Gossard - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (in live performances) *

- lead guitar,

Rotondi, James
"Blood On the Tracks"
''

''. January 1994. * Jeff Ament - bass guitar * Dave Abbruzzese - drums

Cover versions

An acoustic version of "Rearviewmirror" performed by

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

appears on Pearl Jam's 1995 "

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...

" single.

Accolades

* denotes an unordered list

References

External links

Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{Authority control 1993 songs Pearl Jam songs Songs written by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Dave Abbruzzese Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)