Following the huge success of Ten and Vs, Pearl Jam, despite being signed to a major label, were given a free creative licence, which is rarely granted to acts of any size. They capitalised on the trust placed in them with 1994’s Vitalogy, a record that cemented their status as rock legends.
The band refused to sit still while working on the album and broadened their musical horizons. While it would have been easy for Pearl Jam to produce more of the same, given that they were already a fan favourite. Vitalogy wasn’t a completely radical reinvention and still sounded like a Pearl Jam record. However, it did contain a sense of maturity that was lacking in their previous work.
Pearl Jam picked up several battle scars along the way, and on Vitalogy, they opened up about them. Although Eddie Vedder was dealing with the pressures of fame at the time, he had his first wife, Beth Liebling, who kept him grounded, and he expressed his gratitude on ‘Nothingman’.
In a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Vedder explained the song’s message. “If you love someone and they love you, don’t f-k up… ’cause you are left with less than nothing.”
Bassist Jeff Ament worked on the music with guitarist Stone Gossard. On the other hand, Vedder focused on the lyrics, which took him an hour to complete. The collaborative nature of ‘Nothingman’ demonstrates their chemistry, and Gossard considers it a career highlight.
During an interview with Guitar World, the musician named ‘Nothingman’ as a personal favourite. He said: “The way this song came together, the way it sounds, the simplicity of it, and the intention behind how it came about are all linked. It was a time when everyone in the band felt a little frustrated.”
“All of us was writing, and I knew Jeff was in the studio with this song was working on,” he said. “So I dropped by to see if I could add anything. And within 20 minutes, we had that song figured out. With that song, everyone in the band took some steps closer to each other, and something beautiful came out of it.”
Although ‘Nothingman’ is not as well-known as other tracks in Pearl Jam’s discography, its significance to the band is undeniable. They were all pulling in the same direction for the creation and working together seamlessly. There was no hierarchy in the group, with the trio each bringing their own elements to the mix. This also enhanced one another’s ideas, and operating as a true collective.
