In 2007, founder and front-man of the alternative rock band, Pearl Jam, momentarily distanced himself from collaborative work to toil with the more rustic, acoustic notes of Into The Wild, Eddie Vedder’s first solo album. The record served as the soundtrack to Sean Penn’s Oscar nominated film, Into The Wild. If you know Pearl Jam, expect hear the band’s more relaxed, personal sound, like in “Yellow Ledbetter” or “Black”.
Alone and stripped from the distractions of electronic distortion and the sheer blitz of rock and roll music, the fullness of Vedder’s baritone is crushingly pronounced, as if you were sitting in his lungs while he sung. That voice and guitar are the only things you can, and want to hear. His words speak to the heat of dessert sun, the scheming nature of society, peace in isolation, and the tendency of nature to cleanse jaded souls and amplify goodness. The record runs like a single story, each track as reminiscent of the woods as the one before it.
His words smell of crackling pine and tobacco. Brooding in the soul of this record is some anonymous impulse that urges men to leave behind sterile cities and make a life in the mountains; something wholly raw and instinctive. Vedder even breaks from musical convention to howl at the moon in “The Wolf”. Each track offers a glimpse into a simpler, animal version of ourselves.
If you listen to Pearl Jam, or want to hear something a little unconventional within the realm of voice and guitar music, consider this record.
01: Setting Forth
02: No Ceiling
03: Far Behind
04: Rise
05: Long Nights
06: Tuolumne
07: Hard Sun
08: Society
09: The Wolf
10: End Of The Road
11: Guaranteed
