Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Review
Posted by Matt Reno on 09.21.2007
Vedder chills out for his first solo album and leaves you wanting more.
Being a huge Pearl Jam fan, I was thrilled to find out frontman Eddie Vedder would finally be going it alone for his first full solo album. I was confident he would be able to make excellent music even without the help of bandmates like Mike McCready. I was right that the music would be good, but I wasn't prepared for not getting as much of it as I had hoped for.
It's best to go into this album keeping in mind that it is a movie soundtrack. Directed by Sean Penn, Into the Wild stars Emile Hirsch as a young man who gives all his money to charity and hitchhikes to a new life in the wild of Alaska. Though I haven't yet seen the film, I can tell that Vedder's songs perfectly fit the mood. Mostly soft and mellow, conjuring a laid back atmosphere, this album is perfect to play while embarking on a road trip, sitting by a beach bonfire, or simply relaxing in the evening. The song that fits the mood best is "Hard Sun." The song is by no means heavy, but Vedder's delivery is so forceful, especially in the chorus, that you can't help but sing along while swaying or at least nodding your head to the powerful beat. I can easily see this one making its way into future Pearl Jam setlists.
Strangely, "Hard Sun" is the seventh track but the first one to reach well past two and a half minutes. Before that, we get several tracks that, while good, are surprisingly short. "Setting Forth" is a strong acoustic track that works as a fine album intro, so its minute-and-half length is fine. But a minute and a half of the next song "No Ceiling" is just frustrating. Right as it seems to be building steam, it ends before it can be fleshed out into what could have been an excellent track. The brevity is a little easier to take on "Far Behind" (no, it's nothing like that "Far Behind") because it's faster and easily the most hard rocking on this overall laid back album. As the Into the Wild progresses, the short tracks - mainly the instrumentals - are more tolerable, espeically when keeping in mind that this is a movie soundtrack and the songs were most likely written for specific scenes. Still, it's unfortunate that what could have been very strong, full pieces are cut short, making them seem more like interludes.
Aside from "Hard Sun," we do get a few more fully fleshed-out tunes. "End of the Road," while short on lyrics, is long enough to feel more like a full song than some of its predecessors. "Society" is a softer, darker, acoustic track that tries to make sense of our obsession with obtaining more material wealth: "And you think you have to want more than you need / Until you have it all you won't be free." "Guaranteed," a quiet but soulful affirmation of living a life of freedom and true identity, ends the disc with a great line to sum up the album's theme: "I knew all the rules but the rules did not know me."
Unless you really want the album artwork and lyrics in the booklet form the CD is packaged in, I would recommend buying this album from iTunes. Not only do you get the color digital booklet with lyrics and beautiful images of nature, you also get four bonus tracks: "No More," a poignant plea for an end to war, and the minute-long instrumental "Photographs" from the movie Body of War plus live versions of "No More" and the scathing Bush administration criticism "Here's to the State," both of which bring back the spirit of the '60s, making you feel like you're at a protest concert.
Into the Wild is an easy recommendation for dedicated Pearl Jam fans. If you wrote the band off sometime in the '90s for not making another Ten, you probably won't want this at all. However, if you're into mellow, acoustic music with thoughtful, meaningful messages, this is a good buy. It's a fairly short album (but reaches nearly 50 minutes with digital bonus tracks), and several tracks will leave you wishing for more. However, what's here is very good. While I'm sure many are looking forward to Vedder working with his full band once again, this solo effort is a solid album to hold fans over until then. If you decide to give up your possessions, at least hold onto a CD or MP3 player so you can listen to Into the Wild.
The 411: Vedder's solo debut has lots of great tunes, but too many are cut short. I recommend going the iTunes route on this one to get more bang for your buck.
