I’ve been a long time Pearl Jam since the first album ‘Ten’ which cemented them alongside Nirvana as the best of the Grunge bands in the early nineties. I saw Pearl Jam’s first show in the Boston area when they were touring for the ‘Ten’ album on Lansdowne Street across from Fenway at a club called ‘Axis’. The show was amazing, one which I shall never forget and I have been a fan of Pearl Jam ever since.

With that said, Pearl Jam has had its ups and downs and I believe can be inconsistent with their sound which has lead to a couple of less than stellar records. Both the self-titled  ‘Pearl Jam’ and ‘Riot Act’ contained a couple of good songs, but overall I find both of these albums largely forgettable.

When Pearl Jam is in high gear and on target they release kick ass albums like ‘Ten’,  ‘Vs’ and ‘Yield’ where the music hits you emotionally, gives you a kick in the ass and makes you pay attention to the message. The message, however, is hard to translate at times due to the vocal style of Eddie Vedder, who though blessed with a distinctive voice and the ability to convey raw emotion, at times is impossible to decipher.

Now along comes ‘Into the Wild’, the Eddie Vedder score for the movie directed by Sean Penn, based on the novel by Jon Krakauer (good book review at brocknrollblog). Vedder has crafted what can only be described as a truly stunning album. ‘Into the Wild’ is thought provoking, mesmerizing, almost hypnotic in its beauty and simplicity. Vedders voice is both powerful and intimate, never out of control which on previous efforts does make it difficult to understand. With the majority of songs clocking in at under 3 minutes, its not the song length which stands out, but how effortless each one flows into the other taking you on a memorable ride ‘Into the Wild’.

This album ‘Into the Wild’ is amazing and a couple of my favorites tracks are ‘Hard Sun’, ‘Rise’ and an anthem which seems to encapsulate all the recent financial mess in ‘Society’. Enjoy and thank me later.

Tags: ,

Related posts:

  1. Bobby Peru Is Wild At Heart Bobby Peru