| CD REVIEW Eddie Vedder |
|
|
Band : Eddie Vedder Like as if it was somewhere last week, I remember the editor-in-chief picking me up at home for a day's updating of the website, somewhere during Spring last year, and him listening to this acoustic CD on the car stereo. With a frown, I mentioned how what we were listening to made me think of a very diminished and acoustic Pearl Jam, and he immediately responded proudly by picking up the CD and showing me that it was an Eddie Vedder solo album entitled Into The Wild. In fact, it was his first solo album, and also it was the September 18, 2007 released soundtrack to the movie by the same title, of the same year. The Chief was definitely taken in by this album, not only keeping it in the car for a while, but also playing it on his home stereo while we were working on the website a couple of times in a row. Written with a Folksy and rootsy sound in which Rock only made fleeting appearances, I found the album a lame comparison to what we're used of Vedder (even if vocally he was not bad at all, of course), and was therefore more than happy that the album was too old to be considered for review by yours truly. With a release date only a couple of months back, I was less fortunate with Vedder's second solo album. I mean, my fortune let me down in more than one way indeed, for not only was I given the task of reviewing this album when I have already so much on my plate, but also the musical conditions on this album are even lamer than on the previous album. Okay, let's re-phrase that : the musical accompaniment of Vedder's vocals are even more sedate! Well...now that that is off my chest, I must say that the calmer mood of the album nevertheless suits Vedder's voice admirably, and seen loose from his career with Pearl Jam, one must admire the man for putting his voice there with only an ukelele to accompany it. Well, in fact he gets vocal backings on two songs (from Glen Hansard on “Sleepless Nights” and from Chan Marshall on “Tonight You Belong To Me”), and one Chris Worswick adds cello to the song “Longing To Belong”. And, you know something? After listening to the album for a while and settling down to the mood of the album, one really starts to enjoy it more and more. Among the 16 short songs on the album (total duration only just under 35 minutes), you'll find 5 covers, two of which with lyrics by legendary lyricist Billy Rose. One véry short track (only 6 seconds) is a simple fuck-up, so it would seem, and got its name that way (“Hey Fahkah” says enough, uh?). Regretfully, I found no place on the Internet with full-length songs (maybe because I didn't try really hard?), but seen the shortness of most songs, you'll get a really good idea of what's on the album by listening to the 30-second samples provided by the trusted online sales sites (like Amazon, for instance). Also, I'm sure you'll find a copy of the album at your local record store! Absolute Vedder fans possibly already have this album, so all I can do further is to recommend Ukelele Songs to people into the calmer genres of music. 78/100 Tony. |
