Eddie Vedder
Into The Wild

Among wild spirits, affinity is never a problem. Just a simple glance, a few clear words, to understand and listen to each other. Eddie Vedder is a man who waits for his moment, calmly, with humility: he rejects easy and over-the-top promotion. He vigorously denies contemporary celebrity flash, and doesn’t chase the futile ‘bang’ of a solo career as useless as Cornell’s.

An ‘ancient’ man, who can still stand in a corner of the room without the whims of childish protagonism. He lives like this, outside of a musical ‘system’ that today chews you up a bit and spits you out tomorrow. But also outside of a politics, an administration (W. Bush) that often ridicules us. Takes us for fools. Thus Eddie, a few years ago, thought well to ‘disconnect’ from the daily routine (it was post-Roskilde). And his passion for surfing led him off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands, in the open sea: where, with five other people and in the midst of a storm, he saw death up close.

Related wild spirits, as I was saying. Friendships born somewhat by chance, but often because standing side by side during protests or lost battles (John Kerry) helps bolster each other. To mirror the same ideals, strongly ‘liberal’ and environmental, of an actor-director friend like Sean Penn. It helps to believe. And to feed that sacred fire that fuels our passion. ‘Into the Wild’ is the soundtrack of Penn's film of the same name, based on the true story of Chris McCandless. A young man who, after college, decides to abandon everything. His ‘regular’ future, money, family, without looking back. In the early nineties (the era of "Ten"), he begins his journey/odyssey as a hobo, across America and then to Alaska. In the 'wild' natural setting among the ice, inside adventure. An extreme, unique gesture of primordial courage: which will not have a happy ending due to a poisonous plant.

An unusual and honest debut as much as the author of the music, Vedder. A lot of substance and flesh in the 11 brief tracks of ‘Into the Wild’. Almost as if to emphasize a difference, a ‘low-key’ but concrete approach compared to the latest tired studio efforts by Pearl Jam. There is a desire to play that banjo, strum the ukulele, and caress a melody with the familiar sandpaper voice, in these notes sometimes born from a skewed keyboard. With nervous bursts, when needed, to recreate the allure of the northern lands of the planet; in the rough and sincere ballads of a ‘poor’ instrumentation, and few trusted collaborators like producer Adam Kasper, Jerry Hannan, and Corin Tucker from Sleater Kinney. There's the scent of healthy craftsmanship in music, made of ideas that embrace tradition to tell a ‘real’ but extraordinary life. Especially in years of illusionism, and pale ‘realities’ sold by tv screens.

30 essential minutes, free of unnecessary pauses, among the acoustic and instrumental vignettes of ‘The Wolf’, ‘Tuolumne’, the intimate leap of ‘Setting Forth’, and the round, warm sounds of ‘No Ceiling’. The tender arpeggios in ‘Long Nights’, the shadowy calm of ‘End of the Road’, the youthful memories returning with the vigor of ‘Far Behind’, the heartfelt ‘Society’ and its solitary choirs, the folk and tender soul of ‘Rise’ and ‘Guaranteed’. ‘Hard Sun’ is the single chosen by Vedder, a choral ballad that opens epically with the guitars in the finale: and bears witness to the quirky taste of our man, a cover of an obscure late '80s track by some Gordon Peterson uncovered who knows how.

A suggestive work, perhaps ‘imperfect’, and Eddie's singing, both virile and sweet, that can still warm us and offer shelter. Like that boy wonderfully lost, in the morning, in his reflection in a water mirror. The boundless reflection of Nature, immense and stern mother.