When the singer of a well-known rock band records a solo album, there’s always the risk of an expensive letdown. The missing checks and balances of bandmates often lead to overindulgence and diminishing returns, a safe space where sycophants wall off the star.
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It’s hard to separate Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam or the ’90s arena angst wave he rode in on. But Vedder’s work outside of Pearl Jam is a view with a different lens. He began his solo work with film music, collaborating with his friend Sean Penn on Dead Man Walking. Penn invited him back to write music for Into the Wild, and the folk leanings of the latter led to his first non-film-related solo album—a collection of quaint ukulele songs efficiently named Ukulele Songs.
Whether working on a Sean Penn film or recording with only a ukulele, the result is the same: a subversion of ego. It’s a move that goes against the purpose of going solo, but rock ’n’ roll contrarianism is what Vedder has done for most of his career. Here are Eddie Vedder’s Top 5 Solo Songs.
[RELATED: 4 Songs You Didn’t Know Eddie Vedder Wrote Solo for Pearl Jam]
5. “Long Way” from Earthling (2022)
On Earthling, Vedder worked with mega-pop producer Andrew Watt, an alliance that appears uneasy on paper, but the results are surprisingly coherent. Vedder avoids the trap of making an album holding chapters from different books. He co-wrote “Long Way” with Watt and two Chili Peppers, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer. By this point, Klinghoffer was no longer a funky monk as John Frusciante had returned to the band. On “Long Way,” Vedder echoes Wildflowers-era Tom Petty with a breezy California rock song where his voice settles into the band. The best part of Earthling is thecomradeship of the musicians, something rare on mega-rockstar solo albums.
4. “Tonight You Belong to Me” featuring Cat Power from Ukulele Songs (2011)
When the Seattle bands landed in the ’90s, dominating radio and MTV, it didn’t seem like they were enjoying themselves. At the time, some critics viewed the angst as just another rock gimmick, but the tragic lives of Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and Chris Cornell proved the torment wasn’t a fashion statement. Watching Pearl Jam rip through “Animal” at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards felt like a dam was about to break. Fourteen months later, Cobain committed suicide. Vedder singing “Tonight You Belong to Me” with Cat Power is a welcome light moment from a man who snarled through the bombastic and glorious “Not for You.”
3. “Without You” from Ukulele Songs (2011)
The ukulele offers a delicate limitation to Generation X’s rock avatar. It also showcases Vedder’s great range from a baritone crooner to Paul McCartney’s tender balladry. The intro to “Without You” sounds like the beginning of a Sufjan Stevens song you haven’t heard, and Vedder adapts to the tiny instrument by bending it to his will. The chorus: I’ll keep on healing all the scars / That we’ve collected from the start / I’d rather this than live without you is one of his best. The unadorned quality of Ukulele Songs feels like a souvenir, and “Without You” is Vedder’s postcard with a touching, hand-written message on the back. If you are not a Pearl Jam diehard, maybe you stopped paying attention around No Code or Yield. If so, “Without You” is an affecting note from a familiar voice.
2. “Society” from Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture) (2007)
Vedder collaborated with Jerry Hannan on “Society,” a folk acoustic ballad foreshadowing what Vedder would produce on Ukulele Songs. Like Springsteen, Vedder has the rare gift of sounding equally at home leading an arena band or alone with an acoustic guitar. His voice quivers more than it vibrates, and “Society” leaves space for the film’s protagonist to exit ordinary life and find happiness, or at least contentedness, with nature. Humans cling to groups or tribes, but “Society” sounds like an understanding of the impulse for solitude. However, the underlying sadness offers a foreboding conclusion to a tragic ending: If less is more / how you keeping score?
1. “Hard Sun” from Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture) (2007)
“Hard Sun” is a folk song written and recorded by Canadian songwriter Gordon Peterson under his stage name, Indio. It first appeared on Indio’s album Big Harvest in 1989 before Vedder covered it for Into the Wild. Most obscure songwriters would be pleased with the exposure, but Peterson responded with a lawsuit even though his label, Universal, had granted permission. Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney sings backing vocals on Vedder’s version, supporting the kind of epic chorus fans of Pearl Jam’s “Alive” appreciate.
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