Into the Wild

Into the Wild

Artist: Eddie Vedder

Genre: Rock

(J Records/SonyBMG)

More of a diversionary side project than a proper solo album, this soundtrack to Sean Penn’s anti-conformist parable Into the Wild features 11 songs written and performed by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

A brief film synopsis is in order here: Into the Wild is based on Jon Krakauer’s best-selling non-fiction novel about the life and death of university honours student Christopher McCandless. The promising McCandless, upon graduation, immediately shunned the trappings of the material world in order to go native in the Alaskan bush, eventually dying of starvation.

Given Vedder’s long-standing bearing as one of the most recognisable and unflinching rock rebels of our time (considering his anti-corporate stance and his efforts in promoting the Vote for Change movement), Penn couldn’t have chosen a more suitable artist to score a cinematic project like Into the Wild.

Pearl Jam junkies looking for a quick hard-rock fix in the mould of standards like Alive and Jeremy will, however, have no such luck here. Instead, what you can look forward to is a set of tracks that fits almost exclusively within the acoustic-folk sub-genre, bar the occasional appearance by more strident rock and roll sensibilities.

The appropriately named Setting Forth kicks things off here, a jangle-rocker reminiscent of prime-era R.E.M., replete with plenty of layered acoustic guitars. From then on, the proceedings slow down to an unruffled, placid pace, with homespun, folk-inflected, self-descriptive pieces like No Ceiling, Far Behind and Long Nights making up the bulk of the soundtrack.

Detractors will view this as a minus point, pointing to the dearth of musical variety in the scheme of things, but perhaps that is exactly the effect that Vedder is trying to achieve here. Given the film’s persistent focus on an alternative, introspective notion of freedom, any unruly genre-hopping on the soundtrack might be perceived as highly incongruous with the movie’s overall creative ideals.

However, lest listeners doze off from all the seemingly reflective navel-gazing here, there are scattered moments of controlled raucousness and mild experimentalism on Into the Wild to liven things up.

One such example is the rollicking Hard Sun, with its closely miked drum work, ferocious electric guitars and Vedder’s own clamorous but measured vocals.

Vedder’s familiar grizzly-bear baritone is used to wonderful effect on the rather spooky The Wolf, a late-night, lost-in-the-woods wordless-vocal tune that features multiple layers of Vedder chanting. Elsewhere, the flanged guitar echoes on End of the Road also add some spice to the proceedings.

So, while loyal Pearl Jam disciples will not find any of the rabble-rousing barnstormers that once set stadiums everywhere on fire during the zenith of the grunge era of the early 90s, there are still enough justifiable instances on Into the Wild to merit more than a cursory run-through.

A decidedly different facet of Vedder’s artistry is presented here, a more organic, contemplative approach that perfectly befits the film’s existential human drama. An unexpected but welcome minor gem from one of modern rock’s key iconoclasts. File under “Meditative, thought-provoking folk-rock”.

Source : Star Online