Serving not only as the soundtrack to the upcoming Sean Penn-directed flick, Into the Wild is also technically Eddie Vedder's first full album sans Pearl Jam. Which is how it's being marketed, hence the big block letters that spell out EDDIE VEDDER on the cover. As such, I was very intrigued by how Eddie would handle this. Would it be a wall-to-wall folkfest, like most of his previous solo performances? Would we be graced once again with the soothing yet somewhat disarming pluck of his ukelele? Would he restrain himself from giving us a classic for the sake of keeping fame to a minimum?
The short answer to all of these questions is "yes". And by short, I mean short. As in, 33 minutes and change, including the 2 minute gap after "Guaranteed" and the 2-1/2 minute hidden track (in essence, a hummed version of "Guaranteed", the track you just listened to a couple of minutes prior). All told, Into the Wild feels like an album only because it is, for all intents and purposes, a wall-to-wall folkfest. Since the overall tone of the disc is very, very sombre, tracks that are three minutes long tend to feel more like five. Or perhaps the three minute tracks feel so long because they're Dream Theater opuses compared to the opening trio of "Setting Forth", "No Ceiling" and "Far Behind", three stellar tracks that clock in at a combined 5:26. "No Ceiling" is frustrating in particular; its dirgy bluegrass really gets going by the second chorus, only to be abruptly halted at the 90 second mark. A little bridge and one more chorus would have at least pushed it over the two minute mark and given the song a feeling of completion, rather than the sudden stop Vedder gives it. Listening to the song is at once exhilarating and baffling as you imagine Eddie bailing on the song before it's over for fear of it becoming a country crossover smash. It's no wonder the song is immediately followed by "Far Behind", easily the most rocking song on the set (not to mention one with a proper ending).
All qualms aside, Into the Wild is still a fine record. "Hard Sun" is a full, lush and justice-doing cover of the late-eighties minor hit by Indio (Cancon, bitches!). The pair of instrumentals are powerful enough on their own, but you know they'll go to a whole other level on film. "Rise" and "Guaranteed" are Eddie's best folk songs yet. The set as a whole, low-key as it is, feels like a perfect companion to Sean Penn's film. And therein lies the problem. What could have (and, in my opinion, should have) been a formidable standalone album instead feels only like what it is; a soundtrack. Some songs (especially the short ones) feel as though they were written with only the scene in mind, with no attention given to flushing out the songs themselves. What could have been a grand statement in sound becomes a mere accompaniment to a grand statement on screen.
It's likely been predetermined this way; Vedder has been known to sabotage potential hits in the interest of staying away from the spotlight, and it's likely the intent here is to draw attention to Sean Penn's movie and the McCandless story, rather than his music. Just the same, I had hoped for a fuller, more focused, and longer effort than I got, and I can understand anger from anyone who put down $20 for under a half hour of music. As a Ten Club member, it truly pains me to talk about Eddie this way. But, try as I might to love this album, I simply cannot do better than like it.
**1/2
