Into the Wild (soundtrack)

Infobox Album |
Name = Into the Wild
Type = soundtrack
Artist = Eddie Vedder


Released = September 18, 2007
Recorded = 2007 at Studio X, Seattle, Washington
Length = 33:04
Label = J
Producer = Adam Kasper, Eddie Vedder
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wifoxzrhld6e link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20056673,00.html 9/13/07]
*"NME" (5/10) 10/27/07, p.39
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eddievedder/albums/album/16259581/review/16266320/into_the_wild/ 9/5/07]
*"Uncut" Rating|3|5 [http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/pearl_jam/reviews/10677 link]
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"Into the Wild" is the first solo album by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder based on his contributions to the soundtrack for the film "Into the Wild" (2007). It was released on September 18, 2007 through J Records.

Background

Director Sean Penn hand-picked Vedder to provide the music for the film. Previously, Vedder had contributed two songs to the soundtrack for the 1995 film "Dead Man Walking" and a cover of The Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" to the soundtrack for the 2001 film "I Am Sam", both of which starred Penn.

Recording

The songs for the soundtrack were recorded in 2007 at Studio X in Seattle, Washington. Vedder worked with producer Adam Kasper. The album was mixed by Kasper and Vedder.

After viewing a rough cut of "Into the Wild", Vedder quickly went to work writing songs for the film.Sandler, Adam. [http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=features&id=eoomusic08&articleid=VR1117977528 "Films thrive on singular musical vision"] . "Variety". December 11, 2007.] The following day after watching the film, Vedder began working on material. After three days, Vedder gave Penn a range of material to work with. Penn placed into the film what Vedder had given him, and Vedder then went on to work on more material that Penn could add to the film.Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN2638530120071027?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 "Q&A: Penn, Vedder go where the "Wild" things are"] . Reuters. October 26, 2007.] Vedder said that Penn "gave [him] a lot of freedom," and added that "the biggest thing was trust, which was just kind of unspoken."Gilchrist, Todd. [http://movies.ign.com/articles/821/821941p1.html "Interview: Sean Penn and Eddie Vedder"] . IGN. September 21, 2007.] Vedder also said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there." Vedder said that the songwriting process "grew" as Penn would ask him for more material.

Vedder described the recording process as a "factory." He said, "I'd just sit in the chair, and they'd hand me a fretless bass, and they'd hand me a mandolin, and they'd take a second to do the rough mix, and then I'd write the vocal, and it was just quick."Grossman, Lev. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1661699,00.html "Nature Boys"] . "Time". September 13, 2007.] On the recording sessions as a whole, Vedder stated, "It was like I kinda went into some weird space for a week or two, and then I woke up out of this daze, and it was done. I don't really remember it."

Music and lyrics

Thom Jurek of Allmusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where rock & roll makes fleeting appearances." [Jurek, Thom. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wifoxzrhld6e "Into the Wild"] . Allmusic.] Vedder is primarily responsible for the songs in the film while Michael Brook is acknowledged for composing the film's original music in the film's credits. Vedder said, "Michael made great choices with the way he orchestrated the score...Our pieces of music meshed together pretty well for not having approached it in a way of making sure these puzzle pieces fit. They just did."

Vedder's cover of the song "Hard Sun" (originally written by Gordon Peterson who performed under the name of Indio on the album "Big Harvest") features backing vocals by Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. "Hard Sun" appears in the film along with a slew of other folky ballads. Vedder collaborated with singer-songwriter Jerry Hannan on the song "Society", written by Hannan.

Vedder's songs help narrate the story of American wanderer Christopher McCandless. After graduating as a top student from Emory University, and after a foray into the western United States and Mexico, McCandless decided to give up all of his savings and money and hitchhike to Alaska to live in the wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude. Nearly five months later, he died of poison-induced starvation near Denali National Park and Preserve. Vedder said that he "realized the songs could now become another tool in the storytelling." On writing the songs about McCandless, Vedder stated, "It was startling how easy it was for me to get into his head. I found it to be uncomfortable how easy it was, because I thought I'd grown up."

Release and reception

The soundtrack debuted at number eleven on the U.S. "Billboard" 200 chart, selling about 39,000 copies in its first week. [Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003646687 "Reba Outmuscles Kanye, 50 To Score First No. 1"] . "Billboard". September 26, 2007.] As of July 2008, the album has sold 369,000 copies.Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003823912 "Eddie Vedder Plots East Coast Solo Tour"] . "Billboard". July 2, 2008.]

"Into the Wild" received generally favorable reviews. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/veddereddie/intothewild "Into the Wild" by Eddie Vedder] . metacritic.com.] "Rolling Stone" gave "Into the Wild" three and a half out of five stars. Reviewer David Fricke said that Vedder " [tosses] his weighty baritone onto earthy, folky tracks that temper the romance of absolute freedom with an eerie foreboding." [Fricke, David. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eddievedder/albums/album/16259581/review/16266320/into_the_wild/ "Eddie Vedder: "Into The Wild"] . "Rolling Stone". September 5, 2007.] Leah Greenblatt of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the album a B. She said "a real sense of the wide-open road permeates these nine original compositions." She ended her review by saying that "though the album is flawed (some tracks on the 33-minute disc are so brief that they never leave the ground), there is still something here that's compelling enough to stand alone." [Greenblatt, Leah. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20056673,00.html "Into the Wild"] . "Entertainment Weekly". September 13, 2007.]

"Hard Sun" was the most successful song from "Into the Wild" on the rock charts, charting at number 13 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks charts. Both "Hard Sun" and "Guaranteed" had accompanying music videos. Vedder won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed" from "Into the Wild".cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2007 |title=65th Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners |accessdate=2008-01-13 |publisher=goldenglobes.org] "Guaranteed" was also nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, [cite web| url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2008/grammys.htm |title=43rd Grammy Awards - 2008 |publisher=Rockonthenet.com |accessdate=2008-02-20] and a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. [cite web| url=http://www.worldsoundtrackawards.com/news.cgi?go=detail&id=70 |title=Nominees World Soundtrack Awards 2008 announced |publisher=worldsoundtrackawards.com |accessdate=2008-08-20]

Vedder was nominated for a Golden Globe for his contributions to the film's original score in 2008.

Tour

Vedder promoted the "Into the Wild" soundtrack with his first solo tour, which began in April 2008. The April leg of the tour, dubbed the "April Fools Tour", began in city-state|Vancouver|British Columbia in Canada at The Centre on April 2, 2008 and was composed of ten dates focusing on the West Coast of the United States. [Reuters. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20178463,00.html "Eddie Vedder to Start Solo Tour"] . "Entertainment Weekly". February 15, 2008.] cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/04/entertainment/et-vedder4|title=It’s a lot to live up to: The Pearl Jam frontman opens his first solo tour with an intimate yet powerful performance in Vancouver|accessdate=2008-09-20|date=2008-04-04|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Powers, Ann] Vedder continued the tour with a second leg in August 2008 composed of fourteen dates focusing on the East Coast of the United States and Canada. The second leg of the tour began in city-state|Boston|Massachusetts at the Boston Opera House and ended in Chicago, Illinois. [cite web|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/07/02/tour-tracker-eddie-vedder-goo-goo-dolls-and-alice-cooper/|title=Tour Tracker: Eddie Vedder, Goo Goo Dolls and Alice Cooper|accessdate=2008-09-20|date=2008-07-02|publisher=RealNetworks|work=Rolling Stone|author=Kreps, Daniel]

Track listing

All songs written by Eddie Vedder, except where noted:
#"Setting Forth" – 1:37
#"No Ceiling" – 1:34
#"Far Behind" – 2:15
#"Rise" – 2:36
#"Long Nights" – 2:31
#"Tuolumne" – 1:00
#"Hard Sun" (Indio) – 5:22
#"Society" (Jerry Hannan) – 3:56
#"The Wolf" – 1:32
#"End of the Road" – 3:19
#"Guaranteed" – 7:22
#*"Guaranteed" contains the hidden track "Guaranteed" (Humming Vocal) at 4:40

;iTunes bonus tracks
#

"No More" – 3:38
#"Photographs" – 1:00
#"Here's to the State" (live at VH1 Storytellers) (Phil Ochs) – 5:52
#"No More" (live in Nijmegen) – 4:32

Personnel

*Eddie Vedder – All instruments, production, mixing, layout and design; credited as "Jerome Turner" for album concept
*Corin Tucker – background vocal on "Hard Sun"
*Jerry Hannan – guitars and background vocal on "Society"
*Adam Kasper – production, mixing, recording
*John Burton, Sam Hofstedt – engineering
*Bob Ludwig – mastering
*George Webb III – instrument technician
*Mike Kutchman – assistance
*Brad Klausen – layout and design
*Sato Masuzawa – artistic facilitator
*Chuck Zlotrick, Francois Duhamel – location shots and photos of Emile Hirsch
*Anton Corbijn – back cover silhouette photo of Eddie Vedder

With thanks to:
*Jon Krakauer
*The McCandless Family
*Emile Hirsch
*Brian Dierker

Special thanks to:
*Sean Penn

In memory of:
*Christopher J. McCandless

Chart positions

;Album

;Singles

References

External links

* [http://pearljam.com/releases/release.php?release=wild&type=None "Into the Wild" information at pearljam.com]