Eddie Vedder - Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild
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Free Music Notes for Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild
Free Music Review: If you can only buy one more CD.......
Hit: 5 Stars
My wife and I stumbled out of a Manhattan theater in stunned silence. In San Diego, so did my 22 year-old stepson. So has everyone I've urged to see "Into the Wild".
The film is the story of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from college (Emory, '92), then left civilization behind to experience life without constraints. His death in Alaska few months later made him a worthy subject for Jon Krakauer. But the story he tells in his book, "Into the Wild," is even better inspiration for a film, especially when the writer-director is Sean Penn.
Think what you will about Penn --- the guy has guts to spare. He stands up for what he believes and he doesn't mumble when he offers unpopular ideas. And in his acting, as in his life, he's always searching for the authentic --- just remember that scene in "Mystic River" when he tries to bull his way through a wall of cops to get to the body of his murdered daughter.
So his movie does not touch hardcore New Yorkers and West Coast surfer/law students and all kinds of people in between because we share a love of raw Nature in Alaska --- Penn didn't make a movie about a kid who stepped out of civilization with just a bag of rice and a book about edible plants to get him through. Nor did he make this film to ask us to decide: "Chris McCandless --- was he an idiot?" The questions he asks in this movie are much larger: freedom, identity, community. That is, the questions obsessing us just below the surface of our most ordinary days.
We watch this long movie that has an ending we already know with something like obsession because Chris McCandless carries our proxy. At one time or other, we all want to walk out of the familiar. And, far more often, we think of "freedom" nostalgically --- as something we once had.
But Chris McCandless....he's going for it. And the film goes it for it with him --- it's about stepping through doors, moving through landscape, seeking an ever-widening sky. And then there's the music, which is even more expansive and exuberant.
This is not "soundtrack" music, a grab bag of songs cobbled together to provide a revenue stream. This is Eddie Vedder, usually the leader of Pearl Jam, here solo, with stripped-down instrumentation and blunt lyrics:
I knew all the rules
But the rules did not know me
Guaranteed
Imagine that in Vedder's baritone --- singing so truthful it merges with the quest of the movie. The words progress from leaving the known world ("Society/You're a crazy breed/I hope you're not lonely/Without me") to motion ("Gonna rise up/Turning mistakes into gold") to a message so primal it's really chanting ("I am...I AM").
I've read a bunch of civilian reviews of Vedder's soundtrack, many saying something like this: "It's simply awesome. I can't find the words to describe how it affected me at a soul level." Oddly, though I usually have words pouring out of my fingertips, I'm at a bit of a loss myself. I mean, this CD is just 30+ minutes long (and it repeats one song). Pearl Jam's nowhere to be found. And yet "Into the Wild" is stuck in my player, or, rather, re-player --- it can pump me up all morning if I'm not careful.
Is it depressing? Not in the least. This is traveling music --- highway travel and interior journey --- that has an uncanny ability to re-create the feelings you have when you've broken free of the pack and the road is clear. Death may await, but not here. This is about the glory of risk, the sweetness of freedom, the crisp breath of purity.
Do you need to have seen the movie to love this music? Not at all. To hear the music is to see the movie. Or, more correctly, your movie, the film in which you star and sprint and soar and roar --- music as great as you are in most glorious moments.
Beware: Repeated listening could cast a spell on you. And that spell could make you very sane.
Free Music Review: Brings us further into the journey of this wayward traveler and allows us to embrace the wild...
Hit: 5 Stars
If ever there was an album, a soundtrack that truly captured the vibe of the film in which it cataloged, `Into the Wild' is that soundtrack. Each and every track here is designed to bring you on Chris McCandless' journey. With stripped down acoustic background and Eddie Vedder's signature growl these songs are a perfect compliment to Sean Penn's wilderness adventure. I truly believe that Vedder was the perfect choice for this endeavor and it gave him a chance to spread his wings and sour outside of the confines of Pearl Jam and deliver to us his debut solo project.
Any fan of the cult grunge act Pearl Jam will immediately be drawn to this album for it gives them a chance to get a taste of Vedder unplugged. But even those who are not typically drawn to Pearl Jam can enjoy this album because it's more of a mood piece, a venture from Vedder's roots and plays beautifully along with the images from the film. The majority of the tracks are short and simple, the guitar work doing most of the talking and this adds to the attraction for there is no feeling of being bogged down by each passing track. It's a brisk musical adventure that flows wonderfully from one track to the next and before you know it the album is over and you're tempted to hit replay.
The guitar work is a beautiful thing to listen to and must be singled out. Aside from Vedder the guitar is really the only other star here and it shines as brightly if not brighter than Vedder himself. Tracks like `End of the Road' and `Tuolumne' strip away Vedder's vocals and allow us to embrace the power of the music. The finger plucking structure adds to the feeling of being alone in the wilderness and actually reminds me of all those chilly nights I spent hunting with my friends, huddled around a camp fire playing the acoustic guitar and relaxing. It's a very serene feeling, one that is cultivated so well within these eleven tracks.
From the opening `Setting Forth' to the closing track `Guaranteed' `Into the Wild' delivers a magical and moving journey. While tracks like `Far Behind' and `No Ceiling' have a very upbeat feel to them and remind the viewer what it was that made Vedder famous in the first place it's tracks like the haunting `The Wolf' that prove this is as much an experiment for Vedder as it is for us. `Rise' and of course `Guaranteed' have garnered much critical praise and rightfully so. `Guaranteed' is provided to us twice on the album, in vocal form and in a hidden hummed version, both impressive and emotionally moving. My personal favorite track here is `Society', a track a feel captures the grace and tranquility the entire album was aspiring to attain; truly a beautiful and moving piece. `Long Nights' comes close to this feeling. `Hard Sun' is another track that stands out for its sheer difference from the balance of the album. It's more along the lines of Pearl Jam than any other track here and breaks the acoustic formula.
As a whole `Into the Wild' is a beautiful collection of songs that only further my determination to soak up McCandless' tale.
Free Music Review: not the ordinary soundtrack fare - check out these lyrics
Hit: 5 Stars
A soundtrack written as a story, this is fine, inspiring, captivating music--it completes the movie. Sean Penn (*screenwriter and director of Into the Wild) succeeded in finding the singer/songwriter for this project but you probably know all these details, let's get to the music and voice of Eddie Vedder! There are only two songs on the CD which he didn't write. Both of those are phenomenal as well.
Setting Forth -- 9/10
No Ceiling -- 10/10 -- "I leave here believing/more than I had/This love has got/no ceiling...I leave here believing/more than I had/And there's a reason I'll be/Reason I'll be back"
Far Behind -- 9/10 -- "Why sleep in discontent?/Oh the price of companionship/empty pockets will/allow a greater/sense of wealth...subtle voices in the wind/hear the truth they're telling/a world begins where the road ends/watch me leave it all behind"
Rise -- 9/10
Long Nights -- sparse song/gorgeous baritone vocals/guitar -- 9/10
Tuolomne -- guitar instrumental/no vocals -- 8/10
Hard Sun -- 10/10 -- "When I walk beside Her/I am the better man/When I look to leave Her/I always stagger back again...There's a big/a big hard sun/beating on the big people/in the big hard world...Once I stood to lose Her/When I saw what I had done/bound down and threw away the Hours/of Her garden and Her Sun." -- With incredible background vocals by Corin Tucker -- this is the anthem of this album
Society -- 10/10 -- haunting melancholy tune -- "It's a mystery to me/we have a Greed/with which we have agreed...There's those thinking more less/Less is more/But if less is more, How you keepin' score?"
The Wolf -- plaintive cries with no lyrics per se -- very short, still it's catchy -- 8/10
End of the Road -- half lyrics/half instrumental, brooding, dark
Guaranteed -- signature guitar melody with lyrics, again so suited to the movie and good enough just on their own -- I will leave you some mystery to read them yourself! -- 10/10
The packaging is visually appealing with scenery shots from this film and a hardcover cardboard not plastic case. I am pleased the lyrics are included because I couldn't focus on the lyrics much during the film even though the music added a lot to the picture as a whole.
Highly Recommended
Free Music Review: Excellent Film Soundtrack
Hit: 5 Stars
This album written directly for the Sean Penn directed film "Into The Wild" (based on the best selling book by Jon Krakaur) is an excellent representation of the film soundtrack. It is not a mis-mosh of gathered songs that just happen to evoke, or hopefully evoke, the emotion and sentiment on screen. These are carefully crafted songs - deliberate in their sparce space, their tone and stripped down production.
Take a listen to the excellent "Society" - my favorite track on the album. It has a discord and yearning that is unlike most other songs I've heard. It rings, in sentiment and proper placement, much like the Bruce Springsteen penned "Streets of Philadelphia". No, it is NOT like "Streets of Philadelphia" but it fits much like that song does - the song fits the film, fits the emotion, fits the conditions. That is not an easy thing to do.
Finding the correct songs to fill a soundtrack, is not an easy thing and kudos should be sent to those involved with asking/requesting/pleading with Eddie Vedder to make a departure from Pearl Jam and try his hand. His take on the emotions - his vision of Sean Penn's vision - is very true to the film (and to the book, actually).
I can whole heartedly recommend this cd. It is NOT a Pearl Jam rocker - but it is a deeply moving accompanyment to a wonderful story. Much as the story goes, so goes the music - whimsical at times, stripped to the bare, reaching, searching, etc. It's a very well done soundtrack.
I can honestly say that several of the songs on this collection might be Academy Award worthy. Let's hope others feel the same way.
Highly Recommended.
Free Music Review: Lovin' it
Hit: 5 Stars
I believe that it is somewhat unfortunate that most people, prior to listening to this CD, have an opinion on what to expect, and it usually revolves around Pearl Jam. Love them or hate them, they have been around long enough that most people have their opinions of the band or their lead vocalist. However, this CD is decidedly NOT Pearl Jam, in the best sort of way. It's ironic that the foundation of Pearl Jam's career and image was based around teen emotion (I think the popular term is usually angst)and this CD is very much about a young adult's struggle to define himself. This CD has some anger, but not the savage and extroverted anger that defined the grunge era. This is a very introspective, thought provoking, and melodic work of art. Even without seeing the movie, or knowing the CD was inspired by and was written for the movie, the music evokes images of nature, of sitting on a log near a stream solving the world's problems or in an expansive field in the shade of the only tree for hundreds of yards. I have always loved Pearl Jam's aggressive and emotional "hard rock" songs, but I also have always loved (and collected) acoustic performances. To me, this collection is what Counting Crows could not be (only because I prefer Eddie's voice to Adam's) and what John Mellencamp attempts to be at times (though his lyrics often fall short). I am also struck by how perfectly the album cover fits the content. It is a great CD! Buy it, and go into it with an open mind and try to experience it for what it is, not what you expected it to be.