Pearl Jam collaborated with the legendary Neil Young on his album Mirror Ball, and the Merkin Ball EP was made up of leftovers from that project. Nevertheless, we’ve enjoyed every moment of putting this together, and are happy to present it to you as the summer starts. It’s a list we’ve been building since before they were announced as headliners with Hova, and a daunting task we have not taken lightly. To gear up for Made In America and celebrate Pearl Jam’s catalog, we’ve compiled a collection of their 50 Best Songs. They came from a small scene and ended up representing a whole genre. In a lot of ways, Pearl Jam is a lot like Jay-Z. It’s a long way from the Seattle grunge scene they started in, and a testament to how widespread their reach has become. This September, Pearl Jam will headline the first ever Made In America festival in Philadelphia, along with its curator, Jay-Z. They have inspired us, given us hope, made us think, and grown older with us, and while other bands have come and gone, they have always managed to hold on to their spot. Whether he’s singing about social or political issues, love, or death, Vedder and his Pearl Jam band of brothers- including founding members Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Jeff Ament- have provided the soundtrack to our lives.
SONGS BY PEARL JAM COVERED PLUS
It was like, “Can I really do this for Eddie?” He must be looking down from the Angel Ballroom going, “Oh yeah, good luck with that“ .For twenty plus years, Eddie Vedder’s quivering baritone has been the voice of a generation. I was so nervous when I was trying to record that. I used a little bit of the melodic content from “Jump” in there, just a tip of the hat to “Jump.” It all came together finally. I was determined to make something great, something beautiful, at least. So I painted myself into a terrible corner. After he left us and I was making this album, I said, “I gotta do something to pay tribute to my friend Eddie.” So I talked about it in the press before I even started it because then I had to face the challenge of actually doing it. “Why don’t you play more acoustic?” And he said, “I don’t really have an acoustic.” And I said, “Well, that’s impossible, you have to have an acoustic right now.” So I gave one to him.Īnd then fast forward to the break of dawn the next morning, it’s still dark outside, and he calls my room, “Listen, listen, listen, listen, I’ve made this song, you gotta check it out.” He played me this beautiful piece of instrumental acoustic music, just beautiful, kinda classical, and then a little rock, and a bit of classical at the end.
He said one time, “The way you play your acoustic guitar, you’re a really good player.” And I said, “Oh no, you can’t tell me that,” because here’s the wizard. And we were like, “Whoa! Wow! How do you drink more than one of those?” Heart was on a tour with them here and there and they introduced us to the Kamikaze at a bar in some hotel one time. And those guys would party like no other partiers in the world. He always had a big Cheshire cat grin, a big, happy energy that came with him. He had a lot of joy, you could just see it when he played. As she told Rock Cellar in our feature interview regarding that song:Įddie was one of the sweetest souls, a really beautiful soul.