On Star-Studded ‘Earthling,’ Eddie Vedder Continues to Do It His Way

Adi Mehta

The reconstructions that defined and directed the ‘90s made rockstars out of some decidedly anti-rockstar personalities. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder might just be the most illustrative remaining voice of the period. He seems to have barely flinched since the shrug that followed his catapult to fame. Still as unassuming and idealistic as ever, he continues to turn out Pearl Jam releases with the same passion, although he hasn’t taken up a solo effort since 2011’s “Ukulele Songs,” until now. His new album, “Earthling,” is both unanticipated and unpredictable, ultimately a testament to the independence of spirit behind Vedder’s particular brand of artistry. Among the surprising features are an all-star list of collaborators, with Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Ringo Starr all appearing on “Earthling.” For the new record, Vedder joined forces with Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt. Joining Watt on instrumental duties are Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and their former guitarist, as well as Pearl Jam touring musician, Josh Klinghoffer. “Earthling” takes some surprising turns, but ultimately finds Vedder still the sole architect of his own agenda. 

Vedder takes a more direct and immediate approach on “Earthling” than on the last Pearl Jam release, 2020’s lyrically hefty “Gigaton.” Even though the main stretch of the new record’s running time finds the singer holding ground, the leveling is easily lost in the smoke and mirrors of his opening and closing tracks. The album begins with “Invincible,” where Vedder utters rapturous ad libs that constitute the bulk of the song. Eventually, he ditches words in favor of vowel sounds, as he teases a tune for a singalong that will exclude no one. When words eventually return, it’s for a refrain of “When we love / Invincible.” Every detail, from the reverb of the largely indecipherable vocals to the kick drum pulse that ends in climactic clashes, is consummately fit for scale and sentiment. It’s a spirited performance in which Vedder shines as a singer; it’s just an arbitrary choice for an opener.

It’s only when the “Power of Right” kicks off to a driving guitar riff and handclaps that the album assumes its overall form. The music vaguely hints at the Stooges, but comes with an anthemic grandeur that combines the ‘90s impulses that have always characterized Vedder’s music with an ‘80s bombast. Vedder sticks to stadium scale and fills his phrases with sweeping, uninhibited gestures that are carried through to completion. The track exudes something akin to a dyonysian energy, although Vedder’s unblemished upright posturing frames it in a positive light. “Long Way” offers a welcome relief from these unwaning ecesses, as Vedder tempers his tone and shrinks back gracefully. Vedder sings of tragic figures who “took the long way / On the freeway.” It’s Vedder’s delivery of these very words that has prompted descriptions of his “channeling” Tom Petty. If this were somehow merely an instance of “channeling,” it would still represent a creative low. Vedder uses the exact same phrasing that Petty adopted for lines like “She’s a good girl” on “Free Falling.” He sings it in another key, but does not bother to alter the actual phrasing at all. When it comes to the second line, he alters the phrasing only slightly. One melodic snippet lifted from another song might not seem like a major offense, but in this case, Vedder has made it the refrain of his song. The majority of “Long Way’s” running time results from his excessive repetition of this refrain. 

The album’s third single, “Brother the Cloud,” sees the return of the more tortured Vedder, whose trembling vocals and theatricality made songs like Pearl Jam’s “Black” so powerful. Here, a grounding chorus keeps Vedder from descending to such depths, but the song is still a sobering shake-up. Vedder laments the loss of a brother, likely in reference to his actual brother, Chris Mueller, who died in a 2016 climbing accident, but also likely operating at various levels. He reflects, “If I could wish, wish it away / I would bleed out my knees and pray / If I could give all that I have / To bring him back today.” These types of dramatic excesses only work if you own them, and as it happens, Vedder does just this, simply qualifying, “These are but dreams / As sad as it seems / They never go away.”  

Another punk-informed initiative, “Fallout Today” plays out to an instantaneous melody, with an especially escapist guitar solo indulgence along the way. “The Dark” takes the bombast that emerged earlier to new unapologetically ‘80s reaches. A refrain of “I’ll find you in the dark” shifts to one of “Come find me in the dark,” and the ever-idealistic Vedder easily salvages what might normally make for somewhat creepy wording. Another single, “The Haves,” demonstrates the uninhibited expressivity that can make Vedder compelling but also exhausting. He warns us, “When you wake up / It just might be / The first of many blows that you’ll receive,” then continues,”Today, what we need / We want what we need / We need what’s above / We’re always reaching for something above / But we’ve got enough.”

A three-song stretch finds the punk spirit that first emerged on “Power of Right” amplified to successive new heights. “Good and Evil” is a high octane banger, in which the loose structure of an invigorating riff and groove effectively directs Vedder’s energy. “Rose of Jericho” follows, and matches the instantaneous efficacy of its predecessor with even more streamlined punk design. The next song, “Try,” is a fast-paced number, yet plays out in an unyielding, head-nodding drive forward, to a humbly optimistic refrain of “I will try, try / Baby, I will try”. Stevie Wonder fashions the track into something truly original, taking up a harmonica and reacting to the punk momentum, to ends that transcend the circumscriptions of the instrument. His fanciful flights approach something like the late ‘70s and early ‘80s horn stylings of “Saturday Night Live’s” opening theme. Somehow, this sound, clearly still innocent and fun-loving at its core, is a perfect fit for the song. The alacrity with which Wonder belts out tunes, and ends up with these radical results, validates the message of Vedder’s chorus. 

The Elton John collaboration, “Picture,” is a somewhat camp celebration, in which John revisits the honky-tonk piano stylings with which he built his brand in his ‘70s heyday. What stands out most, however, is the juxtaposition of the two personalities, as they trade lines in a duet. Worlds collide in a glam-meets-grunge pairing that calls attention to each singer’s stylistic signature and persona. John’s highly stylized vocals come out in cool, confident voicings, while Vedde’s singing style can ring like a trembling, alien oddity, although an emotive and original one. Of course, this triptych culminates with the Ringo Starr-collaboration, “Mrs. Mills.” Beatles signifiers, particularly of their post-”Rubber Soul” era, are all over this song. Of course, as the title indicates, the track adopts the narrative model of “Eleanor Rigby.” Orchestral flourishes, particularly redolent of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” along with brass bits that scream of “Penny Lane,” nod to the fanciful productions of George Martin. Ringo indeed sounds like himself, although it would be difficult not to in such a musical setting. 

The album closes almost as arbitrarily as it began, with “On My Way ”revisiting musical themes present only in the opener. Unlike anything else on the record, the abstracted sounds here are not too removed from the latest Animal Collective offerings. In what comes across as a blurry blues dream, Vedder samples excavated recordings of his father, Edward Louis Severson, Jr. — the inspiration behind Pearl Jam’s “Alive,” — singing a snippet of a tune in which he asserts, “I’ll be on my way.” With that, Vedderr quietly retreats, and will quite surely by now be well on his way, wherever it takes him. 

“Earthling” finds Vedder adopting an unanticipated punk-inspired aesthetic, and allowing it to loosely inform his free wanderings. Pearl Jam never stood up completely to the grunge formulas that struggled to make sense of the ‘90s, as the prescribed punk component, central to bands like Nirvana, was hardly distinguishable in Vedder and crew. To this end, Vedder’s latest punk stylings come like some fateful repurposing. Certain new songs seem to showcase Vedder’s strengths as a singer more effectively than Pearl Jam’s greatest hits. Perhaps it’s the freedom of a solo album that allows for especially uninhibited performances from Vedder. On the other hand perhaps a little restraint could have steered Vedder away from the outrage that is “Long Way.” This could have spilled out to the collaborative numbers, as Vedder could have probably benefited from moderating the fawning excesses of such songs. For the most part, however, those homages are simply adorable. Meanwhile, the choice to flank the tracklist with the given opener and closer can only be reasonably shrugged off in light of a voice so unconcerned with societal conventions and so comfortable in its own whimsy that there’s no real reason not to dart wildly, and a solo effort is just the opportunity to do so. 

“Earthling” releases Feb. 11 on Apple Music.