ED HERITAGE

Beyond grunge: Vedder’s voyage, by Keith Cameron.

THE FUTURE-PROOFER Pearl Jam No Code ★★★★★ (EPIC, 1996)

From amid Pearl Jam’s self-imposed lockdown came this stunning regeneration, driven by new drummer Jack Irons, who provided polyrhythmic space for the band’s experimental yearnings. The edgy quietude of I’m Open deployed post-rock austerity, while Present Tense bled grunge’s down-tuned gloom into a euphoric new dawn, with Vedder summoning a fresh voice for this lost youth elegy. Lukin, meanwhile, boiled the singer’s stalker hell into a 62-second hardcore tribute to Mudhoney’s bassist.

THE OUTDOOR TROUBADOUR Eddie Vedder Into The Wild ★★★ (J/BMG, 2007)

Vedder’s first solo album is ostensibly a soundtrack to his friend Sean Penn’s film about US adventurer Christopher McCandless’s fateful trek to Alaska, though Vedder delivered far more material than was used on-screen. Writing to someone else’s strict brief clearly gave the singer cause to reassess his craft, and Vedder’s flair for the epic campfire ballad yielded emotive results, especially on Rise and Hard Sun, the latter featuring skyscraping harmonies from Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker.

THE GLOBAL WARNING Pearl Jam Gigaton ★★★★ (MONKEYWRENCH/REPUBLIC, 2020)

The release of Pearl Jam’s conceptual eco-summit unfortunately coincided with the Covid pandemic, but real world events couldn’t diminish the salience of its core theme: a planet on the brink. Beyond sorrowful visions of climate apocalypse (Retrograde) and exhortations to kick against its enablers (Never Destination), the record revealed a band still seeking new routes (Dance Of The Clairvoyants’ mutant disco), ultimately vindicating Vedder’s tireless belief in the power of song.