Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs - Music & Performance - CD

Yes, I'm a Pearl Jam fan. Yes I own many things from the people in this band, including previous works unpublished, due to a job at a radio station. I was surprised that I COULD be surprised by anything Pearl Jam related...and Eddie Vedder never fails to astonish me. Into The Wild is a soundtrack that really gave the world pause to the baritone songwriter's abilities to take any emotion, and place it into any context. What Vedder gives us in Ukulele, (pronounced properly by the singer, OOko-layay), Songs, is a view into what he can accomplish, and what he will constantly do to invite more listeners into not only appreciation of the instrument, but appreciation into music, of any type. Vedder easily pairs Dream a Little Dream with a very beautifully written You're True. Then as equally adeptly , in another song, pairs vocals with Glen Hansard, (his opening act on the tour, and true spine-chilling talent in his own right), and even Cat Powers, and you can truly call the instrument a voice partnership that Vedder blends well into who he is on stage. The one thing I was grateful for was seeing the concert tour prior to purchasing the album. I'm always eager to read the book before seeing the movie- and seeing the tour I was able to do just that. The live concerts allowed for the unique passion of the AUDIENCE to be as equally a member of the songs as the echoing voice is, and having the album to hear afterwards gives an eerie, "you are here with me" quality that any Pearl Jam fan can surely relate to. I've tried to think hard on this but there isn't any song that stands out as THE BEST, because they are each so gorgeously woven as individual personalities unto themselves, as good songs tend to be. But, Eddie Vedder can interpret so much newness in the sounds that there is nothing to fear from the tread into unfamiliar waters- (cover pun intended). Music fans, you will love this album, whether you've never heard Pearl Jam, are far too young to know who Eddie Vedder was to so many of us in the 1990's, and even if you think you're too old for "that stuff." (My octogenarian father in law was sure he had heard every song when he was a boy, being that warmly receptive to the old and new songs alike.) I play this album alongside anything I have whether Motorhead or Arlo Guthrie, and it fits. The album is that good.