While Eddie Vedder’s previous solo efforts were of a reduced and folky nature and sometimes odd in the choice of instruments, the successor to UKULELE SONGS (2011) is the exact opposite. With a full second-band line-up that includes bosom pal Glen Hansard and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith as well as one-time guitar prodigy and album producer Andrew Watt (Justin Bieber, Ozzy Osbourne), Vedder takes a big liking to the latter tailor-made sound staging that some Pearl Jam purists might find too smooth.
However, the fatal Timbaland mistake by Chris Cornell is by no means committed. On the contrary, Vedder knows how to pay equal respect to the killers in Springsteen mode, mid-nineties U2 or Tom Petty on this album, which is not grumpy at all grunge, as well as to his wilder roots with a few short, crisp numbers. And when at the end the famous “Picture” calls Sir Elton John onto the scene and “Mrs. Mills” pays a visit to the Beatles (not without ringing Cat Stevens beforehand), you have finally arrived in the classic rock segment.
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