Aside from the fact that listening to this album brings up all the feelings I feel one of my very favourite films, there are about a million other reasons to love it. Throughout the OST, Vedder shows us a sensitivity that was at best veiled in his work with Pearl Jam. That is not a critique on Pearl Jam, for the record, there is a time for full-on grunge and there is a time for something more delicate. While I myself err towards the delicate side, this album has been with me through many a key moment in my life. The production on Vedder's creation for Into the Wild is minimal, centering mostly around confident, folksy guitar and sparse percussion. This, of course, creates space for Vedder to show us the full range of his vocal abilities. "The Wolf" has him howling an introductory tune that will pierce even the hardest of hearts and "No Ceiling" has him gruffly crooning a melancholy love song. The album is sorrowful, its reflective and its mood is distinct from anything else I've listened to. Recommendations welcome. The acoustic, minimalist style in which Vedder's soundtrack has been put together is a perfect fit for Into the Wild. Reserved emotion tempered with a delicate vulnerability. It's what makes the film so great and it's what makes the album so great. Simon and Garfunkel's OST, written for the Graduate, comes to mind. A match made in heaven. But what is perhaps even more remarkable about this album is the fact that the music is largely different from Vedder's previous work. He retains his angsty musical style, in line with the mood of the film and of the lead character, but the abovementioned tenderness creates an emotional range that follows the narrative of the film like no other. However, the album is not dependant on the film to give it context. It is a lyrically rich musical journey in itself, veering into questions of purpose, belonging and culture. "Society" perhaps underpinning the tone and the mood of the album. It has been said that those suffering from depression are routinely found to have an above average IQ, and this album certainly emphasises this reality with it's existential content. Every few months, I seem to go back to this album, and my most recent return happened when I was compiling a playlist to listen to on the plane. I couldn't have chosen better, if I do say so myself. Is there a better album for two and a half hours of introspection? If so, I'm yet to find it.
