Nikki Sixx calls Pearl Jam “boring” after Eddie Vedder slams Motley Crue
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Credit: Eduardo Pelosi
Listen to Eddie Vedder’s powerful isolated vocals for ‘Alive’
Eddie Vedder is one of the most unmistakable vocalists of the past 30 years. The frontman of Pearl Jam has a husky but assertive vocal style, and during the days of grunge’s zenith in the early 1990s, it was always a toss-up between him and his great friend, the late frontman of Soundgarden, Chris Cornell for the crown as Seattle’s best vocalist.
An intense and captivating performer, there’s no surprise that many subsequent vocalists have mentioned him as a key influence. Vedder, alongside Cornell, showed that the rock singer wasn’t dead, and taking from the likes of past heroes such as Robert Plant, reasserted its dominance for the new generation. His discussion of issues such as self-harm, familial problems and homelessness cemented Vedder as a spokesman for the jaded, the angry and the misunderstood.
Of Vedder’s iconic creativity, in a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Roger Daltrey of The Who said: “I just love to hear Eddie sing. I think he’s got such a distinctive, fabulous voice. He doesn’t copy, so that’s what I like; he does the Eddie Vedder version. It’s never easy to do because most people will just try and copy what the Who have done. He’s always himself.”
Following on from Daltrey’s assertion that there really is nobody quite like Eddie Vedder, it would make sense that Vedder’s isolated vocal tracks are mindblowing. Listening to him on his own, you really get a sense of the magic that he possesses and why, when Pearl Jam were in their pomp, he was untouchable.
Listening to the isolated vocal track for the band’s gargantuan hit ‘Alive’, you hear how wide Vedder’s vocal range is. Fraught yet soothing, Vedder’s voice is augmented with a touch of reverb that carries his tones and imbues them with a thickness to sit atop the dynamic music. During the bridge, where he screams “yeah, yeah, yeah”, you can hear the influence of Robert Plant loud and clear.
One of the best vocal takes he ever gave, it’s likely we’ll still be talking about Eddie Vedder for many years to come. Whist, he’s also shown himself to be an adept songwriter with his solo work, you cannot disagree that the work he did in Pearl Jam’s early days is the best he ever delivered. Driven by the energy of youth, there’s a raw power inherent to these moments, and on vocal tracks such as this, you quickly heed why Pearl Jam rose to the very top.
Listen to the ‘Alive’ isolated vocal track below.
