Eddie Vedder reveals his favourite Tom Waits album
Eddie Vedder, the versatile musician and singer-songwriter renowned as the frontman of Pearl Jam, is an artist whose passion for music is boundless. This unwavering dedication has solidified his status as one of rock music’s most distinguished vocalists.
During the 1980s, as Vedder worked part-time at a gas station to fuel his insatiable music appetite, he embarked on his journey into the music industry. His initial foray onto the stage was as a guest contributor to Chris Cornell’s band, Temple of the Dog, an experience that ignited Vedder’s undeniable connection to performing.
Having developed strong connections with the various individuals involved in the band, most notably future Pearl Jam member Mike McCready, Vedder would eventually receive an invitation to join the group, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Throughout his career, Vedder has drawn inspiration from the music of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, Black Francis, Henry Rollins, and others while consistently expressing his deep respect for fellow musicians in the alternative music scene.
Like many across all spaces of music, Vedder also cites Tom Waits as a major influence, stating that his album Nightwawks At The Diner resonated the most due to the fact that “you can’t really categorise this music”.
He added: “I want to come up with a Tom Waits-ish line about Tom Waits: ‘Tom Waits for no man.’ [Laughs] I think he once said that he prides himself on making good background music. But if you try to dissect it or even play along with the stuff, you realise it’s got all these chord changes that are never played straight.”
Waits’ album has received acclaim for its skilful establishment of moods, its ability to evoke a jazz-club ambience and its vivid character portrayals. Vedder commends the way that the chord changes “sound like they’re morphing,” adding: “The result sounds like an old car that needs a tune-up. You end up with all these sounds that create rhythm, and it’s the perfect bed for a voice.”
For Vedder, “our influences are who we are”. Therefore, when choosing his all-time musical favourites, he’s conscious of the way that different musical contributions intertwine with others. “Even Daniel Johnston sounds like the Beatles,” he claims, explaining: “That’s the problem with the bands I’m always asked about, the ones derivative of the early Seattle sound. They don’t dilute their influences enough.”
Nevertheless, the prominent figures and albums mentioned by Vedder continue to receive the recognition they rightfully deserve. This includes Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, which he admits “were huge” for him. “Frank Black, or Black Francis, as he was called at the time, had this voice – he just let it loose,” Vedder explained.
Adding: “He’d let it rip, and weird shit would happen. It seemed not so much rebellious, but just free in the way he could just make sounds like ‘aie! aie! aie!’ and still get his point across. He was liberating himself with his voice.”
