“We needed a North Star”: How Neil Young became a mentor for Pearl Jam
In modern internet culture, absolutely nothing is safe. Eddie Vedder‘s soaring eagle of a voice has since become a source of online humour in recent years, turning his tonal idiosyncrasies into silliness. Can nothing be interesting anymore? Or do we all have to subscribe to a landscape of sleek but bland pastiche?
It’s certainly a lifestyle to which Neil Young would never subscribe. Steadfast in how he presents his authentic self, he’s never navigated the murky waters of artistry with a paddle of self-consciousness. In fact, whenever I’ve found myself in a heated discussion about the true qualities of a singing voice, I’ve always used Young as my reference point.
He defies all conventions of a normal or trained vocalist. At times, it strains and at others, it barely whispers, but no matter how he approaches a song’s vocals, it’s almost always brimming with emotion. Simply put, Young doesn’t have the best voice in the world, but I don’t want to hear anybody else sing a Neil Young song.
While Vedder is a singer of a completely different style, with a more expansive range and ability to elevate Pearl Jam songs into the blue skies of sprawling America, he ultimately found himself following in Young’s footsteps.
After the Bridge School benefit in 1992, the pair formed somewhat of a kinship, which, for Vedder, experiencing the rising tide of an artistic crest, came at the perfect time. He recalled, “Everything he taught us at the time resonated and came at a time when we needed to be taught. We needed a North Star and a bit of a compass, and he provided both.” He added, “The best teachers are the ones who you just kind of learn from example. Just in his stories, you’d figure out a few things.”
Young’s behaviour on stage and in the studio undoubtedly informed the workings of a fresh-faced Vedder. But in ‘92, the band were enjoying success off the back of their record, Ten, and commercial hyenas were beginning to show their teeth. Naturally, with artistic and success come pitfalls that, during his time, Young has seen all too often, and it was something he was keen to express to Vedder.
Vedder recalled, “He [Young] said, ‘Hey, just so you know, there might be some people that’ll try to pull you away from this group, but you guys, the sum is greater than the parts. Remember that. I’m sure that’s probably already happened to you.’”
While Young’s legacy is steeped in his solo work, he’s no stranger to the magic of a unified band. Starting his career in Buffalo Springfield, he got a taste of communal creativity, but perhaps, more pertinently, he felt it through his request to join Crosby, Stills and Nash after their debut album. Something about their unified harmonies spoke to him deeply and reminded him of the sacred energy that exists within the camaraderie of a band. Perhaps the brevity with which he imparted this wisdom onto Vedder came from his own regrets about handling the privilege of being in one of music’s greatest ever lineups.
