The musician that Eddie Vedder found “intimidating” to work with
Throughout his storied career, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has been fortunate enough to be in the vicinity of many artists he greatly admires. Naturally, after 30 years at the top of the music business, Vedder has become accustomed to working with his heroes, but occasionally, he can still be intimidated by his peers.
Outside of his solo canon and work with Pearl Jam, Vedder has also spread his wings by making a series of movie soundtracks. In total, the rock vocalist has contributed to over half a dozen in his time and is now incredibly accomplished when it comes to the task. However, when Ted Robbins asked Vedder to work on the soundtrack for 1996’s Dead Man Walking, he was a stranger to the role.
While on the surface, this is seemingly not much different from standard songwriting, the song must fit a scene within the motion picture. Furthermore, Vedder wasn’t working on the project alone. Robbins had paired him with Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, renowned for being one of the most talented vocalists the world has ever heard.
His musical background couldn’t be further from Vedder’s, yet Robbins believed magic could be attainable if the duo’s talents were combined despite the initial language barrier. While the collaborative process got off to a slightly rocky start with Vedder overcome with nerves, they eventually turned in ‘The Long Road’ and ‘The Face of Love’, making Robbin’s maverick move look like a stroke of unquestionable genius.
Reflecting on his work with Khan in Uncut, Vedder explained: “Well, it was intimidating on many levels. We worked together for a few days – we were put together by Tim Robbins for the Dead Man Walking soundtrack – and everything had to go through an interpreter because I was told he didn’t really speak English.”
“He was very centred, like a Buddhist statue in many ways, and he looked like he was made of stone! And when he sang, it was like he was channelling something incredibly powerful and spiritual,” Vedder continued.
While they struggled initially, after getting to know each other better, Khan suddenly could speak freely without an interpreter’s assistance, which proved to be a turning point in the duo’s collaborative process.
Vedder continued: “After two days of talking through the interpreter, we were left in the room alone, and he looked at me and said, in perfect English: ‘You have a very nice voice’, and it was like that scene in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, where the Indian guy finally talks to Jack Nicholson. I thought, you son of a bitch! And, of course, we then talked and talked and got on great.”
The Pearl Jam singer then explained how their friendship persisted beyond their contribution to the Dead Man Walking soundtrack, and they met several times after completing their work. Tragically, Khan passed away only a year after the film was released, which Vedder said was “much, much too early.”
The unlikely pairing of Khan and Vedder had no reason to work, yet their sonic fusion created a unique pair of tracks that proved to be the perfect accompaniment for Dead Man Walking. Furthermore, the overall soundtrack was widely revered, with Bruce Springsteen’s title track earning a nomination for ‘Best Original Song’ at the Academy Awards.
Listen to Vedder and Khan team up on ‘The Long Road’ below.
