Eddie Vedder is not leaving Pearl Jam, despite the fun he’s had playing with a group of musicians dubbed the Earthlings. When Vedder and company beam down at Dolby Live at Park MGM it will be on the heels of Pearl Jam’s latest U.S. tour. From Vedder’s point of view, the recording cycle that he experienced with producer Andrew Watt was too fruitful to not manifest as his latest solo album, Earthling, and can only inform future projects with the other band that he’s performed with for more than 30 years.
Pearl Jam’s 30th anniversary coincided with the pandemic, causing a tour in support of 2020 album Gigaton to be delayed and giving Vedder time to develop a relationship with Watt. Watt was born two days before Pearl Jam played its first show (as Mookie Blaylock) in October 1990. He grew up on Pearl Jam’s music and became a musician, raising his profile as Justin Bieber’s guitarist. He became in demand as a session musician and collaborator by artists such as Post Malone, Camila Cabello and Blink-182 before producing Ozzy Osbourne’s well-received 2020 album Ordinary Man.
Vedder, who often speaks in metaphors, characterized his collaboration process with Watt as yielding songs that fell from the trees. “… Then they were ripe, and looked pretty great, tasted pretty great,” he told Apple Music interviewer Zane Lowe in February. He was also working with several musicians that could be considered Pearl Jam’s extended family. Vedder met drummer Chad Smith when an embryonic Pearl Jam supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour. Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer was a member of that band before joining Pearl Jam as a touring musician.
Both are onboard as Earthlings for the Vegas show, as are Vedder collaborator Glen Hansard and Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney. Vedder debuted the Earthlings at his annual Ohana Festival last September, where Pearl Jam also played, and scheduled an eight-date, six-city tour in February before Pearl Jam hit the road in May.
The band played most of the songs from Earthling, along with a handful of covers and a Pearl Jam song here and there, at venues such as New York’s Beacon Theatre and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The album, released Feb. 11, is worth the deep dive. The opening track, “Invincible,” sounds as if it were inspired by Peter Gabriel’s mid-’80s period. Smith’s pounding beat drives “Power of Right,” which would please any Pearl Jam fan, while “Brother the Cloud” can be interpreted as a tribute to late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. “The Dark” and “The Haves” are some of Vedder’s strongest songwriting to date, while “On My Way” is a hymn of closure regarding the relationship with his birth father that inspired the first songs he wrote for Pearl Jam.
This is likely to only be the beginning for the Earthlings, making it unlikely that Vedder will be diverted with another album of ukulele tunes. Watt is infusing his musing, the end of the road is far in the distance for Pearl Jam, and as long as fruit falling from the tree continues to taste great, he’ll continue to share it with the world.
Dolby Live at Park MGM | 8 p.m. Oct. 7, starting at $99.50. axs.com
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