Eddie Vedder

Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder takes a quieter vocal route in the soundtrack to Into the Wild. Recruited by Director Sean Penn to pen and perform the score, Vedder's acoustic solo debut is the musical counterpart to Chris McCandless' journey-rough, genuine, at times radiating a far-flung sense of adventure, at others a simple solitude set against the gentle plucking of a ukulele.

The sweeping pace of "Setting Forth," with its bold declaration, "Keep setting forth in the universe," winds down to a poignant campfire melody in "Long Nights" and its lonesome verses, "Long nights allow me to feel/I'm falling, I'm falling/The lights go out/Let me feel/I'm falling." Main track "Hard Sun" is a folksy anthem that showcases Vedder's sweeping range: it's the kind of folk rock that you could only hope to soar above McCandless as he hitchhikes his way to the fantasized Alaska.

Vedder and Penn create a powerhouse of art and politics. Vedder adds words to Penn's visual narration. Lyrics such as "Society, you're a crazy breed/I hope you're not lonely, without me" seem to emanate from McCandless' head, articulating what the audience sees as a forlorn gaze or wistful glance.

There's something uncultivated, something sweeping and feral and profoundly broken about Vedder's voice. He literally howls in "The Wolf," a brief but chilling release in the otherwise domesticated tracks. Although the lyrics sometimes match the film too obviously, exposing mystery with articulation, the soundtrack is nonetheless imparted with the raw and innocent tenor so central to the film.

-Janet Wu