:en:Into the Wild (soundtrack)

Director Sean Penn handpicked Vedder to provide the music for the film. Previously, Vedder had contributed two songs to the soundtrack for the 1995 film Dead Man Walking and a cover of the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" to the soundtrack for the 2001 film I Am Sam, both of which starred Penn.

The songs for the soundtrack were recorded in 2007 at Studio X in Seattle, Washington. Vedder worked with producer Adam Kasper, who had previously worked on Pearl Jam's 2002 album Riot Act, and 2006 album Pearl Jam. The album was mixed by Kasper and Vedder.

After viewing a rough cut of Into the Wild, Vedder quickly went to work writing songs for the film.Sandler, Adam. [https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=features&id=eoomusic08&articleid=VR1117977528 "Films thrive on singular musical vision"]. Variety. December 11, 2007. After three days, Vedder gave Penn a range of material to work with. Penn placed into the film what Vedder had given him, and Vedder then went on to work on more material that Penn could add to the film.Cohen, Jonathan. [https://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN2638530120071027?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 "Q&A: Penn, Vedder go where the "Wild" things are"]. Reuters. October 26, 2007. Vedder said that Penn "gave [him] a lot of freedom," and added that "the biggest thing was trust, which was just kind of unspoken."Gilchrist, Todd. [http://movies.ign.com/articles/821/821941p1.html "Interview: Sean Penn and Eddie Vedder"]. IGN. September 21, 2007. Vedder also said that having to write songs based on a narrative "simplified things." He said, "There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there." Vedder said that the songwriting process "grew" as Penn would ask him for more material.

Vedder described the recording process as a "factory." He said, "I'd just sit in the chair, and they'd hand me a fretless bass, and they'd hand me a mandolin, and they'd take a second to do the rough mix, and then I'd write the vocal, and it was just quick."Grossman, Lev. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070916051016/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1661699,00.html "Nature Boys"]. Time. September 13, 2007. On the recording sessions as a whole, Vedder stated, "It was like I kinda went into some weird space for a week or two, and then I woke up out of this daze, and it was done. I don't really remember it."

Vedder's songs written for the film feature a folk sound. Thom Jurek of Allmusic called the soundtrack a "collection of folksy, rootsy tunes where rock & roll makes fleeting appearances." Vedder is primarily responsible for the songs in the film while film music composer Michael Brook is acknowledged in the film's credits for composing the film's original music. Vedder said, "Michael made great choices with the way he orchestrated the score...Our pieces of music meshed together pretty well for not having approached it in a way of making sure these puzzle pieces fit. They just did."

Vedder's cover of the song "Hard Sun" (originally written by Toronto-based singer-songwriter Gordon Peterson under his stage name Indio) features backing vocals by Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. Vedder collaborated with singer-songwriter Jerry Hannan on the song "Society", written by Hannan. Both songs appear in the film along with a slew of other folky ballads by Vedder.

Vedder's songs help narrate the story of American wanderer Christopher McCandless. After graduating as a top student from Emory University, he decides to give up all of his money and travel. During forays into the Western United States and Mexico, McCandless decides to hitchhike to Alaska to live in the wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude. Nearly five months later, he died of starvation near Denali National Park and Preserve. Vedder said that he "realized the songs could now become another tool in the storytelling." On writing the songs about McCandless, Vedder stated, "It was startling how easy it was for me to get into his head. I found it to be uncomfortable how easy it was, because I thought I'd grown up."

File:20080821 Eddie Vedder at Auditorium Theater edit.jpg in Chicago, Illinois on August 21, 2008.]]

Into the Wild was released worldwide on September 17, 2007. It was released on CD, in both standard and Digipak formats, and LP. CD pressings of the album were released on J Records and LP versions were released on Vinyl Films—a record label owned by director Cameron Crowe, a friend of Vedder. In the United States, Into the Wild debuted at number 11 on Billboard 200, selling 39,000 copies in its first week,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1048990/reba-outmuscles-kanye-50-to-score-first-no-1|title=Reba Outmuscles Kanye, 50 to Score First No. 1|magazine=Billboard|last=Hasty|first=Katie|date=September 26, 2007}} and also charted at number 11 on Billboard{{'}}s Internet Albums and number 2 on the Soundtrack Albums chart. The album's lead single, "Hard Sun", peaked at number 17 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and number 13 on the Canadian Hot 100. Since its release, Into the Wild has sold 369,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044913/eddie-vedder-plots-east-coast-solo-tour|title=Eddie Vedder Plots East Coast Solo Tour|magazine=Billboard|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=July 2, 2008}} and has been certified Platinum in Italy{{cite certification|region=Italy|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|access-date=October 11, 2013|type=album}} and Gold in Switzerland.{{cite web|url=http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Eddie+Vedder+Into+the+Wild|title=The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Soundtrack / Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild)|publisher=Hitparade. Hung Medien|access-date=August 18, 2012}}

Vedder promoted the Into the Wild soundtrack with his first solo tour, which began in April 2008. The April leg of the tour, dubbed the "April Fools Tour", began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at The Centre on April 2, 2008, and was composed of ten dates focusing on the West Coast of the United States.Reuters. [https://ew.com/article/2008/02/19/eddie-vedder-start-first-solo-tour-april/ "Eddie Vedder to Start Solo Tour"]. Entertainment Weekly. February 15, 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-04-et-vedder4-story.html|title=It's a lot to live up to: The Pearl Jam frontman opens his first solo tour with an intimate yet powerful performance in Vancouver|access-date=September 20, 2008|date=April 4, 2008|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Powers, Ann}} Vedder continued the tour with a second leg in August 2008 composed of fourteen dates focusing on the East Coast and Canada. The second leg of the tour began in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Opera House and ended in Chicago, Illinois at the Auditorium Theatre.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/07/02/tour-tracker-eddie-vedder-goo-goo-dolls-and-alice-cooper/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703204130/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/07/02/tour-tracker-eddie-vedder-goo-goo-dolls-and-alice-cooper/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2008|title=Tour Tracker: Eddie Vedder, Goo Goo Dolls and Alice Cooper|access-date=September 20, 2008|date=July 2, 2008|publisher=RealNetworks|magazine=Rolling Stone|author=Kreps, Daniel}}

{{Album ratings

| MC = 67/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/into-the-wild/eddie-vedder|title=Into the Wild Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More|website=Metacritic|access-date=August 18, 2012}}

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|title=allmusic ((( Into the Wild > Review )))|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1205099|pure_url=yes}}|website=AllMusic|author=Jurek, Thom|access-date=March 21, 2009}}

|rev2 = Blender

|rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}Weiner, Jonah. [http://www.blender.com/guide/new/54800/music-for-motion-picture-into-wild.html "Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild"]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Blender. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.

|rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

|rev3score = B{{cite magazine | url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20056673,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070918015410/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20056673,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 18, 2007 | title=Into the Wild | access-date=May 20, 2009 | author=Greenblatt, Leah | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | date=September 1, 2007}}

|rev4 = NME

|rev4score = 5/10Fullerton, Jamie. [https://www.nme.com/reviews/eddie-vedder/9153 "Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild OST"]. NME. October 30, 2007. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.

|rev5 = Rolling Stone

|rev5score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eddievedder/albums/album/16259581/review/16266320/into_the_wild/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011040815/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eddievedder/albums/album/16259581/review/16266320/into_the_wild/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 11, 2007 | title=Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild | access-date=May 20, 2009 | author=Fricke, David | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=September 5, 2007}}

|rev6 = Spin

|rev6score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}Marchese, David. [http://www.spin.com/reviews/eddie-vedder-music-motion-picture-wild-jmonkeywrench "Eddie Vedder, Into the Wild (J Records)"]. Spin. November 26, 2007. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.

|rev7 = Uncut

|rev7score = {{Rating|3|5}}Jones, Allan. [https://archive.today/20130505110937/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/pearl_jam/reviews/10677 "Eddie Vedder: Into the Wild"]. Uncut. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.

}}

Upon its release, Into the Wild received mostly positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stone staff writer David Fricke gave Into the Wild three and a half out of five stars, saying that Vedder "[tosses] his weighty baritone onto earthy, folky tracks that temper the romance of absolute freedom with an eerie foreboding." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B. She said "a real sense of the wide-open road permeates these nine original compositions." She ended her review by saying that "though the album is flawed (some tracks on the 33-minute disc are so brief that they never leave the ground), there is still something here that's compelling enough to stand alone." David Marchese of Spin gave the album three and a half out of five stars. He said, "The handful of somber, droning mood pieces don't really transcend their film-contingent origins, but on the actual full-length songs...Vedder's incantatory vocals and campfire instrumentation evoke the eerie beauty of untouched land." Jonah Weiner of Blender gave the album three out of five stars. He said, "It's the sound of a 24-year-old accepting death, as imagined by a lifelong misfit aging gracefully." Allan Jones of Uncut gave the album three out of five stars. He said, "Eddie here answers what you might be inclined to describe as the call of the wild with a series of mostly handsome, jangly folk-rock ballads."

Jamie Fullerton of NME gave Into the Wild a five out of ten. In the review, Fullerton states that "due to Vedder's interest in all things anti-corporate, McCandless' renouncement of materialism is celebrated rather than the fact that he eventually died." He also says that it is "accomplished but occasionally overbearingly earnest." AllMusic staff writer Thom Jurek gave the album two and a half out of five stars, saying that "musically there isn't enough imagination to distinguish [the songs], to set the tension of dynamic in motion."

"Hard Sun" was the most successful song from Into the Wild on the rock charts, reaching number 13 on the Modern Rock charts. Both "Hard Sun" and "Guaranteed" had accompanying music videos. Vedder won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild.{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2007 |title=65th Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners |access-date=January 13, 2008 |publisher=goldenglobes.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524113041/http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2007 |archive-date=May 24, 2012 }} At the 2008 Grammy Awards, "Guaranteed" received a nomination for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.{{cite web| url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2008/grammys.htm |title=50th Grammy Awards – 2008 |publisher=Rockonthenet.com |access-date=February 20, 2008}} "Guaranteed" was also nominated for a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldsoundtrackacademy.com/news2.cgi?go=detail&id=601&lang=en |title=Nominees World Soundtrack Awards 2008 announced |publisher=worldsoundtrackawards.com |access-date=August 20, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125112911/http://www.worldsoundtrackacademy.com/news2.cgi?go=detail&id=601&lang=en |archive-date=January 25, 2009 }} At the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Rise" received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.{{cite web|url=http://content.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx |title=The 51st Grammy Awards Nominations List |publisher=grammy.com |access-date=December 3, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205000233/http://content.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx |archive-date=December 5, 2008 }}

Vedder was nominated for a Golden Globe for his contributions to the film's original score in 2008. Into the Wild was ranked at no. 20 on the list of Top 20 Rock 'n' Roll Solo Albums by Consequence of Sound.{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2017/09/top-20-rock-n-roll-solo-albums/amp/|title=Top 20 Rock 'n' Roll Solo Albums|publisher=Consequence of Sound|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=December 24, 2019}}

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Eddie Vedder except where noted

| title1 = Setting Forth

| length1 = 1:37

| title2 = No Ceiling

| length2 = 1:34

| title3 = Far Behind

| length3 = 2:15

| title4 = Rise

| length4 = 2:36

| title5 = Long Nights

| length5 = 2:31

| title6 = Tuolumne

| length6 = 1:00

| title7 = Hard Sun

| note7 =writer: Gordon Peterson

| length7 = 5:22

| title8 = Society

| note8 = writer: Jerry Hannan

| length8 = 3:56

| title9 = The Wolf

| length9 = 1:32

| title10 = End of the Road

| length10 = 3:19

| title11 = Guaranteed{{#tag:ref|"Guaranteed" contains a hidden track, "Guaranteed (Humming Vocal)", at 4:40.|group="nb"}}

| length11 = 7:22

| total_length = 33:04

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Digital streaming bonus tracks{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/into-the-wild-music-for-the-motion-picture/1440897227 |title=Into the Wild (Music for the Motion Picture [Deluxe Edition] – Eddie Vedder |date=September 18, 2007 |publisher=iTunes |access-date=August 18, 2012 }}{{cite web|url=https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Eddie_Vedder_Into_The_Wild_Music_For_The_Motion_Pi?id=B4lkoqaxudqddfnuh7ur3c7mpv4 |title=Eddie Vedder: Into The Wild (Music For The Motion Picture) |publisher=Google Play |access-date=September 27, 2018 }}

| total_length = 43:28

| title12 = No More

| length12 = 3:38

| title13 = Photographs

| length13 = 1:00

| title14 = Here's to the State{{#tag:ref|"Here's to the State" was recorded live at VH1 Storytellers on May 31, 2006.|group="nb"}}

| note14 = live) (writer: Phil Ochs

| length14 = 5:52

| title15 = No More

| note15 = live{{#tag:ref|"No More" was recorded live at Goffertpark in Nijmegen, Netherlands on June 28, 2007.|group="nb"}}

| length15 = 4:32

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = LP bonus single{{cite AV media notes|title=Into the Wild|title-link=Into the Wild (soundtrack)|others=Eddie Vedder|year=2007|type=LP|publisher=Vinyl Films|id=VFR-2007-4}}

| total_length = 8:10

| title1 = No More

| length1 = 3:38

| title2 = No More

| note2 = live

| length2 = 4:32

}}

All personnel credits adapted from Into the Wild{{'}}s liner notes.

• Eddie Vedder – vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin (4), banjo (2), piano, organ, drums, percussion, producer, mixing, layout, design

• Jerry Hannan – guitar, backing vocals (8)
• Corin Tucker – backing vocals (7)

• Adam Kasper – producer, recording, mixing
• John Burton – engineer
• Sam Hofstedt – engineer
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• George Webb III – technician
• Mike Kutchman – assistant technician

;Design personnel

• Brad Klausen – layout, design
• Francois Duhamel – photography, artwork
• Chuck Zlotrick – photography, artwork
• Anton Corbijn – photography
• Sato Masuzawa – artistic facilitator

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Music From The Motion Picture Into The Wild|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2007|certyear=2008|access-date=December 3, 2018}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=2007|certyear=2017}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2007|certyear=2023|access-date=January 20, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|note=sales since 2009|relyear=2007|certyear=2020|access-date=October 20, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|artist=Eddy Vedder|title=Music For The Motion Picture Into The Wild|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2007|certyear=2010}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2007|access-date=August 18, 2012|certref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Eddie Vedder|title=Into the Wild|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=2007|certyear=2022|id=9981-2970-2|access-date=July 11, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true | streaming=true}}

{{Reflist|group=nb}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://pearljam.com/music/albums/1004/soundtracks/18645/into_the_wild Into the Wild] at [http://pearljam.com Pearl Jam's official web site]
• {{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000492981|label=Into the Wild}}

{{Pearl Jam}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Into The Wild (Soundtrack)}}

Category:Chris McCandless

Category:Eddie Vedder albums

Category:2007 debut albums

Category:2007 soundtrack albums

Category:Biographical film soundtracks

Category:Albums produced by Adam Kasper

Category:Albums produced by Eddie Vedder

Category:J Records soundtracks

Category:Folk rock soundtracks