Into the Wild is the debut solo studio album by Eddie Vedder, and is based on his contributions to the soundtrack for the film of the same name. It was released on September 18, 2007, through J Records. Into the Wild director Sean Penn selected Eddie Vedder to provide the music for the film. 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. 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.”
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.” 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, 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, and has been certified Platinum in Italy and Gold in Switzerland.
Tracklist:
SIDE A
- Setting Forth
- No Ceiling
- Far Behind
- Rise
- Long Nights
- Tuolumne
- Guaranteed
SIDE B
- Hard Sun
- Society
- The Wolf
- End of the Road
- Guaranteed (Humming Version)
Credits:
Performer
Eddie Vedder: vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, producer, mixing, layout, design
Guest musicians
Jerry Hannan: guitar, backing vocals
Corin Tucker: backing vocals
Technical personnel
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
