Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
The Wolf
The wolf is one of my favorite performances on Into the Wild. Eddie has one of the most expressive voices I've ever heard, and since he's dropped vocal fills from their records for the most part we don't get to hear them that often (the fill in Hard Sun is possibly the most moving part of that song as well). The organ that backgrounds The Wolf creates a wonderful sense of cluttered desolation, a feeling of lonliness in a world that isn't empty. The vocals strain against it, a howl looking for meaning in a world without it. The only complaint I'd have with the song is that Eddie strains a bit on some of the final howls, and in a way that reminds one of the damage done to his voice--it may be an artistic choice (a desperate gasp) but even if it is it still comes across slightly tainted becuase the voice cannot do what its owner asks of it.
Still this is a minor complaint in an otherwise excellent piece. This is probably my favorite of all of pearl jam's/eddie's 'filler' pieces. If you've never heard the into the wild demos/outtakes the other version of the wolf that is on there (with eddie moaning rather than howling) that one is worth emphasizing. It has a mood of sadly accepting the desolation of the music rather than reacting against it, and if anything it is an even better song than the final version that made the record
4 stars
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 5:58 pm Posts: 1259 Location: Western Masshole Gender: Male
4 stars. I remember hearing this and trying to imagine what scene in ITW it would appear. Then I saw the movie, and it went perfectly with the scene. You nailed it, Stip. The song conveys a feeling of desolation with such emotion. More importantly, at least to me, it gives me hope for the next PJ album. My biggest beef with S/T is Eddie's failing voice that lacks the extra punch it used to have. On ITW, especially The Wolf, Eddie has found a way to harness his voice - almost Springsteenish. It's not the same as the Eddie on Ten-Vitalogy, but it's not worse either, just different. And I like it.
_________________ Paul McCartney told me to never drop names.
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
spellbinder wrote:
I enjoy the wolf as well where are the demos/outtakes? on the dvd?
they were floating around on-line. Hopefully someone has a link...
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:35 pm Posts: 188 Location: Kansas City
To me this is a good song that by being put into a movie as it was became a great song. I liked it when I first heard it, but seeing how it was put into context definitely put it over the top for me.
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2005 7:50 pm Posts: 10229 Location: WA (aka Waaaaaaaahhhh!!) Gender: Male
I can't remember how this one goes w/o listening to it again first. So I just marked it as average, seeing as I'll usually give EV / PJ the benefit of the doubt.
But this isn't even a Pearl Jam song...so I don't feel that bad about not knowing it by heart. If it WAS a PJ song, then it would likely have the benefit of a nice riff written by Stone and a kick-ass solo by Mike. Kinda like PJ's best song, Even Flow.
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I'll put a new song up in a day or two
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
cutuphalfdead wrote:
stip wrote:
I'll put a new song up in a day or two
Can it actually be a Pearl Jam song?
Not many left...
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
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Frank
