Into the Wild

Into the Wild is the debut solo studio album by Pearl Jam vocalist 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. Background 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. Recording 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. 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. Vedder said that Penn "gave [him] a lot of freedom," and added that "the biggest thing was trust, which was just kind of unspoken." 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.