User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 101 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 90 out of 101
  2. Negative: 4 out of 101

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  1. Mar 22, 2013
    9
    Really awesome album. I love almost every song on it, Hard Sun, Society, Setting Forth, Rise, Far Behind. All these songs performed with real feelings, straight from the heart.
  2. Dec 6, 2011
    8
    The last kind of record you'd expect to hear from the Pearl Jam frontman. I'm not a PJ fan at all and never really like Vedders voice but this record is brilliant. You really have to have seen the film to understand the context of the record but it goes really well with it. I don't how it would sound otherwise. Hard Sun should have gotten an Oscar nomination for best song in a film in 2008.
  3. TeriW
    Jun 24, 2009
    10
    This is the most beautiful music I have heard for a very long time. What a voice, what poetry and the raw but clear, jangly music. Mesmerising. It gives me the same feeling as a long bushwalk.
  4. sinclairc
    Apr 16, 2009
    1
    Pretty much unlistenable. I find it hard to see how this album has received such rave reviews, annoying beats and vocals touting questionable lyrics. An album to avoid: don't believe the reviews!
  5. fredf
    Aug 19, 2008
    10
    Our generation's Dylon. Wow. Finally, pearl jam doesnt suck ass. thank you eddie, well done. well done. thought you were a douche, but no, you got a fing soul. a real soul.
  6. ArianaM
    Jul 16, 2008
    10
    beautiful melodies and lyrics that really transport you into the middle of a forest, far away from the hustle and bustle of the real world. it's a wonderful soundtrack to listen to while taking a walk by yourself. the only gripe i have is that some songs are too short!
  7. JimH
    Jun 16, 2008
    9
    A showcase for Vedder's marvelous baritone, perhaps easy to overestimate because it has been so long since PJ has really allowed him to show off like this.
  8. HelenM.
    Apr 29, 2008
    10
    Listening to this beautiful music makes me feel like I'm reaching into my past. A past almost forgotten, something I've lost touch with. Eddie Vedder's voice lyrics and musica has an amazing way of transforming my spirit. I'm left greatfully reaching to find myself again. Thank you for making this beautiful music Eddie.
  9. RichardJ.
    Apr 11, 2008
    10
    Superb-best album of '07, fits the film perfectly too.
  10. OlafurB.
    Feb 15, 2008
    10
    A great new side of the master.
  11. OwenP.
    Jan 13, 2008
    10
    A very moving soundtrack to a very sad story. Eddie Vedder does an amazing job at matching the music with the movie, although the music often made the movie at times. I highly recommend this album to anyone under "the big hot sun".
  12. rond.
    Dec 15, 2007
    9
    Great solo project of Eddie Vedder. Altough short , great album.
  13. Josh
    Dec 10, 2007
    8
    Matt P. Man of the Hour was not written by Eddie Vedder it was written by Stone Gossard, and the song Society is also a remake, hence the wording that does not fit Eddie's writing.
  14. BJB.
    Dec 6, 2007
    10
    Both music and words are extremely evocative of the spirit, philosophy and events in one individual's life, yet they also relate to something in each of us. There are dark moments, but the music also captures the adrenalin rush of setting out, the joy of freedom and the love of nature.
  15. MacS.
    Nov 29, 2007
    10
    Just perfect!
  16. JanetO
    Nov 26, 2007
    10
    Listen my children and you shall hear... one young mans effort to bring himself back to reality by leaving behind the one that man has struggled for thousands of years to evolve from. This album, each and every song, touches on either the emotion or the mindset of McCandless as he travels this remarkable journey. The brevity of the songs is well founded; they can best compared to Listen my children and you shall hear... one young mans effort to bring himself back to reality by leaving behind the one that man has struggled for thousands of years to evolve from. This album, each and every song, touches on either the emotion or the mindset of McCandless as he travels this remarkable journey. The brevity of the songs is well founded; they can best compared to snapshots in an all too short two year adventure. As I see it, Vedder chose very well using Hard Sun and Society as part of his narration. And the songs he wrote are a perfect fit as well. I put this cd on every day as I leave work. I am almost able to personally live this journey through theses words and melodies as I leave the city and head to my rural home. Brave Eddie. And thank you. Expand
  17. KellyP.
    Nov 25, 2007
    10
    This album grows on you. It is too short but, I highly recommend it.
  18. BeataB.
    Nov 5, 2007
    10
    Hear hear Paul M. I wholeheartedly agree. The soundtrack fits the messages of the movie perfectly, one of which is the continuous internal struggle of humanity to find that perfect fit between the complexities of the modern world and the simplicity that can be provided to us for free through nature. The music is truly beautiful and thought provoking - no matter the length of the songs.
  19. MartinL.
    Oct 31, 2007
    10
    Playing non-stop in my car!
  20. PH.l
    Oct 30, 2007
    10
    Guaranteed!
  21. IC
    Oct 29, 2007
    10
    Anything Vedder does is awesome. He is a metaphorical God who can put thoughts into song into feeling with only an ounce of energy. What he writes, sings and touches, is in my opinion- the best music I have ever heard in my lifetime. Sean Penn has a keen eyesight (and ear) for what people want to know. him asking Eddie to sing the entire soundtrack (and play most all the instruments) was Anything Vedder does is awesome. He is a metaphorical God who can put thoughts into song into feeling with only an ounce of energy. What he writes, sings and touches, is in my opinion- the best music I have ever heard in my lifetime. Sean Penn has a keen eyesight (and ear) for what people want to know. him asking Eddie to sing the entire soundtrack (and play most all the instruments) was a natural. I give this cd a huge 10. Expand
  22. MarkH.
    Oct 23, 2007
    5
    Without a doubt, there are some good songs on this album. As a soundtrack it is pretty decent but as an album I think it is a poor effort on the part of Vedder. The lyrics could have been a little more cryptic but what can you expect for a soundtrack?
  23. PaulB.
    Oct 17, 2007
    5
    Neither here nor there really, but exactly what i was expecting.
  24. JohnP.
    Oct 16, 2007
    10
    Awesome album- Eddie Vedder fans will love this.
  25. KellyR.
    Oct 9, 2007
    10
    beautifully written and sung, makes one cry.
  26. SashoK.
    Oct 9, 2007
    10
    Its a great soundtrack album, calm and quiet except for a few songs. Eddie did this one in a week and a half. To the previous poster and to the others that dont know: Hard Sun and Society are covers, not original Eddie songs. And one more thing: all the songs on this album are performed by Ed except some help from Sleater Kinney's singer backing vocals on Hard Sun and also backing Its a great soundtrack album, calm and quiet except for a few songs. Eddie did this one in a week and a half. To the previous poster and to the others that dont know: Hard Sun and Society are covers, not original Eddie songs. And one more thing: all the songs on this album are performed by Ed except some help from Sleater Kinney's singer backing vocals on Hard Sun and also backing vocals and guitar from the original songwriter of Society. I give this album a 10 because its growing on me and it becomes better with every new listen, thats the power of Ed's melodies , which is the power of Pearl Jam also, his amazing melodies and his beautiful vocal. Expand
  27. JeffS
    Oct 9, 2007
    8
    I might raise the 8 to a 9 over time, but nothing blew me away immediately. I am a huge Pearl Jam fan, but sometimes songs take awhile to grow on me. After listening to this a few times, things are growing on me already. I am thinking Guaranteed may be my favorite song so far....beautiful, and the lyrics remind me of my own life, I would have loved to hear Eddie use more of his voice as I might raise the 8 to a 9 over time, but nothing blew me away immediately. I am a huge Pearl Jam fan, but sometimes songs take awhile to grow on me. After listening to this a few times, things are growing on me already. I am thinking Guaranteed may be my favorite song so far....beautiful, and the lyrics remind me of my own life, I would have loved to hear Eddie use more of his voice as an instrument like on earlier Pearl Jam and the Dead Man Walking soundtrack(and Merkinball), on the beautiful song Long Road. But you can't have everything, and we must remember it was his first solo album. I only saw the last 20 minutes of the movie(friend led me into wrong theater), but it really seems to fit it from what I've seen. Expand
  28. TopcatMe
    Oct 8, 2007
    10
    Excellent! Eerily reminiscent of early Neil Young, poignant yet powerful, mellow yet militant, and short yet symphonic! I can't get the music out of my mind and it's been a very long time since any music's moved me like that. Hope the movie is as well done as the soundtrack. Kudos Eddie - well done!
  29. SteveS.
    Oct 7, 2007
    10
    Movie is awesome and the is partly to do with the soundtrack vedder and penn did awesome jobs .
  30. ArasB
    Oct 1, 2007
    10
    Great song....society is a phenomenal song.
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. These songs all feel like a score, and that's not necessarily a good thing. They all seem to be of a piece, but musically there isn't enough imagination to distinguish them, to set the tension of dynamic in motion.
  2. Vedder effectively conjures the endless possibilities of the open road with sparse, never morose, tracks.
  3. 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, even without its real-life inspiration.