Picking just ten key songs written by Eddie Vedder over his whole career? Yeah, that wasn’t easy. But we gave it a shot — trying to highlight the tracks that, for one reason or another, define who he is as the voice and heart of Pearl Jam.
RELEASE
I’ll ride the wave, where it takes me…
Yeah, we could’ve gone with Alive, Black, Jeremy, or Porch — and no doubt, they all deserve a spot. But Release? It hits different. It’s the closing track on Ten, and over the years, it’s become one of the band’s most played show openers. It’s the moment Vedder’s voice first reached out and grabbed you by the soul. That instant connection between Eddie and the fans? It starts right here — and it’s never let go.
SMALL TOWN
I seem to recognize your face…
This tune set the tone for so many acoustic ballads Vedder would write later on. It’s got R.E.M.’s fingerprints all over it — no surprise, since they were one of his all-time favorite bands. Whether with the full band or just Eddie on his own, Small Town is always somewhere in the setlist.
REARVIEWMIRROR
I’m not about to give thanks or apologize…
A full-throttle punk rocker off Vs., Rearviewmirror channels The Who’s epic energy and smashes it into early ’80s California hardcore vibes. Raw, fast, defiant — it’s rock’n’roll the way Vedder bleeds it.
CORDUROY
The waiting drove me mad…
Along with Do The Evolution, this one’s a straight-up fan favorite. It’s edgy, it’s urgent, and it pulses with echoes of P.I.L. and Talking Heads — bands Vedder seriously digs. A must-have on any Eddie essentials list.
BETTER MAN
Can’t find a better man…
Eddie wrote this when he was just a kid, way before the Seattle scene blew up. While his future bandmates were still grinding in obscure punk bands, he already had this song in his back pocket. When it finally landed on Vitalogy, it became one of the biggest songs of his entire career — maybe the one he’ll always be remembered for.
IMMORTALITY
I’m running in the dark…
A fan favorite for a reason. Immortality feels like a spiritual cousin to Neil Young’s Cortez the Killer — deep, dark, and hypnotic. It’s Vedder at his most haunting and heartfelt.
LIGHT YEARS
I’ve come up with riddles and jokes about war…
Without this bittersweet mid-tempo gem, which originally had big Springsteen I’m on Fire vibes, we might’ve never gotten later masterpieces like Love Boat Captain or Unthought Known. It’s that important.
SOON FORGET
Sorry is the fool who trades his soul for a Corvette…
If it weren’t for a late-’90s dare with Chris Cornell, Eddie might’ve never picked up the ukulele and recorded Soon Forget for Binaural. And without that? No Ukulele Songs, no stripped-down magic. This one’s the spark that lit a whole different side of him.
I AM MINE
The North is to South what the clock is to time…
The lead single off Riot Act sums up Vedder’s worldview in one tight, poetic package. It’s personal, it’s political, and it’s pure Eddie. No way you leave I Am Mine off a list that’s trying to explain who this guy really is.
GUARANTEED
I knew all the rules but the rules did not know me, guaranteed.
The closer from Into The Wild, Eddie’s first solo album and the soundtrack to Sean Penn’s unforgettable film. This track opened the door to a whole new chapter — and without it, we might not have ever heard Just Breathe or Future Days. It’s a quiet anthem, but man, it cuts deep.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Mark Lanegan, R.E.M., Radiohead, Cat Power, Dead Kennedys