Cosmic Harmony
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2009
- Posts
- 12,935
- Reaction score
- 24
1. Can't Keep
2. Sleeping by Myself
3. Without You
4. More Than You Know
5. Goodbye
6. Broken Heart
7. Satellite
8. Longing to Belong
9. Hey Fahkah
10. You're True
11. Light Today
12. Sleepless Nights
13. Once in a While
14. Waving Palms
15. Tonight You Belong to Me
16. Dream a Little Dream
"Ukulele Songs" is the second solo album by Pearl Jam frontman, Eddie Vedder and was released no more than a couple months ago. As the title says it is an album played entirely on ukulele by Vedder himself and consists of mainly short songs, five covers, and very minimal instrumentation.
It's not exactly a secret that I am a fan of the ukulele as an instrument and it is also not a secret that as far as instruments go the ukulele simply isn't one that offers the widest range of emotional expression. It's a very delicate, simple instrument and quite honestly a very far cry from the grunge scene that Eddie Vedder help pioneer as a part of Pearl Jam. That said however Eddie is a very expressive singer regardless of the medium of style he takes on and I think he did as much as is physically possible to do with the ukulele on this album. Take "Even Flow" and then think of the exact opposite and you get the bulk of "Ukulele Songs".
If you're not really paying attention then this album seems to be rather dull with most of the songs appearing quite similar to each other and I would be lying if I said that wasn't in some way true but there really is so much more going on in this album than just that. Quite contrary to his mumbling reputation you can understand every word that Eddie utters on this album and his unique baritone voice is actually showcased quite wonderfully by the very sparse instrumentation (which I will touch on more a bit later). Each song is a short narrative that to me is very atmospheric. I picture "Ukulele Songs" opening up on the scene of a lone man playing ukulele while looking out over the ocean just before the sun comes up and putting his roaming thoughts on life and love into song with islander-like crooning. I think it's very touching honestly.
Now back to the instrumental side of the that I said I'd get to; The majority of the songs are just Eddie playing ukulele with occasional instances of two ukulele parts layered in and out of each other and that's about as musically deep this album gets from a playing stand point. That said however, there are a few exceptions. "Tonight You Belong To Me" is a duet with a female singer named Chan Marshall, "Sleepless Nights" has backing vocals contributed by Glen Hansard, and "Longing To Belong" has cello (the only instance of a non-ukulele instrument being used on this album) played by Chris Worswick.
I attribute two things to making an album as musically small as this "work". The first is that at a hair under 35 minutes it is a very short album and doesn't go on so long as to drag it's feet or beat a dead horse. With only two exceptions ("You're True" and "Without You") all of the songs on "Ukulele Songs" are under three minutes long with "Waving Songs", a short instrumental, being the shortest song at only 37 seconds and "Hey Fahkah" being the shortest actual track on the album at a mere 8 seconds. The second thing is Eddie's ability to convey his emotions through his lyrics. There is a lullaby like quality to this album with how gentle it is but it doesn't make you want to drift to sleep but instead drift away into the ocean.
Also the packaging for the CD is really cool. It comes in a book similar to David Gilmour's "On An Island" (which coincidentally has the same atmospheric vibe on "Ukulele Songs") with lots of cool pictures in it and handwritten lyrics.
If there was one complaint I had to make about the album though it'd be that individually the songs seem to end abruptly and feel kind of incompletely, BUT you have to take them for what they are. Besides, it's a short album, it's easy to listen to it in one sitting.
Here are a few songs for you all to sample:
Final analysis: If you don't like the sound of the ukulele then this is an album that you should obviously steer away from. Otherwise I think it's something to give a listen. It's a very nice album to listen to, especially if you need a some music to listen to as you watch the sun rise or set. Again though, you have to take this album for what it is, a sweet album of soft....ukulele songs.
this is about all I needed to see.
Anyway reading your review opened my eyes and ears a little and my interest is peaked a little. Great written review as everyone said. You are right though. The sparse instrumentation is great for Vedders vocals and critics might notice you can understand him better without all the heavy music playing alongside it. I find Vedder's vocals very soothing and I liken the vocals here to being the most like "No Code" where Pearl Jam experimented with more ethnic sounds in their music. The standout track for me was "Longing To Belong". 
Why did I do that.. Made it to like 15 seconds of it..
