20. Robin Pecknold — Corduroy
If Pearl Jam was or is your jam, you may know about “Pearl Jam” week on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show in 2013. It featured Pearl Jam covers by a variety of acts through the week, among them Chris Cornell (with the Avett Brothers), and Robin Pecknold (with Grizzly Bear guitarist Dan Rossen).
Cornell was an obvious choice–his hit song “Hunger Strike” featured a duet with Eddie Vedder even before Pearl Jam was called Pearl Jam. Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes was a riskier choice.The Fleet Foxes have the Seattle connection, and started out on the Sub Pop label, but their refined folkie sound and Pecknold’s measured voice have little in common with Pearl Jam’s rawness and heft. But it’s that contrast that makes Pecknold’s “Corduroy” worthwhile. The three-piece band doesn’t try to compete with Pearl Jam’s original, but the performance draws Pecknold out into a louder, rougher-edged version of himself. — Tom McDonald
19. Iron Horse — Yellow Ledbetter
If you like this bluegrass Pearl Jam cover, good news: There’s a whole album of ’em! Pickin’ On Pearl Jam delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Results are mixed, as they usually are with these sorts of novelty genre-crossing covers albums, but when they work, they work. And “Yellow Ledbetter” works. — Jane Callaway
18. Kevin Davis & Jason Lamb — Wishlist
Full disclose: I know Kevin Davis a little via the world of Bob Dylan nuts, which is how I have Can’t Find a Better Fan, his years-old Pearl Jam covers EP that doesn’t seem to exist on the internet. He and duet partner Jason Lamb cover a few of the classics, but, showing that you indeed can’t find a better fan, they know the deep cuts, and tackle plenty. My favorite is “Wishlist.” — Ray Padgett
17. Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant — Long Road
In 1997, Michael Stipe (REM) and Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) teamed up during a Tibet House Benefit Concert, an annual event to help preserve Tibetan culture and identity. They’d collaborated in the past, but this time their song choice was surprising: rather than dueting on a song from their own back catalogs, they presented a Pearl Jam deep cut, “The Long Road.” The song had been the b-side of the Merkin Ball EP, which was itself a mere spin off (outtakes, really) of Neil Young’s 1995 Mirror Ball album, recorded with Pearl Jam as his backing band.
We have an audio recording of the Stipe/Merchant performance, but it’s not professionally recorded. You will hear a chair creaking loudly, and in the murk it’s unclear at first which singer is doing the singing. But when the second voice finally comes in, it becomes obvious who is who, and it also becomes clear what the singers are up to. It’s a hair-raising moment. This second voice soars above and beyond the first; it wails and it wavers in a way that transports you to the Himalayan plateau, or maybe a higher plane than that. Given this soundscape, and the nature of the benefit, you can’t help but hear a Buddhist perspective in the lyrics (whatever Eddie Vedder himself had in mind when he wrote them). The singers take a modest song and transform it for a few moments into a spiritual exercise–or, if you’re not that way inclined, a good old-fashioned magic carpet ride. — Tom McDonald
16. Allison Crowe — Indifference
In the original iteration, from Pearl Jam’s second album, Vs, in 1993, “Indifference” was a slow-burning moody slice of stagey angst, with echoes of “Hurt” lingering within its construction, perhaps with similar intent, awash with doomy hammond and discordantly chiming guitar. Not Eddie Vedder’s finest outing, erring too far into the theatrical. Yet, in the hands of Canadian singer Allison Crowe, it is somewhat transformed. Yes, the vocals are still of someone in pain, but the sound is more organic, a world-weary moan. The backing is subdued, piano and guitar, in the main, with some percussion. The build is slower and more intense, more believable. Crowe has been ploughing her own idiosyncratic furrow for many years now, working solo and in band setups. Whilst she does write, it is her covers that have gained her most attention. This is one of three PJ covers she has tackled, along with equally fine renditions of “Better Man” and “Release.” — Seuras Og
15. Umphrey’s McGee — Release (Red Rocks)
Umphrey’s McGee (AKA UM) is a group from South Bend, Indiana. They have frequently played at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. And (according to the site All Things Umphreys) the group has performed “Release” live at least 17 times. The unique thing about all of Umphrey’s live covers of this tune is that it’s not always the full song. Sometimes they use the melody of the tune for an outro or transition into something else (which truly makes it their own). — Aleah Fitzwater
14. The Gaslight Anthem — State of Love and Trust
Jeff Ament is on record not loving the official version of “State of Love and Trust,” which was released on the Singles soundtrack. It was recorded with their new drummer, Dave Abbruzzzese. He prefers the original version released with their original drummer, Dave Krusen, which wasn’t released until 2009, as a Ten bonus track.
Maybe he should listen to The Gaslight Anthem’s live version, though. They play the song with a faster pace than Pearl Jam and the kind of abandon that they only hint at in their official version. Even the break is wilder and more ragged. Sure, that’s how live versions are, but it really sounds like The Gaslight Anthem capture the essence of the song more than Pearl Jam did on either of their studio versions. — Riley Haas
13. Miley Cyrus — Just Breathe
Miley Cyrus’ Backyard Sessions have a simplicity to them that is like no other. Her raw, raspy voice is wabi sabi, making it perfect for covering Pearl Jam and other ’90s and early 2000s alt/rock bands. Her “Just Breathe” is a folkish, full-sounding sonic background featuring two guitars with seamless running eighty notes. She leaps from her chest voice to head voice while maintaining vocal distortion (effortlessly). She sounds wise, aged far beyond her actual years. This is another cover where a female vocalist has managed to capture a bit of the je-ne-sais-quoi of Eddie Vedder. Of course, she takes the feeling a step further, swapping out Vedder’s smoother delivery for one that’s a bit more rough around the edges. — Aleah Fitzwater
12. Eric Church — Better Man
Shade wearing, Springsteen anthem-izing, drivin’ to Talladega in Daddy’s Old Winnebago celebratin’, ’round here buzz catchin’, country megastar Eric Church rocks. Sorry, just got carried away thinkin’ about some fabulous Church songs. Anyway, while he has an armada of megahits to get through during his live performances, including six number one country hits, Church is not averse to kicking out a sweet cover. During his 2017 tour, Church performed roughly 40 songs a night (!) and along with his own slew of hits and deep cuts, he went all in with the covers. His song choices directly correlated to where he was playing that night, or thereabouts. There was Billy Joel’s “Allentown” in Pennsylvania. The Allmans’ “Midnight Rider” in the south (Nashville). Once he hit the Pacific Northwest, it was, you guessed it, Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”…and this rousing, heartfelt rendition of “Better Man”. The crowd is into it y’all (their hooting and cheering is audible throughout) and so is Eric, who rocks faithfully, passionately and powerfully. — Hope Silverman
11. Turin Brakes — Black
Turin Brakes are an English duo who are about as far from the Sub Pop Seattle scene as you can imagine, two nice boys with acoustic guitars, baring their emotions both delicately and sensitively. OK, they also perform with a band, but the menu is much and the same. With 10 albums of original material to their name, covers have tended to be an afterthought, as part of various artist tribute sets or for the flip of singles. However, they have also releases a couple of EPs, with surprisingly diverse borrowings; Chim Chim Cheree, anyone, from Mary Poppins? This song is a well-crafted croon that shows off one of Vedder’s best vocals. The Brakes duo, Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, strip it right back into a bedroom confessional from a lonely boy’s single bed. It maintains a sweet plangency that maybe more can relate to, over Vedder’s more cocksure swagger. From 2010’s Everybody Knows Every Day’s a Wicked Black Day, can you guess the other three covers? (Clue: Neil Young, Buddy Holly and Chris Isaak.) — Seuras Og
