Eddie Vedder Earthling

To imagine the Eddie Vedder of 1993 one day sharing a mic with Elton John is like imagining the Billy Corgan of 1994 eventually writing for Marianne Faithfull: not an improbability, a reimagining. But there they are, Elton and his piano, on a rollicking little number on Vedder’s Earthling called “Picture,” his voice as crinkled as a damp leather wallet. Amiable, tuneful, and inessential, “Picture” exemplifies the spirit of the Pearl Jam frontperson’s first non-soundtrack solo album since 2011: a suite of crunchy rockers intermingling with chamber pop, recorded with the help of Stevie Wonder here and Ringo Starr there, a space for musicians who, as a pandemic raged, still wanted to bro down, virtually or otherwise. Imagine Live From Eddie’s House, not Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1.