Red Mosquito

Watt, a 31-year-old Long Island native and recent Grammy winner for producer of the year, has worked closely with such mega pop stars as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa as well as Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Elton John and Ozzy Osbourne. But he’s quick to confess that his first love has always been Pearl Jam. “I’m a super-fan who has probably seen them live more than 40 times,” he says. ”I grew up playing guitar along with their songs in my bedroom as a kid.”

“Earthling” evinces that let-it-rip energy, particularly on tracks such as the breakneck “Rose of Jericho,” the poppy, Split Enz-tinged “The Dark,” the heavy-riffed “Good and Evil” and “Fallout Today,” which grooves with a bit of T. Rex swagger. Elsewhere, “Invincible” bridges “Red Rain”-era Peter Gabriel sonics with snappy vocal phrasing a la Joe Strummer, while “The Haves” is a piano-led love ballad inspired by Vedder watching an older homeless couple walking hand-in-hand at Venice Beach.

Looking ahead, Vedder recently told MOJO that he expects to continue collaborating with Watt on a new Pearl Jam album, perhaps as soon as this year in between planned tours of North America and Europe. Not surprisingly, Watt is ecstatic at the prospect of furthering his work with his musical heroes: “I worship each and every one of them: my favorite bass player, lead guitar player, riff writer, drummer and singer could all be in the same room with me at some point, and I’m gonna die and go to heaven.”

joostone wrote:https://variety.com/2022/music/news/edd ... 235173364/

Watt, a 31-year-old Long Island native and recent Grammy winner for producer of the year, has worked closely with such mega pop stars as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa as well as Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Elton John and Ozzy Osbourne. But he’s quick to confess that his first love has always been Pearl Jam. “I’m a super-fan who has probably seen them live more than 40 times,” he says. ”I grew up playing guitar along with their songs in my bedroom as a kid.”

Looking ahead, Vedder recently told MOJO that he expects to continue collaborating with Watt on a new Pearl Jam album, perhaps as soon as this year in between planned tours of North America and Europe. Not surprisingly, Watt is ecstatic at the prospect of furthering his work with his musical heroes: “I worship each and every one of them: my favorite bass player, lead guitar player, riff writer, drummer and singer could all be in the same room with me at some point, and I’m gonna die and go to heaven.”

A host of legendary guests elevated “Earthling” even higher. Elton John duets with Vedder on the rollicking, classic Elton-sounding “Picture,” while Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on the frenetic, major-key punk song “Try,” which qualifies as perhaps his most unusual collaboration on record to date. Wonder kept Vedder and Watt waiting for six hours before he showed up to the studio (says Vedder: “In between, we wrote a song, and it’s gonna be a Pearl Jam song, and right now the working title is ‘Waiting for Stevie.’”). Upon arrival, he launched directly into his solo without ever hearing the full track.

Leatherhead wrote:I wanna know what Watt thinks of Binaural.

I thought he was a very nice person for as big of a Pearl Jam fan as he was.

wease wrote:

I thought he was a very nice person for as big of a Pearl Jam fan as he was.

Ed apparently thinks we’re all a bunch douchbags.

Leatherhead wrote:I wanna know what Watt thinks of Binaural.

wease wrote:

I thought he was a very nice person for as big of a Pearl Jam fan as he was.

Ed apparently thinks we’re all a bunch of douchebags.

Spoiler: show