''Ukulele Songs'' is the second solo studio album by American singer and
Pearl Jam frontman
Eddie Vedder. It was released on May 31, 2011.
The album is composed of original songs and new arrangements of several standards.
Cover art
The cover art features a photograph of the sculptural work "The Lost Correspondent" by
Jason deCaires Taylor. The sculpture is underwater with many others at a dive site called Moliniere Bay – Underwater Sculpture Park,
Grenada.
Critical reception
The album has been met with generally favorable reviews and currently has a 68% rating on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine gave the album three and a half stars, saying "The
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
doesn't allow for the widest range of expression, which makes it a challenging foil for Eddie Vedder, who never met a feeling he couldn't drive through a wall. But this uke-suffused album stands up because he adapts the instrument to his idiosyncratic needs."
Tours
Eddie Vedder did a solo tour through various parts of North America to promote the album, with support from
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
.
Vedder stated that the shows would be performed in smaller venues than those used by Pearl Jam. He cites this as a relief, as he claims "It's hard to be subtle when the back row of the crowd is 200 yards away". The tour began on June 15, 2011 and finished on July 16 in Seattle. The tour received positive reviews from critics.
In 2012 Vedder was scheduled to play shows across the Southern United States beginning in April.
However, these dates were postponed until November, after Vedder suffered temporary nerve damage in his right arm after an earlier injury to his back.
European shows started in July 2012, which included his first solo shows in the United Kingdom.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2011 albums
Eddie Vedder albums
Albums produced by Eddie Vedder
Albums produced by Adam Kasper
Folk rock albums by American artists
Monkeywrench Records albums