When asked about his favorite song on Earthling (out Feb. 11), the new Eddie Vedder solo album he produced, Andrew Watt answers without hesitation.
“Live, ‘Rose of Jericho’ f–king kicks ass,” exclaims the producer behind hits by Justin Bieber, Camila Cabello, 5 Seconds of Summer and Dua Lipa. “OMG, it’s the most fun song to play for me.”
When Vedder’s newly minted touring band, The Earthlings, recently kicked into the song during a triumphant, electrifying set at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ, Watt’s words rang true. The group — comprised of Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and a wall of four guitars helmed by Vedder, Watt, current Pearl Jam auxiliary member Josh Klinghoffer and opening act Glen Hansard — tore through the song as if they’d been together for decades, even though they only started playing together as a touring unit late last year.
Not only did all the Earthling material hit the crowd with a welcoming sense of enthusiasm, so did the treasure trove of covers this group has been jamming on. At NJPAC, the Earthlings treated the music nerds in the crowd to wild versions of The La’s’ “Timeless Melody,” Pretenders’ “Precious” and a raucous spin on the 1984 Little Steven anthem “I Am A Patriot” after Vedder shared a story about hanging with the Boss when Pearl Jam played the Sea Hear Now Festival in Asbury Park, NJ, last fall.
“We have a revolving door of covers,” explains Smith, on the phone from his home in Los Angeles before heading to New York for the Earthlings’ two-night stand at The Beacon Theatre. “We rehearsed 21 different songs. A bunch of Pearl Jam songs, you name it.”
At NJPAC, Eddie and the boys gave the crowd, “Wishlist,” the early fan favorite “Dirty Frank” and an unglued run-through the longtime PJ concert staple “Porch,” which found Vedder prowling around the stage looking for something to climb up like he used to do 30 years ago. He opted to toss tambourines into the crowd instead.
For Klinghoffer, learning this crazy array of covers proved to be a master class in music appreciation with a man who has guided his tastes since he was a kid.
“I didn’t know until doing this album with Eddie how much he was into music from that period in the mid-to-late ’80s,” he remarks. “I always think of him as liking The Who and then Minutemen and Fugazi and stuff like that. But doing this record with him, we talked a lot about it. Obviously, he likes Pete Townshend, but then we started talking about the guys he had on his albums in the ’80s who went on to be in Big Country. He has a real appreciation for this particular sound and Peter Gabriel and all this great stuff where rock music developed or what it turned into in the ’80s. And I never imagined Eddie really listening to that kind of production or anything. That was one of the greatest moments of my life, going up to Seattle and just listening to records with him.”
Perhaps the most telling covers are the pair of sweet salutes to George Harrison they performed in Newark, a cover of “Here Comes The Sun” and their debut of a stirring rendition of the All Things Must Pass all-timer “Isn’t It A Pity.” No other song on Earthling is more indicative of the heavy Beatles vibe than “Mrs. Mills,” a beautiful ballad in the vein of Paul McCartney’s work with Elvis Costello on Spike and Mighty Like A Rose that serves as a tribute to the actual piano the Fabs used to record with at Abbey Road. It is also the same model Watt has in his own home studio.
“There’s a piano at Abbey Road Studios that The Beatles used and it’s still there,” Klinghoffer tells Billboard. “I played it. It’s still in Studio 2 or wherever The Beatles always worked at Abbey Road. And it was brought to them and left there by this easy listening singer back in England in the ’40s and ’50s called Mrs. Mills. That was her name. She looked like a homeroom teacher. But she left the piano, and The Beatles always called it the Mrs. Mills piano. It was a 1905 Steinway, a particular kind of upright. So Andrew, knowing this story, went out and found the same kind of piano, and they called it the Mrs. Mills piano also at Andrew’s house, the same type as the one at Abbey Road. Eddie wrote this amazing lyric about the piano and how all these men can have their way with her but she’ll never leave with any of them. She stays where she is. It’s got this double meaning, and he name checks the people who played on Mrs. Mills in the recent past, like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Eddie was particularly proud of that lyric ’cause it came together so perfectly.”
“The piano sits in my basement,” adds Watt. “Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Paul McCartney have all made music on that piano in my house. Eddie, he was so inspired by that he wrote a song about it.”
“For Andrew, also, it meant so much to him, because Eddie is basically writing all about his studio,” explains Klinghoffer. “When he says something about the disco neon glow, Andrew has this neon sign that says ‘disco’ in his studio. So it was extra heartwarming for Andrew and his engineer Paul, because Eddie was immortalizing their studio.”
Listening to Watt and Klinghoffer as they talk about working with someone whose music they grew up on, it’s clear the sense of wonder hasn’t worn off.
“You can’t make it up, right?” asked Watt. “There’s proof there. Eddie is one of the greatest people ever. Dude, he is literally the soundtrack of my life. I was born in 1990. One, two, three, four, five against one…that’s my childhood. I’d be going nuts in my bedroom to that stuff. The other night, we played ‘Better Man’ and I felt like I was on the wrong side of the stage.”
“There were these moments where Andrew and I would just kinda lean back and have these looks in our eyes that just said, ‘What the f–k are we doing right now’ while we’re making this record with Eddie,” adds Klinghoffer. “Like, multiple times a day. Ed would sing or he would just be sitting there, writing this thing. And we’re just looking at each other and entire childhood dreams were being passed between our eyes. It was pretty special.”
Hearing Chad Smith put his two young pals over in his quick hello with Billboard was akin to hearing a proud uncle radiating over the success of his favorite nephews.
“Andrew is the catalyst,” Smith proclaims. “He’s like the sun that all of the planets revolve around. And he loves the Chili Peppers and he loves Pearl Jam — those are the bands he grew up on. So the opportunity to work with Ed is a dream come true for young Mandrew. And he can do anything, going from producing Justin Bieber and all the pop sh-t to recording Ozzy Osbourne and making it sound legit. But he loves all kinds of music – he lives and breathes it. And I just so happen to be his favorite drummer, so whenever he needs me, I’m over there. I’ve played on Dua Lipa and stuff like that, and it was fun. It’s a different hat to put on. He’s infectious in his enthusiasm and his energy. This is the guy that put Miley Cyrus, Robert Trujillo, Yo-Yo Ma and Elton-f–king-John together on a track.”
In regard to Klinghoffer, he was more than elated to be working once again with his Pepper brother on an album — literally at the same time the Chilis are working on their own new album with returning champion John Frusciante.
“I love Josh,” he beams. “He’s an amazing musician, a f–king great bandmate and a great guy. I’m so happy he landed in with the Pearl Jam guys. Makes perfect sense. He loves that band, and he can do anything and play anything. I made lots of records with Josh, including the new Morrissey album, so going out and playing together is really fun. We have such history together.”
“Chad and I being able to just pick up and play together again has been great,” interjects Klinghoffer. “When we played together onstage at the Ohana Festival last year, just how familiar it felt from doing that with him for 10 years. What a way to leave that band. I mean, I left the Chili Peppers in December of 2019. Eight days later, I talked to Eddie about going on the road with Pearl Jam, and then less than a year later I’m back in the studio with Chad. And since we haven’t really toured a lot since the pandemic, nothing feels like it’s that different.”
But at the same time, Smith also expresses gratitude to the man who, at NJPAC before his big drum solo, reminded the audience “that drum kit – that silver, beautiful machine that he is the engine of – does not need to elevate or rotate to do its job.”
“I’ve known Ed since we toured with Pearl Jam literally 30 years ago,” he tells Billboard. “And we stayed friends and would see each other around and we’ve played together through the years. But we never did a record or toured together in a band. So it was really nice to have this opportunity to come up and do this with an old friend.”