Pearl Jam”s soundtrack to Cameron Crowe”s documentary about the band, “Pearl Jam 20,” won”t be out until Sept. 20, but today, the Seattle group released its cover of Mother Love Bone”s “Crown of Thorns.”
Mother Love Bone ended with lead singer Andrew Wood”s fatal overdose in 1990. Pearl Jam was then born partially out the remnants with MLB bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard forming the band.
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This live version of “Crown of Thorns” comes from Pearl Jam”s Oct. 22, 2000 show at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. PJ’s version is very similar, but sounds a little less raw than Mother Love Bone’s original. Wood and Vedder’s voices are so different, it’s hard to make any comparisons on that end.
The song was apparently a favorite of Pearl Jam lead singer”s Eddie Vedder. In the CD booklet for the soundtrack, Crowe write: “I asked Vedder about Andrew Wood, the late singer-songwriter of Mother Love Bone, whose passing left the place that Vedder would later fill. Though Vedder chose not to name the song, he did say there was one Wood composition he would be honored to sing ‘one day.’ He declined to say more.”
Which do you like better?