Hey Pearl Jam superfans, I know you’re well familiar with the full-body goosebumps experience of “Yellow Ledbetter” B-side “Footsteps,” but there’s an entirely different flavor in play when Chris Cornell sings the song. And it’s chillingly beautiful.
Cornell took to the stage on Jimmy Fallon’s show Monday night, alongside two of the Avett Brothers, to pay tribute to Pearl Jam during a week of featured performances with and including the Seattle rock legends. PJ just released their 10th studio LP, Lightning Bolt, a surprisingly energized and experimental new album that sees the band in their strongest form since 2002’s Riot Act (read our full review).
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Cornell’s haunting interpretation of the melody is matched by the sparse, slow strumming of the Avett boys, with some harmonica added in for atmosphere. Watch it below, then listen to the gripping, heartbreaking original, which is free of the harmonica that inhabited the re-release on the 2003 B-sides & rarities collection Lost Dogs.
The track, which fans know as the final act of PJ’s “Mamasan Trilogy” connecting the stories between “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps,” is one of two songs that share the same instrumentation. When “Footsteps” was recorded, Cornell had actually penned a song called “Times of Trouble” around the same chords, which was then used in the release of the 1990 Pearl Jam/Soundgarden hybrid project Temple of the Dog, a tribute to late Mother Love Bone singer (and Cornell’s best friend) Andy Wood.
Also check out a backstage interview with Cornell on Andy Wood, Temple of The Dog, the connection to “Footsteps” and Pearl Jam’s early days:
Tuesday night, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes will take to Fallon’s show to cover “Corduroy,” backed by surprise special guests, while on Wednesday, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready will perform with country star Dierks Bently and the Roots. The week will tie up its Pearl Jam featured run with two performances by PJ themselves on Thursday and Friday.
