Listen to the first song from the new Eddie Vedder solo album, 'Earthling'

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has announced an upcoming solo album and dropped the first song from it, ‘Long Way’.

The new solo record is titled Earthling, although there’s no official release date for it yet. It will be released on Vedder’s own Seattle Surf imprint through Republic.

As per Pitchfork, Vedder unveiled the first song from his new album today, September 8th, posting a lyric video for ‘Long Way’ online. ‘Long Way’ is also available to pre-order via Pearl Jam’s Ten Club fan organisation as a 7-inch single here. The track narrates the sad tale of a lost love who left but never went away, continuing to haunt a lonely man.

He’s assembled quite the crack team for it too, with Andrew Watt (Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone), the reigning Grammy Producer of the Year, working alongside him for the first time. They’re also backed by former Red Hot Chilli Peppers member Josh Klinghoffer on guitar and piano and current Chillis’ member Chad Smith on drums, as well as former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers alumni Benmont Tench playing the Hammond B3 organ.

Vedder has produced solo work sparingly over the years. Two of his solo records have been film soundtracks, the first one in 2007 for Into the Wild and again just last month for Sean Penn’s Flag Day. Earthling will be his first full solo album since 2011’s Ukulele Songs, which was a number four hit on the Billboard 200.

In Pearl Jam news, Vedder and co. will return to the stage for the first in a long three years on September 18th at the Sea.Hear.Now festival in New Jersey. This will be followed by both a solo and Pearl Jam set at his annual Ohana festival in California the following weekend.

For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.