Pearl Jam 's lead singer , Eddie Vedder Neil Young 's classic , "The Needle and the Damage Done." The song, originally recorded in 1972, is part of the album Harvest . Vedder, a self-proclaimed Young fan, re-recorded the track for a compilation intended to raise funds for The Bridge School . Although shorter than the original version, the anguish portrayed in the lyrics is still present.
Neil Young wrote "The Needle and the Damage Done" describing some of what was happening in the early 70s and the drug abuse. Young had several friends who died of heroin overdoses. This includes his band's then guitarist, Danny Whitten , who died in April 1972, two months after the album Harvest was released.
The charity compilation already has a name and release date. Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young is scheduled for release on April 25th. Besides Vedder's version, other tracks from the two planned volumes have already been released. One of them is Stephen Marley Bob Marley 's son) of "Old Man." The other is American singer Chris Pierce version of "Southern Man." In addition, artists such as Fiona Apple , The Doobie Brothers , and Australian singer Courtney Barnett will also have their versions included in this recording.
Eddie Vedder's version is shorter than the original.
Pegi, Neil Young's ex-wife, founded The Bridge School in 1986, specializing in education for children with physical disabilities and speech difficulties. In 1989, a tribute album titled The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young was released to raise funds for the school and featured covers by The Flaming Lips , Nick Cave , Pixies , Sonic Youth , and Dinosaur Jr.
Check out Eddie Vedder's version, followed by Neil Young's original version of "The Needle and the Damage Done," as well as the tracklist for the first volume of the compilation:
Tracklist – Heart Of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young – Volume One
Brandi Carlile – Philadelphia
Fiona Apple – Heart of Gold
Mumford & Sons – Harvest
Eddie Vedder – The Needle and The Damage Done
Courtney Barnett – Lotta Love
Stephen Marley – Old Man
Sharon Van Etten – Here We Are In The Years
Lumineers – Sugar Mountain
The Doobie Brothers with Allison Russell – Comes A Time
Steve Earle – Long May You Run
Rodney Crowell – Mr. Soul
Anders Osborne – Cowgirl in the Sand
Charlie Greene – Such A Woman
Chris Pierce – Southern Man
READ ALSO : The Bear soundtrack
