Pearl Jam have released the first track from the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's forthcoming documentary Pearl Jam Twenty. "Crown of Thorns" was originally written and performed by Mother Love Bone, the late Eighties band that included Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard. That band fell apart when singer Andrew Wood died in 1990 as a result of a heroin overdose, which set the stage for Pearl Jam's formation the following year.
In the liner notes for the soundtrack, Crowe recalls that Eddie Vedder once told him that there was one Wood song he would be "honored to sing one day." Pearl Jam debuted their version of "Crown of Thorns" years later, and this rendition of the tune was recorded at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on October 22nd, 2000.
The Pearl Jam Twenty soundtrack won't be in stores until September 20th, but you can pre-order it from Pearl Jam now.