Mirror Ball is the 23rd studio album by Neil Young, and features members of Pearl Jam. It was released on August 7, 1995, through Reprise Records. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States. In the same year, Pearl Jam released an accompanying EP titled Merkin Ball.
As grunge peaked in popularity in the early 1990s, some of the bands expressed admiration for Young‘s career and influence. At least one music writer noted a similarity in ethos and style between the emerging genre and Young‘s work, dubbing him the “Godfather of Grunge”.
Of the younger groups, Young had a particularly close relationship with Pearl Jam. He explains:
“We’re sympathetic. They’re definitely old souls, they’ve been around. Musically there’s youthful energy, but without the sound of inexperience. And our musical styles are compatible; it’s like a big wall of sound with a lot of nuances in there.”
Pearl Jam incorporated “Rockin’ in the Free World” into their setlists throughout their 1992 tour. In October, both artists performed, separately, at Bob Dylan‘s The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, and Young invited the band to play an acoustic set two weeks later at that year’s Bridge School Benefit concert. Pearl Jam appeared as an opening act on Young‘s 1993 tour of North America with Booker T. & the M.G.’s. In September, Young joined the group to perform “Rockin’ in the Free World” at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.
In January 1995, Young asked Eddie Vedder to induct him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later that week, Young agreed to appear alongside Pearl Jam at a benefit supporting Voters for Choice, where he performed new songs “Song X” and “Act of Love” with his longtime collaborators Crazy Horse. At the benefit, Pearl Jam joined Young on stage for an encore performance of “Act of Love”, which the band had learned by recording Young‘s set at the Hall of Fame ceremony. Young was inspired by the performance and became eager to record the song with the band in a studio.
“I said, ‘Maybe we ought to record it. It sounds good.’ They were thinking the same thing. So we set a date to go in and record. I wanted to have more than one song, so I came in with three songs in hand”.
Tracklist:
- Song X
- Act of Love
- I’m the Ocean
- Big Green Country
- Truth Be Known
- Downtown
- What Happened Yesterday
- Peace and Love
- Throw Your Hatred Down
- Scenery
- Fallen Angel
The songs “I Got Id” and “Long Road”, both written and sung by Vedder, were cut from the album. Both songs were recorded at the tail end of the Mirror Ball sessions. The tracks were later released on Pearl Jam’s 1995 Merkin Ball EP.
Credits
Neil Young: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pump organ
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament: bass guitar
Stone Gossard: electric guitar
Jack Irons: drums
Mike McCready: electric guitar
Eddie Vedder: vocals on “Peace and Love”, background vocals
Production
Brendan O’Brien: production, mixing, electric guitar, piano, background vocals
John Aguto, Sam Hofstedt, Chad Munsey: assistant engineering
Nicky Alexander, Girsh: drum technicians
Joel Bernstein: production assistance, typography, and mosaic portrait of Neil Young
Gary Burden: art direction and design
Rhonda Burns: CD label computer graphics
Nick DiDia: additional engineering
Henry Diltz: back cover and inside photo
Brett Eliason: engineering
Emek: logo lettering
Joe Gastwirt: Analog to HDCD transfers, digital editing, digital mastering
John Hausman: production assistance
KPOB: art direction and design assistance
Tim Mulligan: digital editing, digital mastering
John Nowland: Analog to HDCD transfers
Jeff Ousley, Tim “Scully” Quinlan: guitar technicians
“Pflash” Pflaumer: assistance
Sal Trentino: amplifier technician
Ian Geiger: guitar technician
George Webb: bass technician
Keith Wissmar: ambience
