Mirror Ball

Neil Young Album Reviews

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The collaboration between Neil Young and Pearl Jam dates back to at least 1994 when Pearl Jam played the Bridge School Benefit Concert. Since then Neil & Pearl Jam have recorded and toured together.

From New Musical Express article "Reflective Glory" (07/15/95) by Steve Sutherland & Kevin Cummins on recording "Mirror Ball" (listen to music track clips here) in the aftermath of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain's suicide:

From MOJO Magazine:

For more on the musical collaborations of Eddie Vedder and Neil, see Pearl Jam and Neil Young page with details on Bridge School concerts, the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame induction, and more.

Another musical connection on "Mirror Ball" involves Led Zeppelin. When Young was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on January 13, 1995 he joined Led Zeppelin onstage for an all out guitar duel with Jimmy Page. Performing a 10 minute "When The Levee's Gonna Break", Page and Young traded licks in what turned out to be a remarkable moment in TV rock. Later that year, Neil wrote the song "Downtown" about that historic night in New York City. From the lyrics "Downtown":

Rock critic Dave Marsh, who has been rather hard on Young and his music over the years, writes on Mirror Ball:

Check Neil's interview with Dave Marsh discussing the meaning of the song "I'm The Ocean" lyrics.

Here's a collection of reviews of their collaboration on Mirror Ball.


  • Houston Press
  • Cd Review
  • The Age - one of Australia's leading newspapers, July 8th, 1995
  • USA Today- 6/26/95
  • Musician Magazine
  • Ottawa Citizen
  • BAM
  • Nude as the News: Pearl Jam: Merkin Ball
  • "Mirror Ball shows Young still has a few years left" by Scott Deskin in MIT - The Tech (July 26, 1995):

  • From Sweden's Passagen:



    Subject: Neil News from New ICE
    NY is mentioned twice in the current issuse of ICE:

    First, under the "CD Watchdog" column wherein people write in to complain about stuff, a guy wote in upset that MB had been released on vinyl as a two record set at a price of $18 when it's only 55:19 long. His point was that if NY prefers vinyl, why make those who share his beliefs pay more when it could have fit on one LP? ICE went to Joel Bernstein. His response:

    "'Warner Bros. was going to issue Mirror Ball as a single LP,' Bernstein tells ICE in response. 'Over their objections, we insisted on two LPs. Yes, you could have fit Mirror Ball onto one LP; however, you would have drastically reduced the bass response. While it is certainly true that you can get an hour onto one LP, the ideal time for one side of an LP is roughly 18 minutes. You can go as far up as 22 minutes per side without any serious technical deterioration. How many one-hour LPs have there been, ever? Only cheesy classical records, where they tried to speed up Beethoven's 'Ninth" and put it out on a single LP, instead of three sides. Obviously, from the viewpoint of Warner Bros.' marketing department, their motivation was to keep it to a single LP. Unfortunately, the LP was devised as a 45-minute format. We're now at a 72-minute format. It's a technical propblem which, basically, no one is addressing.'"


    For more on the musical collaborations of Eddie Vedder and Neil, see Pearl Jam and Neil Young page with details on Bridge School concerts, the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame induction, and more.

    Also see: Black - Pearl Jam Fan Site

    Neil Young Album Reviews

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