Mirror Ball

by Neil Young

Overview

Neil Young uses Pearl Jam on Mirror Ball much as he has used his perennial backup band Crazy Horse, looking for feel and spontaneity. At the start of the record, he can be heard instructing them: "No tuning, nothing," and the take of "I'm the Ocean" is an obvious run-through that became a master take. But Pearl Jam is not Crazy Horse; in place of the latter's primitive, non-swinging sound, the former boasts spirited rhythms and dense guitar interplay that Young makes excellent use of in a series of songs built out of simple, melodic riffs. Those songs come mostly in pairs: "Song X" and "Act of Love," the first two tracks, both seem to be about abortion, especially in its religious aspect, each containing a reference to "the holy war"; "What Happened Yesterday" and "Fallen Angel" are song fragments on which Young plays the pump organ; and "Downtown" and "Peace and Love" find Young addressing the musical and philosophical concerns of hippies and contain name-checks of Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Led Zeppelin. The songs also share highly imagistic lyrics that are allusive and frequently just obscure. At their best, notably on "I'm the Ocean" and "Scenery," they provide intriguing portraits of the artist -- "People my age/They don't do the things I do," Young sings in "Ocean" -- while "Scenery" is one of his bitter denunciations of celebrity. Such subject matter is not new for Young, and Mirror Ball is typically uneven. But it is always interesting musically, suggesting that he has found another catch-up that works. Probably due to the commercial power of Pearl Jam, the album became Young's highest-charting record since Harvest 23 years earlier, though it had a relatively short chart life. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	06/27/1995
Label:	Reprise / Warner Bros.
UPC:	0093624593423

Tracks

1. Song X
2. Act of Love
3. I'm the Ocean
4. Big Green Country
5. Truth Be Known
6. Downtown
7. What Happened Yesterday
8. Peace and Love
9. Throw Your Hatred Down
10. Scenery
11. Fallen Angel

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Neil Young   Primary Artist,Organ,Vocals,Pump Organ,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Pearl Jam   Guest Artist
Eddie Vedder   Vocals (Background)
Jeff Ament   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Mike McCready   Guitar (Electric)
Brendan O'Brien   Piano,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Stone Gossard   Guitar (Electric)
Jack Irons   Drums,Drums (Snare)

Technical Credits

Eddie Vedder   Composer
John Aguto   Assistant Engineer
John Hausman   Production Assistant
John Nowland   Transfers
Sam Hofstedt   Assistant Engineer
Nick DiDia   Engineer
Neil Young   Composer
Joe Gastwirt   Digital Mastering,Digital Editing,Transfers
Chad Munsey   Assistant Engineer
Emek   Logo Art
Joel Bernstein   Portraits
Tim Mulligan   Digital Editing,Digital Mastering
Brendan O'Brien   Mixing,Producer
Brett Eliason   Engineer
Henry Diltz   Photography
Gary Burden   Design,Art Direction