Customer Reviews

Mirror Ball

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Neil Young and Pearl Jam's impressive musical collaboration has a live sound, with thick, unpolished guitars, heavy drums and crashing drums everywhere, as if in rehearsal mode. Though these songs completely rock out, there's an old-fashioned sense to them, a sort of archaic vibe for the respect of rock and roll music. The comraderie and naturalness between Pearl Jam and Young is unmistakable -- the combination fits like well-worn slippers. The heavy guitar chops on such songs as "Song X," "Act of Love" and the epic "I'm the Ocean" are all as intense and rocking as any Pearl Jam or Neil Young album out there.

The bold repetativeness of "I'm the Ocean" -- one of the best songs on the album -- is proof that none of these guys need to prop up their songs with hokey, unneeded sonic effects from the studio. It's one of those songs that could go on forever without getting old, and it practically does. The drum beat alone is mesmerizing, but Young's observational lyrics are also impressive. The fact that it sounds like a raw rehersal take in the studio makes it even better. "Big Green Country" is a rolling, high-energy song that clicks on all cylinders, a countryman's version of mosh. Only at "Truth Be Told" does the pace and volume on "Mirror Ball" come down considerably. The raunchier "Downtown" was released as a single, and with its references to Led Zeppelin, hippies and a huge Jimmy Page-like riff, it delivered the goods.

Two portions of "Mirror Ball" -- the middle and very end -- feature a hymnallike organ, the heartwrenching backdrop for Young's short lyrical spot that is aching in its tenderness.

Both Pearl Jam and Neil Young share the same integrity and ideals, lyrically and musically, especially on such classic rock-sounding monsters like "Peace and Love" and "Throw Your Hatred Down." Eddie Vedder's lone vocal contribution on "Peace and Love" is hearfelt and well-placed, an unforgettable moment, like a star in the gloriously murky haze of guitars.

And listen for Young's own beautiful closer, "Fallen Angel," perhaps one of the sweetest, most emotional endings to any album ever. "Mirror Ball" may be a somewhat obscure release now, but it was one of the best albums made in the 1990s, and a dynamite collaboration of sounds.

Probably few people thought that at fifty years old, Neil Young would record the greatest rock album of his career. Well, here it is, the Grammy award winning "Mirror Ball," Young's triumphant collaboration with a very tight, sizzling Pearl Jam, who accompany Young's poetic rambling's so effortlessly that it seems as if they've played together for years. Unlike most of his efforts with Crazy Horse, Young offers a collection of stunning singles worthy of radio. "Downtown," "Peace and Love," "Song X" and "Act of Love" approach the explosiveness of the scathing classic, "Hey Hey My My(into the black)" from 1979's "Rust Never Sleeps." Other songs, such as "I'm the Ocean" and 'Truth Be Known" are drenched in ethereal galaxies of poetry mixed with layers of buzzing guitars. As expected, Neil delivers quite a handsome number of his trademark guitar solos. This is undeniably one of the greatest rock albums of the 90's, and the closest Neil Young ever came to invoking the ghost of Jimi Hendrix. This record is an obligatory purchase for any fan of raw, bare bones Rock N' Roll.

This is the album that Neil Young does with Pearl Jam. Not only is this one of Neil's better records, it is also Pearl Jam's best record. Yet it is true that not everyone gave this album the positive props that it deserved when it first came out. Even allmusic.com gave it an average review. But not only does this CD rock from front to back, it is catchy as all heck. From the weaving "Song X" to the overtures of "Throw Your Hatred Down," the album is an enjoyable listen. And as with Ragged Glory, this album's crunchiness in no way stamps out the melody, either. Buy it, dude.

This album was recorded in about two days by Neil Young and Pearl Jam. Had they been given more time, they might have added more polish to the songs. This would diminish their quality. The songs grab you with their fuzzy distortion and simple three chord structures. Had they been given more attention, they would have ended up shinier, with more refinement. As they stand, the songs seem to be the primal offspring of two great musical minds, Neil Young's songwriting and Pearl Jam's musicianship. They sound as if they had been concieved two minutes before tape started rolling. This gives the listener a glimpse into the creative process, what music sounds like when it it born. However, had Young and Pearl Jam had more time in the studio, they may have put out a double album. One can only hope that they meet up again.

As a long-time admirer of Neil Young and a casual fan of Pearl Jam, I always fancied this album would be a worthwhile and memorable project. I was not disappointed. Mirror Ball is similar to some of Neil Young's other "jam" albums - Ragged Glory, Broken Arrow - in essence, but is quite a bit wider in scope. While the "incompetent yet brilliant" musicians of Crazy Horse have always personified the Garage Band That Made It Really Big and are the adequate and ideal band for backing Neil Young's rawer, less lyrically ambitious, more jam-heavy songs, you usually know just what to expect from the Neil Young & Crazy Horse albums - and that's just what you get. Rarely do they challenge their bandleader. Pearl Jam, while not featuring Yes-level musicianship, are nonetheless a tighter and more focused (not to mention more famous - hence, the automatic higher expectations) band - and they do push Young at points on this recording. Here he has written far more ambitious songs than he usually does in the context of this type of album: his lyrics here are some of his best ever - vivid, imagistic, startling, and captivating. The album also pushes the envelope musically. In addition to Neil, one of rock music's best and most distinctive guitar players, we have Pearl Jam's two fine players - Mike McCready and Stone Gossard - as well. They create, together, some truly great musical interplay on this record. Although still raw in essence, these songs move beyond the musical (and lyrical) level that you would expect from this type of Neil Young album: it's another level of sophistication. Neil has also written some truly great songs for this record - Song X, Peace and Love, Downtown, Scenery, and, especially, I'm The Ocean. An essential record for Young fans; Pearl Jam fans should take the dive as well.

I've been listening to Neil's music for twenty years, and this colloboration with Pearl Jam ranks up there with Tonight's the Night, Rust Never Sleeps,Harvest MoonI and Ragged Glory. Lyrically, Neil continues to confront America with all of its ugliness. "Need distraction. Need romance and candlelight. Need random violence. Need Entertainment Tonight" he sings on I'm the Ocean. Truth be Known is a rueful dirge that reminds me of "Lookout Joe" on the (hard to believe) 25 year old Tonight's the Night. Is Neil singing about a burnt out drug victim like Bruce Berry?

Pearl Jam rocks just as convincingly as Crazy Horse, and give many of the songs a nervous edge, especially on Big Green Country and Song X. It would of been fascinating to hear this group revitalize the sour "Time Fades Away" on this album, but that is sheer nitpicking. A must for Neil Young listeners, ancient and new.

What a great album this is. Give Neil Young credit; he will play with anyone and play many styles of music and he almost always pulls it off. He challenges himself here once again by playing with Pearl Jam and it is one of the best pure rock and roll albums I have ever heard. Neil and Pearl Jam sound as if they are having one hell of a good time doing this and we as listeners are the ones that benefit. This sucker really rocks and is similiar to Ragged Glory. This marriage of ideas does take on its' own style though. The sound is muddy but it appears to have been done that way on purpose and here it works well. It has a great garage band feel to it. There is not a bad cut on this thing. Neil just simply continues to amaze me. He is constantly turning out great stuff no matter how old he gets. How many artists can make that claim?

this cd rocks. neil is at his best. pearl jam is chilling in the back but they combine for a solid effort. i have this cd in heavy rotation.

Neil Young & Pearl Jam are kindred spirits and they joined forces for a superb tour in 1994. After the tour, they got together and recorded an album, Mirror Ball. Pearl Jam fills the role of Crazy Horse on the record and Mr. Young is inspired by their youthful vigor. The songs have sharp, punchy sound and are crisp and full of verve. Songs like "Act Of Love", "Downtown", "Peace & Love", "I'm The Ocean" and "Song X" are all quality tracks. The band are clearly inspired by playing with one of their heroes and they are as tight as they've ever been. The only minor complaint is that Eddie Vedder appears sporadically throughout the album and it would have been nice to hear him sing on ever song and a few more duets with Mr. Young. The album became one of the biggest hits of Mr. Young's career, peaking at number five.

I was shocked the first time I heard this, and wondered if I could listen to it again. I'd been away from hard rock for many years, and didn't know anything at all about Pearl Jam. But I hung in there, and after the third listening I was hooked. I think the first and last cuts are weak, but everything in between is sensational. Several numbers sound like they could have been done by the Stones. Listen to it on a good system. It's amazing that the guy who did Prairie Wind and Harvest Moon also did this. But then, there is only Neil Young and Bob Dylan. They are the only ones from the 60s who never stopped growing, exploring, and creating.