Merkin Ball Pearl Jam "Merkin Ball" (Epic) Two leftovers from Mirror Ball reveal what happened when Eddie Vedder, not Neil Young, fronted this collaboration. "I Got Id"… Pearl Jam Rock
Music Review

Merkin Ball

Pearl Jam
Reviewed by David Browne | Dec 22, 1995
EW's GRADE
B+

Details Lead Performance: Pearl Jam; Genre: Rock

Pearl Jam ''Merkin Ball'' (Epic) Two leftovers from Mirror Ball reveal what happened when Eddie Vedder, not Neil Young, fronted this collaboration. ''I Got Id'' is a standard PJ chest thumper, with Young's dots-and-dashes guitar. But it's ''Long Road'' that lingers in the mind: As Vedder moans, ''I have wished for so long/How I wish for you today,'' the band makes like rocky waves crashing on a beach, taking Young and Pearl Jam into a mystical zone never hinted at on the album. B+

Originally posted Dec 22, 1995 Published in issue #306 Dec 22, 1995 Order article reprints