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

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