- Merkin Ball
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"Long Road (song)" redirects here. For other songs with the same title, see Long Road (disambiguation).
Merkin Ball 
EP by Pearl Jam featuring Neil Young Released December 5, 1995 Recorded February 7–10, 1995 at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington Genre Alternative rock, grunge Length 10:52 Language English Label Epic Producer Brett Eliason Pearl Jam singles chronology "Immortality"
(1995)Merkin Ball
(1995)"Who You Are"
(1996)Merkin Ball is a two-song EP by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam featuring Neil Young, released on December 5, 1995 through Epic Records. Merkin Ball is a companion to Neil Young's 1995 album, Mirror Ball. The EP has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.
Contents
Recording
The tracks on Merkin Ball were recorded at the tail end of the Mirror Ball sessions in February 1995.[1] The songs were produced and mixed by Pearl Jam sound engineer Brett Eliason.
Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder was not around much for the Mirror Ball recording sessions due to what he called a "pretty intense stalker problem."[2] Vedder said that "leaving the house wasn't the easiest thing to do."[2] Vedder would refer to the issue in the song "Lukin" from Pearl Jam's 1996 album, No Code.[3]
Vedder wrote and performed vocals and guitar on the songs "I Got Id" and "Long Road" which were omitted from Mirror Ball.[4] Neil Young contributed lead guitar to "I Got Id" and pump organ to "Long Road". Mirror Ball producer Brendan O'Brien plays bass on "I Got Id" while Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament plays bass on "Long Road". Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons plays drums on both tracks.
Music and lyrics
Mirror Ball and Merkin Ball complement each other musically. Jonathan Cohen of Allmusic called "I Got Id" "an even mix of Vitalogy's raw rock and No Code's major-key majesty," and said regarding "Long Road" that "Vedder's melody is uplifting, his lyrics poignant."[1]
"I Got Id" is also known by its original title "I Got Shit" by the band and its fans. It is rumored that when Vedder proposed the idea of a single to Epic, the label made him change the title of the song.[1] In some concert performances, Vedder has also introduced the song as "I Got I.D." Upon introducing the song at Pearl Jam's September 19, 1998 concert in Washington, D.C. at Constitution Hall, Vedder stated that "[Neil Young] gave me a song writing lesson at a half-price rate; this is what I came up with...on my final, he gave me a B+ I think."[5] At Pearl Jam's May 10, 2006 concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre, Vedder revealed that the song's chorus melody was inspired by the verse melody in Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" from the 1969 album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.[6]
At Pearl Jam's July 7, 2006 concert in San Diego, California at Cox Arena, Vedder revealed that he wrote "Long Road" after hearing about the death of his former high school drama teacher and mentor, Clayton E. Liggett.[7] He added that he began to hit the opening D-chords of "Long Road" as if he was "trying to ring a bell to say that 'We lost one of the good ones'", and following "about eight minutes" the rest of the performers on the track joined in without saying anything and began to bring the song to life.[6]
Release and reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Entertainment Weekly (B+)[8] Merkin Ball has been certified gold by the RIAA.[9]
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave Merkin Ball a B+. Browne called "I Got Id" a "standard PJ chest thumper," and stated that "Long Road" "[takes] Young and Pearl Jam into a mystical zone never hinted at on [Mirror Ball]."[8] Allmusic staff writer Jonathan Cohen gave the album two and a half out of five stars, saying, "By no means essential, but well worth a spin."[1]
The A-side of Merkin Ball, "I Got Id", debuted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. "I Got Id" reached number two on the Mainstream Rock charts and number three on the Modern Rock charts. In September 2001, Vedder and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready were joined by Young to perform "Long Road" from Merkin Ball at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert.
Packaging
A wrecking ball graces the cover art of Merkin Ball. Mirror Ball and Merkin Ball complement each other in the layout and content of the album packaging. The title Merkin Ball is a play on Mirror Ball. A merkin is commonly known as a pubic wig. Vedder came up with the title.[10] In an interview, Vedder said that the title refers to an "arrowhead."[11]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Eddie Vedder.
Personnel
- Pearl Jam
- Jeff Ament – bass guitar on "Long Road"
- Jack Irons – percussion, drums
- Eddie Vedder – guitar, vocals
- Additional musicians and production
- Neil Young – guitar, pump organ, vocals
- Brendan O'Brien – bass guitar on "I Got Id"
- Joel Bernstein – portraits
- Brett Eliason – production, engineering and mixing
Chart positions
Year Single Peak chart positions US
[12]US Main
[12]US Mod
[12]AUS
[13]CAN
[14]FIN
[15]IRE
[16]NLD
[17]NOR[18] NZ
[19]SWE
[20]UK
[21]1995 "I Got Id" 7 2 3 2 78 3 29 38 5 17 14 25 References
- ^ a b c d e f Cohen, Jonathan. "allmusic ((( Merkin Ball > Review )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r330062. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". Spin. August 2001.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (2006-06-16). "The Second Coming of Pearl Jam". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/pearl_jam_the_second_coming. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
- ^ Strauss, Neil. "The Predictably Unpredictable Neil Young". The New York Times. July 2, 1995. Retrieved on March 27, 2008.
- ^ "Pearl Jam: 1998 Concert Chronology: Part 3". fivehorizons.com.
- ^ a b "Pearl Jam Concert Chronology: 2006". TwoFeetThick.com.
- ^ Varga, George. "By finish, Pearl Jam, Vedder had a connection". The San Diego Union-Tribune. July 10, 2006.
- ^ a b Browne, David (1995-12-22). "Merkin Ball". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300051,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=Merkinball&artist=Pearl+Jam&perPage=25&go=Search. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Rumor Pit: Issue #11". sonymusic.com. November 15, 1995.
- ^ Kava, Brad. ""I'm Just looking to make it right." --- E.V.". www.vedderism.friko.pl. November 3, 1995.
- ^ a b c "Pearl Jam Artist Chart History". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5392&model.vnuAlbumId=772120. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
- ^ "PEARL JAM — MERKINBALL (EP) (SINGLE) (98732)". Australian-charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Pearl+Jam&titel=Merkinball+%28EP%29&cat=s. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 24, January 29 1996". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2872&volume=62&issue=24&issue_dt=January%2029%201996&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=lhaled67omcph7v3aq7fbveid1. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Finnish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". finnishcharts.com. http://finnishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=pearl+jam. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "The Irish Charts — All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ "Dutch Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=s&search=pearl+jam. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "Norwegian Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=pearl+jam. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "PEARL JAM — MERKINBALL (EP) (SONG)". New Zealand-charts.com. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Pearl+Jam&titel=Merkinball+%28EP%29&cat=s. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ "Swedish Single/Album Chart / Pearl Jam / Longplay". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=pearl+jam. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- ^ "EveryHit.com". http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
External links
Neil Young Studio albums Neil Young · Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere · After the Gold Rush · Harvest · On the Beach · Tonight's the Night · Zuma · American Stars 'n Bars · Comes a Time · Hawks & Doves · Re-ac-tor · Trans · Everybody's Rockin' · Old Ways · Landing on Water · Life · This Note's for You · Eldorado (EP) · Freedom · Ragged Glory · Harvest Moon · Sleeps with Angels · Mirror Ball · Broken Arrow · Silver & Gold · Are You Passionate? · Greendale · Prairie Wind · Living with War · Living with War: "In the Beginning" · Chrome Dreams II · Fork in the Road · Le NoiseLive albums Soundtracks Compilations Archives series Archives Performance
seriesLive at the Fillmore East · Live at Massey Hall 1971 · Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968 · Live at the Riverboat 1969 · Dreamin' Man Live '92 · A TreasureUnreleased albums Films Journey Through the Past · Rust Never Sleeps · Human Highway · Greendale · CSNY Deja Vu · Neil Young: Heart of GoldRelated articles Discography · The Mynah Birds · Buffalo Springfield · Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young · The Stills–Young Band · The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil YoungSee also: Portal:Neil YoungCategories:- 1995 EPs
- English-language EPs
- Neil Young albums
- Pearl Jam albums
- Grunge EPs
- Epic Records EPs
- Collaborative albums
- Alternative rock EPs
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