Artist bio

See also: Hovercraft, Mad Season, Three Fish

When Pearl Jam first rose to superstardom in the early ‘90s, the quintet was rarely regarded in the same light as Seattle colleagues such as Nirvana (more attitude) or Soundgarden and Alice In Chains (they rocked harder). Indeed, at first everything was a struggle for Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready, from getting “metal” radio to play “Alive” to struggling for cred amid its more established local mates. Then suddenly Pearl Jam and its roaring update of Aerosmith, the Who, and Led Zeppelin was more popular than them all. Ten went on to sell 9 million copies. Vs. set a record by shifting nearly 900,000 units in its first week of release. Listeners followed the band’s every whim: when 1994’s Vitalogy was issued on vinyl two weeks before it came out on CD, enough people bought that version that it debuted just outside the top-50 of The Billboard 200. Appropriately, the first single was called “Spin the Black Circle” and was the band’s least radio friendly track to date.

But with success came struggle, some media generated (the famous losing battle with Ticketmaster) but most of it fueled by band members’ own insecurity with their newfound celebrity. Pearl Jam pulled back on every level, looking to its influences for guidance and in the process establishing for itself new and important means of collaboration. What followed were a series of increasingly personal, musically intricate albums (1996’s No Code, 1998’s Yield, 2000’s Binaural) that often befuddled the masses but cemented Pearl Jam’s place as one of the best rock bands of its generation. The group’s rabid following was always rewarded with thrilling live shows that never featured the same setlist, justifying the otherwise preposterous scheme that saw 72 complete concerts from the 2000 tour made available to retail. By the 2002 release of Riot Act, Pearl Jam had reached a milestone not one of its hometown rivals had even come close to achieving: more than a decade of great music, made on its own terms.

Albums by this artist

Binaural (2000)

'Given To Fly' (1998)

Yield (1998)

No Code (Recommended) (1996)

Merkin Ball (1996)

Vitalogy (Recommended) (1994)

Vs. (1993)

Concerts

August 18, 2000
Deer Creek Amphitheater, Indianapolis

Pearl Jam

Merkin Ball

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» JONATHAN COHEN | SENIOR EDITOR

Pearl Jam Merkin Ball Epic, 1996 RiYL: Neil Young, Screaming Trees, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden

Mirror Ball, the Pearl Jam/Neil Young album recorded in a week's time in February 1995, was, in principle, a good idea. But the songs were just too rough and thrown together for many fans of both bands. Although the album was credited solely to Young, various members of Pearl Jam contributed throughout, with lead singer Eddie Vedder only peeking forth to sing backup on select tracks.

After a fall 1995 season of scattered live concerts, mostly on the West Coast, Pearl Jam returned to the spotlight with Merkin Ball, a two-song single of tracks left over from the Mirror Ball sessions. The catch is that Vedder sings on the tracks while Young plays lead guitar, creating a true blend of the two artists' styles. Nearly identical packaging to Mirror Ball blurs the line even further.

The first song, called "I Got ID," debuted live at a concert in Japan in February of 1995, a few weeks after it was written (the song was originally titled "I Got Shit," but rumor has it that Epic executives made Vedder change the title when he shopped the single to them). Although this version doesn't stand up to its live predecessor on first listen, repeated plays are sure to follow. Young's guitar riffs give the song a welcome sludging-up, while drummer Jack Irons smooths the tempos on this, his recorded debut with the band (not counting the bizarre tape-collage that closed Vitalogy). Indeed, "I Got ID," is an even mix of Vitalogy's raw rock and No Code's major-key majesty.

The clincher is the glorious melody, which builds to a thunderous chorus with great chord changes and a loose Vedder vocal. Other subtle differences to note here include Brendan O'Brien's bass work, immediately recognizable as different than regular PJ bassist Jeff Ament's, and Young's trademark two-note solo. Quite excellent.

Song two on Merkin Ball is a simple ditty called "Long Road,'' a piece not performed live until June of 1995. Consisting of mainly three chords, the song is not the most complex in the band's repertoire, but Vedder's melody is uplifting, his lyrics poignant: "I have wished for so long / I might wish for you today."

O'Brien turns up again, playing organ and lending the song the warm feel of a tune like "Better Man." "Long Road" also appears on the soundtrack for the movie "Dead Man Walking" and has become a familiar set-opener in Pearl Jam's live shows.

Succeeding in its role as a stop-gap, the EP offers a relatively accurate precursor of the sound Pearl Jam arrived at on its two subsequent releases. By no means essential, but well worth a spin.

JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"