Catalog Club: Neil’s Young’s “Mirror Ball” (1995)

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In 1995, I was very excited about this record. It reunited Neil with Pearl Jam after their performance together at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards, a clip I watched on videotape at least 12,000 times during this period and later referenced in my writing nearly as much. Though for some Neil heads, like biographer Jimmy McDonough, this was merely a collaboration of convenience, a scheme cooked up by Neil’s manager to sell more records and tickets to a younger generation. But on Mirror Ball, Neil’s chemistry (to my ears) with Pearl Jam is pretty undeniable. The album works for all the ways that Pearl Jam is not like Crazy Horse, particularly their youth, instrumental prowess, and drummer Jack Irons, the most energetic timekeeper Neil has ever had, before or since. Crazy Horse ultimately is Neil’s most complementary backing group, but as a one-off, Mirror Ball is a blast of pure rock ‘n’ roll joy.

Upcoming schedule for Catalog Club: Neil Young (1990-1996)

August 31: Broken Arrow (1996), also touching on Dead Man and Year Of The Horse (live album and film)

Catalog Club for September 2026: ???

Hint No. 1: This is one of the greatest English rock groups of all time.

Hint No. 2: They broke up, famously.

Hint No. 3: It’s a quartet (most of the time).

Hint. No. 4: Their career took place entirely in the 1980s.