Neil Young-Pearl Jam Cd: A Blast From Past

by John Sakamoto

If you happened to be walking past Wayne Gretzky's around lunchtime yesterday, you would've gotten a sneak peak into the year's most highly-anticipated musical collaboration. Mirror Ball, the upcoming album that pairs Neil Young and Pearl Jam, got a high-volume, midday airing in front of about 40 media and industry types in the back room of the Great One's SkyDome-area restaurant. What we heard were 11 songs powered by buckets of electric guitar and the wallop of Pearl Jam's new drummer, Jack Irons.

The music, co-produced by Pearl Jam confidant Brendan O'Brien, is similar to Young's work with Crazy Horse. Several songs harken back to the past, with references to the late-'60s/early-'70s era alluded to in the album's title. The contribution of singer Eddie Vedder is limited almost entirely to low-key background vocals.

The first single will be the album's most upbeat cut, "Downtown". The song actually bears a passing resemblance to a 25-year-old Crazy Horse tune Come "On Baby Let's Go Downtown" - covered by Young on 1975's Tonight's The Night album - and features a clearly pleased Young saying at the end, "Well, we know that one. That's funky."

Due out June 27, Mirror Ball was written in the studio and bashed out in less than a week at Heart's Bad Animals facility in Seattle for the ridiculously low sum of $50,000, according to online mag Addicted To Noise. The album will be packaged in rough-hewn cardboard - similar to the original packaging for Young's Harvest LP - with no jewel box or plastic tray.

At this point, there have been rumors of Young either dropping in on a handful of dates on Pearl Jam's upcoming summer tour or, alternately, having Pearl Jam go out with Young in the fall. The two have toured together before, playing Exhibition Stadium two summers ago. A recent report in Addicted To Noise went even further, suggesting that a live album featuring both acts would be recorded for release on Sony Music as compensation for that company clearing the way for Pearl Jam to play on an album that's being put out by Young's label, Reprise Records.