Pearl Jam Merkinball 7" EP 1995 Nirvana Neil Young Alice in Chains NIN TOOL Tad
$
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Description
ARTIST: Pearl Jam
TITLE: Merkinball
LABEL: Epic – 34 78199
RECORD GRADING: NM
SLEEVE GRADING: NM
NOTES: Super rare. Original, first press. ____
All records ship both domestically (USPS Media Mail) and Internationally (USPS), and will be packed/protected like a pro with experience.
Released in December 1995, Merkinball is a powerful two-song extended play by Pearl Jam that serves as the official companion piece to Neil Young’s album Mirror Ball. Recorded during the same intense four-day session in February 1995 at Seattle’s Bad Animals Studio, the EP was born out of a complex web of legal and creative circumstances. Because Pearl Jam was signed to Epic and Young to Reprise, the band was legally barred from being credited by name on Young’s full-length record. Merkinball acted as the reciprocal release, allowing the band to showcase their collaboration with the "Godfather of Grunge" on their own label.
The EP captures a fascinating transitional moment for Pearl Jam, moving away from the stadium-rock anthems of Vs. and into the more experimental, atmospheric textures of No Code. The sessions were marked by a "first-take" mentality championed by Young, which forced the band to embrace raw, unpolished performances. Interestingly, Eddie Vedder was largely absent from the Mirror Ball sessions due to a debilitating stalker crisis (which he later chronicled in the song "Lukin"), but he reclaimed the spotlight for these two tracks, providing some of the most haunting and soulful vocals of his career.
The A-side, "I Got Id" (originally titled "I Got Shit" but sanitized for radio), is a heavy, brooding rocker featuring a blistering lead guitar solo from Neil Young. The track is notable for its unique lineup; while Jack Irons handles drums, the bass is played by longtime producer Brendan O'Brien rather than the band's usual bassist, Jeff Ament. The song’s grinding riff and Vedder’s desperate delivery make it a quintessential piece of mid-90s alternative rock, eventually becoming a staple of the band’s live sets and their Rearviewmirror greatest hits collection.
The B-side, "Long Road," stands as one of Pearl Jam’s most spiritually resonant compositions. Written by Vedder upon learning of the death of his high school drama teacher and mentor, Clayton Liggett, the song is built around a simple, meditative D-major drone. Neil Young provides the song’s eerie, resonant backbone on a pump organ, creating a funeral-march atmosphere that feels timeless. The track gained a second life in 2001 when it was chosen as the opening performance for the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the September 11 attacks, cementing its status as a premier anthem of grief and resilience.
Ultimately, Merkinball is much more than a "leftover" from the Neil Young sessions; it is a concentrated dose of the creative chemistry between two generations of rock royalty. The title itself—a play on Young's Mirror Ball and a "merkin" (a pubic wig)—showcases the band's dry, internal humor even during a period of high professional stress. For fans, the EP remains a holy grail of the 90s era, representing a moment where the "Seattle Sound" successfully merged with the classic, distortion-heavy lineage of 1970s rock and roll.
50 Similar Records (90s Alt-Rock, Grunge EPs & Collaborations)
This list features essential 90s Seattle releases, significant EPs, and notable artistic team-ups from the same era.
Category Items 1–25 Items 26–50 Sister & Companion Records 1. Neil Young – Mirror Ball 26. R.E.M. – Monster 2. Pearl Jam – No Code 27. Mad Season – Above 3. Pearl Jam – Vitalogy 28. Temple of the Dog – Self-Titled 4. Neil Young – Unplugged 29. Brad – Shame 5. Pearl Jam – Rearviewmirror (Hits) 30. Hovercraft – Akathisia Essential 90s EPs 6. Alice in Chains – Jar of Flies 31. Nirvana – Hormoaning 7. Alice in Chains – Sap 32. Soundgarden – Screaming Life 8. Mudhoney – Five Dollar Bob's... 33. Pavement – Watery, Domestic 9. Fugazi – 7 Songs 34. Nine Inch Nails – Broken 10. Smashing Pumpkins – Lull 35. Tool – Opiate Grunge & Seattle Roots 11. Soundgarden – Superunknown 36. Screaming Trees – Dust 12. Mother Love Bone – Apple 37. Mark Lanegan – The Winding Sheet 13. Green River – Dry As a Bone 38. Love Battery – Dayglo 14. Malfunkshun – Return to Olympus 39. Tad – Inhaler 15. Skin Yard – 1000 Smiling Knuckles 40. Truly – Fast Stories... Alt-Rock Contemporaries 16. Stone Temple Pilots – Purple 41. Blind Melon – Soup 17. Silverchair – Frogstomp 42. Local H – As Good as Dead 18. Bush – Sixteen Stone 43. Seven Mary Three – American Standard 19. Foo Fighters – Self-Titled 44. Candlebox – Self-Titled 20. Live – Throwing Copper 45. Collective Soul – Self-Titled The "Old Guard" Influence 21. Neil Young – Harvest 46. Tom Petty – Wildflowers 22. Neil Young – After the Gold Rush 47. Bob Dylan – Time Out of Mind 23. The Who – Who's Next 48. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin III 24. Lou Reed – New York 49. Patti Smith – Gone Again 25. Iggy Pop – American Caesar 50. Johnny Cash – American Recordingsprice rating
