PEARL JAM: Merkinball CD single digipak. Featuring Neil Young.

Description

Pearl Jam Merkinball EP CD 662716 1
DigiPak Cardstock Cover
Epic Records, 1995
2 Song Maxi-Single
Track 1: I Got ID
Track 2: Long Road
Accompanies Neil Youngs Mirrorball

I Got ID (aka I Got Shit) from Pearl Jams EP Merkinball.
HQ STUDIO VERSION

“Merkin Ball” is a two-song single 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 Youngs 1995 album, Mirror Ball. The EP has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.

Recording
The tracks on Merkin Ball were recorded at the tail end of the Mirror Ball sessions in February 1995. 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.” Vedder said that “leaving the house wasn’t the easiest thing to do.” Vedder would refer to the issue in the song “Lukin” from Pearl Jams 1996 album, No Code.
Vedder wrote and performed vocals and guitar on the songs “I Got Id” and “Long Road” which were omitted from Mirror Ball. 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 Vitalogys raw rock and No Codes major-key majesty,” and said regarding “Long Road” that “Vedders melody is uplifting, his lyrics poignant.”
“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. In some concert performances, Vedder has also introduced the song as “I Got I.D.” Upon introducing the song at Pearl Jams 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.”At Pearl Jams May 10, 2006 concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre, Vedder revealed that the songs chorus melody was inspired by the verse melody in Neil Youngs “Cinnamon Girl” from the 1969 album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.
At Pearl Jams 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. 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.

Merkin Ball has been certified gold by the RIAA.
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 record two and a half out of five stars, saying, “By no means essential, but well worth a spin.”
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.
“Long Road” was also used in the films Dead Man Walking, Outsourced, and Eat Pray Love.

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 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. In an interview, Vedder said that the title refers to an “arrowhead.”
The handwritten nature and positioning of the bands name and release title also mirror elements of the cover of Neil Youngs Tonights The Night album (1975).

Track listing:
All songs written and composed by Eddie Vedder.
No. Title Length
1. “I Got Id” (Also known as “I Got Shit” 4:53
2. “Long Road” 5:59

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