Post Random Pearl Jam-Related Thoughts You Have

[VinylGuy]

Honestly, im not sure he's made an album as good/solid front to back since?

Maybe Chrome Dreams 2, silver and gold, prairie wind?

Chrome Dreams 2 is so fucking good...silver and gold too...im also a huge fan of Le Noise.

[VinylGuy]

Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy Mirrorball as I enjoy most of Neil's albums, I just wouldn't put it at the top of some list that someone who generally isn't into Neil Young (and isn't instantly compelled by anything that features members of Pearl Jam) should go check out immediately. It's a middle-tier album in the discography of an artist whose middle and lower tiers are comprised of scattershot, highly taste-specific impulse projects, and sonically it's a pretty middle-of-the-road outing -- if you've heard enough Neil to stake out an opinion on him, this album hardly seems like the thing that's going to flip the switch.

I dont really give a fuck about flipping any switch. If someone doesnt like Young, why have an opinion on Mirrorball?

[Kevin Davis]

Not suggesting you should care; I just arrived at that place since Jorge doesn't really care for NY and his comment kind of spurred on this discussion.

[VinylGuy]

i didnt realize it was because of him.

He is just trying to be pretentious.

[epilogue]

Hard disagree with all the Mirrorball backlash. WTF guys...

Neil blows through a full set of amazing songs (Downtown is the worst of the bunch, and even that one is fun), while Pearl Jam has never felt more simultaneously so relaxed and ferocious.

I agree with everyone who says Jack is the standout, his energy throughout the record is infectious.

Easily in the top third of Neil's discography for me, and a high water mark for Pearl Jam as well.

backlash????

[epilogue]

Honestly, im not sure he's made an album as good/solid front to back since?

Maybe Chrome Dreams 2, silver and gold, prairie wind?

Silver and Gold is aces!

I'm in the minority, I'm sure, but I'd rank Prairie Wind over Mirrorball as well.

[liebzz]

Psychedelic Pill, folks.

[epilogue]

Psychedelic Pill, folks.

Also great.

[VinylGuy]

Blasting Mirrorball right now

damn those guitars in Song X....

[McParadigm]

I consider mirrorball to be the tail end of, and least great contribution to, a late career creative renaissance. But that’s not a knock on it. I do consider it to be a part of that renaissance (rather than, say, something that came after).

If I could only have one neil record after sleeps with angels, it would definitely be greendale. That’s just me, though.

[Chris_H_2]

i've always felt like i was a pearl jam outsider that just didn't "get it" because i'm a fan of neither neil young nor the who.

[epilogue]

Like what you like, boo

[stip]

i've always felt like i was a pearl jam outsider that just didn't "get it" because i'm a fan of neither neil young nor the who.

dont let them silence us!

[Strat]

I consider mirrorball to be the tail end of, and least great contribution to, a late career creative renaissance. But that’s not a knock on it. I do consider it to be a part of that renaissance (rather than, say, something that came after).

If I could only have one neil record after sleeps with angels, it would definitely be greendale. That’s just me, though.

I actually love Greendale as well. It was the Neil record that actually made me become obsessed with Neil. I dont know why. Truly. i had heard all the hits, ragged glory, yada yada, but when i got Greendale i was just floored with its....story? ridiculousness? the recording? I dont know. But from then on i went back to the beginning and really took it all in.

[Kevin Davis]

Silver and Gold would be my one post-SWA Neil album. That one is extremely special to me. But from that same body of work, I probably like Broken Arrow, Americana, and Psychedelic Pill all over Mirrorball.

"I'm the Ocean" is one of my favorite songs ever (along with its counterpart "Fallen Angel"), and I love "Throw Your Hatred Down." Mirrorball doesn't really have any personal favorites for me beyond those, but also nothing I really dislike either.

[Strat]

Neil’s lyrics and the aging horse keep Americana and psychedelic pill from moving past anything but a late career “fun with the horse again” sort of thing for me.

[Kevin Davis]

I can understand that. That's kind of how I felt about Colorado and Barn. But I think Americana in particular is really, really well done -- conceptually it's just offbeat enough for "fun with the Horse again" to fulfill the needs of the project; it's kind of like Neil's "Seeger Sessions," where a raucous, irreverent jam among friends pushes the music into just the right headspace.

Psychedelic Pill has a few half-assed songs, for sure. But it also may be my favorite exposition of Neil and the Horse just jamming and relaxing in the studio -- a lot of those songs you can really just settle back and get lost in, which is one of my favorite NY/CH modes. Neil with PJ just doesn't take me to that same place, though enough of the elements are the same to make me feel like it ought to, you know?

Either way, bottom line is Neil is great and I should probably listen to all of these albums this weekend.

[Jorge]

I just listened to "Act of Love" and I liked it! I like the roaring guitars and the drums. It still cracks me up when Neil starts singing but at least it sounds like he's standing a few feet away from the microphone

[Strat]

I can understand that. That's kind of how I felt about Colorado and Barn. But I think Americana in particular is really, really well done -- conceptually it's just offbeat enough for "fun with the Horse again" to fulfill the needs of the project; it's kind of like Neil's "Seeger Sessions," where a raucous, irreverent jam among friends pushes the music into just the right headspace.

Psychedelic Pill has a few half-assed songs, for sure. But it also may be my favorite exposition of Neil and the Horse just jamming and relaxing in the studio -- a lot of those songs you can really just settle back and get lost in, which is one of my favorite NY/CH modes. Neil with PJ just doesn't take me to that same place, though enough of the elements are the same to make me feel like it ought to, you know?

Either way, bottom line is Neil is great and I should probably listen to all of these albums this weekend.

Yea you and me both !

The 2013 Neil and horse show i saw was an absolute life highlight of mine.

[Strat]

Best part in I’m the ocean is when someone hits the wrong chord and slides up to correct the mistake. It’s pretty glaring. Love that Neil keeps shit in there like that.

At 8 minutes long - it still feels too short and I always listen at least twice before moving on