Neil Young – Mirror Ball (2xLP)

Neil Young's Mirror Ball caught a particular mid-90s moment: a 1995 Neil Young album recorded in Seattle with Pearl Jam as his backing band, with Brendan O'Brien producing. That line-up gives the record its charge. Young leans into feel and spontaneity rather than polish, and the clash between his ragged instinct and Pearl Jam's denser guitar attack makes this one of the more distinctive collaborations in his catalogue.

The songs balance full-band force with stranger, more reflective corners. I'm the Ocean emerged from an obvious run-through that became the master take, which tells you a lot about the album's loose, live-wire spirit. Elsewhere, Downtown and Peace and Love fold in references to Hendrix, Lennon and Led Zeppelin, while shorter pieces such as What Happened Yesterday and Fallen Angel bring in Young's pump organ and a more fragmentary mood.

Mirror Ball also had real weight in Young's career: helped by Pearl Jam's commercial pull, it became his highest-charting album since Harvest 23 years earlier. This edition brings the album back as part of Neil Young Archives' Official Release Series, using the 2025 remaster by John Hanlon and Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, with four songs remixed.

Features

• 2xLP, Black Vinyl
• Neil Young Archives Official Release Series
• 2025 remaster by John Hanlon and Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Four songs remixed
• Mastered from the original analog tapes