Instant album review: Neil Young, "Mirror Ball"

[serinde]

Or, "Someone finally found a use for Pearl Jam".

Steve dubbed this to minidisc and handed it to me the other morning without telling me what it was. I managed to suss that it was the estimable Mr. Young on vocals, because I'm not a complete idjit, but just assumed it was Crazy Horse backing him (though it sounded a bit harder-edged than they usually do). It was only after digging on Teh Intarnets that I was enlightened. Now, I loathe Pearl Jam and almost all of their works[1], but I've never said their musicianship was lacking; and this certainly shows what can be done with them if you don't let them play their own material, and stuff a sock in Eddie Vedder's mouth.

I really like the album--the first song, "Song X", particularly blew me away and I already have it in mind for a mix I'm working on--but I have to say that much of it was marred by what in our household is called Danny Thompson Drumming (not that Danny Thompson; his son, actually), after said person's extremely tiresome, metronomic drumming for Hawkwind which is the audio equivalent of the Chinese Water Torture. Steve theorizes that it might not be as intrusive played on the big stereo as it is on my MD player with the craptastic wee earbuds. One can hope.

[1] I do think "Evenflow" is pretty good.

Comments

[reddragdiva]

"Someone finally found a use for Pearl Jam"

*applause*

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

You're both dead to me.

[tactisle.livejournal.com]

You mean another sock, right?

*runs and hides*

[xlerb.livejournal.com]

Now, I loathe Pearl Jam and almost all of their works

From what I've heard of theirs, everything after Ten is boring to me, and as for that album itself... well, it has a certain aesthetic quality, more in some parts than others, that for want of a politer term I'll call “wankery“, and that somewhat impairs my ability to listen to it. (Somewhat. As I've come to realize, All Music Sucks.)

and stuff a sock in Eddie Vedder's mouth.

But that's not a problem I've noticeably had with them. (Others, yes, but that's beyond the scope of this comment.)

[syringavulgaris.livejournal.com]

It's not that he's an awful singer or anything, it's just that he sends my Whineometer redlining.