Why ‘Merkin Ball’ Was A Warning Sign For Pearl Jam Fans

It felt like Pearl Jam ruled the rock universe in 1995, carrying the torch with unstoppable momentum, delivering hit after hit and headline-making moments that kept fans electrified. With Nirvana gone, Pearl Jam stood tall at the forefront of post-grunge, reshaping the scene with a sound that fused grit and accessibility, proving rock could be both raw and monumental. Big hitters like U2, R.E.M. and Guns N’ Roses were still around but had lost some momentum.

Merkin Ball captured this thrilling transition—one foot planted in the fiery spirit of early Pearl Jam, the other stepping boldly toward a more reflective, expansive future. “I Got I.D.” roared like a lost gem from Vitalogy, while “Long Road” shimmered with the meditative grace that would define No Code.

Their legendary collaboration with Neil Young was celebrated as a dream pairing: the “Godfather of Grunge” uniting with the heirs to the throne. Young’s presence brought a sense of timelessness, his fiery solos and guiding hand igniting Pearl Jam’s already powerful sound. Tracks like “Downtown” and “Peace and Love” stormed the Album Rock charts, while Mirror Ball became a symbol of camaraderie and creative synergy—an uplifting highlight of 1995’s musical landscape.

For Pearl Jam, Merkin Ball was a gift to fans: Neil Young unleashing a blistering solo on the grungy anthem “I Got I.D.” and conjuring eerie, cathedral-like tones on the haunting “Long Road.” Released in December, the EP felt like a holiday celebration—two brand-new songs devoured with joy by fans hungry for more. The A-side embodied the wild, youthful chaos of Pearl Jam’s early years, while the B-side offered a mature, soulful reflection on journeys ahead. Both songs charted with "I Got I.D." hitting the top 10 on several charts around the world, including the Billboard 100 at #7, their highest position crossing over to the mainstream of any original Pearl Jam song.

Vedder’s self-battling stance on “I Got I.D.” was similar to “Corduroy”.  He’s searching for peace and harmony in a tumultuous mind.  Feeling like an ‘empty shell’, ‘a cup in the middle of the sea’, he doesn’t know which way life will take him, but he pines for someone or something, maybe a woman, maybe God.  The crucial line in the song, “When you held me close that night, I paid the price, never held you in real life,” seems to be that peace he can’t ascertain, he can’t grasp in anything but philosophy and vision, but not in his own reality.  Vedder provides a voraciously rousing vocal, something that even Neil Young couldn’t pull off.   But Neil matches Vedder’s passion with his grungy, messy, sloppy, yet sensational guitar work.

Vedder’s lyrics on “Long Road”—“Holding hands of daughters and sons, and their faiths are falling down”—echoed the band’s early themes of fractured families and fading innocence, yet pointed toward resilience and renewal. Merkin Ball became a symbolic sunset of their punk-charged beginnings and the radiant dawn of a new chapter. With Jack Irons debuting his dynamic drumming, Brendan O’Brien adding bass, and the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan gracing “Long Road” with transcendent vocals, the project felt like a celebration of collaboration across cultures and generations.

Fans couldn’t have predicted the transformation to come. By 1996, 'No Code' would unveil Pearl Jam’s softer, more experimental side, cementing their dual identity as masters of both hard rock intensity and introspective beauty. In hindsight, Pearl Jam were architects of a harder, more serious rock sound, pushing distortion and feedback into the mainstream. Their influence helped steer the entire genre toward alternative rock, ensuring their legacy as one of the most important, celebratory forces of the 1990s.