I am an avid Pearl Jam fan, and have disovered that their best work is often found on their singles, and this 2 song album. I Got ID and The Long Road are probably two of their greatest songs, along with Yellowledbetter and Breath, I think that Pearl Jam has shown that they are truly great artists. Don't get me wrong, their other albums rocked also, and since their release of Yeild I am anxiuos to see what they have in store for fans like myself in the future. Ever since Ten came out I have been following Pearl Jam, and really like the work that Neal Young has inspired in them. I only hope to see them do something together again in the near future.

This single is packaged exactly like Neil Young's "Mirrorball", which is fitting since it's actually a "companion piece" to that album and Neil even plays guitar on "I Got ID". It only includes two songs, but both songs are top quality material. "I Got ID" has a sort of a ballad-ish feel to it for a while until the heavy guitar chorus kicks in... really hard to explain this song, but trust me when I say that it's one of the band's finest. The version on this CD is great, but I personally prefer this song live (a GREAT live version of this song, also called "I Got S**t", can be found on the Katowice 2 live album). The second song, "Long Road", is really the reason why every Pearl Jam fan should own this album; it is simply too beautiful to put to words. If you've heard a live version of it before, forget about it; the studio version blows all other versions of this song away. This song is also included on the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack, along with another Vedder contriution called "Face Of Love", so if you like this one, check the other one out as well. Also worthy of notice is a hard-to-find Pearl Jam B-Side called "Dead Man" that was originally written for the film, but never included on the soundtrack. Find it on the import "Off He Goes" single.

These 2 songs deserve the cd all to themselves. Pearl Jam and Neil Young push each other to the best they can deliver on this one (in contrast to Mirrorball, which I found a real disappointment). Young's guitar playing on Id is reminiscent of his Rust Never Sleeps era, and is simply electrifying, conveying even more emotion than Vedder's vocals.
Long Road displays Pearl Jam's ability slow it down a bit and make really beautiful music.
I don't really think these 2 songs quite mesh with any of their full lengths in style. But this cd is a must for anyone who likes Pearl Jam, in my opinion... the versions released on the live cds still don't compare to these recordings.

First of all, the last review is pretty much spot on. Long Road is not only probably PJ's best song, it is one of the most beautiful songs for years. Wriiten as a reaction to the passing of one of his High School teachers, Long Road is a sombre, yet ultimatley uplifting song. Although Eddie's vocal is full of emotion, it's as if he accepts the grief + sadness because he believes they will meet again ("there's no need to say goodbye").

It's a subject he would revisit in later years, ( Light Years ) but this release, in between Vitalogy and No Code is a perfect mark for the 2nd phase of Pearl Jam's work. Neil Young lends his experience to both songs, as Mike + Stone did not play on either track. It's a release that is probably owned by most dedicated Pearl Jam fans, it's a release that should be in all homes.

Credited to Pearl Jam, "Merkinball" is a companion to Neil Young's "Mirror Ball", two songs by Ed Vedder-- "I Got Id" and "Long Road", performed by Vedder accompanied by Neil Young, drummer Jack Irons, and either Brendan O'Brien ("I Got Id") or Jeff Ament ("Long Road") on bass. The two pieces, live favorites, are among the strongest songs ever written by Vedder.

"I Got Id" is a grunge song, punky, noisy, and moody, with the sort of loud-soft motif that is so prevelent in grunge, beautifully conceived and full of brilliant noisy guitar and bass playing (check O'Brien's wiggly bass at the end of the piece-- amazing!). "Long Road" in many ways is the polar opposite, delicate, beating, beautiful. But what both songs share is intensity-- my comment on "Vitalogy" is that it worked best when Vedder was passionately behind it. He sits squarely behind both of these pieces, and they benefit from it.

It's really a shame this one is getting harder to find, it is amongst the most essential material in the Pearl Jam catalog.