This one line, in all its simplicity sums up what Ed Vedder was and continues to search for in this life and from 1995 to 2013 it is a line that has served as my own emotional plea to the world regarding what drives me to do what I do. “If just once I could feel love, oh, stare back at me” Lyrically, there is one line in particular during the course of “I Got ID” that hits me deep and it is as follows: I could spend decades speaking about the lead guitar Neil Young plays on this song because it is so important to how the song unfolds and it is the spiritual key to unlocking the pure emotional power of “I Got ID” and on a grander scale the next ten years of Pearl Jam’s career. If Ed Vedder is singing about the God Shaped Hole in his soul then Neil Young’s lead work on “I Got ID” tears open the fabric of the universe and lets the rush of the heavens pour down into your headphones as you try and find a way to turn the fucking thing up louder.
#WHAT PEARL JAM ALBUMS DID JACK IRONS PLAY HOW TO#
Then there is of course the soul destroying lead break from Neil Young that colours so much of the song and gives the rage of it all a wise sigh that helps elevate the track to a level of communication that only Neil Young knows how to do. What makes “I Got ID” such a fantastic piece of music is its delicate rage and the way the song erupts from a quiet disappointed whisper to an angry yet beautiful roar that transitions into a chorus dripping with all kinds of yearning and desire for the simplest of human needs, to be loved and to be understood. So realistically the only members of Pearl Jam (circa 1995) present on this track are Ed Vedder and Jack Irons, but I’m not going to let logistics get in the way of resonance. As per the track credits the song is played by Ed Vedder (guitar and vocals), Brendan O’Brien (bass), Neil Young (guitar) and Pearl Jam’s drummer circa late 1994 to 1998 Jack Irons (drums). The strange aspect of this recording is that the bulk of Pearl Jam isn’t even on the track itself. This two track single was released in-between “Vitalogy” and “No Code” and was a companion piece to the album that Pearl Jam had made with Neil Young which was called “Mirror Ball” and with hindsight it is potentially Neil Young himself that has allowed for this song to resonate with me so deeply. My favourite Pearl Jam song of all time is called “I Got ID” which was a track that was written and recorded in 1995 as a stand-alone single / EP titled “Merkinball” which contained the equally amazing “Long Road” as the B-side.
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