Happy Birthday Neil Young | Full Show With Pearl Jam

In the history of rock there haven’t been too many megastars who follow their muse at any cost. Neil Young is one of those musicians as he’ll change course at the tip of a hat if he feels his music will benefit -just ask the members of Buffalo Springfield who are still waiting for a reunion tour. Today Neil turns 68 and even at this stage of his career he’s continued to zag every time you think he’ll zig.

One of the unorthodox turns in Young’s career took place in 1995, when he enlisted Seattle rockers Pearl Jam to back him on an album of new material that would be eventually be released as Mirror Ball. Neil and Pearl Jam, minus Eddie Vedder, played 11 shows in August of ’95 in support of the album. All of the Mirror Ball shows took place in Europe and despite many rumors over the years, the two acts didn’t tour again after that brief run. Neil, Pearl Jam and producer Brendan O’Brien (who played keys for the shows) mixed material from Young’s career along with the songs from Mirror Ball.

Sadly, an official video from the tour was never released, but we’ve come across the best and most complete fan-shot footage from the run. Watch Neil and Pearl Jam’s entire August 18, 1995 performance from Salzburg, Austria: