NY: We did this benefit with them [Pearl Jam], that was their show at Constitution Hall. And I played with Crazy Horse and then I came out and played with them. You know - we just like playing together. It sounds good when we play together. We like each other. DM: Was this like a spontaneous thing? Or was there a plan? NY: After we played this Choice benefit, Pro-Choice benefit in Washington. DM: Which was in January right after the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. NY: Right, the night after that. We played Act Of Love at that. It was really good. We really smoked it that night. It was the first time they'd ever played it. It was first time we'd ever played it together. They told me they learned from a DAT because they heard it the night before. DM: So they bootlegged it at the Hall Of Fame. NY: Yeah - they bootlegged it and then learned it from that. And then we did it the next night - we never played it before, we played it at that show. It was it really in a great groove, so we were thinking this was really good we really smoked it - we should catch this and get it on tape. So we were talking a little bit about that and we decided to make a plan. Try to figure out when we could do it. We did it about a week or so later. Got two days in the studio. Neil Young Mirror Ball World Premiere radio broadcast with Dave Marsh June 1995

[talking about Mirror Ball] NY: The whole record was recorded in four days and all the songs, barring Song X and Act Of Love, were written in that four day stretch. I played Act Of Love with Crazy Horse in January at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Then, the following night, I played it with Pearl Jam at a Pro- Choice benefit concert and the version was so powerful! I decided there and then to record it with them as soon as possible. On a purely musical level, this is the first time I've been in a band with three potential lead guitarists since The Buffalo Springfield. Plus there's Jack Irons, their drummer, who was just unbelievable. He just played his ass off on every take at every session. I can't say enough good things about him. NY: I didn't even think about recording a whole album when we went in to cut Act Of Love. I had two days with Pearl Jam initially. Two days and just two songs - that wasn't enough for me so I had five written by the time I went in. Recorded five of them, left one out. Then I came back for another two-day session with two more new songs. Plus I re- recorded the fifth one from the first session again. Then the day after that, I wrote another two new songs. Throw Your Weapons Down - maybe. Maybe not, tho' there's a large part of making this new album that's pretty foggy... (laughs) NK: The song Act Of Love is about the issue of abortion. It throws together images like Rockin' In The Free World did... NY: Yeah, there's no bias so you have to make up your own mind, finally. See, personally, I'm pro-choice. But the song isn't! This isn't an easy subject to confront head-on. People who say that human beings shouldn't have the right to dismiss a human life - they have a point. You can't dismiss that point. But then there's the reality. There's idealism and reality, the two have to come together yet there are always major problems when they do. Maybe that's the crux of what I'm trying to say in this new album. It's also a commentary of the differences between my peace and love '60s generation and the more cynical '90s generation. Like this term 'love'. We hear the word so much it gets devalued and you need to - if not redefine it - then at least re-examine what it really stands for. We all need to get back inside ourselves and take another look. You can't just keep coasting along on the previous analysis because it isn't working any more. Neil Young Mojo/Nick Kent December 1995