A compilation of performances taken from MTV Unplugged featuring sixteen artists, many of whom released entire albums of their Unplugged concerts. According to the wonderful oral history I Want My MTV, Unplugged creators Bob Small and Jim Burns couldn't get MTV interested in the show. Executive Judy McGrath was the only one at the network that wanted to produce the show. She eventually got her way and the rest is history as the show became a worldwide megabrand.
As you would probably guess for such a compilation, this thing is hit-or-miss and there's alot of tracks here that are just ok. Some tracks aren't completely unplugged - electric bass is most often the culprit - and that bothers more than it probably should. And while the album is average at best, the liner notes are quite good.
To date, subsequent volumes have not been released.
Press of the time:
- Entertainment Weekly (B): "long on tasteful renderings and short on innovation."
- Billboard: "Acoustic, sure. But listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan deliver an emotionally charged blues reading of 'Pride And Joy,' and then argue the semantics of whether or not this is electric."
- CashBox: Pick of the week
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #97
Tracks:
Artist | Song | |
Stevie Ray Vaughan | Pride And Joy | ✔ |
Eric Clapton | Before You Accuse Me | |
Lenny Kravitz | Are You Gonna Go My Way | |
Soul Asylum | Somebody to Shove | ✘ |
k.d. lang | Barefoot | ✔ |
Paul Simon | Graceland | |
Elton John | Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me | ✔ |
Neil Young | Like A Hurricane | ✘ |
Rod Stewart | Gasoline Alley | |
John Mellencamp | Pink Houses | |
Paul McCartney | We Can Work It Out | |
Elvis Costello & The Rude 5 | Deep Dark Truthful Mirror | |
Don Henley | Come Rain Or Come Shine | |
Annie Lennox | Why | ✔ |
10,000 Maniacs | Don't Talk | |
R.E.M. | Half A World Away |
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
MTV Buzz Bin, Vol. 1 (1996)
Paul McCartney - Unplugged: The Official Bootleg (1991)
Never Mind The Mainstream...The Best of MTV's 120 Minutes, Vol. 2 (1991)
The boring story of how I acquired this disc can be found here: https://hercshideaway.blogspot.com/2016/09/great-music-mags-ice-class-of-1994.html
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