I just ran across the old KISS album when they were on MTV Unplugged over over a decade ago. It made me really nostalgic for that program in particular, as it stands out in my mind as one of the most memorable and enjoyable programs to ever grace the network.

What are some of your favorite Unplugged performances?

Mine:

KISS. One of the only times I've ever seen the band anywhere, focus on the music, rather than the showmanship aspect.

Nirvana. I've never been a fan of the band at all, but their iconic appearance was truly praiseworthy, from the subdued renditions of their own songs, to the now infamous covers of "Man Who Sold the World" and "Lake of Fire"

Jay Z. Jay Z and The Roots, proof you don't need fancy electronic beats and heavy production to show competency in rapping.


Memorable, but for other reasons.
Eric Clapton. My first introduction to Unplugged. I don't care much for Clapton and this didn't do anything to sway me, but it still stands out in my mind after all these years.

Neil Young. Not memorable so much for Young's performance in particular, but his meltdown mid set. Very odd, considering acoustic shouldn't have been a big stretch for him; I do however, recall hearing, Young had no choice over who was backing him, so that might have set things off on the wrong foot from start.

Oasis. Noel harassing Liam from a balcony, rather than participate.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, by far.

I used to like Unplugged as well. I love the Neil Young Unplugged disc, but never saw the special or knew he had a meltdown. I wonder if it's up on youtube or something.

I think it was WAY overblown at the time, but I guess I should mention Sir Paul flubbing the beginning of "We Can Work It Out", because it's nice to see even the greatest show us he's human.

I loved the REM set. Especially Michael Stipe having to read the lyrics of "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" off a teleprompter and claiming he's not sure if they were all correct. They should have released that one on CD.

Thank you. The worst part was that MTV would hardly ever repeat that ep. But other artist's performances were practically on a video loop.

KISS...because I think it showed that KISS could actually play ad sound really good. Even as a huge fan I had my doubts before this show. Anyway, I was particularly blown away by their ballad stuff.

LL Cool J...I'm not a huge Rap fan, but this ep threw everyone for a loop with live players backing LL.

BJORK...I've seen bits and pieces but not the whole performance.


Unplugged Wish list: RUSH. They did one of their songs called, "Resist" unplugged" on tour and it sounded amazing.

Queensr˙che [4/27/92]

Pearl Jam Unplugged was good too

My all time favorite is Alice In Chains Unplugged. I even have the DVD and the CD (Now transfered onto my iPod) i highly recommend it to anyone that even remotely likes them, its some of the best music they did.

it wasn't unplugged but I remember two great concerts MTV aired (albeit bleeped) Green Day and another from The Prodigy.

LL Cool J doing "Mama Said Knock You Out" was pretty awesome.

Also loved the 10000 Maniacs set.

That was an amazing performance. Alice & Chains and Nirvana's are the ones I listen to and remember the most.

Kids these days don't appreciate how easy it is to get music. I remember how I had to special order The Meat Puppets cd to get Lake of Fire & Plateau until they finally released the Nirvana Unplugged cd.

I shall now be trumped by some old timer talking about dubbing 8-tracks & LPs.



Also, there are some equally remarkable performances on Austin City Limits via your local PBS. They air them in high-def with 5.1 surround and everything. I've seen some great concerts on there in similar, intimate settings like were often on Unplugged. Some of my favorite ACL include: Nick Lowe; The Swell Season; Ray LaMontagne; Coldplay; and Ben Folds.

I forgot about that one (though I have the cd.) Another excellent concert.

Polyphonic Spree did a fun gig on ACL

I caught Silversun Pickups unplugged recently on Paladia. It was a really small set. Was kind of surprised after seeing Nirvana and Alice in Chains unplugged...

Though I am not a fan of the band, I liked the mash up Korn did with Robert Smith of Make Me Bad and Inbetween Days.

I've seen REM a few times. He does that with that song every time.

Some of my favorite Unplugged performances ...

10,000 Maniacs
REM
Alice in Chains
Bob Dylan

I seem to remember Stone Temple Pilots delivering a really good performance as well. If I really looked, I think I still have VHS recordings of Hole and The Cranberries Unplugged.

If you don't already have it, go pick up SRV's "Pride & Joy" DVD. Among other things, it contains the entire Unplugged performance.

Kiss and LL were great. i remember getting chills watching as the original and new members were all playing together and watching the two drummers playing in unison. Man, I always used to tell anyone who would listen that I'd rather see a live rock band than a rapper any day. And I cried when Stevie Ray died in the helicopter crash. No one played like him.

As a huge fan of Live, I loved their performance. I don't think I ever saw it repeated either, but I still listen to the tracks from time to time.

I loved when they kicked in to The Beauty of Grey.

The spoken word unplugged was one of my favs. Also, it was Liam in the balcony and Noel being harassed. Noel's the better singer anyways.

I interviewed Brian Aubert a few weeks back and he said it was filmed in someone's apartment and that the audience was mostly set-dressing consisting of MTV employees.

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Yep, I was a fan of that one as well. I remember I ordered Maggie Estep's CD shortly after seeing her on that show.

Denis Leary Unplugged
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I miss Layne Staley

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Bruce Springsteen: "Bring out the band!"