I can remember seeing MTV Unplugged for the first time and thinking that it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Even as a dorky metalhead kid, I always appreciated musicians trying something different with their music. I always dug bands that would go out on a limb and be daring and take risks. MTV Unplugged was just that limb and for some bands, the risks were only to turn ugly but ya know what? That’s totally ok. Just the fact that they took the risk earned my appreciation.
For some artists, MTV Unplugged had certain bands performing in their true element. I remember seeing Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora on the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards and they performed acoustic versions of “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “Wanted Dead of Alive”. At this point, I was pretty much done with Bon Jovi but I totally dug this and thought they were bad ass. In all honesty, those two dudes with just acoustic guitars and killer vocals possessed more cool than they ever had or ever would again.
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Another band that found themselves in their element was the Black Crowes. The band LITERALLY played unplugged not even opting in to plug in their guitars. They played their instruments mic’d and even the drums were stripped down to just a mere bass drum, snare and high hat. While it was really no surprise that these guys could pull it off, it was amazing to see them really work this format and pretty much be one of the reigning kings of the Unplugged style. They fucking nailed it.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBb3NYTn4gw”]
The most exciting thing about the unplugged format was seeing/hearing bands perform in this style that you never thought would work. I do remember when the roots/hard rock band Tesla put out their Five Man Acoustical Jam album. Tesla was like a much harder edged version of the Black Crowes that came out around 1987 with their debut album Mechanical Resonance. The band followed that album up in 1989 with “The Great Radio Controversy” and took to the road. Their songs totally appealed to the hard rock/metal crowd but also introduced that crowd to acoustic guitars, catchy harmonies and rootsy, thoughtful lyrics. They released a live album of them performing all acoustic renditions of not only their songs but some great covers such as The Grateful Dead’s “Truckin”, The Beatles “We Can Work It Out” and the song that put them on the map, “Signs” which was originally recorded by The Five Man Electrical Band. The band pulled this one off and left jaws on the floor with just how well they did so.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGWUZQ5xCyw”]
Add to that list of bands that suprised the hell out of me…Queensryche. Wow. I actually remember thinking that this had all the potential to be a trainwreck. Don’t get me wrong, I was (and still am) a huge Queensryche fan. I knew that these dudes could play their asses off and write the fuck out of a song but could they really pull the unplugged format off? So much of Queensryche in addition to their songs was their sound and that sound was VERY much electric. I just couldn’t wait to see how they pulled it off and man, did they ever pull it off. To this day, their performance of “I Will Remember” from their “Rage For Order” album gives me chills. They’re setlist was totally impressive that night ending with a rousing acoustic rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”. Add to that a haunting version of “Scarborough Fair” and “Della Brown” and you’ve got pure fucking magic. You can even see it in the bands faces as they perform that they’re pretty much telling the nay sayers to go suck it.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pxMrlzslHA”]
MTV Unplugged could really take a band that was not used to that element of performing and have them become that part completely. When Pearl Jam performed on Unplugged, I was floored. They didn’t do too much to vary their performance. They just pretty much swapped out electric guitars for acoustics and they played with the same energy and drive that they did when they performed electric. They totally blew me away with the fact that they seemed completely unphased. Even during their performance of “Porch”, they just couldn’t contain themselves anymore and bassist Jeff Ament was up on his feet and rocking out like he just couldn’t take it anymore.
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Unplugged offered up the element of surprise to me as well and showed me that they could actually indeed polish a turd. For instance, I HATED Nirvana. Matter of fact, I still don’t like that band. I gave their MTV Unplugged a whirl and was I ever floored and blown away. Underneath all the noise and horrible live vocals was a really talented band who actually had some pretty cool songs. This is another example of a band that, much like Queensryche, was completely out of their element but they managed to shush all the doubters and perform a flawless and even beautiful set. I didn’t see it so much that way back then but after recently deciding to pick up a copy, I realize that it was just that. The band performed an amazing cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” and I was sold. I totally tip my hat to these guys.
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Some turds just weren’t meant to be polished. Around 1989-1992 or so, MTV decided that it would be a good idea to pull some hard rock/hair metal bands for the show since alot of these bands had hit videos on MTV. In 1990, Poison appeared on Unplugged in an episode that very well could have been commercial suicide. It was so painful to hear acoustic versions of “I Want Action” and “Talk Dirty To Me”. Really? Trust me, the world didn’t need it and I wish I could unwatch it. Add to that list Slaughter with their ear piercing two cats fucking vocals on “Fly To The Angels” and watching them literally destroy the Beatle’s classic “Revolution”. Ugggggh, I just got the willies just thinking about that.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY2hy3wcYC0″]
Some of these hard rock/hair metal bands did pretty good with it and actually “got” it which was pretty cool. When Ratt performed on Unplugged, they performed their hit “Way Cool Jr.” but they REALLY stepped it up with a gritty, nasty version of “Born On The Bayou” and it was smoking. They totally “got it” and let it rip. Those are the only songs I remember them doing so maybe the other songs were just too painful to remember. When Winger performed, yeah, go ahead and laugh, they took their hit single at the time “Cant’ Get Enuff” and totally turned it into a shuffle blues number. I didn’t think it was great but they totally impressed me that they got it ya know? They had some fun with it and actually tried something different and got into the element. It was a a cool thing to see.
[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deHM9w4vDcE”]
The “unplugged” format is something that bands are pulling out to this day in order to break the monotany of the electric format. It’s a way to dive into something new and try to take that chance, go out on that limb and accept the dare. It’s not as exciting anymore because it seems to be such a played out thing but ya know, I still enjoy hearing a band that normally wouldn’t do this try and pull it off. I’m still waiting for the Slayer unplugged but I’m guessing that will never happen.
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