There has always been something captivating about your favorite artists unplugging their instruments and going acoustic. Maybe the appeal is a response to being inundated with stimulation, or maybe it is just impressive in its own right. The unplugged album succeeds by nature of not being flashy: If the artist triumphs, it is all the more impressive and a testament to their craft. Music does not get any more raw or vulnerable than this.
No other mainstream media productions have been able to encapsulate this vulnerability better than “MTV Unplugged,” a staple of the entertainment mammoth MTV. Before MTV devolved into vapid reality series and viewer-submission shows a la “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” the channel was, as the name suggests, a medium for music television. In addition to the Video Music Awards and their now defunct music exposure program “120 Minutes,” they would — and occasionally still do — host acoustic series where the world’s biggest artists would perform stripped-back performances of their hits for an intimate audience.
The mood of “MTV Unplugged” has ebbed and flowed since its first season aired in 1989. Because of the lasting impact of the program, I want to examine the highs and lows of past artists who have graced their stage — the dozens who have achieved unparalleled peaks and the dozens who have given quite lackluster performances — and analyze in chronological order why some have stood the test of time.
Paul McCartney | “Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)” (1991)
Paul McCartney’s acoustic and bluesy set rejuvenated “MTV Unplugged” and brought many listeners into the fold. Producer Alex Coletti would later credit McCartney’s performance as being the one that solidified “MTV Unplugged” as a cult show. The former “Fab Four” member covered many old The Beatles songs, including “Blackbird” (1968) and “Here, There And Everywhere” (1966). McCartney also covered many blues and rockabilly standards on the live album, including Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971) and Gene Vincent’s “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (2007). Originally covered on The Beatles’ third studio album “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “And I Love Her” (1964) is the standout performance of the record: Its sparse instrumentation, disarming vocal harmonies and light piano keys feel like a weighted blanket.
LL Cool J, MC Lyte, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul | “Yo! MTV Raps Unplugged” (1991)
“Yo! MTV Raps Unplugged” (1991) brought together a star-studded hip-hop ensemble for a one-of-a-kind live performance, the first of its kind to grace the stages of the “MTV Unplugged” series. The show opened with an acoustic rendition of A Tribe Called Quest’s classic chill anthem “Can I Kick It?” (1990), which features plenty of charming audience participation. Next, MC Lyte took the stage to rap the commanding “Cappucino” (2009) alongside a groovy backing band. Later, rap forefather LL Cool J and hip-hop group De La Soul exemplified the highs of jazz rap. The live performance was also one of the cornerstone moments of the golden age of hip-hop, that sweet spot between the late ’80s and early ’90s when hip-hop started to gain mainstream credibility as a valid and potent art form. Though often mistaken as a fad by the music press, hip-hop would continue to pick up steam throughout the ’90s and eventually become the unmistakable zeitgeist years later. This low-key performance from 1991 is just one of the many reminders of the budding genre’s growing cross-generational appeal.
Eric Clapton | “Unplugged” (1992)
Eric Clapton joined the “MTV Unplugged” canon with his legendary acoustic set recorded in early 1992 and released in August of the same year. The standout tracks are the emotional ballad “Tears In Heaven” (1992) and Derek & The Dominos’ “Layla” (1970), both of which have become some of the most common and admired acoustic renditions of all time. The performance holds even more emotional weight due to the recent grief the singer-songwriter was facing after his four-year-old son’s untimely death. Clapton’s “Unplugged” would become his best-selling album, reaching a not-too-shabby 26 million copies sold internationally. It would also become the best-selling live album of all time — a record the album still holds — setting a new gold standard for live albums.
Mariah Carey | “MTV Unplugged” (1992)
On her way to achieving world domination, Mariah Carey made a pit stop at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York to prove to her detractors and reaffirm to her fans that she could simply let her music speak for itself and that would still be enough. “MTV Unplugged” (1992), released via Columbia Records in June 1992, exhibited Carey’s vocal dexterity and impressive range — notably her whistle register — on stripped-back renditions of her hit songs at the time, such as “Emotions” (1991). While mostly composed of her top songs, Carey’s management chose her angelic cover of “I’ll Be There” (1970) by The Jackson 5 as the lead single for her “Unplugged” EP.
Nirvana | ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ (1994)
Nirvana owed a lot to MTV, despite their frontman’s disdain for the corporatocracy. Soon after the band’s sophomore album “Nevermind” (1991) was released, MTV would start airing the music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on loop, notably right alongside other pop artists of the day. The rest is history, as the subsequent explosion of grunge and alternative rock music into the mainstream had already been discussed ad nauseam.
After their explosion into the stratosphere of popular culture, the battered and worn-down trio were eventually coaxed into performing an unplugged set. For a band known for their abrasive and distorted grunge songs, this should have been a recipe for disaster. The result instead was anything but that — the 54-minute show is sparse, harrowing, unnervingly raw and most importantly, a one-of-a-kind Nirvana experience. Everything about the show has become iconic, and even during the show’s original taping, it was clear that something truly special was brewing. Even Cobain’s Martin D-18E acoustic guitar and green cardigan would go on to be sold at auctions for a whopping $6 million and $334,000, respectively.
The show itself also took on a whole new meaning after Cobain’s untimely death — the once aesthetically pleasing stage, donned with stargazer lilies, a crystal chandelier and countless black candles, would later feel less like an intimate show and more like a performance in a graveyard.
Alice in Chains | ‘Unplugged’ (1996)
Another one of Nirvana’s Seattle peers, American grunge act Alice in Chains, played their first show in over two years at the Majestic Theatre where they too tested their musicianship with over an hour of acoustic renditions of their songs. The performance is iconic. For reasons similar to Nirvana, the sludgy grunge act’s well-executed transition from plugged to unplugged works surprisingly well, as do the chilling vocal harmonies between lead singer Layne Staley and lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell.
Moreover, like Nirvana, the retrospective uneasiness that seeps into the record gives the performance even more weight. “Unplugged” would be lead singer Layne Staley’s second-to-last performance before heroin would take his life some years later. Opener “Nutshell” sets the tone for the moody yet warm record, and every member of Alice in Chains pulls their weight in achieving this musical feat.
Alanis Morissette | ‘Live / Unplugged’ (1999)
The grunge explosion of the ’90s would break down the doors for many trailblazing artists, but it historically shied away from allowing powerful female voices to take center stage. Alanis Morissette sustained the grunge explosion with her mainstream breakthrough on her iconic third album “Jagged Little Pill” (1995), a project that harnessed the alternative rock wave of the first half of the decade and tethered it with elements of post-grunge, drum machines and pop melodicism.
Morissette’s performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York would spawn her first live album and feature standout acoustic renditions of her hit song “Ironic,” a chilling rendition of “King of Pain” and a bone-chilling performance of “Uninvited,” all of which deservedly earn her a spot as one of the “Unplugged” greats.
Lauryn Hill | ‘MTV Unplugged No. 2.0’ (2002)
The number of Ms. Lauryn Hill's projects can be counted on one hand, and yet, like Frank Ocean, the scarcity of content makes each installment all the more powerful. Four years after her career and era-defining solo debut, Hill re-entered the spotlight at MTV Studios in New York City to perform an hour’s worth of material.
Her addition to this list is not as obvious as some of the others, as the live LP would garner lukewarm reviews by critics and fans alike. Many despised the performance, calling it thematically confused, muddled, self-important and too devoid of her trademark hip-hop influences. Many critics also loathed the many interludes and long pauses between songs where Hill would talk about a myriad of topics ranging from failed relationships, the pressures of fame and the personal struggles she was facing at the time.
Despite this, “MTV Unplugged No. 2.0” is unquestionably iconic both due to her scarce discography, the rare and vulnerable side of Hill it exemplified, the samples it generated in hip-hop and its addition to the canon of “Unplugged” performances.
Alicia Keys | ‘Unplugged’ (2005)
Brimming with joy and optimism, Alicia Keys’ “Unplugged” performance serves as a great reminder of why her pop-meets-soul ascendence in the early aughts was so deserved. Keys' performance is vibrant, warm and contagiously optimistic.
The album would also break many milestones: it would be the highest charting debut for an MTV “Unplugged” performance since Nirvana’s and the first by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard charts. Highlights include track two, “Karma,” which flows directly into the groovy bop “Heartburn.” Her potent performance of the piano ballad “If I Ain’t Got You” is also a standout track.
Flanked by an impressive array of R&B, gospel and jazz-trained backing musicians, Keys achieves quite the experience on her installment to the “Unplugged” lineage.
Twenty One Pilots | ‘MTV Unplugged (Live)’ (2023)
Tyler Joseph, the multi-instrumentalist lead vocalist for Twenty One Pilots, prefaced the adoring crowd at the duo’s intimate “Unplugged” gig with some candid words about the history of the program and their new take on it.
“Now, as you can see up here, we’re very plugged,” Joseph wittily told the delighted audience of fans in Los Angeles, flanked on both sides by multiple keyboards and heaps of electrical equipment. “But to me, this series has become less about performing your songs acoustically, and more about a band, or an artist, presenting themselves in a different way than they traditionally would.”
Unlike previous “Unplugged” artists, the duo actually built the songs from scratch live on stage, using looping technology to eventually make a coherent and dynamic song. The duo showcased a medley of their hits from their career, opening with “Stressed Out,” continuing the show with “Tear in My Heart,” then finally tearing the house down with a blazing combination of “Car Radio / Heathens.”
