Essential Unplugged/Acoustic Albums
10. Korn MTV Unplugged
When I first read Korn was selected for an MTV Unplugged, I thought for sure it would be one of the most awful things ever recorded. I came across it one afternoon at the radio stations in this big box o' junk promo singles and gave it a listen. I'm glad I did since it was surprisingly good. I think the band took pride in the format and rearranged many of their hits and added extra instruments and even guest singers- members of The Cure and Amy Lee from Evanescence.
This spot would like be occupied by Tesla if not for this past New Year's Eve. I attended a friend's party and he let me play the role of "DJ." I picked party-sounding music like Madonna and Rick Springfield, then decided to mix it up with Rod Stewart. I'm familiar with a few of the "hits", but this sounded like a good chance to delve deeper. Glad I did, since the guy knew how to rock in the 70's. I'm in love with these MTV Unplugged discs, Rod had one, so here we are.
8. Scorpions MTV Unplugged
Much like the best of the MTV Unplugged performances, the Scorpions reworked their songs for this format. They've also added to their sound with a strings section, mandolin, and guest vocalists.I always like the Scorpions for their hits of the 80's, but this also opened up my ears to their early songs of the 70's like "In Trance" and "Speedy's Coming." I never dug too deep in their catalog til now and I'm glad I did because "In Trance" is a highlight of this performance; even their newer songs stack up with the best of their older material. Each of the core members (Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, and Matthias Jabs) also provide their own song as well, specifically written for this MTV special.
This honestly would be higher, but as far as live albums go, I like when they're from one show and not selections from different cites. Just seems a lot cooler to me when it's "Live at Budokan" or "Live at Shea Stadium." So that slight stipulation holds it back. Otherwise, this is a fantastic collection of their originals and selected covers. The band harmonizes just as they do on their albums, the drums are traded in for various percussion instruments like bongos and maracas, in fact, I'd say the band shines more in this format than the studio.
6. KISS MTV Unplugged
Honestly, I thought this would have been higher on my list when I came up with the idea. Once I started scribbling down bands on paper and arranging them, I realized this might just be the toughest that I've done so far. I really enjoy all of these, and much like Alice in Chains' album, I think this is where I became a "fan." KISS' music screams explosions, lights, and a giant stage performance, yet they're just as good stripped down, and even showed off the band's sense of humor as the video version features a country version of "God of Thunder" and a few moments where they let the crowd sing along.
Many songs from this made my "essential" list of Heart tunes, so it was no surprise to see this album ranked here. I've tracked down a few Unplugged discs over the years like one from Dokken that wasn't an MTV Unplugged recording, and Heart's also caught me by surprise when I saw it in a local record shop. I popped it in on the drive home and was instantly hooked by "Barracuda."
4. Foo Fighters Skin And Bones
Always been a Foo Fighters fan but I'm not sure why it took me so long to listen to this album. I guess they do break format slightly with Taylor Hawkins' "Cold Day In The Sun" but I'll let it slide since it's such a cool song. I do like their versions of "Times Like These" and "Next Year", and also one of my favorites from the band, "Walking After You."
3. Nirvana MTV Unplugged
Dave Grohl's second appearance on this list, with his first band, Nirvana. I've never been a Nirvana fan but I do appreciate a good acoustic performance, and like the rest of the best, they've adapted their sound. I keep pointing out bands that rework their songs for these performances because one of the worst I've heard is from Sevendust. They may have traded their guitars for acoustic ones but they still act like they're performing a normal show, so they've pretty much missed the point. Why not stay plugged in? Nirvana also turned in a great version of David Bowie's "The Man Whom Sold the World" amongst other covers that comprise nearly half of their set.
If you want to know why I like this album so much, look up the album version of "I'm Ready" and then listen to this unplugged version.
I've had this album since high school and the DVD for just as long, and even though I've traded many CDs and videos into various record stores over the years, these two have remained as staples of my music collection. Alice In Chains already dabbled with acoustic recordings with the EP titled Jar Of Flies, but here they devoted a full album to the concept, even debuting a new song "The Killer Is Me." I didn't know the significance at the time I bought it and didn't learn until years later that this would document one of the last performances of the band with Layne Staley. Highlights for me are "Nutshell", "No Excuses", "Would?", and Layne's line that MTV was going to break to an LL Cool J video.
Comments
Post a Comment