PacManY2J's Full Review: MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana (US)
After three studio albums of aggressive and at times abrasive music, Nirvana stripped away that punk edge for their 1993 MTV Unplugged concert. What remained revealed Nirvana as the true musicians they were. As awesome as their noisy angst edge was, especially as it was refreshingly topping the Billboard charts, this was the album that proved to even many non-fans that Nirvana were more than a loud band to disgust your parents. They were talented artists who could make timeless music when in the right setting.
Most artists who've taken part in this series have opted simply to play acoustic versions of their popular songs. That's led to some interesting and enjoyable performances, but Nirvana wanted more. The set opens with the upbeat Bleach cut "About a Girl" (Unplugged's only commercially released single), which is followed by the Nevermind hit "Come As You Are." That's where the hits end. No "Heart Shaped Box" or "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But after listening to this album, you won't even miss those chart-toppers.
The band takes some deeper cuts from their studio albums and finds ways to bring new emotion to these already strong numbers. Softer tracks like "Something In the Way," "Polly," and "Pennyroyal Tea" initially had intensity, but from their stripped down versions emerge further potency. More upbeat studio tracks such as "On a Plain" and "Dumb" sound great in acoustic form and help reveal just how good these songs are even without the loudness. And "All Apologies," already worthy of being called a Nirvana classic, is given a treatment that creates an even more classic feel.
Not only do Nirvana ignore nearly all of their hits, they play a surprisingly large amount of covers. Eight of the album's 14 tracks were penned by Cobain while the others include versions of songs by David Bowie ("The Man Who Sold the World"), the Vaselines ("Jesus Don't Want Me For a Sunbeam"), and even old bluesman Lead Belly ("Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"). These tracks help Nirvana display their musical range while maintaining a consistent mood throughout the concert.
The band gets a little help from their friends, but not someone obvious like, say, Eddie Vedder or Chris Cornell, someone who would have made this album a much easier sell. Instead they bring out Chris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets (who, in 1993, had not yet scored their big hit "Backwater") to perfom three Puppets tracks ("Plateau," "Oh Me" and "Lake of Fire"). All three performances are excellent, especially "Lake of Fire" thanks to Cobain's scratchy vocals that make him sound like an old man warning of hellfire and brimstone.
And if the entire album weren't great enough already, they close with "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" The end is absolutely chilling, as the music and vocals get more intense culminating in Cobain using every last breath to scream out one final chorus. He fills the final line with stark emotion as if he knew these would be the final words we'd hear him sing (even more chilling is the fact that he intentionally had the stage decorated in lilies and black candles to resemble a funeral). When he sings the word "shiver," you will shiver as if you just heard a man on his deathbed force out his final breath.
The lack of big hits, the cover songs, and the addition of the Meat Puppets all show Nirvana's flair for making their art successful without commercial compromise. This is an album that will stand the test of time, as it doesn't feel like it's from the '90s or any specific time period. Unplugged in New York defies era, genre, and even our previous notions of who Nirvana were. The funereal setting and knowledge that this was essentially the band's swan song is an important part of this album's legacy, but never do those facts overshadow the music itself.
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