Best "Unplugged" albums? (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Lundy]

I've got Nirvana, and Clapton's on order... what are some of the other worthwhile Unplugged albums? I've just discovered this stuff is actually pretty good now that I have real speakers.


PS: Back in highschool my guitar playing friend actually performed an "Unplugged heavy-metal & rap" act that was quite good. I remember I remember Deicide's "Once upon the cross" was friggin hilarious a cappella . Suprisingly most of Rammstein's work was still quite good.

 

[Brian L]

I think Alice In Chains is top notch. They are one of my favorite bands, so I obviouly like the repetoire, but on top of that, the sound quality is outstanding.

Actually, that title is also available on DVD, and has a great DD mix. I have both.

BGL

 

[Rachael B]

I like the Neil Young one. I have it on Laserdisc instead of CD which makes it extra fun. I like his pump organ!

 

[AnthonyC]

McCartney's if you can find it.

 

[ChrisMatson]

Not "Unplugged" as in MTV, but the excellent Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live At Luther College acoustic CD is worth getting.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Has there ever been a Hall & Oates unplugged album? I saw them live here way back in 1992, and their unplugged set was awesome and I've been looking for an unplugged album ever since.

 

[Angelo.M]

10,000 Maniacs. Unfortunately, some of the best stuff from the show is omitted from the recording (but present on the VHS).

 

[dpippel]

Nirvana, 10,000 Maniacs and Neil Young are all great choices. Another really good Unplugged performance, if you're into his kind of thing, is Tony Bennett.

 

[Joey Skinner]

The album titled "dwightyoakamacoustic.net" for Dwight Yoakum and country fans.

 

[Jean D]

I agree with all the above mentioned as well as these. Staind Unplugged is good. Pearl Jam and STP (unofficial) Ive heard that the Smashing Pumpkins VH1 Storytellers set is excellent (also unofficial)Alice In Chains albums Jar of Flys and Sap (not really unplugged, but mostly acoustic with some electric overtones)the Incubus DVD When Incubus Attacks Vol 2 has an acoustic set which sounds great. Im sure other bands do this on some dvd's too. I believe Ben Harper has some stuff you can find. aside from that a lot of bands release acoustic versions of songs that you can find free on their websites or radio station websites. for instance Deftones released a couple songs acoustic "Drive Me (Far Away)" for instance until their label got mad at them and told them to take the songs down. you could make a list of bands you like and songs you like and search for them, and make your own acoustic mix. You can go to MTV.com for a list of who did Unplugged performances and set-lists, and VH1 for the Storytellers shows. - hope this helped a little Also, Bela Fleck has acoustic material out there if you like bluegrass.

 

[Ron Reda]

IMO, not only is the music on this one great, but the recording is as well.

While it is a bit older than the other CDs discussed here, try "Friday Night in San Francisco"...it is one of my favorites.

 

[Bill Williams]

The Eric Clapton Unplugged CD is, IMHO, the definitive Unplugged. The quality is absolutely stellar. The Tony Bennett Unplugged CD is also quite an enjoyable listen. My parents and I watched his Unplugged concert on MTV back in 1995 and thoroughly enjoyed it. His rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" is truly unplugged thanks to Bennett's amazing vocal range. I was also able to find Paul McCartney's very rare Unplugged CD as well - another good addition.

Another good CD, or even LD, to pick up is Bruce Springsteen's Unplugged concert. The CD has five or six tracks on it, while the LD had the entire concert and three tracks that weren't featured on the telecast. This one's more "Plugged" than "Unplugged" because after one or two songs Springsteen said the hell with it, let's crank it up.

 

[John Milton]

I'm not a big fan of unplugged music but I did like Nirvana's CD.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Nothing better than hearing barr chords mashed on an acoustic.

 

[Danny Tse]

Yee-Ming,

I believe a couple of Hall and Oates performances are available on those "Unplugged" compilation DVDs. Otherwise, Hall and Oates releases a concert DVD earlier this year that featured a segment where they performed "unplugged"....songs like "Out of Touch". The DVD comes with a CD of the concert. Highly recommended!!

 

[Tim Glover]

Bryan Adams Unplugged is pretty good too.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Excellent, thanks for the heads up Danny!

i'd agree Clapton's Unplugged is pretty good, with one big exception: "Layla", unplugged, is a horrendously watered-down version of the original. The intensity of the first half, followed by that amazing coda with Allman's slide guitar, is just soul-wrenching. The unplugged version is merely a "nice ballad". I pity the teens of today (more accurately, of the 90s) who think of "Layla" as a nice softie ballad and have never heard the original version.

 

[Rachael B]

Boz Scaggs' FADE INTO LIGHT , Japan only CD release, has several tracks from his Unplugged performance. It's baffling why it hasn't ever been released in the U.S.

 

[Mark Murphy]

Nirvana and Alice in Chains are my favorites. I think the covers (Bowie, Meat Puppets) that Nirvana does are fantastic.

 

[Mark Romero]

Another vote for AIC.