MTV Unplugged in New York
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| MTV Unplugged in New York | |||||
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| Live album by Nirvana | |||||
| Released | November 1, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | November 18, 1993, at Sony Studios in New York City, New York | ||||
| Genre | Acoustic Grunge |
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| Length | 53:50 | ||||
| Label | DGC | ||||
| Producer | Scott Litt, Alex Coletti, Nirvana | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Nirvana chronology | |||||
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MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the American grunge band Nirvana. It was released in November 1994. It features an acoustic concert the band played at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993. The show, directed by Beth McCarthy, first aired on MTV on December 14, 1993. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.
MTV Unplugged in New York was the first Nirvana album released following the death of singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain in April 1994. It was hailed by critics as proof the band was able to transcend the grunge sound they were commonly associated with.[1]
Six of the fourteen songs are covers, showcasing the band’s diverse tastes in music, featuring covers of songs by The Vaselines, David Bowie and The Meat Puppets, and of Leadbelly's folk standard, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." The album opened at number one on the Billboard 200. It was also the first Nirvana album to feature touring guitarist Pat Smear. Of Nirvana's live albums, this is the most successful (selling millions of copies). MTV Unplugged In New York is the most successful post-Cobain Nirvana release, selling 5,000,000 copies in America by 1997.[2]
MTV Unplugged in New York includes two songs which were not aired on the original television broadcast of the concert: "Something in the Way" and "Oh, Me". Both the album and the broadcast omit a short jam of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Sweet Home Alabama", and rehearsals of "Come As You Are", "Polly", "Plateau", "Pennyroyal Tea" and ""The Man Who Sold the World". The 2007 DVD release contains the entire taping.
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[edit] DVD release
MTV Unplugged In New York was officially released on DVD on November 20, 2007. The DVD release featured the entire taping, including the two songs excluded from the broadcast version. Bonus features included the original broadcast version of the performance, a 1999 MTV special titled Bare Witness: Nirvana Unplugged featuring the recollections of MTV producers and audience members, and five songs taped during the pre-show rehearsal: "Come as You Are," "Polly," "Plateau," "Pennyroyal Tea," and "The Man Who Sold The World." Before the band played the last song, Cobain said "I take requests" and audience members shouted out various song titles including "Rape Me," (Shouted by a girl, causing Cobain to make a shocked look and say "I don't think MTV would let us play that.") "Scentless Apprentice,"D-7","Serve the Servants" "Lithium," and "In Bloom," to which Cobain replies, "How are we supposed to play "In Bloom" acoustically?" One audience member jokingly shouted "Free Bird!," and Cobain replies, "I've been waiting for that." Another audience member also shouted out "Sliver," and Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic started playing their parts, realizing that it may sound good. Grohl suggested they try it, but Cobain did not think it would sound good, so they started playing "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" [3]
[edit] Track listing
- "About a Girl" (Kurt Cobain) – 3:37
- "Come as You Are" (Cobain) – 4:13
- "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam" (Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee; The Vaselines cover) – 4:37
- "The Man Who Sold the World" (David Bowie cover) – 4:20
- "Pennyroyal Tea" (Cobain) – 3:40
- "Dumb" (Cobain) – 2:52
- "Polly" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:16
- "On a Plain" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 3:44
- "Something in the Way" (Cobain, Nirvana) – 4:01
- "Plateau" (Curt Kirkwood; Meat Puppets cover) – 3:38
- "Oh Me" (Kirkwood; Meat Puppets cover) – 3:26
- "Lake of Fire" (Kirkwood; Meat Puppets cover) – 2:55
- "All Apologies" (Cobain) – 4:23
- "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (Traditional, Arranged by Lead Belly) – 5:08
[edit] Singles
"About a Girl" was released as MTV Unplugged in New York’s only commercial single in October 1994, with the Unplugged version of "Something in the Way" as the B-side. It was released on CD only, and only in Australia and Europe. Promo singles were released for "The Man Who Sold the World", "Polly", "Lake of Fire", and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night".
Of the songs on the album, "About A Girl" became the biggest hit, becoming Nirvana's 4th number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. "The Man Who Sold the World" was also #1 in several airplay charts.
[edit] Reviews
"a summation of Kurt Cobain's talents and pain so fascinating, it's hard to listen to repeatedly." "It's a nakedly emotional record, unintentionally so, as the subtext means more than the main themes of how Nirvana wanted to prove its worth and diversity, showcasing the depth of their songwriting." "it accomplishes its goals rather too well" "Kurt's hurt and suicidal impulses bubble to the surface even as he's trying to suppress them. Few records are as unblinkingly bare and naked as this"- All Music Guide[4]
[edit] Album charts
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Peruvian Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Billboard Top 200 | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official UK Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Austrian Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official New Zealand Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Dutch Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Australian Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Spanish Albums Chart | No. 1 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Swedish Albums Chart | No. 2 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Swiss Albums Chart | No. 3 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Finnish Albums Chart | No. 3 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Norwegian Albums Chart | No. 6 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official German Albums Chart | No. 6 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Hungarian Albums Chart | No. 9 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Italian Albums Chart | No. 16 |
| 1994 | MTV Unplugged in New York | Official Japanese Albums Chart | No. 20 |
[edit] Charting singles
Singles Charts
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Australian Singles Chart | No. 4 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Finland Singles Chart | No. 8 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Belgium Singles Chart | No. 13 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Swedish Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Italian Singles Chart | No. 20 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official French Singles Chart | No. 23 |
| 1994 | "About a Girl" | Official Dutch Singles Chart | No. 22 |
Airplay charts
| Year | Song | Airplay charts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Mod[5] | US Main[5] | POL[6] | LAT[7] | FRA[8] | FIN | BEL | CAN[9] | ||
| 1994 | "About A Girl" | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 7 | — | 9 |
| 1994 | "The Man Who Sold the World" | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 34 | — | 24 | 22 |
| 1994 | "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" | — | — | — | 18 | 62 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | "Lake of Fire" | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
[edit] Accolades
- Ranked #47 in Kerrang!’s 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die — Editors Choice.
- Ranked #53 in Kerrang!'s 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die — Readers Choice.
- Ranked #52 in Q's 100 Greatest Albums Ever, voted by the readers of Q.
- Ranked #311 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.
- Won a 2008 NME Award for 'Best Music DVD'
[edit] Sales
- American sales: 5 million, (Certified 5 X Platinum 9/05/97).
- Switzerland: 2 x Platinum.
- Japanese Sales: 1994/11/02, 4 weeks, 48,290.
- New Zealand: 1994, Platinum.
- Spain: 1995, 2 x Platinum.
[edit] Personnel
- Nirvana – producer
- Kurt Cobain – lead vocals, guitar
- Pat Smear – guitar
- Krist Novoselic – bass guitar, guitar, accordion on "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam".
- Dave Grohl – drums, backup vocals, bass guitar on "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam".
- Lori Goldston – cello
- Alex Coletti – producer
- Scott Litt – producer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Cris Kirkwood – bass guitar, backup vocals
- Curt Kirkwood – guitar
- Robert Fisher – art direction, design
- Frank Micelotta – photography
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://mtv.com/news/unplugged/nirvana098938918198
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topalbums.asp
- ^ MTV Unplugged in New York DVD Release
- ^ allmusic ((( MTV Unplugged in New York > Overview )))
- ^ a b Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Nirvana
- ^ Polskie Radio Online
- ^ Charts All Over the World
- ^ InfoDisc : Historique des Hit-Parades & des Succès Musicaux (Les Tubes du Top 50) en France depuis 1900
- ^ Top 40 Hits, The Essential Chart Guide, 1975 - 1999. By Nanda Lwin. ISBN1-896594-13-1
| Preceded by Murder Was the Case (soundtrack) by Various artists |
Billboard 200 number-one album November 19 - November 25, 1994 |
Succeeded by Hell Freezes Over by Eagles |
| Preceded by Bedtime Stories by Madonna |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album November 13 - December 3, 1994 |
Succeeded by Forrest Gump (soundtrack) by Various artists |
