Rocktrospectiva: The Brilliant And Intimate Acoustic "Unplugged In New York" Turns 30

Released on 1 November 1994, "Unplugged In New York" was the first live album by the American alternative/grunge rock band Nirvana, the album was released nearly seven months after the suicide of the band's leader Kurt Cobain, as a part of the series of MTV Unplugged, the album features a mostly acoustic performances, recorded on November 18, 1993 in Sony Music Studios in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. 

Under Beth McCarthy direction, the show was aired on MTV on December 16, 1994, the curious about this was that the band used some electric amplification and effects and palyed mainly a lesser-known material and some covers by The Vaselinas, David Bowie, Lead Belly and Meat Puppets, their guests were Pat Smears and the cellist Lori Goldston, alongside Meat Puppets members Cris and Curt Kirkwood. 

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 on the No. 1., and spawned the single "About A Girl", and in some places the cover "The Man Who Sold The World" were used as a single. 

The MTV Unplugged series began airing in 1989, and Nirvana had been in negotiations to appear some time, Cobain finally accepted while they were touring with the Meat Puppets under the promotion of the band's latest album "In Utero", but the band wanted their experience to be different as others, not just the typical show of other bands playing their hits with acoustic guitars, so the band's manager Danny Goldberg comunicated Cobain's decision to play the Unplugged, and this was moved because Cobain wanted to remain visible for MTV for the released of "All Apologies" and "Rape Me", their double A-side single in December, and despite not making music videos for either song. 

The band's elaborated video for "Heart-Shaped Box" was so good, but Cobain dind't had any idea for a follow-up video, so the Unplugged was the perfect idea to keep the band in touch with their fans and MTV was the main connector.  

The band rehearsed for two day at the SST Rehearsal Facility in Weehawken, New Jersey., these were tense and difficult with the band running into problems performing various songs, Cobain disafreed with MTV about the set list, because the channel wanted to hear the band's hits and to be scorted by famous names just like Eddie Vedder or Tori Amos instead of the Meat Puppets, the day before filiming, Cobain refused to play, but he appeared at the studio the following afternoon, he was suffering from drug withdrawal, with no smiles, fun or nothing coming from him, so everyone instead to be happy felt a little worried about him.

As a premonition, Cobain suggested the stage be decorated with stargazer lilies, black candles, and a crystal chandelier. So Coletti asked, "You mean like a funeral?" Cobain replied, "Exactly. Like a funeral." without even know that within the next five months he will be dead. Nirvana was joined by guitarist Pat Smear and cellis Lori Goldston, also he used his acoustic guitar through his amplifier and effects pedals, which you can hear it on "The Man Who Sold The World", the band filmed the entire performance of 14 songs in a single take, and included one song from their debut Bleach, four from their Nevermind album, three from In Utero and six covers, the only hit the band performed was "Come As You Are" and they release "All Apologies" which had not yet been released as a single back then.

The set ended with "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" by Lead Belly a song later Cobain recalled as his favorite performer ever, Mark Lanegan had covered this song on the album The Winding Sheet with Cobain on guitar. The episode of Nirvana was broadcast in December 1993, 45 minutes long and omitted the songs "Somehting In The Way" and "Oh Me", after Cobain's death, MTV aired the episode constantly, in August 1994 DG announced a double album "Verse Chorus Verse" comprising live performances including the entire MTV Unplugeed however the task was too emotionally difficult fot Novoselic and Grohl, so the project was cancelled a week after the announcement, and instead just released the Unplugged performance with Scott Litt to produce the record. 

The performance was released on DVD on November 20, 2007, the DVD release featured the entire taping, in 5.1 DTS surround sound, including the two songs "Something in the Way" and "Oh Me")excluded from the broadcast version. Bonus features consisted of the original broadcast version of the performance. The album originally released on November 1, 1994 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, receiving positive reviews from critics saying that as an acoustic ensemble, Nirvana sounded touchy, and possessed of a ragged glory and considered the album as the one of the most brilliants released that year, because many considered as a testament to Cobain's depth of feeling, a second masterpiece of the band discovering a new sound and style, even The Guardian wrote that MTV Unplugged in New York had become "inextricably linked" to Cobain's death a few months after its recording, citing the funereal set design and the sense that Nirvana was "on the verge of a new musical direction, beyond their grunge roots".

 

Unplugged In New York Track List:  

1. About A Girl

2. Come As You Are

3. Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam 

4. The Man Who Sold The World

5. Pennyroyal Tea

6. Dumb

7. Polly

8. On A Plain

9. Something In The Way

10. Plateau 

11. Oh Me

12. Lake Of Fire

13. All Apologies

14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night