{ Lick That Riff! }

Well hello and welcome to a Saturday post. Oooooo it’s been a long old time since I’ve done one of these so I hope you enjoy it. Today I’m going to be showcasing the best performances that MTV Unplugged has gave us over the past 21 years. Many great artists have performed for MTV on their Unplugged show from Aerosmith to Dylan, Kiss to Alice In Chains and newer acts such as Vampire Weekend and Paramore. These are just some of the artists to give amazing performances on Unplugged, but which artists were the pick of the bunch? Here I intend to give you my top 5 MTV Unplugged performances.

MTV Unplugged started in 1989 with the idea of taking artists that were popular at the time and giving them small, intimate gigs that were meant to be acoustic. These gigs would then be televised and make up the episodes in each series. The show finished in 1999 although it has been revived on many special one-off occasions since then, and in 2009 MTV commissioned a full 6 episode series to be aired. The series didn’t become too popular until Sir Paul McCartney took to the stage in 1991 and subsequently released an album from this performance. Other artists quickly followed suit including Clapton, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Nirvana, Kiss and many more. The show has seen some of the most memorable performances from these artists including a heartfelt performance from Nirvana’s, Kurt Cobain just 5 months before his tragic death. So, without further ado, I give you my top 5 (in no particular order) :

1. Oasis – Don’t Look Back In Anger

Who: Oasis

Where: Royal Festival Hall, UK

When: 1996

What Guitarist: Noel Gallagher

Which Setlist: Hello, Some Might Say, Live Forever, Listen Up, The Masterplan, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Talk Tonight, Morning Glory, Round Our Way/Up In The Sky, Cast No Shadow, Whatever, Wonderwall

I absolutely love this performance for many different reasons. Firstly I love it because Noel Gallagher delivers and extremely professional performance. Liam Gallagher the frontman of the band was meant to be doing this set with Oasis but he had to pull out at the last minute because of a sore throat, so the fact that Noel still went out there and carried the vocals is a major achievement. I think towards the start Noel does look slightly nervous but his confidence grows when the harmonica’s, backing band and Bonehead step in. Secondly I love this performance because it reminds me of a few years back when I had been playing guitar for about a year and I was really into Oasis. I would put watch this and grab my acoustic guitar and just play along. Awesome.

2. Eric Clapton – Tears In Heaven

Who: Eric Clapton – 1992

Where: Bray Studios, UK

When: 1992

What Guitarist: Eric Clapton

Which Setlist: Signe, Before You Accuse Me, Hey Hey, Tears In Heaven, Lonely Stranger, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, Layla, Runnong On Faith, Walkin’ Blues, Alberta, San Francisco Bay Blues, Malted Milk, Old Love, Rollin’ and Tumblin’

This is one of the most amazing performances from and MTV Unplugged session that has ever been recorded. It features Clapton at his most vulnerable as his four year old son, Conor, sadly died a year before. For Eric to come out and play Tears In Heaven after such a tragic loss is the sign of a remarkable man. The performance shows true feeling and the gig also includes a brilliant acoustic version of Layla.

3. Paul McCartney – Blackbird

Who: Paul McCartney

Where: 1991

When: Don’t Know

What Guitarist: Paul McCartney (In one song on Drums)

Which Setlist: Be-Bop-A-Lula, I Lost my Little Girl, Here, There And Everywhere, Blue Moon Of Kentucky, We Can Work It Out, San Francisco Bay Blues, I’ve Just Seen A Face, Every Night, She’s A Woman, Hi-Heel Sneakers, And I Love Her, This Would Be Something, Blackbird, A’int No Sunshine, Good Rockin’ Tonight, Singing The Blues, Junk

I suppose we sort of have Paul McCartney to thanks for some of these, actually all of these, great MTV Unplugged performances because without him releasing his own “Official Bootleg” of this performance the show wouldn’t have received its cult status. McCartney only released 250,000 copies of this album in the UK and in 250,000 in the US which sparked a frenzy of sales and added to the shows excitement. Taking away that, the performance is still an amazing one, with Paul playing many of the Bealtes classics aswell as soom old blues ones. In Aint No Sunshine Paul even takes a position behind the drums with one of his band members taking the lead. This is a really great show from Paul, it is definitely the most intimate and informal gig I’ve seen him play. The small space probably took him back to his Cavern Club days.

4. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World

Who: Nirvana

Where: New York, USA

When: 1994

What Guitarist: Kurt Cobain

Which Setlist: About A Girl, Come As You Are, Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam, The Man Who Sold The World, Pennyroyal Tea, Dumb, Polly, On A Plain, Something In the Way, Plateau, Oh Me, Lake Of Fire, All Apologies, Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Well, this performance I’m sure is held deep in all Nirvana fans’ hearts. Just 5 months before Cobain died, he recorded this amazing set with the rest of the band for MTV, and wow, what a set. I think this performance showcases the extent of Cobain’s talent and it also lets us see a bit of his personality. This performance is stripped of hype, stripped all the way back, purely just to the music, the way Cobain would have liked. Every song in this gig is so heartfelt that it saddens me a little bit every time I watch it, because we know we will never see a performance from Kurt again. I think there’s one song on this particular set that shows Cobain’s true talent perfectly and that is The Man Who Sold The World. R.I.P Kurt.

5. The Eagles – Hotel California

Who: The Eagles

Where: Burbank California, USA

When: 1994

What Guitarist: Joe Walsh

Which Setlist: Get Over It, Love Will Keep Us Alive, The Girl From Yesterday, Learn To Be Still, Tequilla Sunrise, Hotel California, Wasted Time, Pretty Maids All In A Row, I Can’t Tell You Why, New York Minute, The Last Resort, Take It Easy, In The City, Life In The Fast Lane, Desperado

Ahhhh, so we come to the last one, and I probably leave you with the best guitar performances ever. The Eagles who had been seperated since 1980 got together in an MTV special for this and subsequently released an album after this called “Hell Freezes Over”, in a reference to when Don Henley said the only way they would get back together, was if hell froze over. Anyway this is an intoxicating performance and the best version of Hotel California I have ever listened to. I think playing acoustically and unplugged suits The Eagles down to the ground. All I can say about this is…. Enjoy!

Well there you have it, the top 5 MTV Unplugged performances. I hope you enjoyed them, and I please remember that this is a list of what I think are the best. If you have any you think that should have made it up there then please feel free to comment below with your suggestions

Bye

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