Melissa Etheridge: Unplugged 02-15-1995

This will be the last in my Unplugged series. Lots of other ones are commercially available - Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, etc... - so they won't be posted here.

I used to love Melissa Etheridge's voice. I suppose I still do, but I don't really listen to her music anymore. It's no surprise, though, that I fancy Brandi Carlile because she's got the same rough-edged, soulful vocal chops that appealed to me when I heard Etheridge the first time. The latter's Unplugged set was performed solo, with special guest Bruce Springsteen joining her for a cover of "Thunder Road". I don't have the entire set that she played, only the songs that aired on TV.

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Melissa Etheridge: 02-15-1995 Unplugged

Come To My Window
Ain't It Heavy
Occasionally
If I Wanted To
You Can Sleep While I Drive
Maggie May (Rod Stewart cover)
All The Way To Heaven
Yes I Am
Bring Me Some Water
Thunder Road (with Bruce Springsteen)
I'm The Only One
Like The Way I Do

Sheryl Crow: Unplugged 02-15-1995

I used to love Sheryl Crow's music, but something happened after The Globe Sessions and I've been unable to stomach her music ever since. This is the part of her Unplugged set that aired on MTV, obviously a bunch of songs she performed are missing. I've never been able to track down the complete set, but, honestly, I haven't really tried that hard. I'll post a much better Sheryl Crow acoustic set at a later date. This one is ok, particularly the novelty version of "All I Wanna Do", but there are better performances of hers from the early days out there. Again, this was dubbed from a cassette tape and the sound quality is a little suspect.

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Sheryl Crow: 02-15-1995 Unplugged

Can't Cry Anymore
Leaving Las Vegas
I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday (Fats Domino cover)/ The Na-Na Song
Strong Enough
Love is a Good Thing
Run Baby Run
All I Wanna Do
I Shall Believe
D'yer Maker (Led Zeppelin cover)

The Cranberries: Unplugged 02-14-1994

I like The Cranberries in small doses, and this set is a nice little sampling of their music. Again, it was dubbed from a cassette tape.

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The Cranberries: 02-14-1994 Unplugged

Dreaming My Dreams
Ode To My Family
Linger
Free To Decide
I'm Still Remembering
Empty
Zombie
Yesterday's Gone
No Need To Argue

Live: Unplugged 02-15-1995

Apparently, the folks at MTV thought that booking Live for Unplugged was a bit of a risk at the time. Throwing Copper hadn't yet exploded, but the booking provided MTV with an opportunity to pat themselves on the back after the fact for "predicting" that Live would break big. Though I'm not a huge fan, this set is an enjoyable listen. This show was dubbed from the cassette tape(!) that I traded for when I was in college, so my apologies if the sound quality isn't as good as usual.

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Live: 02-15-1995 Unplugged

Operation Spirit
Selling the Drama
All Over You
The Beauty of Gray
T.B.D.
I Alone
Supernatural (Vic Chestnut cover)
Lightning Crashes
White Discussion

Stone Temple Pilots: Unplugged 11-17-1993

Ah, STP. I'm sure there are plenty of folks out there ready to criticize these guys for similarity to their more-talented contemporaries or for a derivative sound. One way or another, who cares? They wrote some very good songs and their second album, Purple, is one of the better pop-rock records of the 90s. This Unplugged set took place after their first album blew up, perhaps a bit too soon in their careers for some (early big fame = lots of cries of "sellout!"), but it is still indicative of the group's considerable musicianship. Bassist Robert DeLeo may be one of the most underrated rock bassists of the 90s. I found it interesting that they chose to try different versions of some of their songs, notably "Wicked Garden" and "Sex Type Thing".

Officially, the band did record the song "Sin" at the performance. However, according to this site:

...we got in contact with a reliable source who worked for MTV and had access to the archives. But guess what? Sin wasn't on the tapes there. Big Empty was there, so was Andy Warhol, the other song edited from the original broadcast.

After some more research we were told that there were DAT errors with the audio recording of Sin. This was only discovered after the show, and so the band didn't do a second take or something like that.

Here's the full set, minus "Sin", along with a bonus acoustic version of "Pretty Penny" which was included in the ZIP file I obtained of the set.

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Stone Temple Pilots: Unplugged 11-17-1993
Sony Music Studios, New York

Crackerman
Creep
Andy Warhol (David Bowie cover)
Plush
Big Empty
No Memory/Sin
Wicked Garden
Sex Type Thing

Bonus: Pretty Penny

PS Most of you know about STP singer Scott Weiland's current exploits in Velvet Revolver, but you may not have heard about the brothers DeLeo's new outfit, Army Of Anyone, with Filter singer Richard Patrick.

Pearl Jam: Unplugged 03-16-1992

This Unplugged show was a defining performance for Pearl Jam early in their career. Highlights included Eddie Vedder surfing on his stool and later writing a pro-choice message on his arm during "Porch". The version of "Black" from this show is my favorite rendition, and it includes the now famous (at least in PJ fan circles) tag line "we belong together!" sung over the outro of the tune. The version of "Jeremy" is solid too, but the one below is my fave from the early days.

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Pearl Jam: 03-16-1992 Unplugged

Intro
Oceans
State Of Love And Trust
Alive
Black
Angie/Improv
Jeremy
Porch
Even Flow
Rockin' In the Free World

Aerosmith: Unplugged 08-11-1990

I remember seeing a song or two from this performance when it aired, particularly "Hangman Jury", and absolutely loving it. It would be a number of years before I tracked down a bootleg of the full set, which serves as a snapshot of the band on the brink of their huge commercial comeback. The version of "Dream On" still gives me chills.

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Aerosmith: 08-11-1990 Unplugged

Hangman Jury
Monkey On My Back
Love Me Two Times
Seasons Of Wither
Big Ten Inch Record
One Way Street
Smokestack Lightning
Dream On
Milk Cow Blues
Toys In The Attic
Walkin' The Dog
Train Kept A-Rollin' (fast)
Last Child
Train Kept A-Rollin' (slow)

Stevie Ray Vaughn: Unplugged 01-30-1990

I've decided to post a series of MTV Unplugged performances. This scorching set by Stevie Ray Vaughn was part of his joint show with Steve Vai. Turns out Vai and Vaughn were supposed to close the set with a song together but Vaughn had to leave early for some other engagement. Below the MP3s are links to YouTube videos of the set.

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Stevie Ray Vaughn: 01-30-1990 Unplugged

Rude Mood
Pride And Joy
Testify

Video:

Rude Mood
Pride And Joy
Testify

Oasis: Unplugged 08-23-1996

I stumbled across this, the (in)famous MTV Unplugged performance from 1996 at Royal Festival Hall, while sorting some of my CDs. Liam was unable to perform due to supposed throat issues so Noel sang the whole set by himself. The band was backed with strings and horns, and Liam was sipping champagne and heckling his brother the whole time from the balcony above the stage. Here's a video of a piece MTV aired about Liam's absence.

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Oasis: 08-23-1996 Unplugged

Hello
Some Might Say
Live Forever
Listen Up
The Masterplan
Don't Look Back In Anger
Talk Tonight
Morning Glory
Round Are Way/Up In The Sky
Cast No Shadow
Whatever
Wonderwall