Essential Live Albums

[liebzz]

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York

Possibly the most famous Unplugged episode and maybe also Nirvana’s most famous show, the band opted to eschew a hits based set in favor of tailoring their set to the platform. The only real hit to speak of is Come As You Are, which may be the weakest link here in the end. The covers and the mini set with the Meat Puppets have always been at the core of this with Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam, The Man Who Sold the World, and Where Did You Sleep Last Night with the Meat Puppets trio of songs as the biggest highlights. The iconic moment of Kurt going all out, catching a final breath and completing the final song is what separates the highlights here.

The Essential Performance: Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Up Next: Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged

For many fans, this was sort of the jumping off point for Pearl Jam - or at least took many fans who loved Ten into the stratosphere of obsessed fan watching these guys play this show. Of all the Unplugged shows to this point, this is the one least tailored to the format and delivered nearly uncompromised from their songs’ energy and intent. And shockingly, that is what makes this one incredible - they lost so little in the change of format that it seems almost completely natural to them. State of Love and Trust, Alive, and Jeremy are straight up awesome in this format while maybe Oceans and Black are more natural for the setting. The only performance that seemed like it could use a plug was Even Flow, but even then that would be the highlight of most others’ unplugged show. The winner here, of course, is Porch, another iconic MTV Unplugged moment where they throw the song into an extended jam, the “PRO-CHOICE” scrawl and then segue into one of the most intense finales of all with Ed nearly convulsing as he closes out the last chorus. And while I don’t typically come to his defense too often, Dave A’s over the top performance here I think sustains their energy throughout the show - it wouldn’t have been the same with Grohl’s whisks. This propulsive energy is exactly what draws us back over and over to this band.

The Essential Performance: Porch

Up Next: Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College

[VinylGuy]

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York

Possibly the most famous Unplugged episode and maybe also Nirvana’s most famous show, the band opted to eschew a hits based set in favor of tailoring their set to the platform. The only real hit to speak of is Come As You Are, which may be the weakest link here in the end. The covers and the mini set with the Meat Puppets have always been at the core of this with Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam, The Man Who Sold the World, and Where Did You Sleep Last Night with the Meat Puppets trio of songs as the biggest highlights. The iconic moment of Kurt going all out, catching a final breath and completing the final song is what separates the highlights here.

The Essential Performance: Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Up Next: Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged

I loved this one back in the day specially because they went for the acoustic setting; something the band never did before and it was also maybe a hint for the future. I guess Kurt was already thinking about a more REM type of sound.

[liebzz]

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College

We got a couple more from MTV to explore still, but sticking with the loose definition, here’s Dave & Tim in ‘96 at Luther College. Every time I hear this I need to tell the folks that Tim Reynolds is a helluva guitarist, and that the biggest live mistake Dave Matthews has made is letting this guy play electric during the shows when he is this damn good on acoustic. Now that we have that out of the way, these are all fantastic renditions of these songs from the early days. Dancing Nancies, Warehouse, Seek Up, Halloween, and Two Step all highlight, though two in particular provide greater meaning - the first being Say Goodbye, a song I never pay any attention to but somehow found a real appreciation for it here. The other and the winner is the trippy Ants Marching. Who knew that outtro could possibly happen in this song. Damn.

The Essential Performance: Ants Marching

Up Next: Orebolo - Volume I

[Happy Trees]

I loved this one back in the day specially because they went for the acoustic setting; something the band never did before and it was also maybe a hint for the future. I guess Kurt was already thinking about a more REM type of sound.

Well technically they had done it before, because they had been switching from electric to the sit-down acoustic songs all throughout the "In Utero" tour. But maybe that was in preparation for "Unplugged"? I saw them on that tour and they did "Jesus" and there was much love from the crowd when Krist picked up the accordion. And they hadn't even filmed "Unplugged" yet at that point. I'm sure it was an extension of Kurt's desire to go in a different direction.

[96583UP]

listening a lot to the Alice in Chains live album from 2000 this week

also listened to nirvana live and loud today. that version of scentless apprentice really rips

[liebzz]

Both of those are forthcoming.

[liebzz]

I loved this one back in the day specially because they went for the acoustic setting; something the band never did before and it was also maybe a hint for the future. I guess Kurt was already thinking about a more REM type of sound.

Well technically they had done it before, because they had been switching from electric to the sit-down acoustic songs all throughout the "In Utero" tour. But maybe that was in preparation for "Unplugged"? I saw them on that tour and they did "Jesus" and there was much love from the crowd when Krist picked up the accordion. And they hadn't even filmed "Unplugged" yet at that point. I'm sure it was an extension of Kurt's desire to go in a different direction.

I had a few bootlegs in the late ‘93/early
‘94 range and I don’t recall much of that. Mostly it was like 20something songs, 70-75 mins, and not much messing around - at least from straight memory. I had the CD bootleg “Roma” and a couple others. They were very good, but I somehow don’t recall them getting more adult rock.

[armogi]

I loved this one back in the day specially because they went for the acoustic setting; something the band never did before and it was also maybe a hint for the future. I guess Kurt was already thinking about a more REM type of sound.

Well technically they had done it before, because they had been switching from electric to the sit-down acoustic songs all throughout the "In Utero" tour. But maybe that was in preparation for "Unplugged"? I saw them on that tour and they did "Jesus" and there was much love from the crowd when Krist picked up the accordion. And they hadn't even filmed "Unplugged" yet at that point. I'm sure it was an extension of Kurt's desire to go in a different direction.

I had a few bootlegs in the late ‘93/early
‘94 range and I don’t recall much of that. Mostly it was like 20something songs, 70-75 mins, and not much messing around - at least from straight memory. I had the CD bootleg “Roma” and a couple others. They were very good, but I somehow don’t recall them getting more adult rock.

they did jesus on the nevermind tour too, i don't recall if the accordion was already there then though.

[liebzz]

Orebolo - Volume I

A-goose-tic! John Arevalo, Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach make up this acoustic trio playing the music from their various projects, but largely focused on their Goose material. Some of this is surely jammed out a bit, with less extended (but still extended) takes on Goose mainstays like Rockdale, Time to Flee, Arcadia, and Dripfield. Other highlights include Tumble, Echo of a Rose and Arise…but the winner here is a stunning cover of the Grateful Dead’s Ship of Fools. As a bonus, I also listened to their OurVinyl Sessions, which are live without an audience and include newer songs Hungersite, Slow Ready, Creatures, and a great Madhuvan. These guys are on the rise so it’s great to hear them play stripped down as a counterweight to their huge epic throw downs.

The Essential Performance: Ship of Fools

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen - MTV Plugged

[Kevin Davis]

I had a few bootlegs in the late ‘93/early
‘94 range and I don’t recall much of that. Mostly it was like 20something songs, 70-75 mins, and not much messing around - at least from straight memory. I had the CD bootleg “Roma” and a couple others. They were very good, but I somehow don’t recall them getting more adult rock.

It wasn't much, and they weren't loud about it, but there were definitely portions of the In Utero shows where they would do songs like "Dumb," "Polly," "All Apologies," etc. (songs that would all end up on the Unplugged setlist), scaled back, with Lori Goldston on cello, in a format that could very easily be seen as a precursor to the Unplugged performance. They were worked into the setlist pretty effortlessly -- it's not like modern PJ where they clearly do a "sit-down first encore" or anything like that -- but I do think it's clear (and pretty well-established in oral histories, interviews, etc.) that this was a sound that Kurt was turning his head toward during the last year of his life.

Something that tends to get lost in the Nirvana narrative is how little of In Utero, and by extension what was happening on the tour, was new -- probably half of the songs date back to, and were part of the creative surge of, the Nevermind era, so it's hard to look at In Utero and the live shows from that period and really get a sense of where Kurt was going as a songwriter, or even where he wanted to go as a songwriter, especially since his self-perception at that point was so clouded by drugs, fame, his perceived obligations to authenticity, etc. I do think the Unplugged performance points to something that was more "current" to Kurt's creative headspace in his final months than anything that was happening on the '94 leg of the In Utero tour, but admittedly that might just be me reading into things.

[VinylGuy]

I loved this one back in the day specially because they went for the acoustic setting; something the band never did before and it was also maybe a hint for the future. I guess Kurt was already thinking about a more REM type of sound.

Well technically they had done it before, because they had been switching from electric to the sit-down acoustic songs all throughout the "In Utero" tour. But maybe that was in preparation for "Unplugged"? I saw them on that tour and they did "Jesus" and there was much love from the crowd when Krist picked up the accordion. And they hadn't even filmed "Unplugged" yet at that point. I'm sure it was an extension of Kurt's desire to go in a different direction.

yeah probably but at the time, you never got liver stuff from these bands i tv that much, and that was the first time they went for a whole acoustic set and specially on tv.

It was like oh, Nirvana is mellowing down, interesting....

[warehouse]

nirvana, pearl jam and dave and tim? this is by far my favorite page of this journey lol

its interesting pearl jam and nirvana took opposite approaches to unplugged and both were outstanding. 2 of the best ever.

discovering what dave and tim do to DMB songs is, was and always will be incredible. tim reynolds has to be one of the most underrated guitar players ever. the way they strip down the songs to their bones and let tim build something new with his crazy playing and tones is just amazing. minarets, a song built largely on percussion and horns, is probably my favorite song on here.

[VinylGuy]

yeah, i agree with how different they are, and how good both of them turned out.

Also, PJ in 1994 would have played a very different show for sure....guessing Daughter, Small Town, Better Man and Nothing man would be featured...maybe Walking The Cow too...

[liebzz]

yeah, i agree with how different they are, and how good both of them turned out.

Also, PJ in 1994 would have played a very different show for sure....guessing Daughter, Small Town, Better Man and Nothing man would be featured...maybe Walking The Cow too...

Well yeah I guess we know that from the Bridge School shows, and then ultimately from Benaroya Hall that their uncompromising acoustic approach didn’t much last, but certainly here a bit of lightning in a bottle.

[VinylGuy]

those Bridge shows are so good.

[liebzz]

those Bridge shows are so good.

They were definitely highlights of my Maxell XL II collection. The ones from ‘94 and ‘96 were particularly good, though I can’t remember hearing a better version of Nothing As It Seems than the very first in the ‘99 show.

[VinylGuy]

yeah, my fav is actually both shows from 99

[dad]

those Bridge shows are so good.

They were definitely highlights of my Maxell XL II collection. The ones from ‘94 and ‘96 were particularly good, though I can’t remember hearing a better version of Nothing As It Seems than the very first in the ‘99 show.

man, I should seek out those '94 and '96 shows. they were great.

[liebzz]

Bruce Springsteen - In Concert: MTV Plugged

Cute way to make headlines: go on MTV and flout their unplugged format with electric guitars. It sounded like rebelling against the format back then, but truth be told he just didn’t trust his makeshift post-E Street band to deliver a good enough unplugged set. His instincts there were probably right, but I don’t think they fair much better with electric instruments. What was meant to be a creative rebirth for Bruce ends up being just a neutered version of his old band, with all the personalities of those players sucked out. The band is frankly generic and it takes Herculean efforts from Bruce to squeeze out anything near the level of his glory days, that being the cheesed out but effective interlude and jam on Light of Day, a solid solo Red Headed Woman, and a should have been better rocked out Atlantic City. The Lucky Town songs outshine their Human Touch peers live here just as on the albums, but there’s a whole lotta mediocrity going on here from a performer who is currently riding most of the top spots on this list for me thus far. This one falls near the bottom.

The Essential Performance: Light of Day

Up Next: Page & Plant - No Quarter: Unledded