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MTV Unplugged in New York
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| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007) |
| 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 | Alternative rock | ||||
| 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]
It is widely considered by critics to be one of their most memorable live performances.[2]
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 #1 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.[3]
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 instrumental jams of "Sliver," "Negative Creep", "In Bloom",and "Scentless Apprentice".
Contents |
Contrary to popular belief, there were no known plans to release Nirvana's MTV Unplugged set as an album before Cobain's death.[citation needed] By the time of the band's dissolution, only one song - "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - had been sanctioned for official release. It was released as a B-side on the "Pennyroyal Tea" single in early 1994, which was recalled immediately after Cobain's death.
It is rumored that other Unplugged songs were to be released on a tour EP in the summer of 1994, supporting Nirvana's Lollapalooza appearance.[citation needed] The band was to headline the festival, but Cobain pulled out within the weeks before his death in April 1994.
Nirvana - Unplugged In New York was released officially on DVD worldwide on November 19, 2007 (13 years, 8 months and 14 days after Cobain's death) , with a US and Canadian release on November 20, 2007. Bonus features include the original broadcast version of the performance, the 'CD' length version which includes "Oh, Me" and "Something In The Way", interviews with the band and members of the audience, and five selections from the filmed rehearsal: "Come As You Are", "Polly", "Plateau", "Pennyroyal Tea", and "The Man Who Sold The World."
- "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 Leadbelly) – 5:08
"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.
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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[4] | US Main[4] | POL[5] | LAT[6] | FRA[7] | FIN | BEL | CAN[8] | ||
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
- 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.
- 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.
- 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".
- Alex Coletti – producer
- Scott Litt – producer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Cris Kirkwood – bass guitar, backup vocals
- Curt Kirkwood – guitar
- Lori Goldston – cello
- Robert Fisher – art direction, design
- Frank Micelotta – photography
- ^ http://mtv.com/news/unplugged/nirvana098938918198
- ^ http://www.nirvana-music.com/73637
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topalbums.asp
- ^ a b http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=5316&model.vnuAlbumId=810092
- ^ http://www.polskieradio.pl/
- ^ http://www.lanet.lv/misc/charts/
- ^ http://www.infodisc.fr/
- ^ Top 40 Hits, The Essential Chart Guide, 1975 - 1999. By Nanda Lwin. ISBN1-896594-13-1