Review of Nirvana: Unplugged in New York

Introduction

Starting with Squeeze in 1989, `MTV Unplugged` is a long and successful series of gigs for the network, with the standard performance featuring a band playing their greatest hits, generally in a small venue using acoustic instruments. Whereas Neil Young didn`t have any amplification help at all, Bruce Springsteen famously only played one song acoustically, releasing the album with the `Un` crossed out.

On November 18, 1993, Nirvana played a session for MTV Unplugged at Sony Music Studios in New York City. It featured a strange and eclectic track listing, but when the show was broadcast it was an instant hit and the CD, released after Cobain`s death, went on to become Nirvana`s second-highest selling album after `Nevermind`.

It has long been a favourite of mine and I was delighted when I found out that MTV Unplugged in New York was being released on DVD.

Video

Shown in the original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1, this looks fantastic - there are no issues with the transfer, which is great quality for a recording that`s nearly 15 years old.

Audio

You have the options of DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 or a DD 2.0 Stereo soundtrack. The stereo track is excellent, nice and clear with good definition, but the 5.1 tracks are just superb. I couldn`t discern any great differences between them, but both are outstanding - you can just about hear each guitar string being plucked.

The songs are not subtitled, but the dialogue in between them has optional English, French, German, Portugese and Spanish subtitles.

Features

The main feature is the `Original MTV Version` of the gig, without `Something in the Way` and `Oh, Me`, but it does have the titles, credits and track names that do not appear on the uncut version. This has the same three audio options as the main feature.

The `MTV News: Bare Witness` programme is a 14 minute retrospective from 1999, with contributions from some of those who were in the audience and some members of the production crew. It`s an interesting insight into the gig.

The rehearsal footage is a fascinating glimpse at the band before the show and how uncertain and nervous Kurt Cobain seemed to be about the forthcoming performance. The tracks can be selected individually, but choosing `Come as You Are` has the same effect as a `Play All` function.

Conclusion

For a section of my generation, the question `where were you when you heard that Kurt Cobain had died?` is the equivalent of my parents` generation being asked `where were you when you heard John Lennon had been shot?`. In the early 1990s, Cobain was described as the `voice of a generation`, with his angst-ridden lyrics reflecting the disillusionment of many with their lives and particularly the state of music.

When Nirvana turned up at Sony Music Studios for their MTV Unplugged session intending to play only one of their hits (`Come as You Are`) and covers of obscure songs by The Vaselines, The Meat Puppets and Leadbelly, eyebrows must have been raised. With an intimate surrounding, in which fire regulations were stretched to the limit by the amount of people they had in the studio, and with an almost funereal set, dressed with starburst lilies and black candles, the gig was an immediate success and is more widely known than any other MTV Unplugged performance. The fact that Kurt Cobain was dead only five months later makes the performance almost prophetic in hindsight.

I can`t remember the last time I saw the MTV version of Nirvana: Unplugged in New York and I`ve lost count of the number of times that I`ve listened to the CD. Watching the unedited footage almost puts you in the position of an audience member as you`re privy to all of the banter between band members, the negotiations of which order to play the songs and even an impromptu decision that lead to Kurt Cobain playing `Pennyroyal Tea` as a solo.

This is a great concert and I would have been happy with just a release of the MTV version alone, but the unedited version is a delight to watch and the DVD cannot be recommended highly enough.