MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a concert series produced by the TV broadcaster MTV since 1989, in which established musicians play a selection of their songs as well as often cover versions of songs by other artists without the use of keyboards , electric guitars and other electronic instruments - the arrangements are adapted and Classical instruments are often used.
In contrast to large indoor or stadium gigs, the concerts have the character of smaller club concerts, the performers and the audience sit in a relaxed atmosphere in a certain setting that is individually designed for each artist.
(Prehistory
The concept of having established musicians and groups perform their hits "unamplified" in acoustic form, during promotional appearances on television / radio or on other occasions ( Pete Townshend, for example, played in 1979 at the charity event The Secret Policeman's Balls , in favor of Amnesty International , hits from his band The Who solo and acoustic), was already widespread before the start of the actual MTV series in 1989, sometimes even with MTV itself - for example Jethro Tull in 1987 - without that it was called "unplugged". Neil Young has been known since the 1960s and 70s for repeatedly playing his electrically published songs acoustically - and vice versa.
The highly acclaimed appearance of Bon Jovi or Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora , who played Living on a Prayer and Wanted Dead or Alive only with acoustic guitars during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards , may have been the decisive factor in starting their own concert series on MTV. The first season started in November 1989 with a performance by the English new wave band Squeeze . Artists as diverse as Poison , Elton John , Sinéad O'Connor , Aerosmith and Stevie Ray Vaughan performed in loose succession over the course of the year .
Well-known appearances
- The first artist to release his MTV Unplugged performance on phonograms was Paul McCartney ( Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) ) in 1991 , whose success contributed significantly to the establishment of the format.
- In 1991 MTV produced their first rap / hip-hop special, in which u. a. De La Soul , LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest played acoustically with a backing band.
- Mariah Carey's 1992 Unplugged album established the singer a year after her debut album with over 10 million copies sold as a global star.
- Eric Clapton's performance in 1992 is one of the most famous concerts in the series. The album of the same name, Unplugged, is to this day the best-selling album in the series and has been awarded six Grammys , the most important award in the music industry, in a row .
- Bruce Springsteen's appearance is out of line in that Springsteen had already performed solo and acoustically earlier (and recorded a purely acoustic album with Nebraska in 1982), but after the acoustic opener Red Headed Woman , his band attended a normal electric concert the stage begged. So the following album was called In Concert MTV Plugged , with a crossed out un in the title.
- The reunification of the two Faces members Rod Stewart and Ron Wood during a Stewart concert in the 1993 series was also successfully released on CD and sold around 5 million times.
- In 1993 Nirvana appeared, but they refused to play their biggest hit Smells Like Teen Spirit and instead included several, partly unknown cover versions in the program. The concert was released shortly after the death of the singer Kurt Cobain under the title MTV Unplugged in New York and immediately rose to the top of the charts in Great Britain and the USA. Cobain did not do without pickups on its acoustic guitar , which is why purists doubt whether this recording can even be described as unplugged .
- In August 1994, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin came back together for a long time as part of MTV Unplugged and re-recorded newly arranged versions of old Zeppelin classics with the London Metropolitan Orchestra and Moroccan musicians. The response was so great that the performances were not only released as an album, but also went on an extensive world tour with the program. Led Zeppelin's bassist John Paul Jones was not present either on the original performances or on the tour, he was not even contacted.
- In November 1994, folk and blues musician Bob Dylan wanted to play old country and blues pieces. MTV-Unplugged persuaded him to prefer his own classics. The following album became one of his financially most successful and reached number 23 on the US album charts.
- Another reunification took place in 1995. The founding members of Kiss performed together for the first time since 1979 at an MTV unplugged concert. The fan reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that it was decided to go on tour together again the following year. Incidentally, the MTV Unplugged (which was also released on CD) is the only concert at which the original members performed without the classic make-up.
- Oasis gave a memorable unplugged concert in London in 1996 . The singer Liam Gallagher was excused because of a sore throat, and then during the concert (at which his brother Noel Gallagher took over the vocals) from the balcony - smoking and drinking - commented loudly on the event.
Many of the unplugged shows have not yet been released on CD or DVD, including concerts by Sting , Paul Simon and many others. Individual songs from it can be heard on various compilations put together by MTV or were used for B-sides of the individual artists. Others (e.g. the Oasis website mentioned above ) only appeared as bootleg versions.
German artist
- In 1994 Herbert Grönemeyer was the first non-English-speaking artist who was asked by MTV (at that time still with a Europe-wide uniform program as MTV Europe ) for an unplugged concert. The accompanying album Unplugged Herbert was released in 1995 (at the same time as a regular live album), which is remarkable because Grönemeyer's record company EMI owned shares in German MTV competitor VIVA at the time.
- He was followed in 2000 by the Fantastischen Vier , whose concert was recorded in the largest Ice Age cultural cave in Europe, the Balver Höhle , and released as an album in the same year. During the recordings, all samples , such as B. The sound of the sea, recorded live and acoustically. This concert (like the ones that followed later) was broadcast on MTV Germany , so in contrast to Grönemeyer, it was no longer broadcast throughout Europe.
- On August 31, 2002, the doctors gave an unplugged concert at the Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium in Hamburg with the support of the local school orchestra and choir and Götz-Alsmann- percussionist Markus Paßlick , which was titled Rock 'n' Roll Realschule on CD and DVD was released. In addition to their hits, the doctors played a whole series of B-sides, rarely played songs and previously unpublished material and took over part of the performance (including the costumes) as a program item on the following hall tour.
- On September 1, 2005, Die Toten Hosen recorded their MTV Unplugged in the Vienna Burgtheater , supported by two guest musicians. Die Toten Hosen provided the acoustic guitars with electrical pickups in a similar way to Nirvana before. That should n't detract from the success of Nur zu Visiting , the title of the album. The band covered The Clash and befriended Beatsteaks , among others .
- On July 2nd, 2008 the double MTV-Unplugged of the sons of Mannheim and Xavier Naidoo took place in the Rococo-Theater of Schwetzingen Palace. The result was published as Wettsingen in Schwetzingen .
- On January 17, 2009, Sportfreunde Stiller gave an Unplugged concert in New York under the title Unplugged , which was recorded against a New York-like backdrop in the Bavaria Film Studios in Munich. The Subways , Meret Becker were guests, and Udo Jürgens (via video) at I have never been in New York .
- End of January 2010 was Sido as the seventh German artist and as a second German hip-hop act an unplugged concert at Märkisches quarter , resulting in the title Live aus'm M (T) V results. The guests included Adel Tawil , Kurt Krömer and Stephan Remmler . The concert aired on May 20th and the album was released a day later.
- On June 3, 2011 Udo Lindenberg gave an unplugged concert at Kampnagel (K6) in Hamburg in the backdrop of a hotel lobby, which was published in September under the title MTV Unplugged - Live from the Hotel Atlantic . Around 300 tickets were freely available and were sold personally by Udo Lindenberg's bodyguard Eddy Kante in the Hamburg Hotel Atlantic , Lindenberg's residence. Clueso , Max Herre , Stefan Raab , Inga Humpe , Jan Delay and many others appeared as guests . By mid-2018, Lindenberg's first MTV Unplugged edition Live from the Atlantic had sold more than 1.2 million units.
- On September 11th, 12th and 14th, 2013 the Scorpions gave three unplugged concerts in the Lykabettus Theater in Athens . The performances on September 11th and 12th were recorded. As guests were u. a. Johannes Strate and Morten Harket there. It was the first MTV unplugged event in the open air.
- On October 8, 2013 Max Herre played an MTV Unplugged concert in Berlin. Joy Denalane , Samy Deluxe , Gentleman , Patrice , Afrob , Megaloh , Philipp Poisel and Sophie Hunger were guests . It was published on December 13, 2013.
- In August 2014 Gentleman played an MTV unplugged concert in Cologne's Stadtgarten as the first reggae musician. The guests were Christopher Martin , Shaggy , Tamika, Martin Jondo , Milky Chance , Ky-Mani Marley , Marlon Roudette , Tanya Stephens , Dean Fraser and Campino . It was published on November 7, 2014.
- On April 9 and 10, 2015, Revolverheld gave an MTV unplugged concert in three acts in the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg. The first act was arranged by Gunslinger himself, the second by Jonas David and the third by Lillo Scrimali. The guests included the men's choir HeartChor , Annett Louisan , Rea Garvey , Heinz Strunk , Das Bo , Marta Jandová , Mark Forster , Johannes Oerding and Michel van Dyke . The album was released on October 9, 2015.
- On May 4, 2015, Cro gave an unplugged concert in Ludwigsburg's Scala cinema . The Prinzen , Max Herre , Teesy , Haftbefehl , Dajuan and The Orsons were there as guests . The album was released on July 3, 2015.
- On July 16 and 17, 2016, the MTV Unplugged concert was recorded by Marius Müller-Westernhagen . Guests at his side were Udo Lindenberg , Jan Plewka , Elen , Mimi and Lindiwe Suttle . The album was released on October 28, 2016.
- On August 8th and 9th 2017 the MTV-Unplugged concert by Peter Maffay was recorded in the Steintor-Varieté in Halle (Saale) . The guest artists at his side were Jennifer Weist , Johannes Oerding , Katie Melua , Philipp Poisel , Ilse DeLange and JB Meijers from The Common Linnets and Tony Carey . Strings and winds were also involved in the project. Percussion was played by Ray Cooper , who has already played with world stars like Rolling Stones and Elton John . The concert was broadcast on television and released on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray on November 3, 2017.
- On April 6th, 7th and 8th, 2018, Samy Deluxe played an MTV unplugged concert on the MS Bleichen in Hamburg's Hansehafen. The guests included Curse , Kool Savas , Max Herre , the Stieber Twins , Patrice , Megaloh , Killer Kela , Afrob , Eko Fresh , MoTrip , Chefket , Torch , Xavier Naidoo , Denyo , Beginner , Eizi Eiz (better known as Jan Delay ), Nena and her daughter Larissa Kerner there. The accompanying album with 34 songs was released on August 31, 2018. On April 12, 2019 the EP "SamTV Unplugged Encore" was released with 7 previously unreleased tracks from the MTV Unplugged concert.
- May 2019 Max Raabe gave two concerts with his Palast Orchester in Clärchens Ballhaus in Berlin. On November 22, 2019, the accompanying album with 30 songs was released. Also present were Herbert Grönemeyer , Samy Deluxe , Pawel Popolski , LEA , Namika , the Finnish hard rockers Lordi and Lars Eidinger . For the "MTV Unplugged" edition by Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester, around 40 musicians gathered on two evenings a few months ago in Clärchens Ballhaus in Berlin. This was particularly fitting because the look of the hall of mirrors there perfectly reflected Raabe's sound, which was inspired by the 1920s and 1930s - even if an orchestra naturally plays unplugged per se and does not really fit into the music broadcaster's CD series want. The recordings of Nirvana, Bruce Springsteen, Björk, Alicia Keys and Placeb, for example, are legendary, including Herbert Grönemeyer, Samy Deluxe, Pawel Popolski, Lea, Namika, the Finnish hard rocker Lordi and the currently unavoidable Lars Eidinger.
- At the beginning of July 2018, Udo Lindenberg gave three unplugged concerts on Kampnagel (K6) in Hamburg , which were published on December 14, 2018 under the title MTV Unplugged 2 - Live by Atlantic . In front of the backdrop of two large sailing ships, Lindenberg was accompanied by his seven-member MTV Unplugged Band, the Pustefix brass section, the panic choir, members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and guests such as Jan Delay (Hoch im Norden), Andreas Bourani (Radio Song) , Gentleman (little boy), Alice Cooper (No More Mr. Nice Guy (So'n Ruf muss dir sein)), Marteria (Banan Republic 2018), Maria Furtwängler (Bis Du vom KGB 2018), The Last Bandoleros (Cowboy Rocker) and Angus & Julia Stone (Through the hard times (I'll Carry You)). The panic orchestra was involved in three songs.
Austrian artist
- On September 14, 2016, Andreas Gabalier was the first Austrian to play an MTV unplugged at the Odeon Theater in Vienna. Anna Netrebko , 257ers , Gregor Meyle , Xavier Naidoo and Max Giesinger were among the guests . It was published on November 25, 2016.
Publications
Concerts by individual artists (selection)
| Recording date | Interpreter | annotation |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Aerosmith | |
| 1991 | Paul McCartney | published as Unplugged (the official bootleg) |
| 1991 | SEM | |
| 1991 | The Cure | |
| 1991 (May 1st) | A Tribe Called Quest , MC Lyte , LL Cool J , De La Soul | Yo! Unplugged rap |
| 1992 | Eric Clapton | Unplugged |
| 1992 | Mariah Carey | MTV Unplugged |
| 1992 | Pearl Jam | (released on bonus DVD for the new edition of Ten (2009)) |
| 1992 | Queensrÿche | |
| 1993 | Arrested Development | MTV Unplugged |
| 1993 | Annie Lennox | (Songs appeared on the single trio Cold , Colder , Coldest ) |
| 1993 | Roxette | various songs like "The Look" were released as single B-sides |
| 1993 | Neil Young | |
| 1993 | Soul Asylum | |
| 1993 | Stone Temple Pilots | |
| 1993 | Midnight Oil | MTV Unplugged |
| 1993 | Bruce Springsteen |
In Concert / MTV |
| 1993 | Nirvana | MTV Unplugged in New York |
| 1993 | 10,000 maniacs | MTV Unplugged |
| 1994 | Phil Collins | "In the Air tonight" & "Both Sides of the Story" was released as single B-Sides in 1996/97 |
| 1994 | Bjork | MTV Unplugged (as DVD) |
| 1994 | Tony Bennett | MTV Unplugged |
| 1995 | The cranberries | "Zombie" was released as a b-side, the previously unreleased song "Yesterday's gone" was released as a bonus on the DVD "Beneath the Skin". |
| 1995 | Get | |
| 1995 | Herbert Grönemeyer | Unplugged Herbert |
| 1995 | Bob Dylan | MTV Unplugged |
| 1995 | KISS | Kiss Unplugged |
| 1995 | live | |
| 1996 | Alice in Chains | MTV Unplugged |
| March 12, 1996 | Soda Stereo | Called "Re-Plugged" by the band members because some songs were played acoustically and some electrically. However, the songs were played in new versions, live with an orchestra and other arrangements. This fact is graphically recognizable by the fact that the "plugged" from "unplugged" on the album cover stands out darker. |
| 23rd August 1996 | Oasis | |
| 1996 | George Michael | |
| 1997 | Erykah Badu | |
| September 26, 1997 | Bryan Adams | MTV Unplugged |
| 1997 | Baby face | MTV Unplugged |
| 1999 | Fiona Apple | |
| 1999 | The Corrs | Unplugged |
| 1999 | Alanis Morissette | MTV Unplugged |
| 1999 | Maná | MTV Unplugged |
| 2000 | Shakira | MTV Unplugged |
| 2000 | The fantastic Four | MTV Unplugged: Die Fantastischen Vier |
| 2001 | Alejandro Sanz | MTV Unplugged |
| 2001 | Hikaru Utada | Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2001 | Jay-Z | MTV Unplugged |
| 2001 (July 21) | Lauryn Hill | MTV Unplugged |
| 2001 | SEM | (for the second time) |
| 2001 | Staind | MTV Unplugged |
| 2001 | X Japan | Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2002 | Confessional dashboard | MTV Unplugged 2.0 |
| 2002 | Lauryn Hill | MTV Unplugged 2.0 |
| 2002 | The doctors | Rock 'n' Roll junior high school |
| 2003 | Ken Hirai | MTV Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2004 | Diego Torres | MTV Unplugged |
| 2005 | Hitomi Yaida | Hitomi Yaida MTV Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2005 | Café Tacuba | MTV Unplugged |
| 2005 | Giorgia | MTV Unplugged |
| 2005 | Alicia Keys | MTV Unplugged |
| 2005 | The dead pants | Only to visit |
| 2006 | Ricky Martin | MTV Unplugged |
| 2006 | Kayah | MTV Unplugged |
| 2007 | grain | MTV Unplugged: Korn |
| 2007 | Hey | MTV Unplugged |
| 2007 | Bon Jovi | |
| 2008 | Julieta Venegas | MTV Unplugged |
| 2008 | Sons of Mannheim vs. Xavier Naidoo | MTV Unplugged (Wettsingen in Schwetzingen) |
| 2009 | All time low | MTV Unplugged |
| 2009 | Sports fans Stiller | MTV Unplugged in New York |
| 2009 | Wilki | MTV Unplugged |
| 2009 | Katy Perry | MTV Unplugged |
| 2009 | Paramore | |
| 2009 | ayaka | MTV Unplugged Ayaka , released on Blu-ray and DVD in January 2010. |
| 2010 | Sido | MTV Unplugged Live from the MV |
| 2010 | Adam Lambert | |
| 2010 | Bob | MTV Unplugged |
| 2010 | cult | MTV Unplugged |
| 2010 | Mando Diao | MTV Unplugged |
| 2011 | Lil Wayne | |
| 2011 | 30 Seconds to Mars | |
| 2011 | Udo Lindenberg | MTV Unplugged - Live from the Hotel Atlantic |
| 2012 | Beni | MTV Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2012 | Juju | MTV Unplugged Juju (Japan) |
| 2012 | Florence + The Machine | MTV Unplugged |
| 2012 | Juanes | Trés presents: Juanes MTV Unplugged |
| 2012 | The fantastic Four | MTV Unplugged II |
| 2013 | Chara | MTV Unplugged Chara (Japan) |
| 2013 | Scorpions | MTV Unplugged - in Athens |
| 2013 | Max Herre | MTV Unplugged - Kahedi Radio Show |
| 2013 | Kana Nishino | MTV Unplugged Kana Nishino (Japan) |
| 2014 | Miley Cyrus | MTV Unplugged |
| 2014 | gentleman | MTV Unplugged , first broadcast on RTL |
| 2015 | Gunslinger | MTV Unplugged |
| 2015 | Cro | MTV Unplugged: Cro , first broadcast on ProSieben on free TV |
| 2015 | placebo | MTV Unplugged |
| 2015 | Unholy | MTV Unplugged: Under steam - without electricity |
| 2016 | Mika Nakashima | MTV Unplugged (Japan) |
| 2016 | Marius Müller-Westernhagen | MTV Unplugged Marius Müller-Westernhagen |
| 2017 | Andreas Gabalier | MTV Unplugged Andreas Gabalier |
| 2017 | Aha | MTV Unplugged a-ha |
| 2017 | Peter Maffay | MTV Unplugged |
| 2017 | Biffy Clyro | MTV Unplugged Live at Roundhouse London |
| 2018 | Samy Deluxe | SaMTV Unplugged |
| 2018 | Shawn Mendes | MTV Unplugged |
| 2018 | Udo Lindenberg | MTV Unplugged 2 - Live from the Atlantic |
| 2019 | Max Raabe & Palast Orchester | MTV Unplugged |
| 2019 | Santiano | MTV Unplugged |
Compilations
- 1994: The Unplugged Collection, Volume 1
- 2002: Uptown MTV Unplugged
- 2002: The Best of MTV Unplugged
- 2003: The Very Best of MTV Unplugged 2
- 2004: The Very Best of MTV Unplugged 3 (With bonus DVD)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Video: Jethro Tull - unplugged on YouTube , from 1987
- ^ Scott Schinder, Andy Schwartz: Icons of Rock: Velvet Underground; The Grateful Dead; Frank Zappa; Led ... (2008), p. 470.
- ↑ Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/mtv-unplugged-the-15-best-episodes-w500773/neil-young-1993-w500805 , accessed January 16, 2018
- ^ Billboard. P. 1. Limited preview in Google Book search
- ↑ SWR3 Daily Pop: September 22, 1992 - Bruce Springsteen "Plugged" ( Memento from May 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ SWR 3 - Daily Pop: February 5, 1993 - Rod Stewart: "Unplugged ... And Seated" ( Memento from February 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Dominick A. Miserandino: Led Zeppelin - TheCelebrityCafe.com. In: thecelebritycafe.com. Accessed December 31, 2014 .
- ↑ TV News April 8, 2009 ( Memento of the original from June 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Udo Lindenberg - Under the Hat MTV Unplugged: Udo Lindenberg - MTV Unplugged
- ↑ https://www.udo-lindenberg.de/.164622.htm - accessed on December 22, 2018
- ^ Gentleman official website. The new album 'MTV Unplugged' out November 7th 2014. :: Bio english. In: www.gentleman-music.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016 .
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ https://www.warnermusic.de/news/2018-10-17/mtv-unplugged-2-erscheint-am-1412-und-gleich-der-erste-song-wir-haben-in-den - accessed on December 22, 2018
- ↑ https://www.udo-lindenberg.de/udo_lindenberg_einfach_gigantisch.164507.htm - accessed on December 22, 2018
- ↑ MTV Classic 24/7: Unplugged - Yo! Unplugged Rap (May 1, 1991). December 29, 2016, accessed June 25, 2018 .
- ↑ Why Lauryn Hill's' MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 'Album Is Still A Gem . In: Vibe . May 7, 2018 ( vibe.com [accessed June 25, 2018]).
- ↑ Watch BoB's 'MTV Unplugged' Performance! In: MTV News . ( mtv.com [accessed June 25, 2018]).
- ↑ Uwe Mantel: RTL shows "MTV Unplugged" concert by Gentleman. In: dwdl.de. September 24, 2014, accessed December 31, 2014 .
- ↑ http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/79160/prosieben-zig-cro-unplugged-als-erster-im-free-tv
- ↑ SaMTV Unplugged: Samy Deluxe celebrates the video premiere of "Hoisting the flag / lifting anchor" | MTV Germany. Accessed January 30, 2020 .
