MTV Unplugged in New York

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain (vocals, acoustic guitar); Dave Grohl (vocals, bass, drums); Krist Novoselic (guitar, accordion, bass). Additional personnel: Cris Kirkwood (acoustic guitar, bass); Pat Smear, Curt Kirkwood (acoustic guitar); Lori Goldston (cello). Recorded live at Sony Music Studios, New York, New York on November 18, 1993. UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK is part of MTV's "Unplugged" series. UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance. Sadly, MTV Unplugged stands as Nirvana's last album. While it's an album of covers and old songs, it ranks as one of the band's most cohesive records. Instead of relying on the trio's overpowering sonic force, Unplugged concentrates on Kurt Cobain's subtly shaded songwriting and Nirvana's deceptively simple musical power. Every version of their previously recorded songs, with the possible exception of "On a Plain," dramatically improves the original, and the covers reveal more about Cobain than he intended. By the time Nirvana close with a wrenching, spine-chilling version of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night," the emotional complexity of Nirvana's music is clear. It's also clear that they could have made even greater music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine