MTV Unplugged (Bob Dylan album)

Last updated
MTV Unplugged
Bob Dylan - MTV Unplugged.jpg
Live album by
ReleasedApril 11, 1995 (1995-04-11)
RecordedNovember 17–18, 1994
VenueSony Studios, New York City
Genre
Length64:04 (US release)
69:26 (UK release & DVD)
Label Columbia
Producer Jeff Rosen
Bob Dylan chronology
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3
(1994)
MTV Unplugged
(1995)
The Best of Bob Dylan
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
NME 5/10 [3]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

MTV Unplugged is a live album by Bob Dylan, released by Columbia Records in Europe and the UK on April 11, 1995, and in the U.S. on May 2, 1995. It was later reissued by Sony in 2007. [5] The album documents Dylan's appearance on the popular MTV Unplugged television series, recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 17 and 18, 1994. It gave Dylan his best sales in years, reaching US No. 23 and going gold, while hitting No. 10 in the UK. The performance was released on DVD in March 2004, including a 5.1 surround sound mix.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Dylan.

US CD release
No.TitleLength
1."Tombstone Blues"4:54
2."Shooting Star"4:06
3."All Along the Watchtower"3:36
4."The Times They Are a-Changin'"5:48
5."John Brown"5:22
6."Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"3:31
7."Desolation Row"8:22
8."Dignity"6:30
9."Knockin' on Heaven's Door"5:30
10."Like a Rolling Stone"9:09
11."With God on Our Side"7:16
Total length:64:04
DVD, UK CD release
No.TitleLength
1."Tombstone Blues"4:54
2."Shooting Star"4:06
3."All Along the Watchtower"3:36
4."The Times They Are a-Changin'"5:48
5."John Brown"5:22
6."Desolation Row"8:22
7."Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"3:31
8."Love Minus Zero/No Limit"5:22
9."Dignity"6:30
10."Knockin' on Heaven's Door"5:30
11."Like a Rolling Stone"9:09
12."With God on Our Side"7:16
Total length:69:26

The CD and DVD releases did not include "I Want You," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Hazel," "Everything Is Broken," "Absolutely Sweet Marie," "My Back Pages," or "Tonight, I'll Be Staying Here With You," which were also performed at the shows.

Personnel

Additional musicians
Technical personnel

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [6] 2× Platinum30,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Highway 61 Revisited</i> 1965 studio album by Bob Dylan

Highway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Dylan continued the musical approach of his previous album Bringing It All Back Home (1965), using rock musicians as his backing band on every track of the album in a further departure from his primarily acoustic folk sound, except for the closing track, the 11-minute ballad "Desolation Row". Critics have focused on the innovative way Dylan combined driving, blues-based music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural climate of contemporary America. Author Michael Gray argued that, in an important sense, the 1960s "started" with this album.

<i>MTV Unplugged</i> American television series

MTV Unplugged is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. From 2000 to 2009, it aired less frequently and was usually billed as MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Since 2009, MTV Unplugged specials have aired occasionally, sometimes through online or subscription only. Episodes and specials have tended to showcase one artist or group, playing a combination of their hit songs and covers.

<i>MTV Unplugged in New York</i> 1994 live album by Nirvana

MTV Unplugged in New York is the first live album by the American rock band Nirvana, released by DGC Records on November 1, 1994, nearly seven months following the suicide of Kurt Cobain. It was part of the cable television series MTV Unplugged and features a mostly acoustic performance. It was recorded at Sony Music Studios in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, on November 18, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronnie Wood</span> English rock musician (born 1947)

Ronald David Wood is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.

<i>Unplugged</i> (Alice in Chains album) 1996 live album by Alice in Chains

Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996, by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. Home video releases of the MTV broadcast were released on VHS in October 1996, and on DVD in October 1999. The MTV Unplugged was Alice in Chains' first concert in two and a half years, and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's biggest hits and lesser-known songs.

<i>Oh Mercy</i> 1989 studio album by Bob Dylan

Oh Mercy is the twenty-sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 12, 1989, by Columbia Records. Produced by Daniel Lanois, it was hailed by critics as a triumph for Dylan, after a string of poorly reviewed albums. Oh Mercy gave Dylan his best chart showing in years, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard charts in the United States and No. 6 in Norway and the UK.

<i>Before the Flood</i> (album) 1974 live album by Bob Dylan and The Band

Before the Flood is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and The Band, released on June 20, 1974, on Asylum Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom. It was Dylan's first live album, although live recordings of earlier performances would later be released. It is the 15th album by Dylan and the seventh by the Band, and documents their joint 1974 American tour. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, reached No. 8 on the popular album chart in the UK, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<i>Dylan & the Dead</i> 1989 live album by Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead

Dylan & the Dead is a collaborative live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, released on February 6, 1989, by Columbia Records. The album consists of seven songs written and sung by Dylan, with the Grateful Dead providing accompaniment. The album was produced by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler.

<i>Hard Rain</i> (Bob Dylan album) 1976 live album by Bob Dylan

Hard Rain is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 13, 1976, by Columbia Records. The album was recorded during the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Apologies</span> Song by Nirvana

"All Apologies" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the final track on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released by DGC Records in September 1993. The song closes the American version of the album, while non-US versions of In Utero feature an additional song, "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip", which begins after approximately 20 minutes of silence on the same track.

<i>Bob Dylan at Budokan</i> 1978 live album by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan at Budokan is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released August 1978 on Columbia Records in Japan only, followed by a worldwide release in April 1979. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mostly of the artist's "greatest hits". The performances in the album are radically altered from the originals, using almost all the musicians that played on Street-Legal, but relying on a much larger band and stronger use of woodwind and backing singers. In some respects the arrangements are more conventional than the original arrangements, for which the album was criticized. For a few critics, such as Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone, the differences between the older and newer arrangements had become less important.

<i>Good as I Been to You</i> 1992 studio album by Bob Dylan

Good as I Been to You is the twenty-eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 3, 1992, by Columbia Records. The title comes from the second line of side 2 track 4.

<i>The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue</i> 2002 live album by Bob Dylan

The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue is a live album by Bob Dylan released by Columbia Records in 2002. The third installment in the ongoing Bob Dylan Bootleg Series on Legacy Records, it documents the Rolling Thunder Revue led by Dylan prior to the release of the album Desire. Until the release of this album, the only official live documentation of the Rolling Thunder Revue was Hard Rain, recorded during the less critically well received second leg of the tour.

<i>MTV Unplugged No. 2.0</i> 2002 live album by Lauryn Hill

MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is a live album by American singer Lauryn Hill. The performance comes from her 2002 MTV Unplugged special recorded on July 21, 2001, at MTV Studios in Times Square, New York City. Hill abandoned the hip hop sounds of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) in favor of folk and soul songs. It was recorded while she was pregnant with her third child YG Marley. The songs were written solely by Hill, who performed them unaccompanied by a live band, while playing an acoustic guitar. It features lyrics about religion, police brutality, mental health and abuse of authority, along with spoken interludes about her personal and artistic struggles.

"Tombstone Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the second track on his sixth studio album Highway 61 Revisited (1965). The song was written by Dylan, and produced by Bob Johnston. Critical interpretations of the song have suggested that the song references the Vietnam War and US President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

<i>Kiss Unplugged</i> 1996 live album by Kiss

Kiss Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Kiss, released in 1996. It was recorded in studio for the television program MTV Unplugged and released as part of a series of live and video albums. It is the first Kiss live album that is not part of the Alive! series.

<i>Unplugged</i> (Bryan Adams album) 1997 live album by Bryan Adams

Unplugged is an acoustic live album by Canadian musician Bryan Adams. The album was recorded completely on September 26, 1997, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Recorded by David Hewitt and Bob Clearmountain on the Remote Recording Silver Truck. Adams was joined by Irish piper Davy Spillane and Michael Kamen who wrote orchestrations for many of the songs and brought students from the Juilliard School to play them. Three new songs were included; "Back To You", "When You Love Someone", and "A Little Love". The song "If Ya Wanna Be Bad - Ya Gotta Be Good" makes its debut on an album, originally appearing on the B-side of "Let's Make a Night to Remember" - to which it is paired on the Unplugged album. Absent from both the CD and DVD is "Hey Elvis", which is available on the single of "Back To You". A second single was released in early 1998, an acoustic reworking of the hard rock song, "I'm Ready".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Ending Tour</span> Popular name for Bob Dylans endless touring schedule since 1988

The Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan's ongoing touring schedule which began on June 7, 1988. The tour amassed a huge fan base with some fans traveling from around the world to attend as many Dylan shows as possible.

"Dignity" is a song by Bob Dylan, first released on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 on November 15, 1994, and also released as a CD single a month later. It was originally recorded in the spring of 1989 during the Oh Mercy studio sessions, but was not included on the album. It was also later anthologized on Dylan (2007).

"John Brown" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, written in October 1962 was released under his pseudonym "Blind Boy Grunt" on the Folkways Records compilation album Broadside Ballads, Vol. 1 (1963). Live performances have been officially released on MTV Unplugged (1995), Live at The Gaslight 1962 (2005), and Live 1962–1966 – Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections (2018). A demo version was issued on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964 (2010).

References

  1. Ruhlmann, William. MTV Unplugged at AllMusic
  2. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
  3. Bailie, Stuart (6 May 1995). "Long Play". NME . p. 43. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. Richardson, Susan (2 February 1998). "Rolling Stone : Bob Dylan: MTV Unplugged : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  5. "MTV Unplugged releases". allmusic. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  6. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved December 15, 2021.