Released:  November 1st, 1994

Recorded:  November 18th, 1993

Genre:  Grunge, Alternative, Acoustic

Record Label:  DGC

Duration:  53:50

Producers:  Alex Coletti, Scott Litt, Nirvana

[expand title=”Personnel” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″](Regular band members in bold.)

• Kurt Cobain – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• Krist Novoselic – acoustic bass, accordion (track 3), acoustic rhythm guitar (10 – 12)
• Dave Grohl – drums, backing vocals, acoustic bass (track 3)
• Pat Smear – acoustic guitar (tracks 1 – 4, 6 – 9, 13, 14)
• Lori Goldston – cello (tracks 3, 4, 6 – 9, 13, 14)
• Cris Kirkwood (of The Meat Puppets) – acoustic bass and backing vocals (tracks 10 – 12)
• Curt Kirkwood (of The Meat Puppets) – acoustic lead guitar (tracks 10 – 12)
• Alex Coletti – production
• Robert Fisher – art direction, design
• Scott Litt – production
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• Frank Micelotta – photography
• Nirvana – production [/expand]

[expand title=”Track Listing” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″]

1. About a Girl
2. Come As You Are
3. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam
4. The Man Who Sold the World
5. Pennyroyal Tea
6. Dumb
7. Polly
8. On a Plain
9. Something in the Way
10. Plateau
11. Oh, Me
12. Lake of Fire
13. All Apologies
14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? [/expand]

[expand title=”Singles” trigpos=”above” tag=”h22″]

1. About a Girl – (promotional) – October 24th, 1994
2. All Apologies – (promotional) – 1994
3. The Man Who Sold the World – (promotional) – 1995
4. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? – (promotional) – 1995
5. Lake of Fire – (promotional) – 1995 [/expand]

Why Nirvana Unplugged is One of My Favorites

Nirvana’s performance on MTV’s Unplugged series was a pretty big deal back in its day.  I was a little too young to have any clue what the hell was going on, but years and years later, as part of all the “Nirvana love” I had to deal with from my peers, I inevitably came to understand that the band did an acoustic set and it was released on an album and everyone loved it.  Truthfully, I didn’t pay any attention to this at the time.  It would be way into college, right in the middle of my own “rap phase,” where I really began to enjoy this performance.

Live albums have never really been my thing either.  I’ve heard a performance here or there with some energy that I really enjoyed, but for the most part, live stuff is for when you’re there, and if I’m sitting around in my room or the car I want the polish of a studio recording.  Moreover, there are so many bands that don’t even come close to sounding like the band that they are on the record, which actually kind of sucks, but it’s true.  And that’s probably why I never paid much attention to Unplugged, even though I’m sure someone explained the whole thing to me some time in my younger days.

But like I said, right in the middle of my rap days, I got into this album, recording, whatever you want to call it, in a big way.  A friend got me into “Lake of Fire,” and everything snowballed from there.  I was surprised at how much I eventually enjoyed the entire performance, because Nirvana has never really been known for the their musical proficiency.  However, by 1993’s In Utero, it was clear that they were honing their skills.  In Utero also proved that they weren’t quite ready to engage in studio wizardry, and I think that’s why their Unplugged performance works so well.  It captures what made them so appealing in the first place – their intensity.

And that’s what this whole performance is – intense.  Recorded less than 6 months before Cobain’s suicide, just listening to him belt these songs out is a harrowing experience.  Much to the chagrin of MTV, the guys chose to go with their softer songs as well as a handful of covers.  In fact, the only hit on the record is “Come As You Are.”  Despite the absence of singles, this could be the best collection of songs ever from Nirvana because it captures something that’s lost in the studio, or perhaps it captures the demon that hadn’t yet come about until then; the demon that compelled Cobain to ultimately do what he did.

The regular Nirvana songs are all great.  I’d argue that “About a Girl” is better than the version on Bleach, and although I’m glad to hear “All Apologies” on the set, it doesn’t quite touch the studio cut.  “Pennyroyal Tea” sounds much better than the fuzzed-up album version…but the real gems here are the covers.

“Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” is probably the only time that “Nirvana” and “accordion” will be mentioned in the same sentence.  It speaks to a folkier sound that the band is capable of, and it’s something that I think would’ve suited their simpler style.

“The Man Who Sold the World,” one of the better known David Bowie songs by today’s generation, opens with an out of place electric guitar sound that repeats periodically, but regardless, Cobain does a great job of showing us a different side of the song.  The song is sad anyway, but Nirvana really hollows it out, turning it into something much more personal than Bowie’s “tale from afar.”

Cobain seems to have a special, hidden vocal trick that he’s reserved for covering these Meat Puppets songs, well for two of them at least.  He throws his voice in a strange direction that it can’t quite handle in “Plateau,” and pushes this limit again in “Lake of Fire.”  Both “Lake of Fire” and “Oh, Me” have a country-ish feel to them, again harking back to the folk music that many of these sparse arrangements resemble.  The shaky, gravelly character that takes on Cobain’s voice during “Lake of Fire” works wonderfully as a harbinger for this odd cautionary tune.

But of course, the true climax is “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”  This is utter fucking oblivion in a song.  It’s not some jaunty little tale about a hussy, or the sorrowful romp of Bill Monroe’s version, it’s dark, nasty, harrowing, spooky, and one of the eeriest things to ever come out of the mainstream.  Each and every time I listen to it, it’s like staring into the face of death.  Kurt sings the first 2/3’s sadly and resigned.  He’s not just upset about “his girl,” he’s broken, shattered, finished.  And then it falls even further, right straight into madness.  After one last moment of sanity, the quiet before the storm, he snaps, and snarls and bleats his way through the final verse before bursting into the final “shiver” where time itself seems to stop for a split second as he pushes his voice up into otherworldly territory.  A fantastic ending – and I’m damn glad he didn’t give in to MTV’s insistence of an encore.

In the last issue I mused about my favorite Nirvana song being “All Apologies” with “Lounge Act” as a close second, but “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” certainly gets a spot somewhere up there.  By topping off the setlist of an already emotional performance, containing its own bleak and explosive ending, and probably being among the last few things the band ever recorded, it certainly holds a lot of gravity.  There’s a lot to think about when listening to “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” and it’s probably one of the few aspects of Nirvana’s music that was truly enriched upon by their loss.

I’d hate to say that this is the best live recording ever since I’ve heard comparatively few, but it’s certainly got to be among the best.  It’s strange; it may not be the best representation of what Nirvana was, yet somehow it’s Nirvana at their best.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Nirvana in this series:

• 1991 – Nevermind – Issue #4
• 1993 – In Utero – Issue #74

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums