Scathingly personal and heartbreaking in its intimacy, each song off the album is heard for what it is. It felt like Kurt was speaking and singing only to me, just as it had for the millions of others who so cherished this album. ![]() By the time I pressed play, Nirvana had been gone for almost two decades, and yet here they were, right in my face. In sharp contrast the unbridled rage of “Bleach,” the pseudo-commercial, polished sound of “Nevermind,” and even the sophisticated and tortured themes of “In Utero,” “Unplugged” is strikingly honest. It wasn’t until I found “Unplugged,” however, that I felt like I finally knew Nirvana. The blistering energy of songs like “Stay Away” and “School,” as well as the existential woe of “Pennyroyal Tea” and “Lithium” spoke directly to the (admittedly superficial) frustrations of my early adolescence. Members of the sludgy alternative rock band, the Meat Puppets, joined in on three of their songs: “Plateau,” “Oh Me,” and “Lake of Fire.”įor me, a decently awkward and overly angsty middle schooler, Nirvana felt like a godsend. ![]() Along with the standard lineup of Cobain on rhythm guitar, Krist Novoselic on bass, and Dave Grohl on drums, the album also featured regular Nirvana session guitarist Pat Smear and cellist Lori Goldston. ![]() Its acoustic instrumentation reveals Cobain’s piercing vocals, each note cutting through the calm of the intimate performance. Within the limited scope of Nirvana’s releases, “Unplugged” is a standout. The prolific band’s final release, recorded a mere four months before the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, cemented the band’s legacy not just as the pioneers of grunge rock, but also as a cultural phenom that lives on in the hearts of listeners today. Nirvana’s landmark album, “MTV Unplugged in New York,” turned 25 this week.
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