Musical Mondays - MTV Unplugged in New York (1993) by Nirvana

Today’s album is chosen for the upcoming musical landmark of what would’ve been Kurt Cobain’s 54^th birthday on February 20th, twice the age he was when he died in April 1994. Now some fans might’ve picked their debut album Bleach, or the wildly successful Nevermind to review, but I have opted for the recording of their November 1993 MTV Unplugged session in New York. It’s a date so precipitously close to that fateful day that it almost breaks my heart to watch the recording – which, by the way, I strongly recommend you do as it’s full of jokes, anecdotes, Kurt in a swivel chair, and a stage decked with lilies and black candles (link to the full playlist is at the bottom). Their setlist is composed of 14 songs, seemingly chosen at random, including 8 songs of their own, and 6 covers, and of their own tracks, the acoustic treatment has mixed results.

Opener ‘About a Girl’, written about Kurt’s ex-girlfriend Tracy, establishes the tone, dialling down the volume by stripping back the guitars, softening the drums, and allowing Kurt’s wounded vocals to shine through, an effect mirrored in follow-up, ‘Come as You Are’. Its iconic creeping guitar intro is much
tinnier, the drums muted, so vocals can take centre stage, instead of being all but drowned out. Tracks like ‘Polly’ and ‘Something in the Way’ aren’t much changed by the transition to acoustic, already being downtempo songs, yet ‘Polly’ somehow comes through a little richer and slower than its plugged-in counterpart, while ‘Something…’ is a little clunky and less polished (obviously) but still strikes a
chord with me. Check out Spycatcher’s cover here, recorded for Kerrang! magazine and Nevermind’s 10^th anniversary in 2011: it’s psychedelic! By contrast, ‘On a Plain’ is a track which seems to lose something in the transition, especially the depth of the chorus backing vocals and the track’s overall energy.

Meanwhile, tracks previously unheard by me included the gentle, cello-laced dream of ‘Dumb’, the fragile ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ about abortion, which Kurt performs alone, his cracked vocals oozing between the bright guitar notes, and the well-tempered ‘All Apologies’ which manages to push the volume boundary before winding down serenely with a chant of ‘all I know is all we are’ by Kurt and drummer (later frontman of Foo Fighters) Dave Grohl. Having never heard the originals, I can’t judge on their quality (or potential lack thereof) when played acoustically, but they came across beautifully to my ears. And the same can be said for the covers.

The Vaseline’s ‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam’ causes something of a band shake-up as bassist Krist Novoselic hands his bass to Dave – who plays it – and gets out an accordion, while a cello is also
introduced. This creates a uniquely melodic song with a slight step up in volume for the chorus.  David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ (a song I didn’t get to hear the original to for years) follows this, introduced by Kurt’s rich guitar riff and an equal boost to the power of his vocals. His worry that he will ‘screw this song up’ thankfully doesn’t come to fruition, allowing him to take the leap into the solo ‘Pennyroyal Tea’. Later, they invite the Kirkwood brothers, Cris and Curt, of the Meat Puppets on to take over guitars for 3 of their tracks (which I have to admit are my favourites because of the Kirkwoods’ beautiful skill with the strings). ‘Plateau’ is a clean, swaying symphony of guitar licks and Kurt’s vocals, slipping with ease between raw-throated and delicate. ‘Oh Me’ follows in the same vein, though the vocals lose some of their complexity, before Kurt proceeds to strain his voice for ‘Lake of Fire’, a Western-styled tune about Heaven and Hell.

The final song seems to take them some time to decide on, but following an anecdote about Kurt being offered Lead Belly’s guitar for $500,000, they choose Lead Belly’s ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’, possibly the loudest (for an acoustic set), rawest, and longest song of the night. The guitars pound, the drums threaten to, and Kurt puts his soul into its last minute, seeming to steal himself for the final line ‘I would shiver the whole night through’, his voice breaking on the ‘whole’.

It’s a beautiful set visually as well as audibly (for the most part) and to see it performed, to hear their banter between songs, almost makes you feel as if you had been there. I would’ve barely been a year old, but it really makes me wish I had been. 

FULL SET RECORDING: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQXcAyvY0ao5IcNnYmokQ0cX-2C893Hyp

And don't forget to come back for Saturday's post when I'll be reviewing Kurt's biography 'Heavier than Heaven' by Charles R Cross.