Ten ridiculously superb MTV Unplugged albums

Tenth and ninth on the top ten unplugged list

No. 10 - Alice In Chains: MTV Unplugged -  2.15m (copies sold)

Sometimes the all-acoustic unplugged approach adds a certain lightness to an artist's songs. But not always. Alice In Chains released their unplugged album in July 1996 after recording it in April that same year. The songs though were still pretty heavy on doom and gloom. 

Perhaps in retrospect that's accentuated by the performance of lead singer Layne Staley. He sounds pretty powerful on this set despite his drug issues. It was to be one of his last appearances with the band. Jerry Cantrell also struggled with the recording after a bout of food poisoning from a dodgy hot dog. 

It was a great performance all around by the band. But there were mixed reviews initially. Perhaps some people didn’t quite get the cut-back heavy metal with a touch of folk on those acoustics. Over time it gathered more respect and was a success for Alice In Chains reaching number ten in terms of MTV Unplugged album sales. 

No. 9 - The Corrs: The Corrs Unplugged - 2.36m

Irish band The Corrs were still riding a huge wave of success after their 1997 second album Talk On Corners when the MTV opportunity came up in 1999. The band and their music style were ideally suited for an unplugged set and their programme was very popular. As was the album when released later that year. 

Recorded in TV studios in their Irish homeland, The Corrs were backed by the Irish Film Orchestra, adding lush strings and more to the songs. It’s certainly a variation on the stripped-back theme but fits the unplugged term entirely. The album captures their intimate style of pop or folk songs very well. They played some of their own hits, a couple of traditional Irish songs, and added some covers, an odd mix at first glance with R.E.M. and Jimi Hendrix songs on the setlist. Both are superbly done though.

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