Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
| Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:PMUnpluggedCover.jpg | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 20 May 1991 (UK) 4 June 1991 (US) | |||
| Recorded | 25 January 1991 | |||
| Genre | Acoustic, folk, country, blues | |||
| Length | 58:29 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
| Paul McCartney chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 6/10[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) is a live unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Following the vastness of his world tour recently captured on Tripping the Live Fantastic, McCartney relished the opportunity to strip back his songs and appear on the acoustic-only show MTV Unplugged, which had only been on air for over a year at that point. Consequently, McCartney was the first in a long line of artists to release an album of their performance on the show.[5]
Performance
Unlike other artists who appeared on the acclaimed show with acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers (producing the sound heard), McCartney's instruments were 100 percent unplugged. Microphones were carefully placed close to guitars, pianos, etc. to pick up the sound (this can be seen on the album cover, where a large rectangular microphone is pictured in front of McCartney's acoustic guitar).
Using the same line-up that had recently backed him (save for Blair Cunningham who had replaced Chris Whitten), McCartney used the opportunity to dust off some of his rarer tracks, including three from his 1970 debut album McCartney, alongside several covers and amid a helping of familiar Beatles hits.
Songs
Several tracks performed in the show were not included on the album, as follows: "Things We Said Today", "Midnight Special", "Matchbox", "Mean Woman Blues" and "The Fool". Numbers rehearsed by the band but not performed at all include: "Mother Nature's Son", "Figure of Eight", "Cut Across Shorty", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Heart of the Country", "She's My Baby", and "Mrs. Vandebilt". "Things We Said Today", "Mean Woman Blues" and "Midnight Special" would see official release two years later in 1993 as B-sides to the "Biker Like an Icon" single.
Release
With McCartney in a loose and carefree context, critical response to Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) was very warm.
Initially released in a limited edition, individually numbered run in 1991, 'Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)'—with artwork that recalls Снова в СССРs—was reissued in a more permanent fashion in the late 1990s. Upon its original issue, it reached number 7 in the UK and became McCartney's highest-peaking US album in almost ten years, reaching number 14.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be-Bop-A-Lula" | Gene Vincent / Tex Davis | 4:04 |
| 2. | "I Lost My Little Girl" | Paul McCartney | 1:45 |
| 3. | "Here, There and Everywhere" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Blue Moon of Kentucky" | Bill Monroe | 4:21 |
| 5. | "We Can Work It Out" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 2:48 |
| 6. | "San Francisco Bay Blues" | Jesse Fuller | 3:29 |
| 7. | "I've Just Seen a Face" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Every Night" | Paul McCartney | 3:24 |
| 9. | "She's a Woman" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 3:39 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hi-Heel Sneakers" | Robert Higginbotham | 4:08 |
| 2. | "And I Love Her" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 4:17 |
| 3. | "That Would Be Something" | Paul McCartney | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Blackbird" | John Lennon–Paul McCartney | 2:09 |
| 5. | "Ain't No Sunshine" | Bill Withers | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Good Rockin' Tonight" | Roy Brown | 3:42 |
| 7. | "Singing the Blues" | Melvin Endsley | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Junk" (instrumental) | Paul McCartney | 2:26 |
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – acoustic guitar, vocals, drums on "Ain't No Sunshine"
- Linda McCartney – Indian harmonium, percussion, harmony vocals on "And I Love Her"
- Hamish Stuart – acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar and lead vocals on "And I Love Her" and "Ain't No Sunshine"
- Robbie McIntosh – acoustic guitars, dobro, vocals, piano on "Ain't No Sunshine"
- Paul "Wix" Wickens – piano, keyboards, accordion, percussion, vocals, acoustic bass on "Ain't No Sunshine"
- Blair Cunningham – drums, percussions, vocals
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] | 81 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] | 42 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[8] | 13 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] | 20 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] | 39 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[12] | 14 |
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Unplugged at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th edn). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 1257. ISBN 0-19-531373-9.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 696. ISBN 978-1-84195-827-9.
- ^ Randall, Mac; Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 526. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "This Day in History: Nov 26, 1989: MTV Unplugged premieres". History. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 181.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Paul McCartney – Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Paul McCartney – Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Paul McCartney – Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Paul McCartney – Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Paul McCartney Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
