MTV Unplugged In New York

this record probably marked one of the finest moments in the history of mtv to date. nirvana had re-written the rules of popular music with the extraordinary popularity of nevermind in 1991 and had somehow captured everything that it meant to be a teenager in a bizarre post-80's world and put it down on one disc. nevermind was the antithesis of all that had emobodied the 80's, things like wall street or soulless synth-pop and nirvana were running the risk of being pigeon-holed as nothing more than a cultural phenomenon stuck in their time.

sitting down on the sofa with a hangover and flicking through the channels to find the live recording of this set just beginning came like a revelation against that background. where there had only been rage and passion before, now there seemed to be compassion and a calmer, purer music. i get shivers even now thinking about what might have been had these guys been around for a few more years. the range made nirvana complete and the vision of kurt as this vulnerable, lost looking guy with these baleful eyes and pleading tone in his voice will forever define him to his fans.

grunge was always about embracing the imperfections in sound and enjoying whatever happened on the day with live performances. peculiarly it is the covers that stand out because here without rehearsal is our only evidence of how nirvana might otherwise have sounded on future live sets. it is unembellished and glorious for it.

the versions of bowie's man who sold the world and the meat puppets' plateau and lake of fire were so good that they must have sold records for the respective artists. and come the rendition of ledbelly's where did you sleep last night you can almost feel kurt's pain.

is this the masterpiece? does it matter..?

Prior to the recent reruns of Nirvana unplugged on VH1 I knew nothing of them but Smells Like Teen Spirit. I watched the concert out of curiosity. Then watched it again. And again. Kurt Cobain's performance is utterly mesmorising and his voice is raw and heart rending. Simply stunning. Those who say the man can't sing are missing the object of the exercise. I'm just sorry we never got to know what would come next

Applause. Kurt's voice. More applause. This, my friends is the start to the wonderful Nirvana's swan-song and what a start it is. About A Girl is not the high-point of the album but certainly a song liberated from the raw surroundings of its original recording. Come As You Are is very, very different to the confident, up for it version on Nevermind and is less a statement of intent but more a sorrowful lament to a past dream. "And I swear that I don't have a gun, no I don't have a gun" is one of the most haunting moments of music I've EVER heard and sends a shiver down your spine. Then a shaft of light after the introspection of the previous track, as the cheerful Jesus Doesn't Want For A Sunbeam makes you smile as you think of the bass-beserker Krist on accordion. The cover of Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World is also brilliant but not as ultimately moving as the others. Pennyroyal Tea is. Kurt is on his own and singing, no howling, as if his life depended on it. His cigarette-drenched vocals transport you to somewhere you never thought Nirvana could take you. The brilliant, bass-heavy Dumb picks you up and then puts you down all in the space of two and a half minutes and is yet another testament to the genius that is Kurt Cobain. Polly is not quite as good as the album version as it doesn't have quite the same metamorphosis as it's neighbours and just seems thinner. But they don't let you hang for long as they pick it up again with the suberb On A Plain which is BETTER than the album version. Again one line burrows into your mind and turns it inside-out. "I love myself better than you" uses the acoustics of the auditorium to perfection and haunts you. Something In The Way suffers from the same problems as Polly but it's likeable enough. Enter The Meat Puppets! Kurt takes a break from guitar duties and just concentrates on belting out the vocals and leaves the Kirkwood brothers to be musical maestros on the equally fantastic Plateau, Oh Me and Lake Of Fire. Exit The Meat Puppets! Then came All Apologies which isn't as lush as the studio version but just as good only in a different way. The mantra "All in all is all we are" repeated over and over makes you thoughtful but optimistic. Another thing I can never quite understand about people's preconceptions of Nirvana. They are not depressing!! No song to me sounds like it's dwelling on it's angst, but it's an exorcism, wanting to change things and make the world better. But, back to the subject, there was just one song left, the Leadbelly cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night. Nothing special - until the end. It ambles along nicely but then transforms as Kurt takes the howls of earlier track to the next stage and screams out the last lines. Believe me, it blows you away with it's unstoppable passion and leaves you astounded. Applause, the band's voices and the end to another defining Nirvana album.