I had a cheap radio walkman that I would use when I went to the gym. In the early 90s, Kansas City got an “alternative rock” radio station. I will say, I had already adopted their clothing style… I’d been wearing flannel shirts and blue jeans since high school. With grunge, the established rock bands seemingly crumbled and indulged in massive self-doubt. I was always slow to accept change and remained somewhat aloof from Pearl Jam and the other new grunge bands. In the 70s when the punks challenged the established order, the older rock bands absorbed the energy and survived ( How The Biggest Bands In the World Reacted Musically to Punk Rock in the 70s).
Even venerable acts like Springsteen struggled with grunge and its effect. I was a big fan of a lot of the music that had come out in the 80s including “hair bands” and so I was dismayed that bands like the Cult or Motley Crue were being pushed aside for this new music. It ended up being the latter… but I digress. I’d seen a similar thing happen in music when punk surged in the late 70s and I wasn’t sure if this was going to resurrect music or destroy all that came before it. When the whole grunge thing started to take over, I remained wary and skeptical (which may be the words on my tombstone). My introduction to Pearl Jam was somewhat circuitous. I have a version of Lenny Kravitz doing “Are You Gonna Go My Way” from his Unplugged as an acoustic blues stomper that still blows me away. Some artists stick pretty close to the original blue print of their songs but some like to deconstruct or take liberties with the music. For me, ‘MTV Unplugged’ in many cases became “appointment television.” From Rod Stewart (who reunited with fellow Faces member Ronnie Wood) to Alice In Chains to Robert Plant reunited with Jimmy Page there were some great, great performances. I think that album sold 10 million copies in the states. What could have been… It was Clapton’s Unplugged that made the whole enterprise a commercial juggernaut. I actually had a copy of that CD in my hands in a record store in Warrensburg, Missouri and I didn’t buy it, I didn’t have the cash back then. McCartney released an album from the performance – and I think he was the first to do so – but originally only in a limited 500,000 copy release. It wasn’t until Paul McCartney appeared on the show in 1991 that anybody noticed it or attached any import to it. The whole “unplugged” concept, I’d always understood, was inspired by (of all people) Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performing “Wanted (Dead Or Alive)” acoustic at an MTV awards show. While there were literally over 100 ‘MTV Unplugged’ shows recorded and broadcast, only around 30 were actually released as albums.
TRUST IN FAITH PEARL JAM UNPLUGGED SERIES
For you long time readers, you know two things, (a) I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan ( Review: Pearl Jam’s First LP In 7 Years, ‘Gigaton’ – My Conflicted Thoughts), and (b) I love the old MTV “Unplugged” series ( B&V’s Favorite MTV “Unplugged” LPs). I had no idea that was even in the works, and as I said, I’m rarely surprised. While I was out trying to get a handle on everything that’s come out, I realized that Pearl Jam has finally(!) released an LP version of their 1992 MTV Unplugged performance. What’s a poor blogger to do when the music is coming this fast and furious? My only answer is to sip some bourbon and enjoy it immensely.
I just discovered an album I was anticipating coming out, Lou Reed’s deluxe edition of his brilliant 1989 album New York had already come out.
While I’ve been blissfully listening to Springsteen’s new album, Letter To You, and battling with Amazon to get my Tom Petty Wildflowers: All The Rest delivered ( Tom Petty: ‘Wildflowers & All The Rest – Deluxe Edition (4 CDs)’ – A Petty Masterpiece Lovingly Revisited), a deluge of music has come out.
Bands, unable to play live, have been emptying their vaults… so many box sets, so little time/money. Sure, I didn’t get that new Stones’ LP I’ve been waiting for, but acts from Ozzy to Dylan have put out new, quality albums. While 2020 has been an awful year for everyone, at least in music it’s actually been a great year. Too many times in my youth an album would come out, local radio would fail to play it and I didn’t realize it was out until much later. Over the years I’ve gone from reading magazines to following bands on social media to searching the web to find out which bands are planning to put out albums. With my borderline OCD I usually know when music is coming out – new or from the vault, typically I’ve read somewhere that the new stuff is coming. I like to think I’m “in the know,” as they say. I like to pride myself on rarely being surprised when music gets released. *Image taken from the internet, may be subject to copyright
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