Customer Reviews

MTV Unplugged: In Concert

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the cd version of the MTV Plugged show Bruce did back in 1992 with the band he assembled to tour with him on his Human Touch/Lucky Town tour. Unfortunately, the shows from this tour are always compared to those with the E Street Band and they, of course, fall short. That being said, there are some good performances on this disk. Bruce knew what were the best songs from those two disks were and they appear here. The performances of "Lucky Town", "Living Proof", "I Wish I Were Blind" & "Better Days" are all solid and among his older songs "Atlantic City" stands out. The performance of "Light Of Day" has a tremendous amount of energy and there is some excellent guitar interplay on it. All in all, it's not the pinnacle of Bruce's career, but still fun to listen to.

I can't help but wonder why MTV allowed Bruce Springsteen to play a regular electric "club date" instead of actually playing unplugged. There are hours of live Springsteen available, but only a few acoustic songs, and it would have been a lot more interesting to hear him recast some of his songs in an acoustic format.

On "MTV (Un)plugged", Springsteen opens with an acoustic solo performance, the dirty but good-natured "Red Headed Woman", after which he completely abandons the unplugged format, playing a regular (if slightly subdued) electric concert featuring mainly songs from his then-current albums "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town". And while it's a shame that he took the easy way and played a predictable electric set instead of an acoustic show, this is actually a really good little concert album.

This is from Springsteen's non-E Street Band period, but the most immediately recognizable part of his "sound", keyboardist Roy Bittan, is onboard, and the five-piece band plays well, although without a whole lot of personality.
The track list includes a couple of old war horses ("Thunder Road", "Atlantic City", "Darkness On The Edge Of Town"), but the vast majority of these thirteen songs are from the 90s, and Springsteen fortunately plays almost all the best songs from "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town", most of which actually sound better in this live setting than on the original studio recordings.

The pleasant trifle "Man's Job", which features harmony vocals by 70s soul crooner Bobby King, is really good, as is a slightly subdued by quite moving version of "I Wish I Were Blind".
"Human Touch" is better in the original rendition, but "Lucky Town" really benefits from the tough live arrangement and a great lead vocal by Springsteen. And the band lays down an extremely hard-rocking 8-minute version of "Light Of Day", a low-key Bob Dylan-like "Should I Fall Behind", and a nice, swinging "Better Days".

A folkish "Thunder Road" is disappointing compared to the definitive version on "Live 1975-1985", but "Atlantic City" and "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" in particular are good.
The final couple of songs are minor ones, but "MTV (Un)Plugged" generally holds up very well, and while it is not really a necessary purchase for casual Springsteen fans, it is a nice collection of small pleasures. I have had it since it came out, and I continue to play it now and then.
3 3/4 stars.

I've been listening to Bruce for 25 years an enjoy just about all of his music. It is CD's like this that keep me listening. It doesn't matter if you've heard it before--he always delivers a different slant. How many Thunder Road versions are out there? This one is beautiful. Far and away the best of the slow songs here is "I Wish I Were Blind".

I grew up listening to Bruce's music, official and bootlegged, so much it's part of my DNA. I like Bruce, though not as feverently as my siblings. Reading what I've read, and hearing what I'm hearing for the first time, I think the Plugged cd is quite good. Older songs are refreshed, newer songs, dripping with energy. I know how good the E Street Band are, believe me, but this band he was playing with enabled Bruce to do something different, and perhaps to do something basically for himself. I think he succeeded in a big way. A chance to play with other people and reinterpret his catalog. Dylan does it all the time, and everyone knows about the history of comparison between those two. Regretfully the 'fans' couldn't accept the change.

At first I thought it was... too plugged, too live, if such a thing exists. It just had me out of breath, no pauses between songs, it seemed too hurried up. But after repeated listenings I have realized what a great cd this is. A true gem. I always thougt Lucky Town and Human Touch were truly under-rated, and here I have proof. His renditions of these two songs, plus Better Days, Man's Job, My Beautiful Reward, and one of my favorites, If I Should Fall Behind, are even better than the original recordings! And of course, a great, strong yet restrained version of Thunder Road -- this is a keeper for Springsteen's fans, or for those who only own the Greatest Hits!

This is one excellent LIVE cd! I found it one day and purchased it on a whim. Am I ever glad I did. It is one of the best sounding live disks. Although to some, the song selection is missing a few good old rockin tunes by the boss, but "Thunderoad, Red-Headed Women, If I fall Behind, and finally, Light of Day" are AMAZING. It is a disk that you put in, lay back, and relax and let Bruce take you to that special place "under the willow". I would strongly recommed buying this cd. If you are a dedicated Boss fan then this is essential to your collection and for your own personal reward! BUY IT!

This is clearly a good show. Not one of Bruce Springsteen's epic, 'for the ages,' legendary marathon stands...just live music. But Bruce's new band proves how powerful the material from the 'Lucky Town' album can be. "Living Proof," "Lucky Town," & "If I Should Fall Behind" are wonderful highlights, and Bruce does 2 rare songs - "Red Headed Woman" & "Light of Day."

I bought this cd about a month ago for a friend, and had to go back to get a copy for myself. I've been listening to it everyday and haven't gotten tired of it yet. A great cd!

When I first bought this CD I bought it for one song...."If I Should Fall Behind". After listening to the CD a few times the rest of the songs really started growing on me, especially "I Wish I Were Blind" and most of all, "Living Proof". Springsteen performs those two songs with more energy and conviction than I've heard in a long, long time. In my opinion, "Living Proof" is one of the best songs ever written by the Boss....not just for the great music, but for the story that goes with it. This is a "must have" for anyone who claims to be a Springsteen fan. Buy it!! You won't be dissapointed.

You know you are in trouble when the best musician in the band is Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen is not a bad musician and has some very good moments on this CD. But, they are about the only good musical moments.

The drumming is just horrible. It as if the drummer does not know the songs. He is just keeping basic time and not doing that very well. When I bought and played the CD, I didn't realize that is was "solo" album with a backup band. I was thinking, what happened to Max Weinberg?????

The rest of the band is not much better than the drummer(s). There are a few good bass lines and a couple of nice guitar licks, but it is not much. Randy Jackson is listed as being on bass/guitar...not sure if it is the same American Idol Jackson who also played with jazz greats Billy Cobham and Jean Luc Ponty, and Journey.

The poor playing brings down the whole concert and songs like Darkness on the Edge of Town become just tedious. I know some people will love whatever the Boss does, but if you aren't the forgiving type, you probably don't want to buy this.