Customer Reviews

Mtv Unplugged

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

After 7 studio albums Korn have finally been asked to perform for MTV's Unplugged series. The result is much better than I ever could have expected.

1. Blind
A very different take on Korn's very first single. This version of Blind sounds very latin and "flamenco"esque. It has some very nice guitar work.

2. Hollow Life
Probably one of the weaker tracks on the album but still nice. A little less piano and this track would have been better for me.

3. Freak On A Leash feat. Amy Lee from Evanescence
Korn's biggest single still to this day would probably be Freak On A Leash. This version is quite different but still a classic in everyway. Amy Lee brings her amazing vocals to this track and compliments it very well.

4. Falling Away From Me
Excellent version of Falling Away From Me. From the eery bells at the beginning through to the "heavy" accoustic break down at the end. The guys pull this one off very well.

5. Creep
Probably one of the best performances on the whole album. This is a cover of Radiohead's classic 'Creep'. Korn make this song a little bit quieter and darker but no less intense. Amazing vocals on this one.

6. Love Song
An amazing song but probably one of the weaker ones on this album. It does not have the same feel as the version on See You On The Other Side on which it is probably one of my favourite tracks.

7. Got The Life
Nice version of Got The Life. It actually works quite well as an accoustic song considering its tempo, etc.

8. Twisted Transistor
A very good performance of Twisted Transistor. Nice use of the 'orchestra'.

9. Coming Undone
A nice solid version of this song. A bit repetitive but the original song is like that too. Nice use of the saw though. Good performance.

10. Make Me Bad / In Between Days feat. The Cure
An amazing mashup of two great songs. I never thought i would see these 2 bands perform together but here they are. Both bands work together very well and the result is great.

11. Throw Me Away
The finale. A great performance of this song. Probably better than the original album version. For this song they brought out a Taiko drum ensamble. Very powerful song.

Buy this album!!!

I'm not going to let my status as a huge Korn fan blind me when listening to and reviewing Korn's "MTV Unplugged." In fact, I was expecting something utterly terrible. Sure, Korn have been tinkering with acoustic renditions of their heavy hits since last Winter, and those were good, but is a whole album full of Unplugged Korn really going to sound good? Folks, I had my doubts. I didn't think what would be found on "MTV Unplugged: Korn" would hardly qualify as music. However, in all honesty, what Korn delivers here is in turns, haunting, unique and beautfiul.

Some Korn songs sound like they would translate well into acoustic form, and some sound like they would be nothing without a wall of distored guitar and crashing drums. However, Korn's Unplugged set is full of surprises. Take the opening track, "Blind," which we all know by heart. "Blind" is completely transformed into something new, as it's given a near country-western treatment, thus setting the tone for the unexpected surprises to follow. Amy Lee of Evanescence accompanies frontman Jonathan Davis on "Freak On A Leash" (the album's single) and turns what could have been utterly unlistenable into something outstanding. "Falling Away From Me" is pretty much the most natural acoustic transformation, as is a completely awe-inspiring cover of Radiohead's "Creep." Unfortunately, in all honesty, some songs just don't work in the acoustic form. Recent hits like "Coming Undone" and "Twisted Transistor" nearly drag down the momentum of this groundbreaking event for the band. However, all is saved by a duet with The Cure on a seamless mash-up of "Make Me Bad" and "In Between Days." Finally, the set caps off with a rare occasion, an acoustic performance that outdoes the original recording, with "Throw Me Away."

You may not have expected them to pull it off, and you might not be able to admit you like it, but Korn did it. They are one of the last bands I would have expected to do this, but they did it and they passed with flying colors. Hopefully the experimentation done here will give way to something new and exciting on the upcoming eighth studio album.

KoRn Unplugged brings a new dimension to KoRn's songs. There are some good tracks on this album. The best are Hollow Life, Throw me Away, Love Song and Make me Bad. There is also a cover of Radio Head's "Creep".This is a must for any KoRn fan and also great for anyone who wants to hear the "Other Side" of KoRn.

People are shredding this so much I felt I had to step in with my first Amazon review to give a realistic two cents. From what I have read, there are two types of people cutting on this performance. 1) Metal obsessed meatheads that would not know a lick of good music if it slapped them in the face. 2) People that shred any new metal because it is not Death, Speed or Old School metal.

I have been a Korn fan for years. Their material has worn quite thin ever since "Follow The Leader." and has done so in a progressively worsening fashion. However, this offering is wonderful. Jon Davis and company have put together a true "music" piece, the likes of which those meatheads I mentioned earlier could never appreciate, since it isn't played at 100 miles per hour and full of growls and screams. Korn and their backup crew put such an interesting and truly original twist on their music in "unplugged," that I would call it the best one MTV has done since Alice In Chains performance. "Blind," "Freak On a Leash," "Falling Away From Me," "Got the Life," and "Coming Undone," (a song I hate the studio version of) are standouts, and the rest of them are almost equally as moving and unique. Tracks are peppered with seemingly other-worldly instruments like glass harmonicas and Japanese war-drums. "Hollow Life," in my opinion is the only track on this record that truly suffers, and they should have stayed away from Radiohead's "Creep." Does not translate well.

If you are a real music fan, and like harder music in general, you likely have loved this band at one time or another. Many people out there (and reviewing here) hate Korn because they hate anything they deem as "trendy." Buy this......period. Even with the edited swearing, which are very few, this is truly a musical piece to behold, regardless of what the "METAL ROOLZ!!!!" fools have to say.

I'm one of those who probably would have never bought anything by Korn, but Unplugged is a compelling treatment that appeals to me a lot. My thanks to the band for the hard work translating their work to the acoustic arena.

Korn - Unplugged MTV Korn unplugged is rock but without amplifiers and added orchestra, band, piano and other instruments to make it sound not so hardcore. It's basically a hard rock band turned into a soft rock band. Famous songs on this cd are Freak on a leash, Twisted Transistor and Coming Undone. On this Cd, Korn featured Amy Lee in Freak on a Leash. I think Korn Unplugged is a great Cd. I like the fact that I can listen to them either hardcore or mellow with some good piano and soft instruments. Korn sounds great both ways. I recommend this to a korn freak or just someone who knows of Korn and is tired of listening to loud music and can't comprehend the lyrics. This cd would be great for them. It is easy to follow the words and it gives off a great sound. Recommended to every type of rock lover.

I was a little hesitant at first to buy the CD since I only caught the second half of Korn's Unplugged. The CD turned out to be fantastic.

Of course it isn't the Korn some expect to hear but, I would say that this was a wonderful treat for the ears and a wonderful collaberation with The Cure! It's hard for a band of this caliber to pull an acoustic performance off such as this. Awesome!

While I don't see this ablum attracting the attention of any new fans, or being groundbreaking. It does however, take a softer approach to the heavy guitar riffs, thick bass lines, driving drums and angst screams and haunting vocals we all know and love. Which believe it or not, are all still here but in a very different way. What makes Korn what they are, is their originality and strive to push it into experimental and different directions, yet still holding onto the heaviness that has created their trademark sound over the years. With that being said, an ACOUSTIC performance is an interesting, and surprising tweak to their sound, but does not do the band justice. In fact, they pretty much bastardsized their songs, but they do prove that they are content with who they are and what they have always valued... the fans, by drastically changing the music. This album was solely for the true fans. And, if you are a diehard fan who has every ablum, seen their act live and will continue to follow them through every change, tweak, take or different approach then you should get this album. If for nothing else, the songs (or versions) you won't find anywhere else, Creep, duet with Amy Lee and Robert Smith. In my opinion, the track that stands out the most and is probably the only track that hugs close to their heavy, angry sound is Love Song. And, it even works acoustically. The brutal truth is, no one will want to listen to Korn when they are 40 - 50 years old, so it is nice to hear something different from the guys. Sadly, Davis' voice cannot be projected in this way and sound outstanding. He is better suited for what he does, heavy and angst ridden screams. He has never shown as a singer, so it was obivous unplugged wasn't going to be AMAZING. But, he does have a strong stage presence. The album is not great, but not horrible like some of the other reviewers stated. Those people have obviously missed the purpose of this album, and purpose of the band. If you are a true fan, you will understand the purpose of both. Korn plays music for themselves and the (real) fans. Sometimes it takes a giant leap forward (or in some cases, backward) to move yourself into bold, different directions. The band took that approach here. Take it for what it is, yet another experimental phase. I, personally would like to see Korn return to their old roots. For those of you that want to hear something heavier than this album, something "Korn" wait for the new studio album releasing later this year.

I bought this mostly because I'm a long-time Korn fan, although I haven't been really excited since "Take A Look In The Mirror". "See You On The Other Side" was pretty bland, and I wasn't really expecting much. But I HAD to hear Korn with the Cure, another of my all-time favorite bands. I must say this cd was better than I thought it would be.

The cd starts out different, with a flamenco-style "Blind". It's a different mood for the song, but definitely gives new life to a song us long-time Korn fans have heard thousands of times before.

"Hollow Life" is well-suited for the unplugged treatment. It's haunting and was a good song choice. "Freak on a Leash" with Amy Lee from Evanescence is good, and is the single from the album.

"Falling Away From Me" loses a little in my opinion. It's not terrible though. "Love Song" and "Twisted Transistor" are nothing special, but those aren't two of my favorite songs to begin with. They aren't terrible though. I think "Thoughtless" and "No One's There" would have made better choices. Do yourself a favor and go online while Mtv still has the performance up. Seeing the visual adds to the performance, and you can check out these 2 extra songs as well.

"Make Me Bad w/Inbetween Days" was done with The Cure, and they do a good job blending the songs. The singers also take turns singing each other's backing vocals. It's done really well and was obviously thought out and planned. Robert Smith said that the Cure is busy and would usually turn down an invitation like this, but it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The result is excellent, and is definitely one of the best songs from the set. They really made it work.

The cover of Radiohead's "Creep" is good. It kind of fits with the set, and comes with a dedication from Jonathan Davis. One of my favorites is "Throw Me Away". The guest drums are big, and bring the original feel of the song...but more organic. They brought in a japanese drum ensemble.

The band not only brought in some strings, but there are some obscure instruments as well. A glass harmonica is used, someone plays an actual saw from Home Depot, someone plays a hubcap, and there's also someone banging the inside of a piano.

If you are a Korn fan or want to pick up something different, you won't be disappointed...especially at the price. The only thing that disappointed me was that the lyrics were "cleaned up". All of the swears are omitted, probably because of MTV, but I don't think it was necessary. They could have had 2 versions. That's only a minor gripe though.

I wasn't sure if JD could pull it off with the vocals, but it's a great cd. Pick it up. It's not typical, loud Korn, but it's not supposed to be. I actually find myself listening to the whole thing and not skipping, which is hard with music nowadays. I just hope they come harder on the new album. More like "...Mirror" than SYOTOS.