MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 [LIVE]

Lauryn Hill

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000065625
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (274 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,523 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Lauryn Hill has loudly (and justifiably) been declared a brilliant artist already in her young career, and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 will do nothing to dissuade anyone. This double-CD acoustic set contains snippets from her debut album, but most of it is new material that Hill performs with raw, shockingly honest intensity. Coming on the heels of a well-publicized period of depression and unhappiness for the ex-Fugees singer, Hill's reenergized outlook is plainly evident in this stripped-down performance--it's basically just Hill and her unplugged guitar--as well as the highly spiritual nature of the material. Cutting across musical styles from bossa nova ("Just Like Water") to Marley-esque rebel songs ("Oh Jerusalem," "The Conquering Lion," "Freedom Time"), the singer's voice is throaty and rough throughout, giving the performance an earthy, heartfelt pull. It's a deeply personal performance, filled with blistering social commentary and the evils of self-delusion while detailing her ongoing attempt to escape from the public persona her fame has created. In destroying her old artistry, she discovers a new creative force, yielding a mesmerizing and enchanting classic. --Jake Barnes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I feel Ya Lauryn!, May 19, 2002

By	K. Kimbrough "kkimbr7" (Bakersfield, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I LOVE this CD. Ms. Hill walks us through her spiritual journey. If you don't want to go, get off this train now. She won't mind 'cause as she reiterates time and time again she is doing her own thing. Ms. Hill feels no pressure from the industry and it shows. This cd is absolutely nothing like Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This cd is, as she states on her cd,"a tub that stands on its own bottom."

She is a poet. Her track "Just Like Water" is awesome. The metaphorical references to water and relationships blew me away the first time I heard it. Not only does she work her magic with an acoustic guitar and her distinctive voice, she works your soul with her spiritual revelations. As a listner you are required to become reflective. Even if you do not like the music you WILL walk away with an understanding of self. And if not with an understanding, than surely with questions.

This CD is inspiring, revealing, honest, healing, thoughtful, insightful, gritty yet delightful. In case you don't know it yet, I am vibin' this in a Big way.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A path from social purgatory, July 23, 2002

By	[e-mail] (Germantown, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

"I know the view is that I am emotionally unstable, which is reality, like you aren't," states Lauryn Hill. Her new live double CD "Lauryn Hill Unplugged 2.0" is an amalgamation of her inner thoughts and personal demons. Her debut album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" was a surprise crossover hit that wowed critics and fans alike, selling 12 million copies, and garnering five Grammys, but it appears success was a pyrrhic victory for Hill. Hill talks about being held hostage by a public persona created by her success. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need," professes Hill and reality is what she attempts to deliver to her listeners with her new album. The raspy voice singer blends lyrics of the heart with acoustic sounds from the soul. On one of the lyrical gems titled "Adam Lives in Theory" (They can't even entertain the solution in a brain filled with vain information and pollution) Hill sings metaphorically of the antediluvian Adam and Eve of society. Far from perfection, Hill botches lyrics and strains her voice to unreachable heights, sometimes erroneously strumming away at chords, but yet this album is a gem for being refreshingly intimate and painstakingly honest. Hill pulls at our heartstrings with "Just Like Water" (Moving down the streams of my lifetime/pools of fascination in my sleep/cooling off the fire of my longing) and "I Just Want You Around" (You keep my feet on the ground/ I hope that you can hear me because I know it's not profound/ I just want you around) the two love songs on the album. She shines on "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind" (Please don't be mad with me I have no identity/All that I've known is gone) pouring out her heart and soul to the audience for over nine minutes before Hill becoming emotionally unglued and crying her heart out. Hill is a musical chameleon that does a complete 180 on "Unplugged" returning as a "hip-hop folk singer". It is a diamond in the rough of an arena, filled with pre-packaged commercially acceptable drivel. An album of socially astute thought, it requires a second listen before it can be truly effective and pleasing to the listener.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Troubled album manages to yield a growing artist, May 23, 2002

By	"naw17" (New York) - See all my reviews

Not to be cynical, but the new Lauryn Hill album seemed doomed from the very start. It was kept in the vaults for well over a year before the release because her record label didn't feel it was commercial enough....boy were they right. Then she had the Unplugged show on MTV2, which hardly got any decent air time. And to top it off the album was recieved with mixed reviews at best and will undoubtedly fall off the charts quickly with little promotion.

There are alot of good reasons why the album deserves some of it's criticism. Lauryn's vocals are very weak and it cracks alot. And she tends to ramble on in her oh-so-long redundant interludes about "keeping it real". And yes, she's preaching again....but it doesn't come off as heavy handed as it did in her last album.

But all is forgiven once you listen to the material. The fact that Lauryn decided to abandon her band to give us an almost 2-hour emotional folk-fest on acoustic guitar is worth hearing.

The songs are mostly about love ("Mr. Intentional", "I Remember"), making social change ("I Find it Hard to Say", "Mystery of Iniquity"), and reflection (the interludes, "Oh Jerusalem", "The Conquering Lion"). Here is a young artist dealing with her newfound fame and is trying to relinquish it. She speaks to her audience as a teacher of life's lessons while literally in tears. At times she embodies the ghost of Bob Marley and Bob Dylan when she tells her audience to rebel against the system. It's not a new concept, many other artists have written albums reflecting on their fame while being socially conscious. And like those artists, she finds a way to make her story worth listening to without getting defensive, without the gimmicks, and without the pandering.

The sparcity of any other instruments and the rawness of her soulful voice (despite my initial criticisms of it) only enhances the songs. She also manages to make her most profound statements in her simpler songs. For example she repeatedly sings the line "I just want you around, I just need you around" for 3 minutes straight, and each saying is more powerful than the next.

"Unplugged" is very self-indulgent as the critics mentioned. I admit it can be off-putting at times, but there's alot of heart and soul in it. It will never see the commercial and critical success of "Miseducation..." but several years from now it will go down as an underrated classic.