Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)

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Track list

Disc 1

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About

To me, the Unplugged set was the nearest thing I’ve done to a pub gig for a long time. And in my particular case, as I’m not a black blues singer from the ’50s, my stuff tends to have more humour when it gets like that. But I feel more comfortable not being serious. The breakdown at the front of ‘We Can Work It Out’ was hilarious. It’s like something from a blooper tape. The album has that element to it, and I’m really glad we did it.

Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich 58, Summer 1991

From Wikipedia:

Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) is a live unplugged performance by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 1991. Following the vastness of his world tour recently captured on Tripping the Live Fantastic, McCartney relished the opportunity to strip back his songs and appear on the newly launched acoustic-only show MTV Unplugged. Consequently, McCartney was the first in a long line of artists to release an unplugged album.

Performance

Unlike other artists who appeared on the acclaimed show with acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers (producing the sound heard), McCartney’s instruments were 100% unplugged. Microphones were carefully placed close to guitars, pianos, etc. to pick up the sound (this can be seen on the album cover, where a large rectangular microphone is pictured in front of McCartney’s acoustic guitar).

Using the same line-up that had recently backed him (save for Blair Cunningham who had replaced Chris Whitten), McCartney used the opportunity to dust off some of his rarer tracks, including three from his 1970 debut album McCartney, alongside several covers and amid a helping of familiar Beatles hits.

Songs

This recording was one of the first in the famed MTV Unplugged series.

Several tracks performed in the show were not included on the album, as follows: “Things We Said Today“, “Midnight Special“, “Matchbox“, “Mean Woman Blues” and “The Fool“. Numbers rehearsed by the band but not performed at all include: “Mother Nature’s Son“, “Figure of Eight“, “Cut Across Shorty“, “Heartbreak Hotel“, “Heart of the Country“, “She’s My Baby“, and “Mrs Vandebilt”. “Things We Said Today” and “Midnight Special” would see official release two years later in 1993 as B-sides to the “Biker Like An Icon” single.

Release

With McCartney in a loose and carefree context, critical response to Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) was very warm.

Initially released in a limited edition, individually numbered run in 1991, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)—with artwork that recalls Снова в СССР‘s—was reissued in a more permanent fashion in the late 1990s. Upon its original issue, it reached number 7 in the UK and became McCartney’s highest-peaking US album in almost ten years, reaching number 14. […]

From Club Sandwich 55/56, Winter 1990/91:

I like any excuse to loosen up, and one of the attractions of Unplugged was that it was so loose. A lot of people liked the very informal, intimate atmosphere. I did – in fact, I was a bit surprised at how intimate and how informal it was. It was fairly nerve-wracking, though, not plugging into amps after all those years, using mikes for the guitars. It’s a completely different discipline – if you turn around to look at the drummer, the guitar sound goes.

We may well put some acoustic stuff into the next tour. A lot of people said that their favourite bit of the 1976 Wings tour was when we all sat down for the acoustic set. For Unplugged we stood up, because we had sat down in 1976. Next time, we’ll be hovering above the audience.

To me, the Unplugged set was the nearest thing I’ve done to a pub gig for a long time. And in my particular case, as I’m not a black blues singer from the ’50s, my stuff tends to have more humour when it gets like that. But I feel more comfortable not being serious. The breakdown at the front of ‘We Can Work It Out’ was hilarious. It’s like something from a blooper tape. The album has that element to it, and I’m really glad we did it.

Paul McCartney

Last updated on April 3, 2021