Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)

Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) is a live album of Paul McCartney's MTV Unplugged performance, recorded and released in 1991.

Overview

Following the vastness of the Paul McCartney World Tour (1989–1990), captured on Tripping the Live Fantastic, McCartney took the opportunity to strip back his songs and appear on the acoustic-only show MTV Unplugged, which had only been on air for over a year at that point. Subsequently, McCartney was the first in a long line of artists to release an album of their performance on the show.

Unlike other artists who appeared on the show with acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers, McCartney's instruments were entirely 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 bring out some of his rarer tracks, including three from his 1970 debut album McCartney, alongside several covers and amid a number of familiar Beatles hits.

Songs

Several tracks performed in the show were not included on the album, as follows: "Mean Woman Blues", "Midnight Special", "Matchbox", "The Fool" and "Things We Said Today".

"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. "Mean Woman Blues" was also released on promotional single only.

Songs rehearsed by the band but not performed at all include: "Mother Nature's Son", "Tequila", "Cut Across Shorty", "Cumberland Gap", "Hey Liley, Liley, Lo", "Froggie Went A-Courtin'", "Love Me Tender", "Rock Island Line" and "Freight Train".

Release

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.

Track listing

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – acoustic guitar, vocals, drums on "Ain't No Sunshine", harmony vocals on "And I Love Her"
• Linda McCartney – Indian harmonium, percussion, vocals
• Hamish Stuart – acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar and lead vocals on "And I Love Her" and "Ain't No Sunshine"
• Robbie McIntosh – acoustic guitars, Dobro, vocals, piano on "Ain't No Sunshine"
• Paul "Wix" Wickens – piano, keyboards, accordion, percussion, vocals, acoustic bass on "Ain't No Sunshine"
• Blair Cunningham – drums, percussions, vocals

Charts