UNPLUGGED GEMS I

The current popularity of 'acoustic' music can be traced back to the 1990s TV series 'MTV Unplugged'. Of course acoustic music, in the sense of music not involving or accompanied by electronically amplified instruments, has been around from the very beginning. But a large part of the 'Unplugged' ethos was that much rock music sounded purer and less cluttered in the absence of electric guitars. It's true to say though that in a lot of 'acoustic' music today you can hear amplified guitars and keyboards, but their sounds tend to be less 'up-front' or 'in your face'.

Personally I enjoy rock music of the plugged and unplugged kind, but there certainly is a purity to the best of the contemporary acoustic music, whether it is music written for the acoustic format or electric music given the 'unplugged' treatment. There may be something in the idea that if a song is decent it should hold up with just a simple guitar or piano to accompany the vocal.

Here are a few of my favourites, both old and new. I've gone for those with guitar accompaniment; I may do a seperate entry for those with piano, keyboards etc. They are in no particular order and are not meant to be representative of the genre:

This is Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen performing 'The Killing Moon'. The original recording is great but it sounds haunting here, just the srummed guitar, the subtle piano notes and McCulloch's laid back vocal.



Here Mick Hucknall of Simply Red performs 'Holding Back The Years'. I wasn't really that keen on the original until I heard this version; now I like both. There's just three chords strummed on an acoustic guitar and Hucknall's voice here.



This is Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star (I don't know the guitarist's name). The original pretty much fits the acoustic genre itself, but this is even more pared down.



Amy Winehouse. What a voice! Her phrasing is pefect. I love this intimate performance. She sings it with soul.



River Man, by Nick Drake, from his album 'Five Leaves Left'. This beautiful song has an unusual time signature; on the guitar you can hear the river rolling through the English countryside. The string arrangements work well on this album. The video is from a documentary which was i think shown by the BBC.



Leonard Cohen sings 'The Stranger Song' on the Julie Felix Show, 1967, with a tear in his eye at the end.



Adele delivers a soulful version of Daydreamer on Later With Jools Holland.



More to come! I would welcome any suggestions for inclusion here.