Unplugged

By 1995 an invitation to appear on MTV Unplugged had become one of the most prestigious awards in contemporary music. Since the first series aired in 1989, landmark performances by Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Nirvana had made each show a highly anticipated event. On the 21st of March 1995, at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, it was the turn of Melissa Etheridge. By the time of the taping in New York, Melissa Etheridge s career had arrived at something of a cross-roads, though this would not become clear until a few years later. She had reached the peak of her recent success, riding high on the enormous public and critical acclaim that had accompanied the release of her fourth album, 1993 s Yes I Am , and winning a Grammy award for the single Come To My Window (with which she opens her MTV set) just three weeks before the show. Unplugged , then, appropriately captures Melissa Etheridge at her peak, with a duet with her idol Bruce Springsteen a standout performance. It is an essential recording both for fans of Melissa Etheridge and for those with a general enthusiasm for classic songwriting. It showcases the best work of one of the greatest American singer-songwriters to have emerged at the tail end of the twentieth century acoustic, authentic and unvarnished.