10 Extremely Underrated MTV Unplugged Episodes

The argument is always the same – which MTV Unplugged was better? Nirvana or Alice In Chains? Both sets earned their iconic status, but there’s way more to choose from in the Unplugged annuls.

If it wasn’t for Unplugged, about a dozen hair metal bands would’ve never been seen as actually talented. Turns out Great White and Slaughter had way more to offer than their hits. Check them out along with some other unheralded heroes of Unplugged in the list below.

Joe Satriani‘s episode of MTV Unplugged was the first one aired in the 1990s. This was back when two acts shared a TV slot, instead of an entire episode being dedicated to a single band like Nirvana or Alice In Chains. Sharing an Unplugged episode with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Satch went full-on blues with guest musicians Jonathan Mover and Jules Shear. It’s a beautiful quarter-hour of soulful musicianship.

People call Great White‘s cover of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” the greatest Led Zeppelin cover ever performed. This may surprise you if you’ve only heard Great White do “Once Bitten Twice Shy” or “Rock Me,” but it’s the truth. Jack Russell‘s voice is off-the-charts incredible here. There’s a reason why Great White was the A-side in their Unplugged episode with Damn Yankees.

This is another perfect example of how to do a proper Unplugged episode. The unexpected powerhouse duo of Ratt and Scorpions / UFO legend Michael Schenker was truly epic, with covers of Fleetwood Mac‘s “Oh, Well” and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Born on the Bayou.” This definitely wasn’t in the glam metal playbook, but this performance shows the incredible elasticity of all involved.

Vixen had the tough job of sharing their Unplugged episode with Ratt and Schenker, but the powerful female group held their own and then some with acoustic renditions of “Edge of a Broken Heart” and “Love Is a Killer.” Janet Gardner was on top of her game here, getting to show off the raw power of her voice with just acoustic guitars, piano and bongos behind her. 

We haven’t even left 1990 yet, because the Tesla episode of Unplugged was another example of killer stripped-down music. Tesla was at their peak, having just released the acclaimed Great Radio Controversy and their Five Man Acoustical Jam live album. No wonder the boys were so good on Unplugged… they’d already recorded an entire acoustic metal classic!

Wait, you’re telling me all these hair metal bands actually had talent?! Unplugged really pulled the chops out of those acts, including Slaughter in this 1991 episode. This may have been Mark Slaughter‘s finest hour — the power and tone of his voice, along with the control he had over his instrument, is undeniable. Play this version of “Fly to the Angels” for your local glam metal hater. 

No surprise here… Queensrÿche had Unplugged on lock before they even hit the stage. In this 1992 episode, Queensrÿche were awash in glistening brilliance. Say what you want about Geoff Tate — he was phenomenal in this era. The entire band was incredibly tight, the production on this episode was damn near perfect… what can you really say? It’s peak Queensrÿche and potentially a Top 5 Unplugged of all time.

Stone Temple Pilots recorded their Unplugged episode in 1993, the very day before Nirvana hit Sony Music Studios and recorded the definitive Unplugged set. If it wasn’t for Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots would’ve carried the Unplugged flag forward until Alice In Chains did their iconic set in 1996. Scott Weiland was a god damn force of vocal brilliance here. Dude really had all the talent in the world.

Unplugged sort of ignored heavy music after 1996… probably because no band on earth could touch Alice In Chains‘ godlike performance. Fast forward to 2005 and Queens Of The Stone Age recorded their own Unplugged in Berlin. The entire 42-minute episode is pretty incredible, showing how Josh Homme and the band could still rock without weed-soaked electric tones blasting at 130db. As hard as Queens Of The Stone Age went live in the early 2000s, they really knew how to pull it back for Unplugged.  

It took Scorpions until 2013 to record an Unplugged? Shame on forgetting this band, MTV programmers, because Scorpions is the most obvious Unplugged slam dunk you could ever book. As kings of the heavy metal power ballad, Scorpions were unapologetically brilliant throughout this episode, which was recorded at an outdoor amphitheater in Athens. With a string quartet backing them up, the Scorpions were all aura in Greece.