There, I said it.

Although it's a fun show, it has some really clumsy moments, mostly because 80% of songs rely a lot on the electric guitar and all its effects.

The opening riff of Alive where half of the notes come out muted is embarassing. And young Vedder "intensity" really feels out of place in an unplugged show, he simply seems to be showing off some anger and angst.

Well, I understand their repertoire at the time was very small and they could do little about not having enough songs that wouldn't lose much in a semi-acoustic set. It's a fun show but it pales in comparison to the Nirvana Unplugged, that has much more cohesion and incredible perfomances that don't feel forced.

i didnt know it was rated very high.

the Porch is excellent but otherwise its pretty forgettable.

you had to be there

I'd like for them to go some more acoustic shows, but throw in some rockers. Mansfield 3 was great, no doubt, but I'd love to see that plus some rockin' acoustic jams. Wonder if songs like Life Wasted, Hail Hail, GTF, Rats, Insignificance and All Night would work?

it sure is overrated because of the lack of repertoire but they managed to pull it off in a great way and make a big impression on a lot of people. you also gotta respect them for not releasing it officially until the Ten re-issue.
i still think that despite being Ten-centric, i prefer this over Benaroya.
they should record a REAL unplugged album, with microphones in front of the guitars, without an audience unless it's a very small group of people (à la Voodoo Child on Electric Ladyland) and bet on the richness of the acoustic instruments instead of focusing on "stripping down" the songs.

They possibly did this too early in their career, but as a performance, it's responsible for getting them possibly millions of fans, myself included. I was never convinced about them up until I saw unplugged.

That being said, Pj acoustic nowadays sounds intensely boring to me. They just arent an acoustic band. I dont feel it works for them, just as Ed solo can be a sort of boring prospect to listen back to unless you're lucky enough to actually be there on the night.

Somewhere around Vitalogy or better still No Code would have been a far better time for them to do an unplugged but by that time that channel was one of their mortal enemies so it was never gonna happen.

Pj should stick to what they know.

Acoustic Who You Are would be

Very true. Plus Matt Cameron really really isnt the drummer for an unplugged set.

This should have happened with Jack.

Mansfield 03 was pretty damn great though and not just because I was there...I've listened to that performance a few times over and still can't believe how amazing it was...the rest of their set was...good, but the acoustic set really was something special

I agree that the No Code era would be great time for an acoustic.

mmmhmmmm

Which is why:
1. those first couple of songs at Red Rocks II 95 were so brilliant
2. the Bridge School shows of 96 are the best they've done there

Black, Porch and SOLAT are stand out performances, the rest are sort of pointless. I'm glad they did it, but I would have liked to have seen different arrangements on the heavier songs.

I always wished that they'd have done it Vitalogy time, with a badass acoustic tremor christ or someshit

But for what it is it's pretty fun, I cant remember when exactly they did it, but id have thought it was so early thered be no point rearranging alot of the songs, seeing as no one would recognise them. Though i guess both the nirvana and AIC Shows Were better. I always enjoy the fact that those two are so gloomy and depressing with the candles and whatnot and PJ are jumping around and having so much fun.
Though if they had waited till 94/95 to do it it'd have been just as depressing as the other two. Im pretty sure had someone asked Eddie to do a show on MTV during 94 he'd have told them to fuck off.

I kind of like that version of Even Flow. so funky.

the unplugged was a brilliant performance. what nirvana did,,,it was a great show yeah, but it find it more regular,,,,the whole unplugged quiet show....i find it more powerfull for that time what pearl jam did, just deliver a great rock show in an unplugged form...there are some classic versions there, oceans, black, porch, are my favorites but i really like the groove in even flow...

classic performance.

How can you say it's "overrated because of the lack of repertoire?" Should they have played tunes from No Code? Vitalogy? Binaural? You can't rate a past performance on values based on today's standards. If they did that show last week, then I'd say you may have a valid point, but as it stands, not so much. For the time in which it was done, and what was going on with the band, it has earned every bit of the status it has acquired.

it's just that, usually, artists went to the MTV Unplugged with a bit more back catalogue to choose from. you know, not only one album. it's over-rated because it was basically Ten with acoustic guitars and stools. this kind of concert is perfect for unearthing deep cuts which they didn't even have at the time. anyway, i think my point is pretty clear in my initial post.

So you just think they should have waited a few years and then did the unplugged. I can buy that.

I haven't seen it in a long time but I don't remember being blown away by it. Then again PJ is much better plugged in.