Unplugged (Bryan Adams album)
Unplugged is an acoustic live album by Canadian musician Bryan Adams. The album was recorded completely on September 26, 1997 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Recorded by David Hewitt and Bob Clearmountain on the Remote Recording Silver Truck. Adams was joined by Irish piper Davy Spillane and Michael Kamen who wrote orchestrations for many of the songs and brought students from the Juilliard School to play them. Three new songs were included; "Back To You", "When You Love Someone", and "A Little Love". The song "If Ya Wanna Be Bad - Ya Gotta Be Good" makes its debut on an album, originally appearing on the B-side of "Let's Make a Night to Remember" - to which it is paired on the Unplugged album. Absent from both the CD and DVD is "Hey Elvis", which is available on the single of "Back To You". A second single was released in early 1998, an acoustic reworking of the hardrock song "I'm Ready".
Unplugged | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | December 9, 1997 | |||
Recorded | September 26, 1997, Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York | |||
Genre | Rock, acoustic rock | |||
Length | 52:26 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | Bryan Adams, Patrick Leonard | |||
Bryan Adams chronology | ||||
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Singles from Unplugged | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album includes only thirteen of the songs recorded at the show. The MTV Unplugged DVD included a few different songs and the song order is also different from on the CD.
The record sold over 2,500,000 units worldwide.[5]
CD track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Summer of '69" | Adams, Vallance | 4:02 |
2. | "Back to You" | Adams, Kennedy | 4:30 |
3. | "Cuts Like a Knife" | Adams, Vallance | 5:04 |
4. | "I'm Ready" | Adams, Vallance | 4:29 |
5. | "Fits Ya Good" | Adams, Vallance | 3:02 |
6. | "When You Love Someone" | Adams, Kamen, Peters | 3:41 |
7. | "18 til I Die" | Adams, Lange | 3:31 |
8. | "I Think About You" | Adams, Peters | 2:36 |
9. | "If Ya Wanna Be Bad - Ya Gotta Be Good/Let's Make a Night to Remember" | Adams, Peters/Adams, Lange | 4:35 |
10. | "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You" | Adams, Lange | 4:34 |
11. | "A Little Love" | Adams, Kennedy, Peters | 3:23 |
12. | "Heaven" | Adams, Vallance | 4:31 |
13. | "I'll Always Be Right There" | Adams, Lange | 4:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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14. | "Back To You (Original Demo Version)" (From "I'm Ready" Single) | Adams, Kennedy | 5:06 |
15. | "(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear" (Unplugged) | Adams, Lange | 1:31 |
== DVD track listing ==[7]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Summer of '69" | Adams, Vallance | 4:23 |
2. | "Cuts Like a Knife" | Adams, Vallance | 5:15 |
3. | "I'm Ready" | Adams, Vallance | 4:39 |
4. | "Back to You" | Adams, Kennedy | 4:28 |
5. | "Fits Ya Good" | Adams, Vallance | 3:02 |
6. | "When You Love Someone" | Adams, Kamen, Peters | 3:41 |
7. | "18 til I Die" | Adams, Lange | 3:41 |
8. | "I Think About You" | Adams, Peters | 2:36 |
9. | "If Ya Wanna Be Bad - Ya Gotta Be Good" | Adams, Peters | 2:19 |
10. | "Let's Make a Night to Remember" | Adams, Lange | 2:11 |
11. | "(I Wanna Be) Your Underwear" | Adams, Lange | 1:24 |
12. | "A Little Love" | Adams, Kennedy, Peters | 3:25 |
13. | "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" | Adams, Vallance | 3:17 |
14. | "It Ain't A Party...If You Can't Come Round" | Adams, Lange | 1:19 |
15. | "Heaven" | Adams, Vallance | 4:39 |
16. | "I'll Always Be Right There" | Adams, Kamen, Lange | 4:35 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]
Musicians
- Bryan Adams – vocals, guitar, dobro, and harmonica
- Keith Scott – guitar, mandolin, dobro, slide guitar, and vocal harmonies
- Dave Taylor – bass and vocal harmonies
- Tommy Mandel – piano, organ, and accordion
- Patrick Leonard – piano and organ
- Mickey Curry – drums and vocal harmonies
- Danny Cummings – percussion and vocal harmonies
- Davy Spillane – uilleann pipes and low whistles
Strings
- Arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen
- Students of the Juilliard School of Music:
- Violins – Angella Ahn, Cornelius Dufallo, Ani Gregorian, Ara Gregorian, Lyris Hung, Amy Kauffman, Jennifer Newell, James Tsao
- Violas – Ed Malave, Tania Halko, Alejandra Mahave
- Cello – Darrett Adkins, Maria Ahn, Raphael Bell, Nina Lee
- Bass – Peter Donovan
- Strings coordinated by Jesse Levy
- Assistant string arrangers: Scott Starrett, Tom Nazelli, Douglas Quint
Production
- Produced and arranged by Patrick Leonard and Bryan Adams
- Engineered by Dave Hewitt and Bob Clearmountain
- Assistant engineer: Phil Gitomer
- Mixed by Bob Clearmountain
- Assisted by Olle Romo, Phil Western, Chris Potter, and Dean Maher
- Technical Assistant: Ron Vermeulen
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Certifications
Album
DVD
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References
- AllMusic review
- Entertainment Weekly review
- Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 6. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Los Angeles Times review
- LeBlanc, Larry (24 October 1998). "Adams Strong On Int't Front". Billboard. Toronto.
- https://www.discogs.com/Bryan-Adams-%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%A2%E3%83%80%E3%83%A0%E3%82%B9-Unplugged-MTV%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B0%E3%83%89/release/7985994
- https://www.discogs.com/Bryan-Adams-Unplugged/release/11358677
- Unplugged (booklet). A&M. 1997.
- "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "Austrian album certifications – Bryan Adams – Unplugged" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bryan Adams; 'Unplugged')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "Japanese album certifications – Bryan Adams – Unplugged" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 13, 2019. Select 1997年12月 on the drop-down menu
- "New Zealand album certifications – Bryan Adams – Unplugged". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 946. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Bryan Adams; 'Unplugged')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- "British album certifications – Bryan Adams – Unplugged". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 7, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Unplugged in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2008". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
- "British video certifications – Bryan Adams – Mtv Unplugged". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 January 2021. Select videos in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Mtv Unplugged in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.