Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged
May 7, 2007 by Albert Costill in GeneralComment
Back on March 16, 1992, Pearl Jam tapped an episode of MTV Unplugged. The acoustic renditions of Alive, Even flow, State of Love and Trust and Rocking in the Free World are surprisingly interesting. But, their versions of Black and Porch are classic. Many of us probably remember seeing Eddie spinning on top of his chair and writing “Pro Choice” down his arm during this version Porch.
The biggest question many fans have: why wasn’t this released? I guess in retrospect we think this show was bigger than it was. At the time it was probably only known to Pearl Jam’s fan base, which was smaller than what it would become.
Also, the early days of Unplugged were used for young artists to gain exposure and older artists to spark a come back. Basically, it just wasn’t financially responsible to release every show, let alone a show with an up and coming band. Let’s look at it this way: MTV has filmed over 100 unplugged performances and not even 30 of them have been released. While many of us wish that a cd/dvd of Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged will come out, it probably won’t. But, don’t worry my friends, that’s why we have the internet.
Download Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - State of Love and Trust
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - Alive
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - Black
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - Even Flow
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - Keep On Rocking In The Free World
Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged - Jeremy
Check out this post on the Seattle grunge music scene featuring Pearl Jam!
ed on Sun, 26th Aug 2007 4:48 pm
The ten club website says there was an encore of garden and leash. Do you know if they’re anywhere on the internet?
Albert Costill on Sun, 26th Aug 2007 8:13 pm
Hey Ed, thanks for checking out the site.
You’ve got me stumped. Pearl Jam’s site is the only place that mentions Leash and Garden being played. I checked out several great fan sites, such as The Sky I Scrape and Five Horizons, and they only mention the main setlist.
So, here’s my theory… Leash and Garden were probably played as a bonus for fans at the show, maybe some sort of after show party thing. I Would then guess that these songs had no intention of ever being part of Unplugged, which is why there is no mention of them being played.
Because these songs were not part of the show, MTV was probably packed up and these performances were never recorded, which unfortunately means, that there are no mp3’s.
ed on Mon, 27th Aug 2007 9:35 pm
Yea, that’s what i thought, too
ella on Sat, 19th Apr 2008 4:20 am
out of pearl jam, nirvana, aic and stp’s unplugged performances, i reckon pearl jam’s one was the best. eddie vedder’s voice just sounded… amazing.
It’s May, So Pearl Jam Comes Alive on Thu, 1st May 2008 8:52 am
[...] Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged (I even made Wikipedia for this post!) [...]
This Week in Seattle Rock History :: Seattle Sound Magazine on Mon, 12th May 2008 4:15 pm
[...] Singer Eddie Vedder marks “Pro Choice” on his arm during “Porch.” The show is never (officially) released as an [...]
tom swingle on Thu, 26th Jun 2008 8:55 pm
i was just wondering if there is anyway that i could actually download these tracks from you, there great and would love to have them…thanx for your time
Eric Hebert on Fri, 27th Jun 2008 4:24 pm
There is a link up top before the vids!
EFC1878 on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 7:20 am
The complete show is up on The Trader’s Den including the soundcheck.
EFC1878 on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 7:21 am
Should’ve mentioned it’s audio only, sorry.
Pearl Jam: Ten | LouiSe on Fri, 21st Nov 2008 3:53 pm
[...] remeg az összes számtól a levegő, végtelenül bátor, hibátlan minden dal a lemezen. Az MTV Unplugged prezentációjuk, pontosabban ott is a Porch mutatta meg, hogy ki a világ legjobb dobosa, hogy [...]
JGB_11 on Sat, 20th Dec 2008 12:33 am
Any idea how to get this on video (DVD). I remeber seeing this, but I only remember MTV airing 4 songs (Alive, Black, Jeremy, and Porch).
I would live to see Eddie (wearing Jordan’s) standing on that stool writing on this arm…
Albert Costill on Sat, 20th Dec 2008 3:57 pm
Well, Eric did a great job of finding some clips, but they’ve been taken down.
However, Pearl Jam will be releasing a deluxe edition of Ten on March 24, which will include a DVD of Unplugged!
Ben on Fri, 26th Dec 2008 10:29 am
I had a great bootleg recording of unplugged with garden & leash on it.
New Pearl Jam Interview And Interactive Game Reveals Details on “Ten” Reissue | Evolvor Media on Tue, 10th Mar 2009 3:44 pm
[...] remixed tracks from long-time collaborator Brenden O’Brien, the never-before-released MTV unplugged performance, and other goodies) set to go on sale March [...]
Mark on Sat, 21st Mar 2009 2:29 pm
Well it’s out now in their box set - AND IT IS AMAZING. Way better to see now on DVD and with a good stereo than it would have been on a small mono TV way back then. Well worth the nearly 20 year wait!
trever on Thu, 26th Mar 2009 9:03 pm
Anyone know the actual order of songs during the MTV show. If you watch the DVD or when it was aired. The last song when he writes PRO CHOICE!!! you can see it covered up with his jacket in earlier songs. Did MTV make him cover it up for the rest of the show? Ususaly he sheds layers as the show goes on, never adds layers. Confused…Conspiracy?
Albert Costill on Fri, 27th Mar 2009 2:43 pm
Eddie wrote “pro choice” on his arm during “Porch”.
Here’s the setlist: Oceans, State of Love and Trust, Alive, Black, Jeremy, Porch, Even Flow, Rockin’ in the Free World
Here’s how MTV aired it: Even Flow, Jeremy, Alive, Black, State of Love and Trust, Porch
I don’t think it was a conspiracy. As you can see they played “Even Flow” after “Porch”, but “Even Flow” was the first song that MTV aired while “Porch” was the last.
trever on Fri, 27th Mar 2009 10:47 pm
thanks albert. I thought maybe they made him cover up his arm after writting it for being too contreversial but did not want to completly edit it out because Porch was probably the best they’ve ever done it. Eddie’s intensity was second to none.
Sarah Spencer on Wed, 20th May 2009 12:12 pm
Been a Pearl Jam fan for 17 years and still baffled by the MTV unplugged set list. My best friend recorded the show on video back in ‘92 and I was thrilled to see it released on DVD with the re-release of Ten. Was worth paying the £24 just to get the DVD but was a bit gutted to see that the setlist mystery wasn’t solved. I realise they aired the songs in a different order - BUT WHY?????? And why wasn’t rockin in the free world released on the DVD with the re-issue of Ten?? Would love to know these answers if anyone can shed any light. More than anything I wish I was there!!!
Albert Costill on Thu, 21st May 2009 7:52 pm
I think the answer your looking for is rather simple…it’s all about editing.
The editors for Unplugged selected the order of the setlist to make it flow better, or to make the show fit into the time slot. I can’t tell you why they edited it the way they did, but I’m sure they had their reasons. Pearl Jam, by the way, isn’t the only band this has happened to. It happens all the time. For example, Nirvana’s historic Unplugged performance was even edited into a different setlist then the original version that was recorded.
I’m thinking that “RITFW” was not included because of royalty or copyright issues. I can’t give you an exact answer, but that’s the most logical one to me.
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