Unplugged (Eric Clapton album)
Unplugged is a 1992 live album by Eric Clapton, recorded at Bray Studios, England in front of an audience for the MTV Unplugged television series.[1] It includes a version of the successful 1992 single "Tears in Heaven" and an acoustic version of "Layla". The album itself won three Grammy awards at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993 and became the bestselling live album of all time, and Clapton's bestselling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.[2][3]
Unplugged
Recording[edit]
Clapton performed the show in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England.[4] In addition to the final album tracks, the performance included early versions of "My Father's Eyes" and "Circus Left Town" along with "Worried Life Blues" and a version of "Rollin' and Tumblin'".[5]
Shortly after telling the studio audience "that's it," Clapton said they needed to do "two – no, three - no, five" songs over again, adding "if you don't mind, I don't mind." After the second take of "My Father's Eyes" there was a brief break and cameras were off. He broke into an impromptu "Rollin' and Tumblin'", which he had last performed with Cream. The seasoned musicians quickly picked up on it and the crowd clapped along. The director signaled the crew to record, which is why there is such an abrupt start to the song mid-verse. Clapton was so pleased with it that when the song ended, he asked the director, "did you get that?"[6]
For much of the performance, Clapton played Martin 000-42 acoustic guitars. In 2004, one of the guitars sold for $791,500 (£434,400) at auction.[1][7]
Commercial performance[edit]
In Germany the album peaked at No. 3 in the German Albums Chart and sold a total of 1.25 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling albums in Germany. In Austria, Unplugged held itself 46 weeks in the Austrian Albums Chart and sold more than 100,000 copies in total. In Switzerland the album also reached No. 3 in the country's chart. Selling 60,000 copies in the first two weeks, the live album was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry – a record for any British artist.[25] In the U.S. the album peaked at No. 1.
Re-release[edit]
On 15 October 2013 the album and concert DVD were re-released, titled Unplugged: Expanded & Remastered. The album includes the original 14 tracks, remastered, as well as a bonus disc with six additional tracks, including two versions of "My Father's Eyes". The DVD includes a restored version of the concert, as well as over 60 minutes of unseen footage from the rehearsal.
Notes:
Single releases[edit]
The acoustic rework of "Layla" was released as the single "Layla (Acoustic)", sometimes titled as "Layla (Unplugged)" in September 1992. The release reached top positions in both 1992 and 1993, reaching No. 1 in the RPM Canadian Top Singles chart[26] as well as peaking at No. 4 in the Canadian Adult Contemporary Tracks the same year.[27] It also became popular in the US reaching No. 4[28] on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, peaking at No. 9 in the Mainstream Rock chart[29] and reaching place 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.[30] It also reached the top ten five of other countries.
"Running on Faith" was not released as a single, but reached No. 15 on the Billboard Mainstream rock chart[29] in 1993 as well as No. 28 on the Adult Contemporary chart which are based on radio airplay. "Tears in Heaven" was not released as a single from Unplugged, but from the soundtrack for the film Rush.