Unplugged

Editors’ Notes Back in 1993, Neil Young appeared on MTV utilizing only a six-string acoustic Martin, his trusty harmonica, a piano, and a musty old pump organ. Of course playing in this stripped-down setting was old hat for Neil Young — but the timing couldn’t have been better. Besides making for a memorable performance with a quiver of excellent material, Unplugged proved that through the timely trappings of the early ‘90s, the song still remained paramount. Spanning selections from as far back as his late 1960s tenure with Buffalo Springfield, some unpredictable selections like “Stringman” and more notably “Transformer Man” proved successful. And where the original recording from 1981’s Trans had his voice cloaked in vocoder, this stripped down take with spare drums and female backing vocals presents the tune in its organic and skeletal beauty. Fans of 1992’s Harvest Moon should delight in the album’s prominent songs played here with a fresh zeal, especially the romantic “Unknown Legend” and the wistful serenade “From Hank To Hendrix.”