By
Jonah Bayer
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1 day ago
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This week, Justin Bieber announced plans to release his second unplugged album in January, joining a long line of artists who have made amazing collections without running up a crazy electricity bill.
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Here we recap some of our favorite acoustic albums that range grunge icons to today’s most popular songwriters. Justin, you’ve got a lot to live up to with this album, so good luck!
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Bright Eyes — Back in 2005, Bright Eyes released two albums: The electronic-influenced Digital Ash In A Digital Urn and the acoustic collection I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Both have held up well, but looking back, this stripped-down disc features some of his most powerful material to date, such as “We Are Nowhere And It’s Now” and “Poison Oak.” Alienation never sounded this transcendent.
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Elliott Smith — Elliott Smith was still a relatively unknown songwriter back in 1995 when he released his self-titled album; however, things didn’t stay that way for long after people heard it. This extremely moody album featured heartfelt meditations like “Needle In The Hay,” which were dark and melancholy but also featured an underlying theme of hopefulness. Sadly, the latter feeling didn’t last.
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Nirvana — Nirvana were thought of as a loud, overdriven act when they released MTV Unplugged In New York in 1994. Kurt Cobain & Company’s somber takes on “All Apologies” and “The Man Who Sold The World” confirmed them as the most exciting band in rock and showed that they were as versatile as they were visceral in the process.
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Monsters Of Folk — What do you get when you put Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, M. Ward and production guru Mike Mogis in the same room? You get an extremely accomplished album that bridges the common ground between all four artists without sacrificing an ounce of artistry or integrity.
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Alice In Chains — Alice In Chains’ Sap EP wasn’t nearly as well-received as Nirvana Unplugged but this five-song, largely acoustic collection still sounds as good today as it did when it was recorded almost two decades ago. It also showcases the incredible vocal range of the band’s fallen frontman Layne Staley.
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Bruce Springsteen — Bruce Springsteen is one of the most prolific artists of all-time, but his ’90s and ’00s output has been a little spotty, making We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions even more impressive. The Boss’ only album of material that he didn’t write is an amazing reinterpretation of classic tunes by Pete Seeger and ushered in a new era in Springsteen’s career.
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Mumford & Sons — Mumford & Sons seemed to come out of nowhere two years ago to release Sigh No More, and for many music listeners the album sounded like a gift from God. Rarely does a debut album come along that’s as fully formed and engaging as this one and while we love their latest disc Babel their first collection will always have a special spot in our hearts.
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Beck — Beck is an amazing example of an artist who was born in the alternative scene but managed to segue into serious artistry — and the real turning point in his career was his 2002 collection Sea Change, which is full of moving but somber songs such as “Lost Cause” and “The Golden Age.”
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Bob Dylan — We couldn’t write an article about memorable acoustic albums without paying tribute to the man who popularized the genre, Bob Dylan. Although Dylan has tons of legendary collections, we’d recommend you start with Blood On The Tracks and go from there.
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