MTV Unplugged is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. The show aired less frequently from 2000 to 2009, usually billed as MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Since 2009 MTV Unplugged specials have aired occasionally, sometimes online-only. Episodes and specials have tended to showcase one artist or group, playing a combination of their hit songs and covers.
"Frankenstein" is an instrumental by The Edgar Winter Group from their 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night.
Propellerheads are an English electronic duo, formed in 1995 and consisting of Will White and Alex Gifford.
"I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon, and originally issued on A Hard Day's Night, their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 July 1964. "I Should Have Known Better" was also issued as the B-side of the US single A Hard Day's Night released on 13 July. An orchestrated version of the song conducted by George Martin appears on the North American version of the album, A Hard Day's Night Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
"High Hopes" is the eleventh and final track from the 1994 Pink Floyd album The Division Bell, composed by guitarist David Gilmour with lyrics by Gilmour and Polly Samson. Its lyrics speak of the things one may have gained and lost in life, written from Gilmour's autobiographic perspective. Gilmour has said that the song is more about his early days, and leaving his hometown behind, than about the seeds of division supposedly planted in Pink Floyd's early days. Douglas Adams, a friend of Gilmour, chose the album title from one verse in this song. Live versions are featured on Pink Floyd's Pulse, as well as Gilmour's In Concert, Remember That Night, Live in Gdańsk and Live at Pompeii releases. On Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd, a somewhat shortened version of the song segues into Syd Barrett's "Bike". The segue is accomplished by cutting from the church bell at the end of "High Hopes" to a new bicycle bell sound effect before "Bike" begins. A 7-inch vinyl version of the single was released on a transparent record.
"Louisiana 1927" is a 1974 song written and recorded by Randy Newman on the album Good Old Boys. It tells the story of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 which left 700,000 people homeless in Louisiana and Mississippi.
"Eloise" is a song first released in 1968 on the MGM label. It was sung by Barry Ryan, and written by his twin brother Paul Ryan. Running for a little over five minutes, it featured strong orchestration, melodramatic vocals and a brief slow interlude. It sold three million copies worldwide, and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart as published by Record Retailer, but hit No. 1 in the NME and Melody Maker charts. It topped the chart in 17 countries, including Italy and Australia. Ryan also released an Italian-language version of the song, "Eloise ", in 1968.
"Dream", sometimes referred to as "Dream ", is a jazz and pop standard with words and music written by Johnny Mercer in 1944. He originally wrote it as a theme for his radio program. It has been and performed by many artists, with the most popular versions of this song recorded by The Pied Pipers, Frank Sinatra, and Roy Orbison.
"Top of the World" is a 1972 song written and composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis and first recorded by American pop duo Carpenters. It was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit for the duo for two consecutive weeks in 1973.
"Who Wants to Live Forever" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It is the sixth track on the album A Kind of Magic, released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander. Queen was backed up by an orchestra, with orchestrations by the co-composer of the film's score, Michael Kamen. The song peaked at No. 24 in the UK charts.
"Nite Flights" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Scott Walker under his given name Scott Engel. The song was first recorded and released by Walker's pop group The Walker Brothers as the title track of their final album 1978's Nite Flights.
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and recorded by the Philly soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. It became their first hit after being released as a single in September 1972, topping the US R&B chart and peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Let It Be Me" is a popular song originally published in French in 1955 as "Je t'appartiens" interpreted by Gilbert Bécaud. It became popular worldwide with an English version by The Everly Brothers and later with the duet by Betty Everett and Jerry Butler.
"Jolene" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Dolly Parton. It was released in October 1973 as the first single and title track from her album of the same name, produced by Bob Ferguson.
"Out of Time" is a song by the Rolling Stones, first released on their 1966 album Aftermath. The most commercially successful version of the song was by the singer Chris Farlowe, an English solo artist. Farlowe's single, produced by Jagger, peaked at number one in the UK Singles Chart on 28 July 1966 and stayed at the top for one week. A shorter alternative mix of the Rolling Stones' recording was released in the US in 1967 on the album Flowers. A third version featuring Mick Jagger's lead vocal and the orchestration and backing vocals from Chris Farlowe's cover version was released on the 1975 rarities album Metamorphosis and as a single.
Music from Van-Pires is a debut studio album recorded by the John Entwistle Band and is Entwistle's final solo album before his death in 2002. It was a soundtrack for the Sci-Fi Award-winning UPN animated children's computer-generated television series Van Pires, which only aired between 1997 and 1998, shooting 13 episodes, which Entwistle had been involved with. The album was not officially released as a collection. Some of the tracks appear on his solo compilation album So Who's the Bass Player? The Ox Anthology, despite this. Notably, this album was not re-released alongside Entwistle's other solo studio albums in 2005.
Ticket to Ride is the first studio album by American music duo Carpenters. At the time of its initial release in 1969, it was issued under the title Offering, with a completely different cover photo. It was a commercial failure and produced only one minor hit single, a ballad version of the Lennon-McCartney song "Ticket to Ride".
Peter Knight was an English musical arranger, conductor and composer.
"It's Growing" is a 1965 hit single by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label. Written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Pete Moore and produced by Robinson, the song was a top 20 pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, on which it peaked at number 18. On Billboard's R&B singles chart, "It's Growing" peaked at number 3.
"I'll Try Something New" is a song written by Smokey Robinson and originally released in 1962 by The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla subsidiary label. Their version was a Billboard Top 40 hit, peaking at #39, and just missed the Top 10 of its R&B chart, peaking at #11.
The song was released later as a joint single by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations, also becoming a charting version on the Billboard 100 pop singles chart, peaking for two weeks in April 1969 at number 25.
