Two very important acoustic albums were released in 1994: Johnny Cash's American Recordings, and Nirvana's Unplugged In New York.
I mean, there was a third important release; Alice in Chains' second acoustic-based EP, Jar of Flies, was released on January 25, 1994, and became the first EP to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 charts. You know, back when that shit mattered. But, while Jar of Flies is a great record, I personally think, historically, it has been overshadowed by these other two acoustic albums.
Released on April 26, 1994, American Recordings was the 81st album by Cash. The last album Johnny Cash that charted on the Billboard 200 was One Piece At A Time, which reached 185th place back in May, 1976. Since the 70s, most of his solo efforts were considered lackluster, and in 1985 he left Colombia Records, the record company he had been with since 1958. He did have some marginal success as part of The Highwaymen, an American country music supergroup, working alongside Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. The pioneers of "Outlaw" country.
But it was a hip-hop producer, Rick Ruben, who really got it. He understood that while Cash was revered by everybody, he was beholden to nobody, and had an opportunity really double down on his "outlaw" persona, and get his groove back. Cash recorded American Recordings in his living room, accompanied only by his Martin Dreadnought guitar. The Man In Black, that voice, that songwriting skill, birthed a stripped-down, minimalist "This is me, F-You" to the world. It won him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He played Glastonbury later that year.
By contrast, in 1994, Nirvana was a contemporary chart-topping, cultural juggernaut who were riding high after releasing some of the most important and best-selling albums of the early 90s. They were the Beatles, to Johnny Cash's Bill Haley.
That was, until it all came to a screeching halt on April 8, 1994, when Kurt Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his home in Seattle.
All the drama afterwards is well documented, well worn, and I'll leave it to you, gentle reader, to fill in those gaps. The important part, for today's post, is that Nirvana still had one album left to release.
Recorded on November 18, 1993, at Sony Studios in New York City, MTV Unplugged in New York was released on November 1, 1994. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 300,000 copies, the highest first-week sales of Nirvana's career.
Both American Recordings and Unplugged in New York are landmark albums from 1994. They both showcase stripped-down performances that allow the raw emotion and talent of Johnny Cash and Kurt Cobain to shine through. Cash’s album brought a legendary but dormant artist back into the spotlight, while Nirvana’s album became a poignant final chapter in a tragically short career. Both albums contributed significantly to the legacy of the artists.
These albums emphasize raw emotion over shiny staging, powerful songwriting over glossy production, and how much impact a great singer can have with just an acoustic guitar. Well, obviously, Kurt still had some pedals turned on, but still. There is a weight to these performances that is increasingly rare these days. I highly recommend you check out both, and get re-connected to some raw emotion in music.
It does a soul good.
