The second volume of
The Very Best of MTV Unplugged digs a little deeper into the long-running show's archives and manages to pull out a healthy number of unreleased tracks along the way. The
Unplugged series always seemed to be a stab at depth for a station that was focused on surface and image above all, and it worked, both for MTV and the artists who appeared on the show. The best moments here are the ones that take the biggest chances, offering different arrangements of songs, like the string-heavy version of "Zombie" by
the Cranberries and the interestingly jazzy yet still overproduced
Phil Collins with "In the Air Tonight." Both of those songs see release for the first time here, along with six others from
Chris Isaak,
R.E.M.,
Tori Amos,
Seal,
Elton John, and
Sheryl Crow. Other artists represented are perennial faves
Bob Dylan and
Eric Clapton along with the hopelessly outdated
Midnight Oil and furiously eccentric
Björk, whose harpsichord-backed "Human Behaviour" is another highlight.
