4 Times Alt-Rock Bands Went Acoustic (and It Actually Worked)

It’s hard to go from a loud, house-frame shaking rock band to a nuanced, delicate acoustic outfit. It’s why so many guitar teachers tell their pupils to learn on an acoustic six-string. Then once you’ve mastered the more difficult unforgiving instrument you can go on to pick up the electric guitar with all its pedals and knobs.

But in the 1990s, there was a funny thing happening. The eclectic decade was rich with rock music. Not only that, but it was rich with both loud, buzzing rock and more acoustic, bright rock. Think: Dave Matthews Band and the Spin Doctors versus Soundgarden and Screaming Trees. Yet, there were times when the two lanes intersected.

Here below, we wanted to explore four such examples. Four times an alt-rock band decided to go acoustic. It’s a tough needle to thread but there are occasions when it worked incredibly well. When it was transcendent. Indeed, these are four times alt-rock bands went acoustic and it actually worked.

“All Apologies” by Nirvana from MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

Kurt Cobain was a contradiction. If you praised him, he wanted to exit stage left. If you ignored him, he created art that made it impossible for you to ever do it ever again. He wanted fame but seemed to loathe and even fear most of society. But another contradiction—in the best of ways—is to see the heavy grunge rocker perform acoustic with his band Nirvana. Who knew a cello could be as effective behind his voice as an amplifier the size of the Empire State Building. Nirvana’s 1994 MTV Unplugged album is legendary stuff.

“Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains from Unplugged (1996)

The Seattle-born grunge band Alice in Chains was like a sledgehammer. But when Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell and company performed for MTV and recorded their Unplugged album, they laid themselves bare. With voices like harmonizing fallen angels, the band sang songs like the mournful, melancholy “Down in a Hole.” Vulnerability had a new name and it was Alice in Chains. Instead of a sledgehammer, the band transformed into a friend crying on your shoulder.

“Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. from Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions (2014)

One of R.E.M.’s most popular songs today is their largely acoustic-driven “Losing My Religion.” As the story goes, the track was created when guitarist Peter Buck was fooling around on the mandolin and found a riff that the band could build around. Well, they certainly built around it. The tune is incredible—deep and earthy. And that’s true without wild drums or explosive guitars obfuscating the emotional core of the track. Find it on their double-album, Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions.

“Because The Night” by 10,000 Maniacs from MTV Unplugged (1993)

The alt-rock band 10,000 Maniacs began in Jamestown, New York, in 1981. But it was a dozen years later when they captured the hearts of millions of new fans when they recorded their MTV Unplugged record. That album included the sumptuous cover of Patti Smith’s “Because the Night,” and for a song blessed by Smith and written by Bruce Springsteen, 10,000 Maniacs turned their sweeping acoustic offering into one of the all-time versions.

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