...the "cute" ex-Beatle decided to do a MTV "Unplugged" gig. So, instead of turning it into a TV commercial for his most recent releases, he decided instead to turn it into an opportunity to do a change-of-pace set. One thing not all that many people know about Sir Paul nowadays is that his earliest years in the Fab Four saw him and John Lennon playing a Brit variant of rockabilly. As in what Setzer and the Stray Cats were up to before he became the Crown Prince Of New Swing. If you ever read reviews describing the Beatles as Everly Brothers-influenced, that's what they were talking about. What they don't say is that for a couple of dudes who were urban rather than rural working class (and brought up nowhere near the Appalachians), they weren't too shabby at the sound created by "rocking hillbillies" Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash amd Jerry Lee Lewis. In this set, McCartney proved that he was still able to hack it, some thirty years later. He also includes Beatles classics with the older standards--after all, they do belong. Even down to "We Can Work It Out", which he begins by singing the last verse in place of the first. With a self-effacing laugh, he waves the band down and starts over--he's not about to pretend he didn't blow it. Not content with that, he leaves the song in the broadcast version, screwup and all. Hell, why not a bit of comic relief? That's what "Unplugged" always been about anyway--just do the damn gig, imperfections and all. Unfortunately they seem to have trimmed that false start from this album. Even so, with that type of fun-loving informality, along with vintage rockabilly material done in a way its creators would approve of, you still can't miss with this set.

This is one of Paul's best shows. He is loose, informal, talks to the audience, forgets song lyrics, and is, as always, in top form. There is a great atmosphere to this show, and Paul plays songs that had never been played before, including "I Lost My Little Girl," the first one he ever wrote when he was 14. All the other performers who did "Unplugged" sets seemed to take it very seriously, but not Paul.

I've always thought that Paul was a pretty good composer, an excellent arranger, and a fine singer and bass player. But I've also always felt (and even more so after seeing him live) that Paul McCartney lives to perform. He's truly at home onstage, and puts 110% into his performances, as evidenced in his 1976 offering, "Wings Over America."

"Unplugged: The Official Bootleg" captures a totally different side of McCartney live. Instead of approximating the arena-rock experience (which is difficult to do on a record), you're treated to an intimate, informal performance -- almost as if Paul & Co. were performing in your own living room.

Yes, Bubba, you're right. This isn't a "real" bootleg. It was released within weeks of the MTV Unplugged performance, specifically designed to beat the bootleggers to market. Paul's original idea was that it would be a "real" bootleg, manufactured at a plant other than Capitol's, and distributed underground through the same means as real bootlegs.

Obviously, Capitol/Parlophone didn't like that idea, and so Paul compromised, limiting production to 250,000 copies in the US and another 250,000 in the UK. Those 250,000 copies US sold out in the first week, peaking at #14 in Billboard (not too shabby), then dropping off because there weren't any more copies to be sold. Until now, only Japan has continued to produce the CD, and now, thankfully, it seems to be back in production again Stateside.

I bought the CD on the day of release in 1991 (I didn't even own a CD player yet), and the VINYL LP (yes, really!) two days later. It's the CD I pull out when I want to "introduce" naysayers to McCartney.

Although I never cared too much about the "Unplugged"-series, this album is really good. A lot of my friends, not being McCartney-fans, do like this album: it is cheerful, intimate and relaxed. A nice variety of songs from his (pre-) Beatles and solo years are skillfully played. I have never understood why this album is relatively unknown.

Highly recommended to people who just like good music or the "Unplugged"-series!

This was the first "Unplugged" album to be released (now everyone releases them and the format has lost some of it's excitement). I loved this album when it came out, it got me through lots of exam study sessions, and I still love it now!

The band Paul played with at the time were perfect for this type of affair, and they play the songs with a freshness and sublety that I don't think his current 2002/2003 line up would be able to pull off as well (they are excellent but more of a "rocking" unit IMO)

So Paul takes us through his own career from the Beatles to solo, with some songs getting an airing live for the first time ("That Would Be Something" an example). Also included are a few old rock and roll songs which you can tell he just loves to sing.

Paul's band played this set completely "Unplugged" using microphones to pick up the acoustic guitars instead of plugging them directly into the board. Therefore the sound is very natural and you can hear a lot of between song chatter among the band members whcih is a nice touch. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed with Paul joking a lot with the audience.

Notable are the beautiful vocal harmonies between Paul and Hamish Stewart and the wonderful guitar work of Robbie McIntosh.

For my money this knocks the spots off any other Unplugged album. Ok I'm biased, but the whole Unplugged thing got boring and stale pretty soon (sorry, but I hated the Clapton one)...this one still sounds fresh and exciting.