The Cranberries announce 'MTV Unplugged' standalone release

The project was included in the sold-out No Need to Argue 30th Anniversary Edition

High atop the wishlist of The Cranberries’ fans has been an official release of their 1995 acoustic concert for MTV’s epochal, intimate performance series Unplugged. Never before available as a standalone release, MTV Unplugged will be available on November 7th on vinyl, CD and digital via Island Records/UMe. A limited-edition colored vinyl version featuring an alternate cover will also be available exclusively through Complex. Previously only obtainable on the limited 3 LP 30th Anniversary Edition of No Need to Argue, which was released on June 27th, this set sold out immediately upon being announced.

Originally recorded on February 14, 1995, the special nine-song performance made its broadcast debut on April 18th that year. Filmed at the Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, NY, the episode aired during the sixth season of the acclaimed series that highlighted a stripped-down and acoustic setting by some of the most popular artists and musicians of the era.

“We’d seen some of the biggest names in music like R.E.M., Pearl Jam, The Cure and Nirvana do their Unpluggeds and were blown away to be following in their footsteps,” recalls drummer Fergal Lawler. “MTV was doing a series of recordings in this beautiful old theatre with curved seating. It was a really chilled, relaxed vibe with the audience sitting on the floor.” Accompanied by Electra Strings (the string quartet that had accompanied the band on the UK program Later with Jools Holland in 1994), the eloquence of The Cranberries’ songwriting was on full display, firmly underscoring the band’s importance in the pantheon of alternative rock.

Following the release of their mainstream breakthrough second album No Need to Argue, the setlist for MTV Unplugged included selections from that pivotal album, including “Dreaming My Dreams,” “Ode To My Family,” Empty,” “Zombie,” and the title track. The other tracks performed include the smash “Linger” (from their debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?) and “Free to Decide” and “I’m Still Remembering,” both of which were unreleased at the time and would subsequently appear in recorded form the following year on their 1996 album To The Faithful Departed.

Also included is the non-album track “Yesterday’s Gone,” which remains unreleased in a studio format. “Dolores and I literally wrote ‘Yesterday’s Gone’ – apt title! – the day before,” guitarist Noel Hogan reveals. “There was a piano where we were and I said, ‘I have this idea’ and it came together in a couple of hours. The only time we ever played it was for MTV.”

Revered as one of the best episodes of the fabled MTV series, which boasted 125 episodes, The Cranberries’ set has been treasured by the media and audiences alike, who hoped anxiously for its official release.

“It was an honour to do MTV Unplugged and I’m really proud that the songs we wrote didn’t need all the bells and whistles you get in the studio to sound good,” adds Noel. “They worked just as well, stripped down and played acoustically, albeit with the help of the brilliant Electra Strings.”