''The Corrs Unplugged'' is the third album (and the first visual recording) by Irish band

The Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band consisting of siblings Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhrán, vocals) and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards, v ...

, filmed and released in the fall of 1999. The album is part of the iconic ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'' series, which features musicians performing in a more acoustic, “stripped-down” concert setting. Initially, the album was released internationally, albeit not in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

until a year later, after the band had experienced further success with their single “ Breathless” and their fourth album ''

In Blue ''In Blue'' is the third studio album by Irish pop rock band the Corrs, released in 2000 which saw the band become known in the United States. The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song " Give Me a Reason". As well as the UK number ...

'', with both releases earning them their highest chart positions to-date in the US. The “MTV Unplugged” session was recorded with a small, invitation-only audience, and features the Irish Film Orchestra accompanying the band on most of their songs. The album was recorded live on at

Ardmore Studios Ardmore Studios, in Bray, County Wicklow, is Ireland's oldest film studio. It opened in 1958 under the management of Emmet Dalton and Louis Elliman. Since then, it has evolved through many managements and owners. It has been the base for man ...

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland, and was released on CD,

MiniDisc MiniDisc (MD) is an erasable magneto-optical disc-based data storage format offering a capacity of 60, 74, or 80 minutes of digitized audio. Sony announced the MiniDisc in September 1992 and released it in November of that year for sale i ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video), (not to be confused with CD Video which is a type of LaserDisc, Laserdisc) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical di ...

and

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

. The compact-disc version features the songs in a somewhat different order to that in which they were actually performed, and the

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

cover “

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

” was strangely omitted from the CD (but featured as a bonus track on some releases). The DVD and VHS retains the original song order, and is mostly unedited, while the CD edits out almost all of the talking and introductions between songs. In addition to The Corrs’ familiar songs, plus two Irish tunes from their debut album (“Toss the Feathers”, “Lough Erin Shore”), the “Unplugged” album features several new songs. The band performed a heartfelt version of the

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

song “Everybody Hurts”, as well as debuting two unreleased compositions: the songs “Radio” and “At Your Side”, with lyrics by Sharon Corr, would eventually go on to be re-recorded and featured on their album ''In Blue'', the following year. The

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

song “

Little Wing "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slow tempo rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, drum ...

” features a stellar

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

solo by the band’s longtime guitarist, Anto Drennan. The Irish peace-themed duet "

No Frontiers ''No Frontiers'' is an album by Irish singer Mary Black. The album was one of Ireland's best selling albums of 1989 and introduced her to audiences elsewhere in Europe and in the United States and Japan. The album spent 56 weeks in the Irish To ...

" was sung by Sharon and Caroline—who typically play violin and drums, respectively—during their Talk on Corners World Tour European leg in 1998 and 99, and subsequently included on “Unplugged”. The song was originally recorded by

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

on her album of the same name (written by

Jimmy MacCarthy James MacCarthy (born 1953) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Early life and career (1953–1979) MacCarthy was born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, to Ted MacCarthy (died 1998) and Betty MacCarthy (died 2009). He has 11 siblings. For a time, ...

). The band also performed a rendition of “

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

” by

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

Track listing

CD

DVD and VHS track listing

# "Only When I Sleep" # "What Can I Do" # "Radio" # "Toss The Feathers" # "Everybody Hurts" # "Dreams" # "Runaway" # "Forgiven Not Forgotten" # "At Your Side" # "Little Wing" # "No Frontiers" # "Queen Of Hollywood" # "Old Town (This Boy Is Cracking Up)" # "(Lough) Erin Shore" # "So Young"

Personnel

The Corrs

Andrea Corr Andrea Jane Corr (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon and Jim. Aside from singi ...

– lead vocals,

tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

Caroline Corr Caroline Georgina Corr (born 17 March 1973) is an Irish singer and drummer for the Celtic folk rock band the Corrs. In addition to the drums, she plays the ''bodhrán'', ''cajón'', percussions and piano. The Corr siblings were appointed honora ...

– drums,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "No Frontiers" *

Sharon Corr Sharon Helga Corr (born 24 March 1970), is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and television personality. She is best known as a member of the pop-rock band the Corrs, which she co-founded in 1990 with her elder brother Jim and younger sist ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "No Frontiers" *

Jim Corr James Steven Ignatius Corr (born 31 July 1964) is an Irish musician, singer, songwriter and DJ. He is a member of the Irish folk/rock band the Corrs, the other members being his three younger sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline. Musical ca ...

–

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, backing vocals

Guest musicians

Anthony Drennan Anthony "Anto" Drennan (born on 1 November 1958) is an Irish guitarist and bassist noted for his involvement with the Corrs, Genesis and Mike + the Mechanics. Drennan is from a musical Irish family and was born in Luton, England; he and h ...

– acoustic guitar,

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

Keith Duffy Keith Peter Thomas Francis Julian John Duffy (born 1 October 1974) is an Irish singer, actor, radio and television presenter and drummer who began his professional music career as part of Irish boy band Boyzone alongside Ronan Keating, Mik ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, percussion * Mitchell Froom –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, piano * The Irish Film Orchestra conducted by Fiachra Trench – orchestration

Technical

* Engineers – Tim Martin and Tim Summerhayes * Producers – Mitchell Froom and the Corrs

Charts

Album charts

Video charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Album certifications

Video certifications

Release history

* , Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Atlantic 7567-80986-2, CD * , Europe, Canada, UK, Atlantic 7567-80986-2, CD * , Singapore, Atlantic 7567-80986-2/4, CD (with bonus track) * , Australia, Atlantic 7567-80992-2, CD (with "Dreams" bonus track) * , Japan, Warner AMCY-7120, CD (with "Dreams" bonus track) * , Mexico, Atlantic CS 809862–8, CD (with "Dreams" bonus track) * , Germany, Atlantic 0756-792890-2, CD (reissue, with different bonus track) * , Taiwan, Warner 7567-80986-2, CD (with bonus disk of "Rainy Day" 7567-80986-4) * , Australia, Warner 7567-93277-2, CD (double album with ''

The Best of The Corrs ''Best of The Corrs'' is a compilation album by the Irish pop rock band the Corrs, released in Ireland on 19 October 2001. The album consisted of the band's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1995 with "Runaway", up to ...

'')

References

{{Authority control Unplugged (Corrs, The album) The Corrs albums Albums produced by Mitchell Froom 1999 live albums 1990s live video albums 1999 video albums 143 Records live albums 143 Records video albums Atlantic Records live albums Atlantic Records video albums