10 Best Acoustic Hard Rock Songs
3. Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Nirvana
MTV Unplugged in New York is known as one of the highlights of Nirvana's career as a live band. By taking their angsty grunge tunes and dialing back the intensity, the world saw Kurt Cobain as a true song craftsman whose knack for writing beautiful melodies seemed boundless. However, Cobain indeed saved the best track for last at the end of the night.
Originally a traditional song by the blues singer Lead Belly, Cobain's take on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" takes the traditional bluesy vocal of the original and turns it into something otherworldly. While it starts off slow like the previous songs of the evening, each verse keeps building in intensity, with Kurt straining his voice to agonizing effect each time he opens his mouth. As he works his way through the song's tale of infidelity, Cobain lays his soul out for all to see as he talks about wasting the night away alone.
On the tape, Cobain brings the band to a halt before the end of the last verse, where he finally opens his eyes for a split second before launching into the final lines. In that one look, Cobain was already on another plane of existence, with us as merely onlookers trying to grasp some of that ethereal energy.