10 Greatest Unplugged Rock Songs

No crunch... same energy.

Pink floyd
Harvest Records

A lot of the appeal that comes with rock and roll is the amount of volume you can make. As much fun as it is to just right a nice song, it doesn't hit right until you actually plug everything into the amp and let it rip. Then again, if the song's that good, you sometimes don't need to go to 11.

Across every stripe of rock music, there are thousands of artists who can make it work in an acoustic setting. Sometimes it's as simple as turning the distortion down...other times you'll see them bring it down to just a voice and a guitar. And the crazy part is...it actually works.

Even though the instruments are different, you never get the impression that these are easy listening songs or anything. These are still rock songs at the core, except the actual instruments have changed.

Hell, some of these songs have the capacity to hit you in a way that no amount of digital effects could have ever done. Anyone can pretend to be a rockstar with some gear. Being able to strip it all down like this...that's something that you want to hold on to.

There's a little less noise, but still as badass as ever.

10. Seasons of Wither - Aerosmith

Most of Aerosmith's early career was a lot more shaky that you probably remember. Aside from the monster albums that they made in their heyday like Toys in the Attic, their debut release saw them riding the coattails of the British Invasion that felt more and more dated as the years went on. Though the course correction began with Get Your Wings, we suddenly went into the psychedelic world with Seasons of Wither.

Being an afterthought during the sessions, this track was a song that Steven Tyler came up with after messing around with a beat up acoustic that Joey Kramer found in a dumpster. There must have been some magic in between that bent wood though, with most of this song feeling like it was ripped out of an old sailor's tale from years ago.

Although the guitars eventually come in in full force later, the real draw of the song is just the odd vibe you get while listening to it, almost like it's trying to slowly lure you into its groove before batting you over the head. The lyrics are also some of the more creative Tyler had used up to this point, almost going full on Zeppelin with the more cosmic wordplay.

It's a hard road out there for any rock band, so you need songs like this to weather those stormy seasons.

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