"Unplugged" was still finding its footing as being more than just a television show, having only released Paul McCartney's episode as an album and still being months away from releasing the juggernaut Eric Clapton "Unplugged" album. Doug gave me the green light and this ended up being the first show I ever directed in my life.Īt the time, both "Unplugged" and Pearl Jam were in relatively similar places in their career arcs- both were relatively new but equally on the brink of massive stardom and pop-cultural ubiquity.
In this specific case, that was Larry Jordan, who directed the first two episodes that day. Not only was I a big fan and already knew their music, but also it was the third episode of a single-day shoot, which seemed like a lot to ask of any director. Once I heard we were going to be doing an "Unplugged" episode with Pearl Jam, I went to Doug Herzog, my boss at MTV, and I told him that I would really like to direct it. However, I usually operated as a bit of a backseat director and was always very involved with the production work, the editing, getting the right shots, and all that. Up until that point in my MTV career, I was mostly just a producer. When it was time for the show to actually start taping, they were enthusiastic and ready to go. I remember it was so cold that day and we had just had a snowstorm, so the Pearl Jam fans were waiting outside for hours in the freezing cold.
We actually shot three shows on this particular day: one with Boyz II Men, Joe Public and Shanice around two or three in the afternoon, the very famous one with Mariah Carey around seven or eight that night, and then Pearl Jam at about midnight. Joel Gallen: During my first few years of working on "Unplugged," we used to shoot multiple episodes within a single day to help on production costs and get more bang for our buck.
#PEARL JAM UNPLUGGED MUSICANS MOVIE#
During this prolific period, Gallen produced the MTV Video Music Awards and the MTV Movie Awards, while also working on some of the most memorable episodes of "MTV Unplugged"'s earliest days- including iconic shows from Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Pearl Jam.
#PEARL JAM UNPLUGGED MUSICANS PROFESSIONAL#
While Gallen's impressive production and directorial resume includes a variety of memorable musical events, movies and comedy specials ("Not Another Teen Movie," "Zoolander," the 2003 Super Bowl Halftime Show, 17 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, the last 14 years of "Comedy Central Roasts" and the Peabody Award-winning post-September 11 benefit concert special "America: A Tribute to Heroes"), he charted his first professional successes at MTV in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
To help commemorate the release of MTV Unplugged (), the Recording Academy spoke with "MTV Unplugged" director Joel Gallen about shooting the noteworthy episode as a first-time director and about how the band-vocalist Eddie Vedder, bassist Jeff Ament, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, and then-drummer Dave Abbruzzese-approached their acoustic set with equal parts refined musicality and unfiltered bravado. (It should be noted that previously a DVD of the performance was included in some versions of the 2009 reissue of their debut album Ten, but no standalone audio version was made available at that time.) This vinyl release of MTV Unplugged () contains all six tracks from the original Unplugged television broadcast, as well as the inclusion of "Oceans," which did not make it to air.
While bootleg audio files of the performance have been floating around fan circles for years, the Record Store Day Black Friday vinyl release of MTV Unplugged () marks the first time fans can purchase an official, band-sanctioned version of the album. Recorded on Maand aired less than two months later on May 13, 1992, Pearl Jam's "Unplugged" episode is notable for capturing the band as it successfully navigated an unfamiliar setting in the very early stages of its still-thriving career. One of the most celebrated stars of this year’s Black Friday event-taking place Nov. 29 at participating record stores across the U.S.-is Pearl Jam's MTV Unplugged (), the long-awaited official release of the band's unforgettable acoustic performance from the pioneering MTV show. For the last decade or so, Record Store Day and Record Store Day Black Friday have been the venues through which bands have chosen to offer their fans feverishly anticipated album reissues and first-runs on vinyl.
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