MTV's Unplugged series over the years brought to television some of the very best musicians in rock, pop, grunge and even jazz, pulling them in an intimate studio setting with acoustic instruments to perform some of their biggest hits. The ‘M’ in MTV still stands for Music, or so it seems from this pretty good recording of the DVD and visually satisfying on a large Flat screen TV.

This is the famous "Unplugged" concert of Dylan recorded for MTV on 17^th and 18^th November in 1994 at the Sony Music Studios, NYC, US. All Dylan fans should have this DVD, its one you should not miss. Fortunately, someone had the foresight to capture this 1995 concert. The colors, camera work and angles, and lighting are the best I have seen on any concert DVD. The picture quality and the excellent recording of the musicians are great.

Bob and this band do an incredible job of keeping the music flowing while also delving into the politics including war, poverty, and many other issues. The results are a performance that is a pure joy to watch. The audience is enthusiastic and Dylan and his excellent backup musicians do not disappoint and in fact looked eager to perform as they helped to bring a different look and feel to many of Dylan's classic hits. The acoustic instruments are a pleasure to listen to, as well as a visual delight, especially the gleaming rich wood of the double bass. It showed during the concert. The terrific musicians are: Tony Garnier on bass, Bucky Baxter on Dobro, Winston Watson on drums, John Jackson on guitar and Brendan O'Brien on organ.

The songs Dylan performed that night spanned from the '60s to the early '90s and from albums like "The Times They are A-Changin'" to "Oh Mercy”. For the older songs Dylan and his group mixed up and changed around a bit the style and tempo making the songs for the listener familiar, yet not predicable. Best songs during the performance however were the newer numbers like the mellow country feel in Shooting Star from the “Oh Mercy" album, to the up-tempo Dignity which would appear on "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3", filled with beautiful lyrics Dylan has ever penned, that says a lot considering how many songs he has written over the years. The somber anti-war songs like John Brown and With God on Our Side is a marvel, his gravelly voice that gets rougher as the years go by.

He has done a newer version of Like a Rolling Stone geared to the musical tastes of a new generation that works for him. The changed-up in rhythm is good for a new listener. The love anthem No Limits is stark as he does it always with the same going for The Times They are A Changin’.  

Three songs particularly stand out. Desolation Row is a truly incredible, meaningful song that only Dylan could write and perform. Lasting more than eight minutes, it's the kind of song you never want to end. Knockin' on Heaven's Door really starts building the momentum that reaches its crescendo that you want to sing again and again. Clocking just over an hour, he signs out with With God on Our Side.

Dylan never looked or sounded better than he did on this unforgettable night in 1994. If you saw the performance on MTV, you should know that as part of the Special Features on the DVD, it contains four bonus songs not included in the television broadcast.  

This DVD is a must-have for any music library.

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira