A massive trove of live performances from the late-Nineties/early-Aughts glory days of music television has finally made it to the streaming era, with Paramount+ uploading old episodes of MTV Unplugged, CMT Crossroads, and VH1 Storytellers.
As Billboard notes, these collections aren’t entirely comprehensive, with random episodes and full seasons missing here and there for all three programs. Nevertheless, there’s still a deep assortment of classic performances to dig through, including most of the episodes that appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 15 Best Episodes of MTV Unplugged.
That includes legendary sets by Nirvana, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Paul McCartney, KISS, Alicia Keys, Alice in Chains, Neil Young, Oasis, and Rod Stewart. (Alas, equally monumental performances by Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Hole, and a triple bill of A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J, and De La Soul did not make the cut.)
Additionally, the dump includes Unplugged sets from Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Dashboard Confessional, Annie Lennox, the Cranberries, Elton John, Shakira, and Sinead O’Connor/The Church. There are a couple special episodes, as well like 1993’s “Uptown Show” featuring Jodeci, Father MC, Mary J. Blige, Christopher Williams, and Heavy D, and 1997’s Babyface and Friends with Clapton, Stevie Wonder, and K-Ci & JoJo.
As for VH1 Storytellers, that program aired between 1996 and 2015 and found artists mixing live performances with stories from their careers. Episodes available to watch now include Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Tori Amos, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
CMT Crossroads, meanwhile, is the only show of the three that’s still on the air with any regularity (the current era of Unplugged remains a bit scattershot), but its back catalog features performances going back to the early 2000s. The show finds country stars pairing with artists from other genres, and episodes available now include Melissa Etheridge and Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson, Lindsey Buckingham and Little Big Town, Stevie Nicks and Lady A, Sting and Vince Gill, and the Doobie Brothers and Luke Bryan.
