MTV have been producing 'unplugged' specials for many years now with some big name artists such as Kiss, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Eric Clapton, R.E.M., Live, Bryan Adams - the list is endless - but sadly they are yet to release the majority of these on DVD. There have been a few, Bryan Adams, Alice in Chains, Bjork, Shakira and even Lauryn Hill have hit the shelves, and now it is the turn of Staind.

Although they only have three albums to their credit thus far and a fourth due for release later in 2003, Staind have established a large following in a very short time. Their first album Tormented was produced in 1996 by the band themselves and sold simply by word of mouth. Their big break came in 1997 when they were scheduled to support Limp Bizkit and 20 minutes before they were to play the lead singer from Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst, approached Staind front man Aaron Lewis. He had a copy of Staind’s CD in his hand and wasn’t happy. Fred thought Staind were Satan worshippers due to the nature of the cover art. Limp Bizkit even tried to get Staind kicked off the bill. Of course they are not Satan worshippers and after Fred saw their show, his attitude changed dramatically, stating they were the best band he had heard in two years. Phone numbers were exchanged and after a while the band completed some new songs and gave these to Fred to listen to, he loved them. After playing another gig with Limp Bizkit, Fred set up a meeting with Flip Records and in 1998 Staind signed their first record contract.

Their second album Dysfunction was released in 1999 and clocked up reasonable sales, but it was their third album, Break the Cycle in 2001, which shot the band to prominence. Their international hit It’s Been Awhile received extensive airplay and charted around the world. They are primarily a heavy band, but they do produce some terrific ballads and this enthusiasm to play acoustically made the recording of the MTV session a natural choice.

Staind – MTV Unplugged was recorded at the MTV studios July 16, 2001 in front of an adoring and intimate audience. The band sound terrific and although their music is primarily heavy, it does transcend well to acoustic. The voice of Aaron Lewis is shown for what it really is here, with no interference from loud guitars. His soothing voice goes from a soft level to loud with ease, showing his versatility. I must admit he sounds better to me when singing the louder notes, but many will prefer his softer singing.

Track listing:

This is a fine performance and although many may find some songs similar in sound, fans of the band will love this release. As the band state during the show, they tried to film a few days earlier and everything went wrong, but this time everything went right. There is little interaction with the audience, but fans should not dismay as there is a brief interview in the extras. One other point of note is that this is unplugged and uncensored, so there is some strong language in the lyrics that don’t normally receive airplay on mainstream radio.

Fans of the band, rush out and get this. For those that enjoy the MTV Unplugged shows, this is definitely worth a viewing. For those that have never heard of Staind, give them a listen. As stated earlier, some songs sound a touch similar on the first listen, but give it a repeat viewing and you will find the variation in songs is more evident the second time around. Overall this is a very mellow performance showing a different side of a very talented band.

Being a television special, this is in full frame and not anomorphically enhanced. Picture is sharp throughout and is better than standard television quality. There are a few problems with grain, aliasing and slight oversaturation of colours, but these are all so minor they are not really a problem at all and most viewers will not notice. A pleasing aspect of this release is the inclusion of lyrics for the karaoke inclined. The voice of Aaron Lewis is very clear, but lyrics are always a nice bonus. Overall this is a better than expected transfer with very few problems.

Audio is supplied in a choice of Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo or DD 5.1 surround. The DD 2.0 track offers CD quality and is very nice indeed, but the DD 5.1 is again the track of choice. Vocals are kept primarily across the front with good use of surrounds for ambience and audience noise. There is also some good directional effect for some guitar solos and such, but this is not required too much as the music is evenly spread. Vocals are crystal clear throughout and there are no synch problems.

This release offers some very good extras. There are no less than four video clips that show the band as they play normally with that much harder sound. The video clips run for a combined total of 18:36 and include Mudshovel, Fade, Outside and Epiphany, all in DD 2.0 stereo. Next up is the Unplugged interview which runs for 3:53 and was filmed prior to recording the main feature. Although brief it is quite informative. Next we have the Behind the Scenes of Fade which, as well as showing the making of the Fade video, also includes interviews on other topics. It has a decently sized running time of 6:06. Lastly, there is a discography and some weblinks that are pretty much in the standard format. Overall, a good collection of extras that should satisfy fans and give those not familiar with the band a good idea of who they are.

Staind are not a band that everyone will like, but for those who do this is a terrific release. The picture and sound quality are excellent and the added extras make this very good value for money. Time will tell whether this band will go the distance, but they certainly have the credentials. They are in it for the music (or so they say) and as long as they stick to that philosophy and keep producing great sounds, this release could be the first of many. Now we just have to convince the guys at MTV to release more of the older MTV Unplugged shows on DVD, especially R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Live and... Kiss!