Which Paul McCartney live album was the first official album from MTV Unplugged?

“Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)” was Paul McCartney’s live album and the first official album released from MTV’s “Unplugged” series.

The album documents McCartney’s acoustic performance for the program and was released in 1991 on Parlophone. Its appearance helped establish the format’s recording legacy before later, better-known releases such as Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged” and Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged in New York.”

The title is slightly unusual because the word “Bootleg” suggests an unofficial recording, yet this was an authorized commercial release. McCartney used the concept to revisit Beatles, Wings, and solo material in an informal acoustic setting, with traditional instruments replacing the heavily amplified presentation associated with rock concerts.

A frequent mix-up is treating Nirvana’s 1994 album as the first “MTV Unplugged” album because it became the series’ most iconic release. Nirvana’s record was much later. McCartney’s 1991 set came first, making it the canonical answer to this question.