Maná - MTV Unplugged [2LP Portugal Import]

Maná unplug and the songs only get bigger: MTV Unplugged captures Mexico's great rock en español band in full acoustic bloom, across two LPs on this Portugal import.

Recorded in Miami in March 1999 and released that summer, the set was produced by singer Fher Olvera and drummer Alex González, who reworked the band's hits for an acoustic setting in front of an intimate audience. Alongside their own classics they slipped in three striking covers, José Alfredo Jiménez's "Te Solté la Rienda", Rubén Blades' "Desapariciones" and Juan Gabriel's "Se Me Olvidó Otra Vez", turning the night into a celebration of Latin American songwriting as much as a greatest hits show.

The performances are warm and generous. The tender ballad "Vivir Sin Aire" gains new intimacy in this setting, and "Cachito" keeps its playful bounce. Their take on "Desapariciones", Blades' haunting song about the people who vanished under Latin American dictatorships, is one of the emotional peaks, and "Oye Mi Amor" sends the crowd home on a high.

It remains one of the defining live albums in Latin rock, the moment Maná showed how deep their songs really ran. Spread over two discs, it has plenty of room to breathe, and it sounds like a balmy night you never wanted to end.