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''MTV Unplugged'' is an extended play (EP) and live album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released in the United States on August 19, 2011 by Virgin Records. It features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on May 13 of that year for the television series ''MTV Unplugged''. The show's purpose is to present name artists, and feature them stripped of studio equipment. The performance was accompanied by musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet, a gospel choir and included the contribution of the band's fans. The extended play includes rearranged versions of three songs extracted from Thirty Seconds to Mars' third studio album, ''This Is War'' (2009), and a cover version of a song by U2. Upon release, ''MTV Unplugged'' received universal acclaim from music critics, many of whom complimented the band's musicianship and the album's production. Commercially, it debuted at number 76 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and experienced moderate success in some international markets. ==Recording== Thirty Seconds to Mars recorded their performance on May 13, 2011 at Sony Music Studios in New York City. The show featured a number of musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet and back-up vocalists from The Late Show's Gospel Choir. It marked the first live performance by the former. The show was produced by Lee Rolontz, Jay Peterson and Leah Culton-Gonzales through the production company Original Media.〔 Thirty Seconds to Mars dedicated several days to rehearsals, in which they reworked and experimented with their musical repertoire. The band invited their fans to attend the rehearsal sessions to work on songs that needed background vocals.〔 Jared Leto expressed his gratitude to the band's fans, termed as the Echelon, emphasizing their strong collaboration.〔 During rehearsals, musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet were also involved, with Leto stating that they were "really open and collaborative, () fluid and in the moment and improvisational."〔 Thirty Seconds to Mars explained the scrupulous process of deciding which songs to cover, considering tracks by artists as varied as Cyndi Lauper, Gheorghe Zamfir, Eminem, and Fleetwood Mac.〔 The band stated that they also considered a song by Dolly Parton, before they decided on "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2, which is reputed a special song for Jared and Shannon Leto. The show began with "Hurricane", followed by "Alibi", "Kings and Queens", "Closer to the Edge", "Night of the Hunter", "Where the Streets Have No Name", and "Message in a Bottle", originally by The Police. Short instrumental versions of songs by The Cure, Pantera and Slayer were also played by Tomo Miličević, Shannon Leto and Tim Kelleher. The Vitamin String Quartet musicians which took part al the recording included three violinists, a cellist and a conductor. The performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name" featured The Late Show's Gospel Choir, consisting of five men and five women dressed in red. After filming, Jared Leto described the band's excitement about being asked to record for ''MTV Unplugged'' stating, "I think our generation, it was kind of a rite of passage, and if you were invited to do ''MTV Unplugged'', it certainly was a pretty big deal. So many of our favorite bands did 'Unplugged' and still do it, so we were really thrilled to be asked."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MTV Unplugged (Thirty Seconds to Mars EP)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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