Lorraine Ali of "Rolling Stone" described it as the "emotional, visceral flip side" of "MTV Unplugged in New York", and as "riotous and liberating", showing the band "in their most natural state, smashing instruments and inducing irreversible tinnitus." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it "a little scattershot" but "still a terrific record" which "finds a great band in top form." American music critic Robert Christgau wrote, "I play "Unplugged" to refresh my memory of a sojourner's spirituality. I'll play this one when I want to remember a band's guts, fury, and rock and roll music"; Tim Peacock of "uDiscover" called the album "the formidable yang to the subtle, acoustic yin of "MTV Unplugged"," and praised the selections from the band's "scintillating" November 1991 show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands and "transcendent" December 1991 show at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California in particular.