[2][3] Clapton performed the show in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England.

[6] Critical reception has been mixed though muted; in general, reviewers report that the album, if unremarkable, is "relaxed" and "pleasant".

[8] Robert Christgau was sharper in his comments, feeling that in an effort to be inoffensive "Clapton-the-electric-guitarist" has been relegated "to the mists of memory", and that "Layla" was turned into a "whispery greeting card".

[10] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune calls the release a "blues album for yuppies" and rates it with 2.5 of 4 stars, saying it is between fair and good.

[11] Entertainment Weekly journalist Steve Simels scores the album an A− calling the album "a charmer, a collection of blues standards and recent Clapton songs rendered with just the right combination of intensity (a deeply felt version of "Tears in Heaven") and giddy fun (Clapton actually plays kazoo on "San Francisco Bay Blues")".

[12] Steve Hochman in the Los Angeles Times felt that "Tears in Heaven" was "maudlin but moving", "Layla" was "low-key but seductive", but the blues numbers performed in an intimate setting makes the album "Clapton's most passionate collection in years".

[13] Commenting on the popularity of the album in his 2007 autobiography, Clapton wishes the reader to understand the great emotional toll he experienced around that time, and suggests that they visit the grave of his son Conor in Ripley to do so.

In Austria, Unplugged held itself 46 weeks in the Austrian Albums Chart and sold more than 100,000 copies in total.

On 15 October 2013 the album and concert DVD were re-released, titled Unplugged: Expanded & Remastered.

The DVD includes a restored version of the concert, as well as over 60 minutes of unseen footage from the rehearsal.