| Facelift | review #2 | 1990 |
| Sap | review #2 [EP] | 1992 |
| Dirt | review #2 | 1992 |
| Jar Of Flies | review #2 [EP] | 1994 |
| Alice In Chains | review #2 | 1995 |
| Unplugged | review #2 (live) | 1996 |
| Nothing Safe: Best Of The Box (compilation) | 1999 |
| Music Bank (box set) | 1999 |
| Live | 2000 |
| Greatest Hits (compilation) | 2001 |
One of the darkest and moodiest bands ever to come out of the Seattle grunge scene, as well as one of my personal favorites, Alice In Chains have a couple of secret weapons. Lead vocalist Layne Staley is one of the more intriguing frontmen in rock, one who has certainly had his share of mostly drug related problems. His lyrics are personal and cryptic poetry, and his voice is inflected with a touch of grit and anger and sometimes reflects hopelessness and despair. Jerry Cantrell, meanwhile, has a knack for creating memorable riffs and lyrics which are also on the darker side, but upbeat melodies often complement them. Most of the band's songs (musically and lyrically) in the early days were actually written by him, and a number of them he's even fronted.
The rhythm section of Mike Inez (who replaced original bassist Michael Starr after Dirt) and Sean Kinney, bass and drums respectively, is one of the more solid units playing these days, and they help create, along with Staley and Cantrell, quite an interesting and memorable atmosphere, which quickly earned them the title of "masters of mood metal".
The band's sound and creative focus has always changed from album to album, which is refreshing. Their first album Facelift was more youthful and riff heavy than the others (in my opinion it's one of the greatest albums of the decade, and still their best one), their two EPs Sap and Jar Of Flies are acoustic oriented, mellow material, Dirt had a lot more atmosphere and a lyrical focus on drugs, and their self titled release expanded their sound in a more bluesier, scarier, more melodic, but not always more successful, vein. No word yet on when a new studio project may be released, as they haven't put out a new album since their self titled in 1995, on account of Staley's drug use plaguing the band somewhat through the years.
Update: Well, that 'drug use' of Staley's has unfortunately led to tragic results. He succumbed to an apparent overdose in mid-April of 2002. R.I.P.
--Nick Karn
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(Nick Karn's review)
"Scary's on the wall, scary's on his way" -- these lyrics begin the first chapter in the Alice In Chains history as the opening lines to "We Die Young", a stunner of a song which is quite an introduction to the band. Jerry Cantrell's brutal, distinct riff and Layne Staley's eerie yell "eww" at the beginning immediately lets the listener know something special is about to get underway. The sheer directness, melodic strength, guitar solo and lyrical tongue-in-cheek attitude of this brief 2-1/2 minute opener immediately floored me, as did the hit single "Man In The Box", which can best be described as "arena rock from Hell" -- a powerful one note riff, intense and emotional lyrics bordering on insanity, and what a solo and chorus. "Bleed The Freak" and "I Can't Remember" are truly unparalleled emotion, sounding like they were actually recorded shut off from the outside world, in despair and solitude, both instrumentally and lyrically.
The highlight of this unstoppable "first five songs of doom suite", however, is "Sea Of Sorrow" is the absolute pinnacle of this album and in my opinion their career. The despairing guitar in the intro slowly leads into a furious musical rush in which all the band's considerable strengths manage to be played into one song. The vocal performance is incredible, vintage Layne, the guitars are razor-sharp and vicious, the bass is bottom heavy and intense, and the drums are played with animal-like ferociousness, especially in the brilliantly done chorus interludes. The lyrics here invite a variety of interpretations, which adds even more to the song.
The remainder of this album, the seven tracks following its' brilliant beginnings, is admittedly not as strong, but it still holds up perfectly and hardly brings down the album's potential at all. "Sunshine" is both menacing and hard in the riff-heavy verses and slow and grinding in the chorus, while "I Know Somethin (Bout You)" has an awesome bass-line giving it a funkier edge that really makes the song. "Love Hate Love" is the slow, but powerful, first half-closer that's almost completely bleak in the lyrics and vocals (although it is a bit too long), and "It Ain't Like That" typically rocks hard to open up the second half. "Put You Down" and the closer "Real Thing" are classic examples of Layne Staley's clever attitude in the lyrics here (in the latter song, he's recounting his interesting childhood and his experiences in a drug rehab), and they also exhibit an exceptional youthful vibe that lyrically, musically, and vocally, the band never approached again.
Overall, the only slight weakness of this album is "Confusion", which has a good chorus, but the song's nothing great, and it's possibly even a bit too long. A good amount of this album is phenomenal and brilliantly executed, though, so it's practically no big deal to overlook that small blight and call Facelift one of the greatest debut albums ever made, and in my mind, a true rock classic that sounds more like the standard for "grunge metal" than any albums that could fit in that category, including Nirvana's groundbreaking Nevermind (Facelift beat that album by a year to boot, and "Man In The Box" seems a lot more telling of America's youth in the decade than "Smells Like Teen Spirit" anyway, in my opinion).
UPDATE: I'm not exactly sure why I rated this one so highly before, particularly when concerning side 2 (I'll still definitely stand up for the first 4 or 5 songs on here, no question) but it's still a very excellent debut. It's just that Dirt and Jar Of Flies (particularly the latter) just strike me as more powerful overall, whereas this one can get a little slow, awkward and/or obnoxious as it goes on.
Their debut. This, I believe, is the major cause of the grunge invasion. Sure, Nirvana's ridiculously overrated Nevermind sold more and got all the credit, but the phenomenal "Man in the Box" hit the airwaves long before that overblown "Smells Like Simple Guitar Lines" single overran every damn rock station. It just gets to me when people overrate groups just because a member dies. See Blind Melon, Sublime, and the aforementioned Kurt Cobain Trio.
This here is a band that is SO far ahead of the Cobain group in instrumental prowess, overall feeling, and songwriting, and yet never gets mentioned when the "Grunge Invasion" is discussed. Like I will rant later on, Mr. Jerry Cantrell has such feeling with every note he plays, that it almost makes you think he's playing complicated licks. Which more often than not, he isn't. Anyway, other cool tracks on here include "Love Hate Love", "We Die Young", "Sea of Sorrow", and "Put you down". Nothing else is terribly captivating, but a solid record, nonetheless.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (John Edwards)
Man in the Box has a simpler guitar part than Smells like Teen Spirit. Don't base a song's quality on techincal difficulty alone. True, this album came out before Nevermind, but not before Bleach which planted the seeds for the 'Grunge' Revolution. Overall I agree with these two reviews, Facelift is quite an album!
Point taken about the main riff of "Man in the Box", but the solo is easily tougher to play than the solo in Teen Spirit. I know because i've tried both of 'em. And i think we can both agree who was techincally better on the guitar. But no, i dont base everything on technicality. If i did, i sure wouldnt hate Yngwie Malmsteen as much as i do.
As for Bleach, yes it did come out the year before. But it didnt sell anywheres near as well, nor got anywheres near the recognition as Nevermind, despite the fact that for all i know, it was probably a better, more consistant listen.
Mmmmm . . . I have to disagree with you on this one, Nick. Pretty patchy in my opinion. Pat D.'s rating is more like what it deserves. Still, this was the true commercial breakthrough album for the "grunge" movement, not the decent but tremendously overblown Nevermind. "Man in the Box" is possibly the single best rock radio hit from that era, actually--utterly kick-ass, stellar rock tune, and way more timeless than "Smells Like Teen Spirit." "We Die Young" and "It' Ain't Like That" are great songs too. About half of this stuff sounds like pretty forgettable filler to me, though, and that would have to include the wimpy single "Sea of Sorrow." But what can I say about this band themselves? They were easily my favorite of the "Big Four" grunge pioneers. Maybe they'll finally start getting the notoriety they deserve since Layne Staley passed away--but I think it's really awful that it sometimes has to come to that for a band to get recognized, like Pat D. pointed out.
BTW, Pat, I don't think Blind Melon is overrated. I'm not saying they were good, because they certainly weren't; I'm saying I haven't personally detected too much hype over them since Shannon Hoon died. They were one-hit-wonders who disappeared for years before the singer was found dead. Or maybe they put out mediocre albums instead of disappearing . . . dunno'.
Hmm you may mention bleach as planting the seeds for the grunge revoloution John Edwards but what really did plant the seeds for the grunge revoloution in strict terms was soundgardens Ultramega OK whihc was released in 1988 but furthermore was soundgardens EP Screaming Life which was released in 1987 i beleive.
Well Bleach couldn't have done much in the way of planting the seeds of the Grunge Revolution, as it was only released and sold in the bands small home town at first,as if i remember rightly.Then nevermind came out so they made it worldwide too. So as if that would of made much of a difference in the music world when only a few people would of heard it.
(Nick Karn's review)
An unpredictable direction for Alice In Chains to go after the all out heavy assault of Facelift, the band's second release Sap isn't a full length album, but a 20 minute EP that actually wasn't intended as a serious record. Musically, it's a complete 180 from their last album, concentrating on acoustic-oriented, mellow material, proving for those who weren't aware of it that there's more than one side to the band. The opener "Brother" is the band's first song to have lead vocals from Jerry Cantrell (and also features vocals from Heart's Ann Wilson), and it's a solid cut, showcasing his quieter, melodic and expressive side well, while "Got Me Wrong" is benefits both Cantrell and Staley trading of the lead vocal duties, and is a catchy track. "Right Turn" is a decent song featuring more guest appearances on vocals, this time from Soundgarden's Chris Cornell and Mudhoney's Mark Arm (hence the liner notes stating, "'Right Turn' performed by Alice Mudgarden")
"Am I Inside" is a quieter, more intimate cut that showcases Layne Staley's knack for great emotion, but the project doesn't end there. It also adds a totally-off-the-wall bonus track "Love Song", featuring piano with haunting female vocals, an instrumental switch (with Sean Kinney on vocals, Jerry Cantrell on bass, Layne Staley on drums, and Michael Starr on guitar), and hilarious, psychotic vocal rants when the music gets heavier, all of which perfectly capture Sap's laid back spirit. All in all, a good release that proves the band's considerable strength for acoustic work, but it's too short to really get going.
A five song EP released around the time of Dirt. Can't remember which was released first though. Check out the guests on this album : Ann Wilson from Heart (HEART? The group that did "All I Want To Do Is Make Love to You"????? Well, they also did "Barracuda".....) Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, and Mudhoney's Mark Arm. You've all heard the excellent acoustic groove "Got Me Wrong" (also featured in the movie "Clerks") the cool rocker "Brother" and the strange but great "Am I Inside". I don't really care for "Right Turn", however. But the last hidden jam is just random noises. Occasionally it's downright funny. A solid purchase if you can get it for under $8 (tape).
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(Nick Karn's review)
The band's proper second record, the follow up to Facelift, is a heavy, dark, and disturbing record that earned its' "ultimate drug album of the 90s" title, The reason why becomes very obvious after taking a journey through the violent and hopeless lyrics, gloomy musical atmosphere, and brutal riffage that make up this album. From the sudden screams and grinding riff of the opener "Them Bones", quite the ultimate wake-up song, the listener is immediately in for a ride.
The main focus on this album is Layne Staley's increasing drug problem, first hinted in "Sickman", a song that features an opening tribal drum beat that leads into Staley's menacing yells of the possessed and cryptic lyrics, and its' unpredictable, offbeat changes to a slower section is a highlight. "Angry Chair" is also built on a driving, aggressive drum track, with an atmospheric guitar riff, and an intruiging, indecipherable rhyming pattern that hints of pain and confusion. The melody and overall structure of the song also helps it to become probably the album's best. The slower "Junkhead" deals with the outside world's non-understanding and disgust with his problems, while "God Smack" is a convincing and menacing track with a scary chorus (and a song that inspired a ripoff band of the same name).
Jerry Cantrell, meanwhile, continues to showcases his talents for writing memorable riffs and eerily melodic songs. "Dam That River" has more of that aggressive and direct riffing with a musical vibe that very much conveys a polluted river with a red sky hanging over it (nice guitar solo here too). "Down In A Hole" is a very personal tune, with surreal Cantrell and Staley harmonies that has such a memorable atmosphere, no wonder it's a major fan favorite. The lengthy war story set to music in "Rooster" (with a video equally as affecting and harsh as the song) finds Staley "playing a character", singing the lyrics in the point of view of Cantrell's father, whose Vietnam War experiences inspired the song. And, of course, the album couldn't be complete without the closing "Would?", one of the band's biggest hit single featuring a distinctive bassline, echoey vocals from Cantrell in the verses, a memorable chorus and solo, and an ending, aggressive performance from Staley. The only real weak spot on this album is "Hate To Feel", a song that's way too offbeat and unfocused, with lyrics a bit too simplistic, and an awkward, bluesy solo. Dirt, though, is still an excellent album besides that track, and an essential one from the Seattle grunge scene.
Alice In Chains are a very odd band. It's hard to come up with a genre for their music because they sound so different from any other popular band that has graced this earth. For starters, the vocals are this creepy, yet captivating harmonizing type. Layne Staley is the dominant voice in the harmony, and the best way to describe his voice is Axl Rose with more feeling, depth, and power. I guess heavier, too. And he's sure a lot more enjoyable to listen to than Axl. Lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell creates some of the most interesting little guitar lines I've ever heard, and he never goes overboard with some 400 bpm high speed scale-shredding solo. He trades speed in for feeling, and accomplishes it quite well.
As for Dirt, if you've read the Stone Temple Pilots' review, you'd know that along with that group's Purple album, I consider them to be the top two rock albums of the Nineties. Now, Dirt is by no means similar to Purple in any way 'cept they both are loaded with great songs. "Them Bones" is my favorite song on this album. It chugs along like Metallica, but when the weird lead vocals set in, it really kicks some ass. By the way, for any of you who own DOOM2, this song was used on level 23. Other highlights include "Rain When I Die" with a strange little opener, "Sickman" about, well, I guess a sick old dude. And you've all heard "Rooster", Alice In Chains' take on the war-torn soldier. Beautiful, but its been overplayed to hell on the radio.
"Junkhead" is my second favorite track. I just love the vocals when it goes "What's my drug of choice? Well, what have you got?". Cool. By the way, a lot of this album has to due with Layne's (ongoing) drug addiction. "Down In a Hole" has also got its share of overplay, but the AMBIENCE in that song! Damn! Well, I could go on and on with other classics like "Would?", "Dirt", and "Angry Chair", but you get the idea. The only song I don't think is great is "Hate to Feel". I just don't get it. And there are a couple of just OK songs, so I couldn't give this album the same high rating as Purple. But its still worth every cent of yer dollars.
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COMMENTS
Their best in my opinion. I know this is a trite point of view, but Dirt is really solid for an Alice in Chains album. Ironically, I don't like the two big ballad hits, "Rooster" and "Down in a Hole" (though they both have superb lyrics). But this CD is packed to the brim with very cool, dark, eerie, introspective rock music; very '90s, but it stands the test of time. I mean, "Them Bones," "Would," "Angry Chair," "Dam that River," "Junkhead," and "Hate to Feel"? All classics! Creepy cover art too. That short divvy with Slayer's Tom Araya hollering, "I AM IRON . . . GLLLOOOOOOOOVVVVVEE!!!!!" is really stupid, though. Definitely a 9; very neat stuff, if you're not depressed of course.
[email protected] (Shaun Downton)
I just can't understand how anyone could say that Nirvana's Nevermind is a better album than this one. This gets 9/10 and Nevermind gets 6.5/10
(Nick Karn's review)
Alice In Chains again followed up a menacing and violent studio album with a mellow and often soothing, mostly acoustic EP, this time in Jar Of Flies. Jar is considerably stronger than their last such project, with more consistent and effective songwriting, and also a longer one at a half-hour. Also, some of the band's most personal and moving work to date comes out of it. "Nutshell" is the most apparent sign that Layne Staley is perhaps getting a bit more reflective and mature in the lyrics, and he sings with as much passion as ever here with the band (now featuring Mike Inez on bass) perfectly backing him up. "Don't Follow" is an even greater stunning track (the highlight of the album), where grief and reflection is perfectly shown in Jerry Cantrell's affecting lyrics and vocals here, and when Staley appears in the middle of the song after the song gets a bit faster, the song really becomes unstoppable feeling.
Speaking of Staley, the lengthy opening track (at almost 7 minutes) "Rotten Apple", has typically odd lyrics and a great chorus, but also contains a noticeable difference in his vocal range, which isn't really a bad thing, just somewhat unexpected. And his lyrics really begin to approach absolute mysteriousness (I'm not sure what these simple, nonsensical lines are supposed to mean) on the band's most obvious plunge into blues (with a bit of a swing feel) in the closer "Swing On This".
The hit singles here are two of the strongest tracks of their career, with the very moving "I Stay Away" (again, very mysterious and odd lyrically) featuring powerful orchestration that really adds to the song and one of Jerry Cantrell's most melodic sounding songs "No Excuses" (love that chorus) becoming Alice In Chains classics. Rounding it out is the haunting instrumental "Whale And Wasp", with some truly beautiful guitar textures, another solid track here. Even at its' EP length, Jar Of Flies still in my opinion tops Dirt with its' great power, creativity and diversity. If Sap proved that the band could play in this environment effectively, Jar Of Flies proved Alice In Chains were masters at it, continuing their creatively exciting hot streak.
I don't wish to seem overindulgent with these ratings, but this album deserves just as high a rating as Dirt. For starters, every song on this album is enjoyable to me, and the acoustic playing (oh yeah, this is mostly an acoustic album) is fantastic. Nothing incredibly complicated, but Jerry's guitar work has never been about flashiness. It's always been ambience; a building block for the sometimes beautiful, sometimes creepy vocals which actually lend more to the melody than the instruments.
And that's what this album is all about, melodic and/or creepy vocals and acoustics. The songs? Well, my personal favorite is the groovy "Rotten Apple" that has an inexplicably captivating chorus. Creepy little tune. "Don't Follow" is a despairing little tune, also catchy. And "I Stay Away" is probably the best song on the disc (not my favorite, but others think so) with a string section in it. How's that for creativity? "No Excuses" was the single, and has a groovy bassline-driven riff. The other two songs are good, but not great, and thus the less-than perfect rating. But again, a must buy.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Andrew McQuillan)
Possibly one of the best EP's ever.
(Nick Karn's review)
Continuing to prove critics and fans, who were convinced the band was done on account of their problems, wrong, Alice In Chains released their self-titled follow up to Jar Of Flies, an album that was more raw, frightening, and unpredictable than previous releases. By now, Layne Staley was almost totally out of control with his habit, and he sure has a lot to say about this matter, contributing lyrics and vocals to 9 out of 12 songs for the album. So in fact, not only is the influence of Jerry Cantrell disappointingly not as prominent this time around, but the songs have become more erratic and unfocused, making the album something of a letdown.
Right from the opening track "Grind", a song that in fact does grind musically with irony in the lyrics, but it's merely an average tune, the songwriting has slipped, and it's especially noticeable in a couple of tracks -- the totally unfocused pace, weak vocals and lyrics of "So Close" and the inconceivably dumb, incredibly slow, dragging, and pointless "Nothin' Song" are arguably the two worst songs they've ever done. "God Am", which tries to come off as clever in the lyrics, doesn't sound formed to its' potential, and the same can be said for the insane atmosphere of "Head Creeps", where the rhyming patterns in the vocals get annoying after awhile and the music just doesn't sound inspired.
This album (also known by fans as Tripod, with three legged dog artwork) also has its' share of brilliant highlights, however. The extended epic "Sludge Factory" has an atmosphere like one, and it's a song where Layne Staley has never sounded more possessed and out of his mind. It grinds brilliantly with a terrifying spoken word section and nice bluesy guitar work from Jerry Cantrell (some of his finest) near the end. "Frogs" is another epic length track at 8 minutes that has a longer, haunting section towards the end that sounds more controlled, but it's just as powerful, especially with a great chorus. The hit singles are also top notch (with the exception of "Grind"). "Again" is very catchy and has a great, bottom-ended riff, as well a cool "doot doot.. yeah" section in the middle and end of the song. "Heaven Beside You", one of the three Cantrell-sung tunes, has a bit of a country-ish touch in the guitar work and vocals, and a typically melodic chorus and solo, while "Over Now", while another infectious highlight, sounds sadly like the band's bitter end (in the lyrics and the somber ending section), but of course it may not be, with the subsequent release of a box set featuring a couple new songs. Overall, this album does have more missteps than ever and inconsistent song quality, but is still a strong reminder of the band's talents, as much of a disappointment as it may be.
UPDATE: Alright, there are way too many very good or great songs on here for this to deserve only a 7 ("Sludge Factory", "Over Now", "Heaven Beside You", etc.), so it goes up a half point, though no higher since that stretch from track 8 to 10 is pretty terrible and there's just too many other awkward moments here.
Too bad about this band breaking up. Although I hear that as I write this, Layne and Jerry have reconciled things and there is a possibility of a regrouping. See, even when they fail to create a piece that's absolutely captivating, Alice In Chains usually get the job done. Such is the case with this album. Some people think that this is a mediocre effort, and yes, it may be when you compare it to the earlier stuff. But that does not mean the Purple Album isn't enjoyable.
I found myself liking quite a few tracks on here. "Grind" was the first single, and it still is a cool song to listen to. On the other hand, "Heaven Beside You" has been overplayed to death. I once liked that song quite a bit. But now, arrrggggghhh! Other great tracks: "God Am" with a great drum track, "Nuthin' Song", "Head Creeps", and "Again". Finally, perhaps the best song on here, and one of my favorite Chains tracks is the great ambiatic (is that a word?) "Over Now". I spent $18 for that song, that is, until I realized there were other good tracks on here. The other tracks are fair, nothing really worth mentioning, and most of them are downright weird. An OK purchase, but I'd get Dirt or Jar Of Flies first.
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(Nick Karn's review)
A surprise performance from the band (who added Scotty Olsen on rhythm guitar to help out) on MTV's unplugged series, considering they hadn't played live in three years at the time. It's a good enough performance, and probably one of the better concerts in the series, but it's not too great of a collection for fans (even the new song to close the show out, "Killer Is Me", although good, isn't really anything that special), since most of the songs are performed better in their studio versions, so it's not an album to be played too often. New fans will be much better off checking out practically any of their other releases. Also, the material played from Sap and Jar Of Flies was already largely acoustic to begin with, and there are incredibly no songs played from Facelift, which was of course a big disappointment for me.
There are some humorous moments in between songs that make the collection more enjoyable, though, like Metallica's brief surprise guest performance of "Enter Sandman" and Jerry Cantrell's short and twisted political ditty towards the end of the show. Of the highlights songwise, "Heaven Beside You", "Angry Chair" and "Sludge Factory" are performed particularly well (of course not up to par with the studio versions). But Unplugged is just one of those easily forgettable live albums that merely completes the Alice In Chains collection, despite its' strengths.
I'll say it once, and I'll say it again. Live albums bite. I have not yet heard a live outtake of a song that sounds anywheres near as good as it's studio counterpart. And yet, there are plenty of you out there who can't get enough of poor sound dynamics, background noise, and messed up songs. Add that to the fact that this is also an Unplugged album, which basically reinforces everything I said above, and you have a recipe for mediocrity.
And this AIC release is no exception. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the great songs on here, I'd have dropped the rating even lower. There seems to be something missing from just about every track. Even the great ending of "Over Now" has been toned down to drag out endlessly. And some of the song selections are just bewildering. "Sludge Factory"? That song sucks! Especially when such classics as "Rotten Apple" and "I Stay Away" were left off. Now THAT might have been cool. A string section in there with Jerry and co. And whats the deal with putting "Frogs" on? Geez...... Overall, if you are just getting into the band, and want most of their radio hits, this might be a good buy. If I were you I'd get Jar of Flies or Dirt to introduce myself to the band. This would be my LAST choice.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
It's damn unfortunate that bloated excesses like this one have to come at the expense of inactive or disbanded outfits. See, with the band at the time being on hiatus (which, sadly, has now become permanent), the lack of new material gave the record company the incentive to begin the dreaded 'posthumous release' cycle. You know, how they repackage the same old tracks in the form of greatest hits compilations and add a rare track or two to get hardcore fans to buy them. The first order of business was to release a 'sampler' of the hits, which crassly included remixes and different versions of a few of them to accomplish just that task. And after that 'preview' comes this 3 disc boxed set, whose purpose in life somewhat escapes me. There probably aren't any casual fans out there who would want their first AIC purchase to be a pricey box where almost one fourth of it is rarities and non-album tracks, and anyone long interested in the band owns all the studio albums already. So why is this box dominated by the familiar material?
Plus, while most of the songs selected range from very good to great, Alice In Chains are really much better experienced through a whole album than with individual songs, and there are too many scattered selections here for a band that fits that category. Putting the entire first side of Facelift on this box plus two other tracks particularly seems excessive to me, as does including all of Sap bar the hidden track "Love Song", nearly half of the self-titled album and ten out of thirteen songs from Dirt. And there's only two from Jar Of Flies! I'm telling you, I really, really dig this band, and generally think that people get excessive in downloading more albums than they buy, but it's cases like these where I say screw wasting my money on buying a box filled with songs I already have just to get the stuff I don't, and instead acquire these songs on Soulseek or something.
But enough with my complaining as I focus on the non album stuff. And for the most part, I like what I hear quite a lot. Of course, the new song the band recorded for the box, "Get Born Again", was also their final song ever (a sadly ironic, but not unexpected, fact), and it's just as quintessential and creepy as their other slow, harmony filled mood metal pieces. Great grinding riff and tortured melody, with only the overlong fadeout being a slight weakness. There's also some other gems, too - that aforementioned new song is followed by a string of pre-Facelift demos that showcase the band as a straightforward hard rock outfit that sounded a bit like... Guns N' Roses. Thankfully, although they certainly looked like glam rockers, the material is pretty intense here, with "Social Parasite" in particular being a convincing and catchy 'fuck off!' rant that has a huge opening riff and considerable vocal conviction.
To a lesser extent, "I Can't Have You Blues", "What'cha Gonna Do" and "Killing Yourself", despite being a little unvaried in mood and tempo, have very good melodies and riffs of their own (I particularly like the drawn out 'I CAN'T HAVE YOU BLUUUUUUUUES' intro of the first one, the nice swaggering tempo shifts of the second, plus the cowbell activity and strangely engaging 'k-k-k-k-k-killing yourself' refrain of the third). My favorite non-album song of the era, though, has to be "Queen Of The Rodeo", presented here as a live version. It basically begins life as an slightly dark Southern rock style ballad, with lyrics like 'I ain't no queer / go fuck a steer' sung in an amusing vocal tone before the intense yells afterwards lead the song into an exciting fast punk rocker. Then the music just stops and turns right back to its' original form again. Great!
A few other non-album songs here take us into the Dirt period. Two of them are remixes of their contributions from the Last Action Hero soundtrack ("What The Hell Have I?" is a dreary, almost Eastern-influenced sloooooow number, and "A Little Bitter" goes from a fast moody verse to a pure crunch in the chorus - both quite good songs, I must say), while "Fear The Voices" and "Lying Season" are more reminiscent of some of the harder edged Dirt songs like "Dam That River" (particularly the former's patented grind), and during the chorus, the latter is a prime example of how well Staley and Cantrell's voices blend together to make the mood even more captivating and powerful. Finally, there's also an album track remix (the heavier industrialized take on "Again"), and a doomy and hopeless Sabbath-ian riff monster appropriately called "Died". All of these tracks are very good, and fans will certainly need to own all of them, but I don't see why they couldn't have just put out a 'rarities' collection instead. For this excess, I gotta drop the rating a little. Sorry.
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| Boggy Depot | 1998 |
| Degradation Trip | 2002 |
Post your comments about Jerry Cantrell
released by Jerry Cantrell
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
From out of the shadow of Alice In Chains, Jerry Cantrell's first solo album isn't quite as worthwhile as any AIC record, on account of a great deal of songs either dragging on too long (such as the vocal-effects laden "Breaks My Back", which manages to stay in the exact same place for the entire monotonous seven minutes, or the even more aimless horn-driven closer "Cold Piece"), lacking in great songwriting qualities (like the atmosphere Alice is known for, or memorable melodies), or even effort ("Cut You In" has a riff and chorus which is far too simplistic by Cantrell's standards, and "My Song" not only has a very generic title, but a generic song structure -- both songs, appropriately enough, were singles).
The hard-driving opener "Dickeye" is as convincing a song as Cantrell has ever done, though, and the humorous country-influenced "Between" actually works very well as one of the highlights of the album with subdued humor and an awesome chorus. "Devil By His Side" also captures the feel of some of AIC's more "grooving" moments. The album also features a cast of guest bass players (including Les Claypool of Primus and Rex of Pantera), as well as Alice drummer Sean Kinney on all the tracks. Although Boggy Depot is somewhat of a letdown, as I personally expected more from Cantrell, it's certainly good to see him in action again.
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released by Jerry Cantrell
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
It's damn hard to listen to this record and not think at least a little about how it was released in the shadow of Layne Staley's subsequent death, but regardless of that unfortunate detail, Jerry Cantrell's second effort is thankfully an improvement over his spotty debut. As opposed to the rotating cast of bass players and drummers of before, this time he actually employs bassist Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Metallica) and drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More) for the entire album. Not that this fact alone makes any difference, but it does coincide with the more focused sound here, even if, at 72 minutes, this could certainly have been trimmed (case in point: the otherwise quite melodic and pounding lead single "Anger Rising" seems painfully extended to 6 minutes), and the production quality makes quite a bit of the material sound similar on first listen. But still, even if it's not Dirt quality or anything, there are enough interesting musical approaches, moods, and catchy melodies to make this a worthwhile experience, and, remarkably, there are no bad songs here either.
Since Cantrell's songwriting is basically all we have left of the Alice In Chains' spirit at this point, it's good that several tracks (mostly on side one) follow in that mold. Granted some of them are less interesting reworkings of earlier styles, like the slow but still good grind of "Bargain Basement Howard Hughes" (which recalls "Sludge Factory"), and the opening guitar line of "Angel Eyes" is a little too close to "Nutshell" for comfort, although the rest of the song is a nice pop ballad. But I could easily see the Jar Of Flies-styled "Solitude" becoming a classic with Staley helping out with vocal harmonies, since that has such a haunting acoustic based melody and resonant introspectiveness, and the opening "Psychotic Break" features such an effectively harrowing repeated guitar line, and a slow, tortured melody, basically a clinic for all those faceless post grunge / nu metal bands who copy the form of AIC, but completely miss the substance. So it's a highlight!
A lot of the remainder of the album, though, doesn't just faithfully try to reproduce the Alice sound - it genuinely attempts to experiment a little. There's slightly country-tinged stuff like the sorrowful closing acoustic tune "Gone" and the twangy pop verses of "Give It A Name" (which later goes into an atmospheric chorus, and incorporates a haunting key change right at the end of the song). Plus, there's bizarre grooves like the almost painfully straightforward but bouncy and extremely catchy hard pop of "She Was My Girl" and the odd "Mother's Spinning In Her Grave (Glass Dick Jones)", which boasts a strange rhythmic guitar part and a verse melody that could have come off a less conventional Stone Temple Pilots song. Even relative fillers like the rumbling "Castaway" and the overlong side closer "Hellbound" are respectively carried forward by majestic vocal yells and a kickin' bassline / 'hellish' landscape combination.
Another thing I notice about the album is, instead of going into lifeless territory in the second half, it actually gets catchier as it goes on. This actually helps less impressive tracks in a fabulous way - there's nothing particularly special about the main body of "Chemical Tribe", but that chorus about 'leaning more toward Cain than Abel' is fantastically engaging. And the song dealing with the media-related frenzy behind Staley and Cantrell's own thoughts on the lyrics he penned with AIC himself ("Locked On"), is way too straightforward and obvious lyrically, but that rolling acoustic chorus will never get out of your head. But on the even better side, in addition to being just as catchy, the grinding "Spiderbite" (my pick for best song on the album) just pulverizes the listener with its' amazingly dynamic groove shifts, shouts of 'CANE!' throughout, and hilarious randomly appearing folky middle. To me, this is proof that he's still got some fantastic songwriting talent left in him. What a cool guy. Nice album, too, and worth acquiring even though it's only got a couple particular knockouts on it.
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COMMENTS
Definite improvement over his debut. No piano on this one; it's all guitar, bass and drums and it hits as hard as AIC once did.
REVIEWS:
A one-time side project featuring Layne Staley of Alice In Chains and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam who released their debut album Above in 1995.
--Nick Karn
Post your comments about Mad Season
released by Mad Season
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
This project was released before the slightly disappointing self-titled Alice In Chains release, which seems appropriate, since frontman Layne Staley's lyrics are heavily cryptic (not unlike his style on that album), and his wild, all over the place lyricism is curiously done in a very straightforward manner (keep in mind that this is the same songwriter who found it in his heart to rhyme everything with the word 'cake' on several songs, including "Head Creeps", "Frogs", "Hate To Feel", and "Nothin' Song"), and this style can be intriguing but sometimes a mess that is simply too obscure for its' own good ("Artificial Red" and "X Ray Mind" come to mind.. ha!).
Also a few of these tunes drag on slightly, and the arrangements and melodies aren't usually anything that special (although the emotion runs high), making some of these songs like "Lifeless Dead" (which is just about so), the opener "Wake Up" (which has a cool bass line and xylophone but not much else in its' 7 minutes), and the undistinguished, whacked out chorus of "I'm Above" hard to love (they're not bad songs by any means though). The songs that are in fact special, however, are absolutely masterful - "I Don't Know Anything" has an amazing grinding riff with Staley's lyrics and vocals in fine form, and "Long Gone Day" features Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees in a duet with Staley and is an incredibly catchy marimba-driven song.
The instrumental track "November Hotel" is another highlight and whose musicianship is simply outstanding (with particular strength in mind-blowing Mike McCready soloing), and "River Of Deceit" is a fantastic mood piece, which recalls AIC's more gloriously intimate and emotionally powerful moments. On the subject of AIC, this is an absolute essential for fans of the band in hearing Layne like you've never really heard him before, and it's also a pretty good listen.
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