Alice in Chains

Even though "DIRT" was released back in the early '90s, it still sounds as fresh and current as anything out there today. From the thundering intro of "Them Bones" to the haunting final track,"Would?", not a bad track on this disc. I wouldn't lump them into that "grunge" label. Yes, they're from Seattle, and yes, there are elements of that style in their music, but there's far more going on with their songs than just a bunch of noise. Haunting lyrics from the late Layne Staley, and crunching riffs from guitarist Jerry Cantrell highlight their best release, and one that everyone should own.

This album from Alice in Chains is amongst their best along with their strong debut album and ranks amongst the top cd's of the alternative rock era.highly recommended.

So I decided to listen to this album because I heard it was an amazing grunge album. Man! I was so disappointed. It was simply awful. Not one good song on it. All of the songs sound EXACTLY the same- seriously, folks. The guitar riffs are unimaginative and uninspired and that Lane Stailey guy is a horrible singer. He sounds like a whining puppy or something! Listen to real grunge like Staind or Daughtry. Alice In Chains are lame post-grunge.

From the beginning of "Them Bones" where Staley screams out over a pounding riff it is clear to see why this is a classic. Then the chorus comes and the melody works perfectly against the guitar work, and I end up wishing the band was still around.

"Dam That River" shows why they were the most metal of the Seattle bands, but the next classic is "Down In A Hole", again sinking down into the dirt until it turns quicksand and starts to float. If you haven't heard "Rooster" the song is epic. Some songs afterward are alright, "Iron Man" is nothing great, but it is clear why Godsmack would name themselves after the song with the same name.

The other two best tracks are "Angry Chair" and "Would". "Angry Chair" agains sinks even further down in the dirt than "Down In A Hole", while "Would" is easily the best song on here, especially the very end.

This album is not a happy one, instead it is infused with depression, frustration, and self disgust. But it transcends in a way that Bush (Who I used to like) or Seven Mary Three never did. Instead this album is on the same level of early 90s greatness as Nevermind and Superunknown.

Amazing album!
AIC was so under rated in their prime. Their sound is unique and amazing..
This album rocks!

For Alice in Chains fans this album is a must have and if you already have it I know it must be one of your favorites. It starts off with Nutshell - a song that is even better unplugged than the original album version. The rest of the album does not fail to impress. Great Album

Really a disappointment. Alice in Chains' harmonies have always been what made them so compelling, and those aren't as strong in this live set as on their studio albums.

Alice In Chains showcased throughout their career that they could master a slow brooding ballad, most particularly through the outstanding acoustic EP "Jar of Flies". This MTV Unplugged session culminates this ability, with the band converting even their most visceral of rockers into moving acoustic gems.

Of course the set list includes a number of expected re-runs, such as the beautiful works from "Jar of Flies" ("Nutshell", and "No Excuses") and the slower, more ballad orientated works from their LP's ("Down In A Hole", "Rooster", "Heaven Beside You" and "Frogs"). All of these are expectedly excellent as the songs lend themselves to such a makeover, and AIC delve effortlessly into them. "Brother" and "Got Me Wrong" from the EP "Sap" again lend themselves perfectly, and both are album highlights for me. Where I had scepticism for this album was with the heavier songs, such as "Would?", "Angry Chair" and most notably the monolithic dirge of "Sludge Factory". To my upmost pleasure the band work these songs very nicely, converting the main heavy riffs into glorious acoustic passages, adding delicate touches and all being encompassed by the sheer power and raw energy of Layne Staley's voice. "Sludge Factory" is especially good, with the acoustic guitars emphasising the contrasts between the thundering main riff and the gentle chorus picking.

This is a must have album for any fan of AIC as it showcases such an intense and overwhelming performance. It should also appeal to those who enjoy AIC's acoustic and slower works over their heavier outputs (a friend of mine listens to this and "Jar of Flies", but never their more classically grunge LP's). Honest, uncomplicated and moving acoustic music - this is highly recommended.

One of Layne Staley's very last recordings. Like Nirvana and Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" albums, this is done mostly acoustic. It's a bit redundant, though: "Brother", "No Excuses", "Nutshell" and "Got Me Wrong" had already been recorded acoustically beforehand, as had most of "Heaven Beside You". And while I'm whining, "Sludge Factory" and "Frogs" were never good songs in the first place - neither gets much better here. And an unobtrusive-to-annoying keyboard is constantly found in the background. However, I do think this version of "No Excuses" is especially strong, mostly because of Cantrell's acoustic solo - he plays another winner on "Angry Chair". And it is interesting to hear some of the group's heaviest hits ("Down in a Hole"; "Rooster"; "Angry Chair"; "Would?"; "Over Now") reworked as acoustic songs - "Down in a Hole" especially comes off a stunner in that setting, reworked to sound hypnotic rather than abrasive. On the other hand, "Heaven Beside You" loses much of its personality without the electric guitar solo, though it's near impossible to screw that song up. So this is a tough call: the songs are all good, but no match for their studio cousins (other than "No Excuses", which beats the original senseless - a tall order, I'll add). Plus, the fact is that Jar of Flies is a much better example of the group's acoustic persona. And the songs are pretty much run-throughs of the studio versions, only without the heavy guitars. So I give it four stars, because of the fact that virtually every one of these songs can be heard in a superior form on the group's various studio albums. However, collectors may find this of interest, as it adds a pretty good previously unreleased track (the trancelike "Killer is Me"). Besides, the songs are for the most part are still awesome. It's a lot like Neil Young's famous live album Rust Never Sleeps, simply because that album also was for the most part a bunch of run-throughs of the original studio songs, But what good run-throughs!

MTV Unplugged (1996.), an Alice In Chains concert DVD

Alice In Chains' relatively short career (in terms of album releases) was a fantastically productive one. For me, they were much more than just a metal band or indeed a band that was pulled under the `grunge' moniker. Their three album releases and two EPs displayed both the bands ability as a heavy metal outfit but also one who added lots of acoustics and atmospherics to their music. Following the band's self-titled and final album release in 1995, they remained pretty low-key and out of the public eye. Then, a year later came along a concert to be remembered down as Alice In Chains took their turn to do an MTV unplugged set.

Theres something very unique about Alice In Chains' performance on this CD/DVD. The concert conveys so much. There's excellent musicianship and great chemistry between the band and there is also Layne Staley's performance, a voice sounding so tortured yet powerful. The band's performance is inspirational, yet there is an underlying feeling of tragedy and uncertainty to it. Layne Staley is clearly high on drugs during the performance, an addiction which would sadly lead to his unfortunate death in 2002. His performance is excellent, give or take the amusing moment where he forgets the lyrics during `Sludge Factory' but as many have said it is a tragic thing to see, especially now as we know how much more Layne would deteriorate in the following five years. The atmosphere is perfect on this concert DVD; a slightly gloomy but candle-lit setting and a great audience who are all clearly relishing this timeless gig. The band play a killer 13 song set that acts as a great snapshot of their overall career. There's a good mix of the acoustic stuff as seen on `Jar Of Flies' but there is also plenty of the heavier stuff masterfully set to an acoustic set. Theres sadly no tracks from Facelift (an acoustic take on `Man In The Box' would have been interesting) but it doesn't detract from the overall set.

The emotive and powerful `Nutshell' makes an excellent opener and follow ups `Brother' and `No Excuses' fully display AIC's acoustic set ability to the full. `Sludge Factory', a track that sounds heavy and warped on the original album release is an concert highlight. It always amazes me how good this song sounds acoustically. True, the band cut the song to 4 minutes as the weird outro to the song would be too difficult to carry out on an acoustic. The meat of the song sounds great however and just as crunching acoustically as it does on electric. Cantrell's chorus guitar melody sounds especially awesome. `Down In A Hole' and `Angry Chair' both translate brilliantly into this set a lead us up to the band's definitive `Rooster' which is a purely heart wrenching and powerful song. `Got Me Wrong' keeps that uncertain AIC musical feel to the music before another one of their semi-acoustic classics `Heaven Beside You' adds more great melody to the performance. `Would?', always a powerful yet ambiguous song keeps the band in full flow; the bass sounds great here. `Frogs' and `Over Now' are two atmospheric follow ups that do the album versions true justice live. `Frogs' is a chilling listen as usual. `The Killer Is Me' is a classic way for AIC to finish in true off-kilter, warped and unnerving fashion.

The MTV Unplugged DVD for Alice In Chains captures the band as their true selves, giving a timeless performance. This is a concert of pure emotion, atmosphere and heartache with many classic Alice In Chains songs to hear. It is also a sad yet fitting finale for Layne Staley. He is clearly in a bad state by the stage of this concert but it doesn't stop him giving one of his great performances and one which will be remembered for many years to come. This DVD (I recommend the DVD version over the CD for all of you who are viewing the CD product page) is a must for any AIC fan or anyone who appreciates grunge in general. This is one of the great concert DVD's, highly recommended!

R.I.P. Layne Staley

MY RATING: 9/10

This short E.P. from Alice In Chains was released after Dirt, contrasting the ferocity of other AIC albums, Jar of Flies shifts the music down several gears and the results are fantastic. The openers Rotten Apple and Nutshell are so hypnotic, drawling and brooding that from the very first time I heard the open bass lick, I was instantly hooked and thanks to the paring down of the guitars we are finally given Cantrell and Staley's harmonies at their most intimate and most haunting. This album is obviously more mellow than their previous ones and has a certain sound to it that is pure brilliance. The song I Stay Away has some orchestral violins that complements the song beautifully, the following song after that is No Excuses which in my opinion is one of Alice In Chains best songs ever and anyone who disagrees is probably an idiot ;-). No Excuses is an epic acoustic number with catchy lyrics that get stuck in your head and in it's MTV Unplugged version sounds even better, it was definitely a masterpiece and 'Whale And Wasp' is a fine example of how to do an instrumental right and doesn't become boring like some do and has some nice arrangements with some brilliant guitar work. Don't Follow was a nice acoustic ballad which slows down the pace abit but is nonetheless one of the main highlights on this great cd. The album then closes off with the bizarre but brilliant Swing On This, I think it's more of a jazzy acoustic number. Overall Jar Of Flies was a short but brilliant and amazing album from AIC, it's good to kick back or chill out to this enjoyable cd and the reason why I listen to it after work, buy this NOW!!!.

While Alice In Chains made a great deal of angry metallic hard rock, they also made two EPs worth of equally emotive music. Both Sap and Jar of Flies are melancholy EPs that find Alice in Chains at their most vulnerable. While Sap was a fun outing, it was also a little unsure of itself. Jar of Flies, however, perfectly articulates what it is trying to say without missing a step. What makes it so appreciable at first listen is how different it is from any other Alice in Chains release, in that none of the songs have the heavy crunch that the full albums do, and instead rely on texture and simple melodies to do their work.

Launching with Rotten Apple and Nutshell was a dangerous move. These are two of the band's most well put together songs, and one would think that putting them back to back would make for too difficult of a beginning. But their juxtaposition only does them good. Rotten Apple is the albums foremost statement. Everyone is at their instrumental prime here. Layne Staley works layered vocals like no one else can in wispy flourishes, Jerry Cantrell presents an almost funky sounding guitar solo while alternatively strumming complex but warm chords, Mike Enez's bassline is the strong supporting undercurrent of the song, and Sean Kinney delivers a knockout drum performance. All of this comes together to make quite a start...sad and affecting, yet somehow fun and digestible, as Cantrell's fun riffing at the end suggests.

If Kurt Cobain ever wanted to heal the fully realized articulation of what it means for "comfort in being sad," we can only wonder if he heard Nutshell before his suicide later in 1994. This is likely the saddest song committed to recording, mostly due to Layne Staley's vocals. His delivery is completely earnest and believable, and when he says that he would be better off dead, we know he means it. Kinney's steady rhythm sounds almost like the crackling of a campfire. Enez's bassline is once again the core of the song. Cantrell takes the cake with a memorable chord progression and a muscular solo.

From here the album hits its emotional extreme with the second single from the EP, I Stay Away. This is about the hardest and softest the EP gets, all within the same song. After a short delicate string intro, the song starts its light, emotional verse. Each verse is interrupted what feels like halfway before it should to make way for an angry alternate second verse, which sounds like a slowed down Dirt outtake. The song teeters in this schizophrenic style until it finally reaches its chorus only to be once again interrupted by the angry second verse. When the song finally does hit the entirety of its chorus, the full force of the violin melody does its emotional damage. This song is the blends the sadness that precedes it with the recovery that proceeds it.

And that recovery comes with No Excuses, the disks first single, which pulls the listener up by their collars into something more happy. Instead of settling for despair like the songs before it do, No Excuses, much like Got Me Wrong from the Sap EP, seems to offer a constructive solution to the problem, and therefore lyrically feels very accomplished. It also helps that the song might just be the catchiest single in Alice in Chains' library. Once again, the performances all around the board are perfect, and by this point we can trust the band. Also notable here is Jerry Cantrell's excellent backup vocal performance. It is hard to not think of Staley and Cantrell as being one of the best vocal duos in rock history.

Whale and Wasp is the EP's odd duck, in the sense that it is an instrumental. However, it is just as well constructed a song as any other piece on the disk. Like its title suggests, it also deals with extreme contrast, like I Stay Away, albeit somewhat more softspoken. The song alternates between a minor toned guitar strum that is complemented by sharp, haunting solo tones, and a more happy chord progression that is complemented by a cello solo part. By the end of the song, both parts meld to make a lush major toned melody that acts as a compromise to the conflict that came before it.

After this we have the most tender song on the album, Don't Follow. The song is a lullaby, the basis of which is a lightly plucked melody on an acoustic guitar from Jerry Cantrell that develops into a gospel piece with Layne Staley's finest vocal performance on the disk. And finally, the EP is capped off with the funky sounding Swing On This, probably the most positive song Alice in Chains ever made. In fact, Layne Staley does say "I'm okay," halfway through the song, albeit in his signature haunting doubled vocals, but we believe him here as much as we believed him on Nutshell. The speaker finally gives up being alone and says that it is time to come home, which is a proper resolution to listlessness, confusion, and recovery present on the rest of the album. Jerry Cantrell ends the disk with a similar funky guitar solo to that which ended Rotten Apple at the beginning of the EP.

The magnitude of excellent songs on Jar of Flies would have been enough to make the EP be one of the best ever. These songs are completely confident of themselves and understanding of complex emotions. But its development is what makes it truly striking, and an easy pick-me-up for me when I feel sad. I used to think Sap and Jar of Flies should have been combined to make Alice in Chains' finest full album, but I see now that this could not have worked. Jar of Flies is perfect on its own. It tests the limits of the artistic possibilities of the EP format and succeeds in revealing a wealth of conclusions of its strengths and boundaries, as well as being a perfectly formed album. And it ended up being one of the top selling EPs of all time, and also being the first to reach number one on the Billboard Top 200. Those numbers don't lie. This is likely the greatest EP of all time and Alice in Chains' definitive statement.

What can I say this is simply a "Masterpiece" In my opinion..The Guitar work and Layne's vocals make this a "Classic" in Rock!...A "Must Have" in your collection.

This is a major departure from the bands first two albums. On the song I stay away that actually has an ochestra on it. No Excuses is their only song to make it to number 1 on the rock charts. Whale and Whasp is an instrumental song, Dont Follow is a very good laid back song to relax to

As much as I love Alice in Chains's full-length albums, I think their EP releases are the best evidence of the band's versatility, talent, and soul. Case in point is the 1994 EP Jar of Flies. Coming after two unrelentingly heavy albums like Facelift and Dirt, a laid back, almost mellow collection of material is about the last thing you'd have expected from Alice in Chains, yet it never seemed out of character.

The disc starts off with a pair of very slow-paced songs that retain the gloom and atmosphere of Dirt, if not that album's fury. After that comes a pair of upbeat (for Alice in Chains anyway) singles - I Stay Away and No Excuses - which are among the band's all time best songs. Next is the soulful instrumental track Whale & Wasp, followed by the laid back, harmonica driven Don't Follow, which is one of my absolute favorite Alice in Chains songs. Closing track Swing on This is an odd one, sounding like a bizarre swinging version of Dirt's God Smack.

If you're an Alice in Chains fan, you have to own Jar of Flies. It's an important moment in the band's progression, and one of the better albums the 90's alternative rock scene had to offer.

The reason this album has gathered far more dirt then its sucessor is simple. Despite an impressive array of melodic, forboding metal, this new path was still in the midst of being forged while helplessly shrugging off a previous decade worth of snot-rock that nonetheless comes through.

Facelift is the first Alice In Chains Album to be released, it is a hard rocking, grungy and energetic album thats filled with great hooks and excellent riffs. Alice In Chains were probably the heaviest of the Seattle grunge groups cause they were more metal along with Soundgarden and both Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell were big Black Sabbath fans and their influence shows here. Facelift also contains several of AIC's signature tracks, such as We Die Young, Man In The Box and Bleed The Freak. Other notable tracks include I Can't Remember, Sea Of Sorrow, Sunshine (which is amazingly catchy along with the rest of the songs) and I Know Something About You has something of a funk metal sound to it but still fits in with the rest of the album, Layne Staley's vocals are consistently powerful here and another reason it's my favourite AIC album is because it catches them at an early peak before all the drugs and madness that followed although in my honest opinion I don't think they made a bad album, they were one of the few groups that were just constantly good releasing some amazing stuff. Facelift is packed full of really well written songs like "Man in box", "Sunshine" and of course the metally "We Die Young" and is probably my all time favorite rock metal album. I would definitely recommend buying this album if you still haven't, check it out.

Alice's first album was an all out onslaught. They really did go all out on their first record. With a little bit of flavor from every song. You get the heavy, you get the punk and even a little funk. Like tracks "I Know Somethin (bout you)" you get the essence of a ZZ Top flavor blended in ........

Facelift was Alice in Chains first release and possibly their best and it was the album that took "grunge" to the mainstream. They were grouped with rocker friends Nirvana and Pearl Jam -- the other favorites of the Seattle scene. The single "Man in the Box" had a great groove to it with it's driving crunchy guitars and singer Layne Staley's interesting distinctive vocals. It probably is the song most recognized by people. Staley sings so clear that you can hear every painful lyric, unlike many alternative/metal songs.

Other great songs on the album are "Sea of Sorrow" having the same singable lyrics and great guitar notes along with "Bleed the Freak", because it's slightly different than the two previously mentioned. Their songs are moody, angry and emotional in a slight commercial way. A must have for any metal/rock fan.

I'll never forget listening to these guys on Mtv's Headbangers Ball, while Bruce Dickinson introduced the next video from an unknown band with a puzzled look on his face: "Alice In Chains, `We Die Young?'" And from then on I was hooked. AIC took me from a thrashing metalhead to a dirty, I-don't-give-a-f-ck attitude sort of kid, much different than the metalheads. Hard to explain.

But this album is raw and powerful, lyrically and musically. Yeah, you can hear a few songs on the radio over and over again (Man In A Box, Sea Of Sorrow), but they'll never play the real good ones. They never do! With lyrics like "I wanna peel the skin from your face. Before the real you lays to waste," do you blame them?

Every song on here (with the exception of Man In A Box, which the radio ruined by playing it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again!!) is a piece of time and history, from an angry youth; picture it like hippies with attitudes. That's what it was all about.

Alice In Chains set the stage for music for years to come, and snuck out the back door before the end of the show. Honored to have "known" them from the beginning.

Would have preferred Nutshell to not have been recorded live. But other than that it is just what the title says, "Essential Alice in Chains".

If it's not a mortal sin to call this "The Essential" AIC when it doesn't include "Down In A Hole," it should be. That's not an earthquake I feel, it's Layne Staley rolling over in his grave!

What's here is excellent, of course, but why include "Sap" (AIC's weakest release) nearly in its entirety when there's no "Bleed The Freak" or "Down In A Hole?"

Save your money and get "Music Bank," or better yet, get all five of the original albums and EPs.

Quit trying to cash in on this band already! How many compilations of Alice in Chains do we need, seriously? There is absolutely nothing here that you can not get anywhere else, and this release is completely pointless. The music is stellar of course, so my rating is based solely on the release itself. The choice and placement of tracks is just bizarre, like someone was just picking and placing them at random, I have shuffle on my CD player, I can do that myself, some semblance of order would be nice. Don't waste your money, you're better off picking up something a little more competant. FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY!

I bought this for my husband, though he usually dislikes "Best of..." collections. He's been playing it in his car for two weeks now!

If there was one band that defined the 90s hard rock scene, it was Alice In Chains. You can have your Nirvana, but it was Alice that carried over that metal edge from decade before. With this 2-CD collection, if it was on the radio or on MTV, it's here. Best of all, the songs are chronological.

Alice In Chains were the band that signified that a huge change was coming for the hard rock scene in the late eighties. Introspective lyrics, haunting harmonies, and Jerry C. This album represents the end of an era for a generation that refused to go quietly, and in the process, left their mark on rock music. Cantrell does a nice job of mixing up the hard-edged cuts with a couple of mellower tracks. This is the last studio album you'll ever get to hear with the soaring, shining Layne & Jerry harmonies. For that reason alone, it's a classic.

As many of you may know by now Alice In Chains have reunited, having William DuVall step into Layne Staley's position. Staley passed away in 2002, rest in peace buddy. So while "Alice In Chains" poses as the bands last studio album with Layne, it may not be their final farewell.

Anyways, the self entitled album is much darker then their mega hit "Dirt". Dirt was more aggressive and was noticeably dark, this album is much more passive and releases a much gloomier haunting aura of things to come. AiC have composed songs that weave amazing vocal melodies, and you'll find them here as well. Jerry Cantrell manages to belt out a few more guitar licks that are as memorable and hooky as ever. The band seems to approach these songs with a mildly slower manor.

Opening with "Grind" a slush of guitar effects soak up the intro, and Layne's vocals noticeably different (well some effects were added for this song but continue listening to it, sounds lower and more jaded). The song manages a catchy chorus and released an alluringly odd music video. "Brush Away" details the sense of late arrival, and disappearances, and just the overall carelessness.

Four rather long tracks appear "Sludge Factory", "Head Creeps", "Frogs" , and "Over Now". Sludge Factories guitar wanders helplessly, look at the lyrics "Now the body of one soul I adore wants to die
You have always told me you'd not live past 25
I say stay long enough to repay all who cause strife".
The album to say the least is pretty messed up. "Head Creeps" isn't much brighter and is much thicker too (not to mention creepy). "Frogs" guitar serves as the spine, and never changes too dramatically during the eight minutes. At the end, you can hear Layne almost testing words in a trivial feel. "Over Now" is probably the most accessible of the four. After a brief static dotted intro, and a trumpet the song begins to really flesh itself out. Dry kicking guitar, and a song as ominous as Nirvana covering "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" for MTV Unplugged. It's like the band could just leach each others energy and just flow with it. One always seems to dip slower throughout a song.

Some of the other accessible tunes include heavy hitter "Again", and acoustic based "Heaven Beside You". The album oozes of depth, and is to be taken in consideration that this isn't a radio friendly album. Songs drift too long, some tracks progress too far, and overall isn't as hook ridden as some of the other grunge bands albums. Alice In Chains are thought to be a 'grunge' band, they are highly unique and draw upon dark punk material as well as metal.

So with Layne's last studio AiC album we have one of the darkest albums to date. From the powerfully deep "Frogs", to the short rocking "So Close", to the requiem like "Over Now", AiC left no terrain untouched. This is an album that sinks in with every listen, and should be a staple to your collection.

Me and my buddies used to hang out on these train tracks. At the time they were abandoned, and were an excellent place to hide out and chill, when we were in high school. There were a few interesting stops along these abandoned train tracks, but one spot was the one where we were frequently visited by the Tripod dog. Yep. Tripod dog, would take off from his owners yard and visit us often. And since most of the time, we were all somewhat off our tree's, alot of the time we would sing round offs to him, of Alice in Chains songs.
While most people don't seem to regard the Tripod Dog album as highly as other AIC titles, I can't understand all of the one and two star reviews. I think this album has tons of great music on it, which showcases a few different facets of this band. The album is however, defined by three tracks. The first being HEAVEN BESIDE YOU, which in my opinion is THE best metal ballad of the nineties. It's slow and doomy, with great lyrics, and is presented in a way that instantly sounds like a classic. No one could ever nail the harmonizing vocals so perfectly, and it adds a sense of beauty to this dark ballad.
The next, takes the two's harmonizing into a different gear, with the thunderous AGAIN. That track is creepy, but makes you want to pump fists, and really sort of dances on your brain at the same time. The first time I heard this was on the radio somewhere between being asleep and awake in the middle of the night. Never left my head. A total first class rocker. Tripod Dog totally dug it.
And then theres OVER NOW. This tune is quiet and nice, a mellow groove, which sounds alot more positive in retrospect to the rest of the album. "It's over now, but I can see somehow..." The harmonies don't go to waste here either.
Now unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't qualify on masterpiece terms like the rest of AIC discs did, but I don't think much of it is throw away. Some songs come off a little to abrasive in the mix, where this would otherwise be a really sublime kinda late night spin- but those three tracks alone are definitive nineties rock staples. And also I really always liked the artwork in the liner. I have this bit on vinyl, and the artwork is bigger and more defined, making this album a definite keeper for my collection.
God bless Tripod Dog, wherever he is.

AiC's final studio release fittingly projects a sense of finality and closure...songs like So Close, Over Now, and Head Creeps echo a sort of haunting acceptance of a cruel fate that perhaps Layne Staley was anticipating in the near future. Nonetheless the grit and existential nature of much of the album comes with crunchy guitar and wailing riffs to spare...a culmination of the "dirt" that had been AiC's signature until then. A good listen in accompaniment of some cynical circumspection of today's society and those who are left behind.


Great acoustic sounds in Over Now and Heaven Beside You, sludginess in Head Creeps and, yes, Sludge Factory, and introspection in Shame in You and God Am.

This contains one of the most boring songs ever, that I'll say right now. That song is called "Sludge Factory". Dear god, that song is awful! I shudder when I hear the high-pitched singing at the start, the lyrics are pure uninteresting crap, and musically it's just generic AIC. It's a bad song! Oh, and seven minutes of it? Um, no. Wikipedia called it "One of the more popular songs on the album" or something like that, but whoever wrote it must've been the kind of hardcore AIC fan who'd give this mess of an album a 10. And that's not its only problem: there are a bunch of "generic AIC" songs on here: "Shame in You"; "Brush Away"; "Head Creeps"; "Nothin' Song"; "So Close" and "Frogs" are all uninteresting melodically, don't have anything new to say, run out of steam way before they end, and in fact make up 7/10th of my "bottom 10 AIC songs" list. You can also find "Hate to Feel", "Whale & Wasp" and "Love, Hate, Love" on that list, if you were wondering, which I'm sure you weren't. A couple songs do have some cathartic force ("Over Now"; "Again"; "Grind"), "Heaven Beside You" makes for a great "light-and-shade" song, similar to Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away", but in a minor key, and "God Am" makes excellent use of synthesizers. But as a whole, this is one sad album. Kind of like that dog on the cover.

This cd has a bunch of great songs don't you hate buying a cd,record album or casette tape for a song or two this is full of great songs

If you like Alice in Chains, or if you've never heard there music, this is the perfect collection for you.

Ah yes, Alice in Chains. Debatably my favorite hard rock band (either them or AC/DC, if you were wondering). One of the best bands of their era. And distinctive as hell, too. Because they had the tremendously talented, darkly charismatic Layne Staley singing for them. Layne was sort of a modern Jim Morrison: there's something about him that I find oddly intriguing, even though his music is depressing as hell. Him and Jerry Cantrell carved out some haunting two-part harmonies, too. And Jerry could play! In fact, one of the examples of his capabilities is missing here: Rain When I Die. You need to hear that song, even if you're only casually into AIC. There's no substitute for the insane guitar noises he makes during the first minute of the song.
Actually, I don't really see much reason to buy this, unless you want the absolute basics and nothing more. Sure, every song here is great: my favorites are the hard-rock punch Them Bones, the eerie Rooster, anti-censorship hit Man in the Box, the folk-metal extravaganza I Stay Away and ESPECIALLY Heaven Beside You, a light-and-shade song much like Led Zeppelin's work, the folky part sounds genuine (especially the little acoustic guitar trills), the electric part hits hard(especially the solo), and the vocals are creepy (Especially in the choruses). One of my favorite songs ever.
That aside, let's go over some missing songs. I'll just go with well-known ones: We Die Young, Got Me Wrong, Rain When I Die, Down in a Hole, Rotten Apple, Don't Follow (okay, it's not that well known, but I've got a soft spot for it), God Am, Over Now and Killer is Me are the ones I'm thinking of. This has all the absolute best-known AIC songs, and the cover art rules, but it could've been a lot more.

Alice In Chains are one of the greatest Grunge bands in the world. Mellow sounding Alternative rock, it soothes the soul and makes you want to dance and sing. Has a hard edge and like i said also mellow. what can i say besides Nirvana, Alice is up there.

It has 10 of their hits, but The Best of the Box has 15 songs, plus new hit "Get Born Again". So I would use your money for that one. This isn't a bad collection, just incomplete.

friends: this is a clasic albun, a piece of hitory, alice in chains got a space on history of rock

You can now get both the CD and DVD in one package. Do I really need to comment on this legendary performance? Just buy it!

I can imagine most people who're considering buying Music Bank are salivating over the same thing I was when I bought this box set: the unreleased tracks and the demos. The good news about Music Bank: the unreleased tracks do not disappoint. Any AiC fans should find themselves thoroughly enjoying these songs during the first listen. On top of that, there's a mini-booklet full of AiC history and comments from the band members. The bad news: The majority of Alice in Chains' studio material also appears here, including the entire album Dirt, and all 4 tracks from SAP. So, for those of us who already have all the studio albums, a good part of Music Bank is essentially worthless.

Despite containing a load of studio tracks, I will say this for Music Bank: it keeps the listener interested. The unreleased tracks are fresh enough and the demos are different enough from their studio versions to satisfy most AiC fans. They also did a good job of mixing up the studio tracks, even though Music Bank goes in chronological order by release (for the most part).

Disc 1 is the most valuable part of Music Bank as far as "new" material goes. It includes the single Get Born Again and 7 demos, 4 of which never appeared on an AiC album as actual songs. You also get the song "Queen of the Rodeo", which appears on the AiC album "Live." Disc 1 also includes a slew of tracks from Facelift and a pair from SAP.

Disc 2 is, unfortunately, the disappointing part of Music Bank. Anyone who has the album Dirt will find little desire to listen to Disc 2. Ten of the songs on this disc are straight off of Dirt, and 4 more are studio tracks from other albums. There are two unreleased tracks and a demo of "Junkhead" on this disc, but I hardly find it worth my time to listen to this one all the way through when I can just pop Dirt into my stereo and essentially listen to the same thing.

Disc 3 is, in my opinion, the strongest disc (overall) in the set. You get the remixes of the songs "What the Hell Have I" and "A Little Bitter", both of which originally appeared on the Last Action Hero soundtrack, and a remix of "Again", though I can't say I'm a fan of this version. You also get 3 songs from AiC's Unplugged live show, including "The Killer is Me." The real gem on this disc, however, is "Died", the last song Alice in Chains ever recorded, and, in my opinion, the best song in the whole set. For studio tracks you get 5 off of their self-titled album and the 2 from "Dirt" they didn't include on disc 2.

Disc 4 just has some interactive stuff you can access through a PC. It's kind of cool, but it isn't something most people will need to see more than once.

To sum up Music Bank, it's definitely something serious AIC fans can enjoy, and it's also a good way for the casual fan to get into the band. The only downer: All of Dirt and SAP did not need to be included here. I would have been satisfied if they had taken 6-8 tracks from Dirt and only 1-2 from SAP. Definitely worth 30 dollars, but think hard before spending more than 40 on it.

If you are a fan of Alice in Chains, I highly recommend this compilation of works by them. They have put all the songs, even some unreleased demos on the cds, and it is definitely worth the price.

This box set is one of a kind. I was impressed to see how many unreleased songs were in this set and that all of the CD's came in their own case, instead of sleeves like most box sets. All in all, it is a fantastic addition to any collection.

For hardcore AIC fans, not for the casual listener. Be aware that there are studio outtakes and alternate versions of songs on this set that are found on other AIC offerings.

For the hardcore AIC fan, it is a must.

48 Alice In Chains songs. All the hits, all the fan favorites, all the rare songs, and even some new ones!
You get early, classic demos like: "I Can't Have You Blues", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Social Parasite", and "Queen of the Rodeo".

You get rare songs like: "A Little Bitter", "What the Hell Have I?", "Killing Yourself", "Lying Season", and "Killer Is Me".

You get new, unreleased songs: "Get Born Again", "Fear the Voices", and "Died".

Combine all those great songs with great booklets (pictures, notes, etc), and awesome packaging, and you get one of the best music sets ever released for a band. Also, I would get Music Bank: The Videos, because it has all of their music videos, which were some of the coolest vids I've ever seen. Enjoy!

3 1/2

Impressive acoustic contrast to their grunge debut Facelift, Sap was four memorable sing-along harmonies exploring the softer, emotional textures AIC would revisit again with JOF.

As much as I love Alice in Chains's full-length albums, I think their EP releases are the best evidence of the band's versatility, talent, and soul. Case in point is the 1992 EP Sap. Coming after the unrelentingly heavy Facelift (and before the equally heavy Dirt), this brief collection of mostly laid back material was not what I was expecting.

The EP kicks off with the almost acoustic song Brother. It's very mellow, but as gloomy as anything Alice in Chains has ever written. Next is Got Me Wrong, one of my favorite AIC songs and one that is a nice, melodic counterpart to Dirt's Would. The next song - Right Turn - is a grunge fan's dream with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell trading lines with Layne Stayley. It's beautiful and depressing at the same time. The disc's supposedly final track - Am I Inside - is an utterly depressing almost acoustic song. It is followed by a bizarre untitled track that sounds like something off of Faith No More's Angel Dust album. It's a frenzied, mood shattering way to end things.

If you're an Alice in Chains fan, you need to own Sap. It bridges the gap between two of their best full-length albums, and is more impressive with just 5 songs than full albums from many other 90's bands.

Their shortest album, Alice in Chains's Sap also houses some of their most compelling harmonies. The true appeal of this band was always been the harmonization of Layne Staley's vocals, with those of Jerry Cantrell, which creates a very haunting vocal performance and conveys a sense of musical emotion better than most other acts I've heard. I believe this EP uses other vocalists in the harmonies, as well as the Layne/Jerry combo, and this is the strongest vocal performance on any AiC album. It's worth owning for the first two tracks alone!

After their debut album "Facelift," Alice in Chains decided to change their pace before releasing their masterpiece "Dirt." The result was "Sap" a 4-track accoustic album featuring three songs written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell and one song written by vocalist Layne Staley and Cantrell. The first two tracks "Brother" and "Got Me Wrong" are good, but worked better on the Unplugged show. My biggest complaint about the album is that Layne Staley's voice isn't really prominent. There are times where he sings in such a soft voice, it could be Cantrell singing. The highlight track on here is "Am I Inside" with lyrics by Staley, it's got one of the best lines he ever wrote: "Black is all I feel, so this is how it feels to be free." The chorus is the best part though, where Staley sings "Man's behind himself. Man's below himself. Man's behind himself. Am I inside myself?" It sounds a lot better when juxtaposed with music and it becomes one of those sets of lyrics that don't sound that good on paper, but sound awesome coming out of a microphone. The third track on the album "Right Turn" features Layne Staley, Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell, & Mark Arm (of Mudhoney) all singing (at one point, at the same time...Which is incredible); It's a great track, even though Cornell outsings all of them. The credits of the album list this track as being performed by Alice Mudgarden. After the 4-tracks are done, we're given a special bonus track with odd carnival music...It's interesting, but it's probably not going to be the track you download into your Ipod. "Sap" is probably the weakest of the Alice in Chains catalogue and it can't hold a candle to their other accoustic outing "Jar of Flies," but it is worth getting and did show (after the amazing "Facelift") exactly what they were capable of.

GRADE: A-

R.I.P.
LAYNE STALEY
1967-2002

aN INEXPENSIVE AIC CD NEW, IT ONLY CONTAINS 4 SONGS. ONLY 1 OF WHICH MAKES THIS WORTH BUYING. COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION, OR JUST CALL YOUR LOCAL RADIO AND REQUEST THE ONE SONG WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE HEARING IT.Sap