Yup, it pwns.

I had 'Dirt' for years & I agree I didnt see it as grunge at the time, more Metal as they once stated themselves.

I only came to really appreciate them when I got a lend of their MTV Unplugged dvd which I was blown away by when i watched it.
I have since went out and got the MTV album which I think is excellent.

I would rank, although technically not a 'proper' album, 'Jar Of Flies' as their best piece of work & the songs 'Nutshell' & 'No Excuses' as the single two best tracks they ever wrote (amongst many others).

But if you want me to name a 'proper' album, I would say 'Facelift' is a hell of a lot better than 'Dirt'.

For instance, I didnt like the songs 'Angry Chair', 'Rooster', 'Down In A Hole' until I heard the live versions on the unplugged album.
One song I do think is fantastic from 'Dirt' though is 'Rain When I Die'.

Another Ep worth checking out that some of you may not have heard of is 'Sap' (1992) which features the studio version of 'Brother' (2nd track on Unplugged), 'Got Me Wrong' (8th track on Unplugged), 'Right Turn' (which is a duet with Chris Cornell), an exclusive track called 'Am I Inside' & finally an extremely weird track titled 'Untitled' which can only be described as a combination of sniffing, farting & ghostly wails (lol) - totally unrepresentative of anything youve ever heard from them before.
I cant believe it but I've actually found a f&cking video on youtube for this. I am not alone! lol

I agree that Jar of Flies is by far their best album. The first two tracks, "Rotten Apple" and "Nutshell", are my favorite songs by them. I really wish they had made more slow, downcast songs like these because they did it really well and Layne Staley had a great voice for it. Unfortunately they insisted on trying to rock out more often than not and I don't think they did that very well.

Joking aside, I also rank the following as there best songs:

I start with what I think is the best studio recording they ever did.
Jerry Cantrell's guitar playing is immense & somehow he actually manages to create what I call a 'rotting apple' sound which relates to the songs title 'Rotten Apple'.


More timeless music from 'Jar Of Flies'. Never grow tired of it.







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The last two tracks, sung by Jerry Cantrell, who i think has a very underrated Solo career, are two of my personal favourites- especially 'Over Now'.





As you can see, I have purposely left out their harder rock songs as (although I do like some of them) in comparison, I dont really care that much for them & think that they were much better with the more heartfelt, slow acoustic songs especially that of 'Nutshell', the 'Sap' Ep & the MTV Unplugged albums.

Definitely, I think their voices come to their peak on the MTV Unplugged album & studio speaking 'Jar of Flies'.
I dont think they were bad at doing the heavier stuff, just like you, it would have been good to have heard more acoustic based songs such as the ones from 'Jar Of Flies'.

I heard that 'Jar Of Flies' was not even originally intended for release.
They were just mucking about in a studio one day and it turned out the record company or whoever heard the songs & thought they were so good that they should be released.

I find it incredible that the best output comes from them when they are not even trying as opposed to them trying their hardest to make a great record.
This to me, shows the true natural talent that they both had.

AIC is the only band I can think of whose entire output I enjoy, except for one song (the untitled track on Sap). They offered a great blend of aggression and depression.

Some people might object to their depressing lyrics, but that's most likely why people would listen to them. Just as one wouldn't listen to Slayer expecting to relax, one should not listen to AIC expecting to feel upbeat.

My top 10 songs by AIC would go something like:

1. Grind
2. Angry Chair
3. Down In A Hole
4. Dirt
5. Again
6. We Die Young
7. Man In The Box
8. Get Born Again
9. Sludge Factory
10. Bleed The Freak

Whew! Mirrorball when you post you really post! ;)

Thanks for those videos, I had been neglecting this alt-metal/grunge/whatever group until I heard those again.

One of my favorite bands. I'm disappointed in not finding this thread sooner. Alice in Chains is straight up Nostalgia Lane for me, and I love lingering memories. I'd have to agree with you guys on Jar of Flies, but Facelift and Dirt were pretty epic, too. The song that touches me the most is "Brother". Never fails to surface a bump in my throat.

Was just watching their Unplugged dvd!!! Can't wait to hear the new stuff either, and I know you can't replace a talent such as Layne, but I'm still excited to hear it.

Yeah, I've scene AIC with William Duvall twice. One was unplugged. No, he won't replace Layne, but he's not trying to from what I saw. He's got his own vibe and brings a new energy to the band. To some, it will never be the same, but I think it's a positive thing. I, too, can't wait to hear new material.