Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Chains
www: http://aliceinchains.com/
Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies
1993
This was an acoustic EP done Alice In Chains in a matter of a week or so. But what a damn fine week it was! This is a great record! I use the term ‘acoustic’ very loosely; it’s not Eric Clapton Unplugged acoustic, but more without a distortion pedal acoustic.
A lot of the lyrics of Alice In Chains were written by Layne Staley and frankly his heroin addiction is very evident as an influence to a lot of those lyrics. It’s a mostly dark but beautiful album and the all band members work well together to pull this EP off well.
There are a couple of traditionally acoustic tracks, a few darker tracks and even a decent ‘pop’ song (well, as ‘pop’ as Alice In hains an get anyway).
One of my favourite moments is on this EP is the guitar solo in Nutshell.
Standout tracks are Rotten Apple, Nutshell, No Exuses and Don’t Follow.
8.5/10
Alice In Chains – Alice In Chains
1995
This album isn’t so bad, but I can’t help but compare it to Jar Of Flies, which it doesn’t.
Alice In Chains is a lot darker and laden with power chords (if I knew what I was talking about I would say they were minor chords). A few songs are very mediocre and really seem detract from the overall experience of the album. The songs are also quite long which makes the ordinary songs less bearable.
There are a few decent tracks and on the whole it’s not a bad album, but far from a go-to album.
Standout tracks are Grind (thanks to Mr New for reporting that omission!), Heaven Beside You, Head Creeps, Shame In You and Over now.
6.5/10
