"1987 The Woderful Year marked with the birth of Alice In Chains"
It all started in Seattle WA 1987 at a party.It just so happened that an extremely talented guitarist Jerry Cantrell was attending this party along with the man that sings like a lark, Layne Staley.At that time, Layne was involved in a glam band which was growing stale(the first Alice 'N' Chains).When he met and hit it off with Jerry that night, Jerry threw out the brilliant idea that they should start a band together.Layne agreed.Now there were two.
Jerry knew a man by the name of Mike Starr who agreed to play bass for the new band. Now all they needed was a drummer. (Layne could play of course, but as you know, he enjoys vocals) Luckily, Mike introduced the others to Sean Kinney, a crazy drummer who was dating Mike's sister.They decided to call their band Alice 'N' Chains(later renamed to Alice In Chains).The monumental date of their first gig was on August 5, 1987.
The band started out playing local venues and signed with Columbia Records in 1989.The same year they released a demo album called Sweet Alice which was recorded as an independent demo during the Facelift sessions which happened in January 1990.The demo was quickly followed by the July 1990 We Die Young EP which is considered a rare collectors item.The title track became a moderate hit on Seattle metal oriented radio stations.
Later that year the band released their first full LP Facelift.
Alice In Chains - Facelift:
Released : August 28, 1990
Recorded : 1989/1990 at London Bridge Studio, Seattle & Capitol Recording Studio, Hollywood
Genre : Grunge/Metal (debatable or even a mix of both)
Lenght : 53 Min. 54 Sec.
Label : Columbia
Producer : Dave Jerden
AIC released their debut album a year before Nirvana's Nevermind made the Seattle underground scene the biggest mainstream act in the world.What slowly brought AIC more into the mainsteam was the MTV music video exposure of Man In The Box giving the group a sudden boost in media popularity in America.
Track By Track Guide :
1) We Die Young (2:32) - This is the heaviest track on the record.It's pretty short so it was a good radio hit choice back in the early 90's.The music is dark and dreary with pounding guitar riffs and simple but tight drumming.Staley's lyrics are agonizing and even evil sounding.In this song you get a glimpse of what some fans call AIC mastery of mood metal and is a good introduction for new fans. (Written by: Cantrell)
(4.5/5)
2) Man In The Box (4:46) - A very important piece of grunge's rise to mainstream success.It was singled approximately a year before Smells Like Teen Spirit.My favourite song on the record.It's somewhat less brooding and less dark than We Die Young.The atmosphere of the song is quite hard to describe.It's not really your typical metal, it's not headbanging, thrashy or aggresive.Actually it's based on a creepy one chord riff repeated throughout the song.The riff will definetly get stuck in your head for some time. (Written by : Cantrell, Staley)
(5/5)
3) Sea Of Sorrow (5:49) - The mood continues.Sea Of Sorrow actually opens with a piano part which is somewhat unusual.Another good song with a decent guitar solo.May come of as boring and will require more attention as it's quite repetetive and ends fading out instead of having a proper ending. (Written by : Cantrell)
(4/5)
4) Bleed The Freak (4:01) - Wow, cool intro, with an under acoustic melody and pretty good lead guitar/bass work.Vocals are top with great dual harmonizing.This is most definetly another one of my favourites from the album.Pay attention to the cool whispering part at 2:25 onwards.May require headphones. (Written by : Cantrell)
(5/5)
5) I Can't Remember (3:42) - Another good electric clean intro, with hardly noticeable acoustic picking at the end, building into typical Facelift AIC.The rhytm section is more impressive than the Facelift standard.The mood is one of album's best.This kinda song makes deppresion look nice.The ending is kinda sudden and unexpected but I noticed that on most of AIC songs on this record.Still good song. (Written by : Cantrell, Staley)
(3.75/5)
6) Love, Hate, Love (6:26) - The longest track on the record actually features a reverbed guitar intro and a slow doomy riff.Layne is moaning over the slow riff, and along with the rhytm section creates the atmosphere for the song.One of death and depression.Don't mind the song's name, there's no feeling of love in LHL and the other feeling is something worse than hate.Good song overall but listeners may lose concentration over the 6 min.span as it's not that interesting and a tad too long.It actually has a decent outro for a Facelift song.Staley shines on this one. (Written by : Cantrell, Staley)
(4/5)
7) It' Ain't Like That (4:37) - What you'll immediately notice is the upbeatness of the song compared to Love, Hate, Love.The intro quickly leads into what seems like a slowed down Pantera styled riff.The most thrashy song on the album guitar wise.Decent but nothing special. (Written by : Cantrell, Kinney, Starr)
(3.5/5)
8) Sunshine (4:44) - Sunshine is great song.Also an underrated one.The guitar riffs are above avarage.Intro guitar sounds fresh and different.Verse guitar is muted and fast.The lyrics during the verses are dark but I find this line pretty funny : " Then some dude came down to touch the Mother Mother touched, and dude ain't here no more ".The chorus is excellent with some memorable singing by Staley.The final chorus is layered over a simple guitar solo amd outros nicely.
(Written by : Cantrell)
(4.5/5)
9) Put You Down (3:16) - The fastest song on the record.Great guitar work.The vocals are quite catchy and not depressing ;) Good stuff.While some consider this filler, I think it's actually quite refreshing and just the right lenght for it not to get boring and repetetive. (Written by : Cantrell)
(3.7/5)
10) Confusion (5:44) - Features Mike Starr on backing vocals.Good and often overlooked song.Again the ending is agonizing to the listener.By now you may have noticed the lack of heaviness the first two tracks had.Well it's true.Cofusion is a pretty un-heavy song and a bit too slow for my taste. (Written by : Cantrell, Staley, Starr)
(3.5/5)
11) I Know Somethin (Bout You) (4:21) - The intro guitar/bass work is unexpected and even funky with the bass sticking out for real.Not your typical Alice In Chains.Considered filler by many fans of metal/grunge Facelift but I think it has some above average guitar riffs, as well as great dual harmonizing between Cantrell and Staley during the chorus.The outro isn't that good though. (Written by : Cantrell)
(3.5/5)
12) Real Thing (4.03) - The record ends on a heavy note.I guess if you're new to AIC, by now you're bored to death.Well, just one more track.The standard intro is ever present.This is actually the only song on the record where I think the vocals could have been done better and are a bit rushed.The outro guitar wah wah is a refreshing change.The ending is just Layne yelling "Follow me down...Sexual chocolate baby" over some feedback distortion.Meh. (Written by : Cantrell, Staley) (3/5)
AIC on this record are :
Layne Staley - Lead Singer
Jerry Cantrell - Guitarist, Songwriter, Lyricist, Backing Vocals
Mike Starr - Bassist, Backing Vocals On "Confusion"
Sean Kinney - Drummer, Percussion
Final Grade : You may disagree with me but I feel the album doesn't have the edge for a 3.5/5 (Great).I honestly can't say this album is great, and this is IMO a weaker release than Dirt or Jar Of Flies.
