. 'Released: 1994. 'Released: March 1994. 'Released: October 1994Jar of Flies is the third studio EP by the American band, released on January 25, 1994, through. This is Alice in Chains' second acoustic EP, preceded by 1992's, and it is the first EP in music history to debut at No. 1 on the chart, with the first week sales exceeding 141,000 copies in the United States.
The EP was self-produced by the band and recorded over the course of a week at the in. The tracks ', ' and ' were released as singles to promote the album. Jar of Flies was nominated for two in 1995; and for 'I Stay Away'.The EP was well received by critics and has been certified triple-platinum by the, selling 4 million copies worldwide, making Jar of Flies one of the band's most successful releases. In Canada, Jar of Flies was certified double-platinum for the sale of 200,000 copies.
In Great Britain, the album was certified silver after selling 60,000 copies. Contents.Background and recording Following Alice in Chains' extensive 1993 world tour for, bassist getting fired during the tour for his drug use, and bassist joining the band, the members returned home to after the end of their tour and found themselves evicted from their residence after failing to pay the rent. Homeless, the band then moved into the in Seattle.During Alice in Chains' June–August 1993 appearance at, guitarist called with a proposal to collaborate on new material. Wright reacted positively and booked ten days at the. Despite Cantrell's assurances, the band did not have any planned tracks before the session began.
Drummer had said, 'After playing loud music for a year, we'd come home and the last thing we wanted to do was crank up the amps right away. That stuff was written on buses and whenever we had downtime. We did Jar of Flies to see how it was to record with bassist Mike Inez. We just went into the studio with no songs written, to check out the chemistry. It all fell into place. The sounds and the tones were really good. We thought it would be a waste to put that material out.'
The first session took place on September 7, 1993. Vocalist said the band 'just wanted to go into the studio for a few days with our acoustic guitars and see what happened. We never really planned on the music we made at that time to be released. But the record label heard it and they really liked it. For us, it was just the experience of four guys getting together in the studio and making some music.' The album's sessions lasted 14–18 hours a day, and recording was complete within seven days.
Assistant Jonathan Plum described the sessions as 'exhaustive'. The album was recorded on tape on a Neve 80-68 because Wright wanted the album's acoustic sound to be as natural as possible. Staley instructed that not be used within the studio; as Wright explained, 'Layne absolutely had a working knowledge of his sonic preferences in the studio - and felt analog sounded better for the band's sound.' The album's tracks were mostly recorded within one or two takes.The album's acoustic guitar sound was particularly focused on.
Wright recalled that 'at some points we some acoustics with micing those acoustics, but when they were recording live off the floor, I'd use whatever Cantrell had in his guitars at the time, trying to keep that sound as close to acoustic-sounding as possible. So that it sounded like it was an acoustic guitar instead of an.' Cantrell played using guitars during the album's sessions. To reflect the recording's acoustic climate, Kinney sometimes used to obtain a softer feel. Were used for overhead registration, while D-12s were used for the floor and rack toms, and 421s were placed on the kick drum. 451s and 57s were mounted on the top side of the snare drum, while a 441 was fitted on the bottom side.
The characteristic drum opening in 'No Excuses' was a result of Kinney's experimentation with side-stick drumming. Wright was not an advocate of the technique and said that they 'eventually wound up with some and some smaller drums set up over the that we incorporated into that.' Staley wrote much of the album's lyrics within the studio and arranged the album's vocal harmonies. Wright recalled the pace of Staley's work as quick, and that the vocal tracks were recorded within one or two takes via a microphone.
Cantrell performed the lead vocals in the track 'Don't Follow'. Wright described Cantrell as an 'awesome' singer, and stressed that 'you couldn't have done all those harmonies without him.' The album's sessions concluded on September 14. Wright mixed the album at Scream Studio in, from September 17–22. Music and lyrics Due to the dominance of acoustic instruments in Jar of Flies, the album is often considered a continuation of the sound adopted by the band on the 1992 EP. The album demonstrates the band's wide range by offering a variety of tracks with an acoustic texture, featuring elements of,.
Steve Huey of stressed that 'the mood is still hopelessly bleak, but the poignant, introspective tone produces a sense of acceptance that's actually soothing, in a funereal sort of way. Jerry Cantrell's arrangements keep growing more detailed and layered; while there are a few noisy moments, most of Jar of Flies is bathed in a clean, shimmering ambience whose source is difficult to pin down'. Paul Evans of stated that Staley's vocals on the tracks 'Swing on This' and 'Rotten Apple' 'owe as much to and as Jerry Cantrell’s guitars do to ', and that the vocals 'evoke pathos as well as anger.' Tom Sinclair of compared 'No Excuses' to classic rock of the 70's and described 'Swing on This' as 'postmodern '.
The album's lyrics are dark and gloomy, with Huey writing that ' Jar of Flies is about living with the consequences, full of deeply felt reflections on loneliness, and lost.' Jon Pareles of observed that 'Alice in Chains prizes solitude on Jar of Flies, a set of songs about rugged individualism turned into exile.' Packaging and title The album's title originates from a science experiment that Cantrell conducted in third grade. The experiment consisted of maintaining two jars full of flies. The flies in one jar would be overfed, while the flies in the other jar would be underfed. The flies that were overfed reproduced rapidly, but then died from overcrowding. The flies that were underfed managed to survive throughout the year.
Concerning the anecdote, Staley said 'I guess there's a message in there somewhere. Evidently that experiment had a big impact on Jerry.' Photographed the album cover in his dining room on September 8, 1993. As he recalled, 'The band had come up with the idea for the title and wanted the cover to be a young boy looking into a jar filled with flies. I remember they asked me to use 'crazy colors' in the shot, so I utilized lots of different gels over the lights to achieve the final look.' Schenck's assistant took several trips to a nearby horse stable where he caught hundreds of flies using a butterfly net. On January 27, 2019, two days following the album's 25th anniversary, Schenck published rare outtakes from the album cover shoot on his account and said that he has forgotten the name of the kid on the cover.
Release and reception Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingB−4/10The Daily VaultB+Jar of Flies was released on January 25, 1994. The album was promoted by two, 'No Excuses' and 'I Stay Away', both of which received.
'No Excuses' reached #1 on the chart, becoming the first single by the band to do so. On January 1995, 'Whale & Wasp' was released as a. Cantrell admitted that 'we couldn't believe that it did so well,' and that 'the success of Jar of Flies showed us that we could do what we liked and that other people would like it too.' A limited edition was produced.
This version of the album includes a lyric sheet, a biography and discography of the band, the music videos for 'No Excuses' and 'I Stay Away' and fragments of interviews with the musicians. In addition, 2,500 copies were made of a including Jar of Flies and Sap.The album entered the chart at number one; the sales that prompted this was over 141,000 during the first week of its release thus becoming the first ever EP and first Alice in Chains release to top the charts. It was the only EP ever to gain this distinction until 2004, when the EP by and also achieved the number one spot ten years later, and 's EP in 2011.
Jar of Flies has since been certified triple platinum, with over 2,037,853 copies sold during its first year and another million more copies after two years.Paul Evans of called the EP 'darkly gorgeous', and Steve Huey stated ' Jar of Flies is a low-key stunner, achingly gorgeous and harrowingly sorrowful all at once.' Awards and accolades The album was nominated for a for in 1995, but lost to Buddy Jackson for 'Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys' performed. And the single 'I Stay Away' was nominated for the.In November 2011, Jar of Flies was ranked No.
4 on magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994.It was featured on Guitar World magazine's 'Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994' list in 2014.In April 2014, Jar of Flies was ranked No. 12 on 's '40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative's Greatest Year' list. In May 2014, the EP was placed at No. 5 on 's '10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994' list.In April 2019, the EP was ranked No. 42 on Rolling Stone's '50 Greatest Grunge Albums' list. Influence 's lead vocalist Elijah Witt said that Jar of Flies was a big influence on the band's 2019 acoustic EP,.
The album was also an inspiration for 's 2018 acoustic EP, Black Out the Sky. Track listing All music is composed by except where noted. Lyrics by, except where noted. Rotten Apple'Cantrell,6:582.' 'Cantrell, Inez,4:193.' 'Cantrell, Inez4:144.' Whale & Wasp'instrumental2:376.'
Swing on This'Cantrell, Inez, Kinney4:04Total length:30:49Personnel. Alice in Chains. – guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on 'No Excuses' and 'Don't Follow'. – bass, additional vocals. – drums, percussion. – lead vocalsProduction.
by Alice in Chains. and by. Assisted by Liz Sroka and Jon Plum.
by Mary Maurer. Photography by. Band photography by Pete Cronin. Electron Microscope photography by Alicia K.
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Retrieved April 10, 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2017. Select albums in the Format field.
Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Jar of Flies in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.Bibliography.
de Sola, David (2015). Anderson, Kyle (2007). Martin’s Griffin. Yarm, Mark (2012). Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge. Three Rivers Press. Prato, Greg (2009).
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Rock N’ Roll Books.External links. at (list of releases). – a list of accolades at.
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. I'm only a casual Alice in Chains fan, but I've heard all of their stuff, and this is my favourite. All their studio albums sound the same to me: the first three, the Jerry Cantrell solo album, and even the comeback from a couple years ago - all the same churning grunge quasi-metal.
Not bad stuff by any means, but there's little variation.By contrast, this EP (and to a slightly lesser extent, Jar of Flies, which is good, but which I found a little too emotionally heavy) demonstrate a respectable range of songwriting and performance capability. Cantrell's gift for melody is firing on all cylinders here, and the band moves effectively from acoustic, bluesy passages to dynamic rock. The surprising addition of Ann Wilson is just great.As someone who was not a big fan of the overblown grunge/alternative movement of the early-90s, I think Sap is their finest moment and most enjoyable outing. There were so many lousy bands and records that came out of that time, many of them just following what other bands did. It's nice to look back, weed through the blandness, and come away with a work that stands up 20 years later.
Contents.Overview Live was the band's only live album other than the acoustic album. While most of the songs on Live had been released on previous albums, 'Queen of the Rodeo' had not; although, the same live performance had been released on the box set. Live includes five songs (', 'God Am', ', 'A Little Bitter' and 'Dam That River') from the band's final two shows with vocalist.Reception The album received generally positive reviews from most critics, with Greg Prato of writing in his review of the album 'Their detuned sound and tales from the darkside are even more sinister and gripping on the concert stage, as evidenced by this 14-track set.' Track listing No.TitleWriter(s)Length1.' ' (December 22, 1990, )4:332.' Queen of the Rodeo' (November 5, 1990, )Jett Silver,4:393.'
' (March 2, 1993, )Staley4:224.' ' (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK)Cantrell, Staley4:59/4:48 unmarked reissue5.' Love, Hate, Love' (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK)Cantrell, Staley7:476.' ' (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK)Cantrell6:547.' ' (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK)Cantrell3:518.'
Junkhead Alice In Chains
Junkhead' (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK)Cantrell, Staley5:219.' Dirt (Drunk and Disorderly version)' (October 24, 1993, )Cantrell, Staley5:2410.' ' (July 2, 1996, )Cantrell2:3911.' God Am' (July 2, 1996, Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri)Cantrell, Staley3:5912.' ' (July 3, 1996, )Cantrell, Staley4:2413.' A Little Bitter' (July 3, 1996, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri)Cantrell, Inez, Kinney, Staley3:5214.'
Alice In Chains Confusion
Dam That River' (July 3, 1996, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri)Cantrell3:33Total length:66:09Personnel. Alice in Chains. – lead vocals (all tracks), rhythm guitar (track 3). – lead guitar (all tracks), vocals (all tracks). – drums (all tracks). – bass (tracks 3–14).
– bass (tracks 1–2)Production. – Peter Fletcher. Tracks 1 and 10–14 by Elliot Bailey and by. Tracks 2 and 9 by Mark Naficy. Tracks 3–8 by Mike Walter. Tracks 3–8 –. by.
– Mary Maurer. – Mary Maurer and Brandy Flower/Happenstance.
by Marty Temme. Packaging concepts by Sean Kinney. –Chart positions Album Chart (2000)PeakpositionUS142Singles YearSinglepeakchart position2000'Man in the Box' (live)39References.
Alice In Chains Right Turn
Alternative Rock (Modern Rock) band formed in Seattle, Washington (USA).The Seattle grunge movement of the late eighties spawned many a band, and Alice In Chains were one of the most well-known, as well as one of the more traditionally metal (more so than they are given credit for). Their crooning harmonic vocal style has been imitated by many bands over the last following decades, certainly enough to qualify them as an influential band.
A well-publicized drug problems (mostly centering around Layne Staley) surfaced as early as the 'Dirt' era, making it rather obvious that the band was probably not going to survive in the long term.Guitarist embarked on a successful solo career.Vocalist Layne Staley was found dead in his apartment on April 19th, 2002. Willian DuVall replaced Staley on vocals when the the remainder of the band reunited in 2009.Current lineup:William DuVall - vocals.Jerry Cantrell - guitars, vocals.Sean Kinney - drums, percussion.Mike Inez - bass, guitar. I know a lot of people do not like the new alice in chains after Layne passed away, I don't like the new one as much either.
You have to admit though, that they still kept their style and didn't sell out or change their style. Blind willie mctell lyrics. Alice In Chains was Jerry's band. Layne brought in the name, but Jerry was the one that wrote and produced the music, and gave Alice In Chains the style they are known for.
If Jerry died instead of Layne, that would have affected the band much more, and you probably don't want that to happen either.Their new albums may not have the voice and deep meaning (about drugs) as they they used to, but they are still Alice In Chains.
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