Band: Alice In Chains
Album: Facelift
Released: 1990 by Columbia Records
Genre: Grunge / Alternative Metal / Hard Rock
Personnel:
• Layne Staley – lead vocals
• Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox on "Man in the Box"
• Mike Starr – bass, backing vocals on "Confusion"
• Sean Kinney – drums, percussion, additional backing vocals, piano on "Sea of Sorrow"
01. We Die Young
02. Man in the Box
03. Sea of Sorrow
04. Bleed the Freak
05. I Can’t Remember
06. Love, Hate, Love
07. It Ain’t Like That
08. Sunshine
09. Put You Down
10. Confusion
11. I Know Somethin (Bout You)
12. Real Thing
The debut album from Alice in Chains which brought us the hit “Man in the Box”. Back in the early 90’s, I was more of a radio listener than a person who bought albums or CD’s, therefore, I got exposed to AIC with the hit song on the radio. I actually liked “Man in the Box”, a throbbing beat and distorted sound which would later go on to define AIC. Our local college radio station, which was run by students, would play other songs off this album, like “Love, Hate, Love” and “Sea of Sorrow”, which have outstanding and unique vocals, and some great guitar riffs.
I had no clue I was quickly becoming a grunge fan. I like the distorted, sludgy, deep guitars. I also like the slower tempos and darker lyrical material. AIC also has great harmonies and melody in their music, which has a great appeal to me. AIC went on to become my all time favorite grunge band with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden coming in right behind them as favorites. One aspect of the grunge movement I really liked was the fashion….or lack of. Flannel shirts, t-shirts, jeans; never anything fancy or glitzy. I was very content in the early 90’s to look frumpy and I could easily relate to the stage presence of these grunge bands who looked and sounded “Normal” to me. So go ahead and listen to a perfectly balanced, normal grunge album: “Facelift”.
The Music:
We Die Young ~ Leads off with a grungy blast of guitars. Is this grunge or heavy metal? In my opinion, this song is both. The sound is deep, distorted, with an excellent rhythm. The solo’s are short, but show some superb guitar work from Jerry Cantrell. A great opening song, but not on my list of favorites.
Man in the Box ~ One of Alice In Chains biggest hits. This isn't surprising, since this song has a strong, pounding, catchy beat and ripping vocals from Layne Staley. The melody and harmonies are fantastic, not to mention the guitar solo is impressive. A song that can’t be denied as one of my all time favorites from AIC.
Sea of Sorrow ~ A slow tempo song. This song is another song that borders on the threshold of heavy metal. If you don’t believe me, just listen carefully to the mid-song guitar solo. Another one of my favorite tracks.
Bleed the Freak ~ The opening riff has an 80’s inspired glam feel, but still has that heavy distortion of grunge. Layne’s vocals have such haunting emotion and Cantrell gets to show off his skills in a short but sweet solo. Another fantastic track.
I Can’t Remember ~ This song opens with an acoustic doom riff. Layne does such a fantastic job of making the listener feel the pain through his voice. A song that is odd, but beautiful.
Love, Hate, Love ~ A very beautiful and moving song. The vocals are very dark & dismal and Layne creates the perfect atmosphere with his voice. This is Layne Staley at his best. A song that anyone who likes Doom metal or Gothic type music would enjoy.
It Ain’t Like That~ Time to come out of the doom and gloom, and speed things up just a tad. How about a simple droning guitar riff and some power chords to lighten the mood?
Sunshine ~ I really like this song, definitely an overlooked song. It has some pretty neat 80’s style metal riffing and Layne even sounds at times like he could come from a glam band.
Put You Down ~ Let’s jam! The best description I can give to this song is…….a blues riff never sounded so cool!
Confusion~ Time to cool things down again and put Layne in control of the desperation and confusion. Cantrell is in top form on this song. Musically, this song is excellent, but the lyrics are just a bit too depressing for my taste.
I Know Somethin (Bout You) ~ A funky jam. Can you feel that bass? Not the best song, but hey, I still enjoyed the filler.
Real Thing~ A song that just doesn’t do it for me. “sexual chocolate baby”….I don’t think so
There is a lot of punk influence in this song along with the low distortion of grunge. The funky blues-riffs are decent, way to go Cantrell for pulling this song off!
Overall, the debut is raw and has its flaws, but what can you expect from a genre of music that has risen out of the ashes of 80’s glam. I like the distortion and Cantrell’s riffs and I love Staley’s voice. I would recommend anyone to listen to the debut, then compare later AIC with the debut. Facelift is easily my favorite album from AIC because of the mash –up of music styles.
My rating for overall listening pleasure 4.5/5……they lose .5 for “Sexual Chocolate Baby”
Album: Facelift
Released: 1990 by Columbia Records
Genre: Grunge / Alternative Metal / Hard Rock
Personnel:
• Layne Staley – lead vocals
• Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox on "Man in the Box"
• Mike Starr – bass, backing vocals on "Confusion"
• Sean Kinney – drums, percussion, additional backing vocals, piano on "Sea of Sorrow"
01. We Die Young
02. Man in the Box
03. Sea of Sorrow
04. Bleed the Freak
05. I Can’t Remember
06. Love, Hate, Love
07. It Ain’t Like That
08. Sunshine
09. Put You Down
10. Confusion
11. I Know Somethin (Bout You)
12. Real Thing
The debut album from Alice in Chains which brought us the hit “Man in the Box”. Back in the early 90’s, I was more of a radio listener than a person who bought albums or CD’s, therefore, I got exposed to AIC with the hit song on the radio. I actually liked “Man in the Box”, a throbbing beat and distorted sound which would later go on to define AIC. Our local college radio station, which was run by students, would play other songs off this album, like “Love, Hate, Love” and “Sea of Sorrow”, which have outstanding and unique vocals, and some great guitar riffs.
I had no clue I was quickly becoming a grunge fan. I like the distorted, sludgy, deep guitars. I also like the slower tempos and darker lyrical material. AIC also has great harmonies and melody in their music, which has a great appeal to me. AIC went on to become my all time favorite grunge band with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden coming in right behind them as favorites. One aspect of the grunge movement I really liked was the fashion….or lack of. Flannel shirts, t-shirts, jeans; never anything fancy or glitzy. I was very content in the early 90’s to look frumpy and I could easily relate to the stage presence of these grunge bands who looked and sounded “Normal” to me. So go ahead and listen to a perfectly balanced, normal grunge album: “Facelift”.
The Music:
We Die Young ~ Leads off with a grungy blast of guitars. Is this grunge or heavy metal? In my opinion, this song is both. The sound is deep, distorted, with an excellent rhythm. The solo’s are short, but show some superb guitar work from Jerry Cantrell. A great opening song, but not on my list of favorites.
Man in the Box ~ One of Alice In Chains biggest hits. This isn't surprising, since this song has a strong, pounding, catchy beat and ripping vocals from Layne Staley. The melody and harmonies are fantastic, not to mention the guitar solo is impressive. A song that can’t be denied as one of my all time favorites from AIC.
Sea of Sorrow ~ A slow tempo song. This song is another song that borders on the threshold of heavy metal. If you don’t believe me, just listen carefully to the mid-song guitar solo. Another one of my favorite tracks.
Bleed the Freak ~ The opening riff has an 80’s inspired glam feel, but still has that heavy distortion of grunge. Layne’s vocals have such haunting emotion and Cantrell gets to show off his skills in a short but sweet solo. Another fantastic track.
I Can’t Remember ~ This song opens with an acoustic doom riff. Layne does such a fantastic job of making the listener feel the pain through his voice. A song that is odd, but beautiful.
Love, Hate, Love ~ A very beautiful and moving song. The vocals are very dark & dismal and Layne creates the perfect atmosphere with his voice. This is Layne Staley at his best. A song that anyone who likes Doom metal or Gothic type music would enjoy.
It Ain’t Like That~ Time to come out of the doom and gloom, and speed things up just a tad. How about a simple droning guitar riff and some power chords to lighten the mood?
Sunshine ~ I really like this song, definitely an overlooked song. It has some pretty neat 80’s style metal riffing and Layne even sounds at times like he could come from a glam band.
Put You Down ~ Let’s jam! The best description I can give to this song is…….a blues riff never sounded so cool!
Confusion~ Time to cool things down again and put Layne in control of the desperation and confusion. Cantrell is in top form on this song. Musically, this song is excellent, but the lyrics are just a bit too depressing for my taste.
I Know Somethin (Bout You) ~ A funky jam. Can you feel that bass? Not the best song, but hey, I still enjoyed the filler.
Real Thing~ A song that just doesn’t do it for me. “sexual chocolate baby”….I don’t think so
There is a lot of punk influence in this song along with the low distortion of grunge. The funky blues-riffs are decent, way to go Cantrell for pulling this song off! Overall, the debut is raw and has its flaws, but what can you expect from a genre of music that has risen out of the ashes of 80’s glam. I like the distortion and Cantrell’s riffs and I love Staley’s voice. I would recommend anyone to listen to the debut, then compare later AIC with the debut. Facelift is easily my favorite album from AIC because of the mash –up of music styles.
My rating for overall listening pleasure 4.5/5……they lose .5 for “Sexual Chocolate Baby”
