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OK here is my long-awaited Alice In Chains - Dirt review. Sorry for the delay! Godsmack "Oracle" is next! I don't go broke... I do this a lot...
1 - Them Bones
Alice In Chains - Them Bones by sexualdevient
Them Bones gets a few extra tenths of a point for Sean Kinney's imaginative drum part alone. I've always really liked this song, as have the radio stations, but for many different reasons. It gets a ton of airtime because it's short & sweet. I like it because it's a well-written rock song, and I have always wondered why this song couldn't be a little longer. 8.3
2 - Dam That River
I suspect that Dam That River could have been one of the first songs these guys wrote together. They left it off Facelift, and decided to include it with Dirt. Maybe? Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with it - There are tons of songs that bands wait on. It's gonna sound like I'm overly critical of this tune, but I can't decide what it is about it that keeps me from giving it a better number.
Could be that this song really requires two guitarists, so to get the full effect, one must really listen to the original. In the newer live versions with William DuVall, Jerry does a great job, but frankly the song needs Layne's rhythm guitar part at the beginning and elsewhere. 7.4
3 - Rain When I Die
A superbly written song is justified by a miniscule number of ways, but one of those ways is that it's a great show-opener. Also an incredible example of just how good of a choice they made with DuVall. Written well.. played well.. complexity..
Yummy! One of my all-time favorite AiC songs here..
This song is like hello world - come along and listen to what we have to bring! ahhhhMmmmmmm ahhhhMmmmmmm ahhhhMmmmmmm ahhhhMmmmmmm 9.3
4 - Down In a Hole
Alice in Chains - Down In A Hole by OmbreEclectique
Along with Rooster, Down in a Hole nailed a ton of radio airtime. It's almost a staple of the band's sound. It might be one of the most recognizable songs. Certains songs will stay their course for more reasons than is really musically explainable. A lot like Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush", it's really one of the best ever, both of which unfortunately also got played kinda into the ground as well.
It has a really nice flow to it, and showcases a lot of different things. Everything really stands out here individually, even if the song as a whole doesn't particularly do it for you. Very tightly written, and pulled together in most live versions. 8.8
5 - Sickman
Sickman is just sick! Awesome everything. An incredible song live, and is another great choice for an opener or encore song. Also a perfect example of Layne's influence, Jerry's imagination, their talent writing collaboration...
Especially 2:37-4:00 (certain parts of certain songs are definitely allowed to be separately judged, and this segment is special! Note: At 3:50-something, you're like, "awesome, here we go again!") 9.1
6 - Rooster
Alice In Chains - Rooster by rocknrollfan
Rooster might have more radio airtime than any other AiC song. I'm not really sure why, except that it has the type of chorus - with its unique arrangement of backing vocals - that mainstream rock radio stations like. (Down in a Hole is another one succumbing to the same unfortunate fate in my eyes.) It doesn't pressure many boundaries, it's starts slow, and is actually very well written. It also rocks in a few instances that would intrigue Beavis and Butthead. 8.2
7 - Junkhead
Junkhead is the best track on the album. It might be about a 9.0 or 9.1 if it weren't for the absolutely amazing solo. During this solo you realize why Jerry Cantrell has one of the most imaginary guitar minds there has ever been. But it's the structure of the song, and all it's intricacies that makes this one top-notch amazing.
Undoubtedly the one of the best moments of most of each of their live shows is Junkhead.
I chose this 1991 video for one thing: This is this band in its prime - doing its thing at 100%.. Here's another great video of a 2006 performance of this masterpiece. 15 years apart, and both excellent.
(3:11-4:10) - This is a top-10 all-time great example of best segments of the best songs. The solo experience makes the song.
That is a 4-measure 4-bar song portion that can stand on its own for any time period, present or past. It's a sweet little melody! It stays with you, and will stay with you enough that if it was playing ever so subtly in the background, you would not only still be enjoying it, you'd still be following along. And only live would these facts be most easily understood!!
"What's my drug of choice?
Well, what have you got?
I don't go broke
And I do it alot..."
Analyzing any of Layne's words in this song is totally unnecessary. But the way he transfers his feelings at that time in his life (and their lives) directly into the lyrics of this song is primo eloquence! This is why the loss of Layne Staley (when compared to the loss of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana) is so much more profound, and unexpected, (..important?) to the genre that is now what we older guys still don't refer to as "Classic Rock". Some sounds are legendary, and AiC has one of those sounds. Always has - always will.
I also still can't think of any Alice in Chains song that's better. Yeah! -You got that right. 9.6
8 - Dirt
Dirt - part two of these guys doing what they love in their prime. Together with Junkhead, the pair is a prime example of music brought to listeners "before the fact". They routinely played the two together live ..and well before the release of this album. 8.7
9 - God Smack
God Smack has a mean little crazy riff as its origin. A lot of people think this song was the reason behind Godsmack naming themselves as they did. The more I've listened to the song over the years, I doubt the song itself had much to do with it. No doubt Godsmack wasn't the only set of musicians who at the time was keen to the term "god-smacked". Obviously Alice in Chains were too. Might be the worst track on the album. Here is a live version from '92 when Layne was in a wheelchair. I wonder if they dubbed in rhythm guitar for this show? Hmmm.. 6.5
10 - Untitled (Iron Gland)
OK I lied. This is the worst on the track. But then again, it's an intro, and a crazy little "Iron Man" parody. Still, how do you intentionally leave a tune untitled? Well, I guess if it's a 44-second intro to another song, you can get away with it... Especially if you put a title in parentheses (Iron Gland). 6.0
11 - Hate To Feel
It's a shame too about the intro, because I kinda like Hate To Feel. As is the case with most Alice in Chains songs, Staley and Cantrell are gonna give you a lesson in harmonies and vocal arrangement. This track is no exception. Simply incredible vocals, and matching guitar work from both guys.. This one doesn't get enough credit. It was tough to find a great version to show you, too. This might be the best live version I could find, but if you're looking for better sound quality, and don't care to see a live version, here's the original with a video slideshow tribute. 8.6
12 - Angry Chair
Angry Chair is one of my personal favorites from back when. This song would begin, and it kinda blew you away, and then it changed, and then it was over. Still one of the best really short songs ever. Something about the rhythm guitar and bass behind the solo is really nice. And OMG the echo in the beginning that you may or may not be able to pick up on the live version, but is readily audible in the original! 8.8
13 - Would?
Alice In Chains - Would by LyalyaSatiemania
Did I say something about short songs? "Would?" is even shorter, and for this reason, the radio stations also loved this one. And why did they choose to close the album this way? Only they know, I presume. Here's one of the better captured videos of a live AiC performance with Staley that I could find - for any song. 8.5
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