My Top 3 songs from Alice in Chains
The legendary band Alice in Chains–before they were to be known as one of the “Big Four” that comprised and ignited the music and cultural phenomenon called the Grunge Movement–first started out as a bunch of teens who had big dreams to make a name for themselves in their hometown. Little did they realize that they would soon play such a crucial role in molding and shaping the rock music landscape from that era and henceforth. Even to this present time, you can hear “bits and pieces” of the musical influences of Alice in Chains in a sizable chunk of the heavier modern rock bands we have today.
For me, and I am sure for many others too, this spectacular band Alice in Chains was truly one-of-a-kind primarily because of the vocal abilities their late frontman Layne Staley. He was a vocalist who had the rare uncanny gift to be able to project both steely power and fragile vulnerability in his singing as also so much depth of soul in his voice that these rare attributes combined drew in so many listeners coming from the different music groups making them loyal fans of the band mainly because of the late Layne Staley.
When I think of Alice in Chains, it is the late Layne Staley and only he that I see in my mind’s eye. He was a class of his own. He exuded greatness. And most of all, he had his own signature style of singing which would be imitated by so many other frontmen from the time the band became a household name in the early 90s.
Bands like Creed, Nickelback, Puddle Of Mudd, Fuel, Matchbox Twenty, Godsmack, Taproot, Breaking Benjamin, Adema, and many others have cited Layne Staley as their major music influence and the very reason why they, too, formed their own bands. Indeed, how he had inspired them all.
To even list down below what would be My Top 3 songs from this legendary band was not easy because Alice in Chains has so many outstanding and remarkable songs to choose from which are not only hits of the band but they are certified rock classics.
From the three LP’s and three EP’s they got to release during the years that Layne Staley was still their lead vocalist… every one of those records had songs that helped define their era and that can only be qualified as “uniquely Alice in Chains” in every conceivable way to the discerning ear.
This is a sub-section that I did create for my column in an effort to not only help educate music aficionados about the past but to remind them specifically why the music of a legendary band such as Alice in Chains is not only worth remembering but more so worth celebrating for what they embodied.
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1. “Would?” – This was one of the earliest and biggest hits from Alice in Chains which would further catapult them to worldwide fame and would help their sophomore album ‘Dirt’ gain global commercial success.
This song was about the passing of Andrew Wood who was good friends with the members of Alice in Chains. Andrew Wood was the lead singer for Mother Love Bone which was another Seattle-based band to come out and gain mainstream popularity.
However, with the sudden passing of Andrew Wood due to a heroine overdose right after Mother Love Bone got to release their major label debut–and being that the Seattle music community is a tightly knit group of musicians, and almost all the prominent bands knew each other–this tragic event would lead Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell to compose the lyrics for “Would?” and for frontman Layne Staley to sing it. Thus, “Would?” was born. In fact, the name of this said song was a take from
Andrew Wood’s last name.
I still listen to this classic Alice in Chains track from my old CD copy of their sophomore album ‘Dirt’ and I do watch often the music video of it online. Listen to the lyrics… you will glean from this song that Layne Staley knew what he was singing about; he could very well relate to what caused Andrew Wood to die because he himself was–during that period–at the beginning stages of serious substance abuse that would plague him until his own death.
Such lines like, “Into the blood again/ Same old trip it was back then /So I made a big mistake/ Try to see it once my way”. These revealing and poignant lyrics are Layne Staley admitting it was a wrong decision for him to even try drugs because he could not get out of it anymore.
It is also rather haunting because around ten years later after this song was released Layne Staley died of a drug overdose, thus suffering the same fate of his friend Andrew Wood. Listening to “Would?”–ever since Layne died–now sounds eerily prophetic and can be viewed as almost like a warning for the people around Layne Staley back then to keep an eye on his well-being before it would be too late.
2. “No Excuses” – For me “No Excuses” was one of the best examples of the superior vocal harmonies that Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell exhibited. Their pairing was certainly one of the best of the 90’s if not the finest example of a two- vocal band of their era.
You can even say that Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley were the McCartney and Lennon of their decade when it came to how their voices complemented each other. When they sang together it sounded so perfect.
Let me just share this fact with those who do not know yet. Jerry Cantrell has stated in a handful of interviews he has done since 2006 that it was Layne Staley who gave him the confidence to take a bigger role when it came to singing in the band.
Instead of merely piping in, in the background, Jerry Cantrell would eventually share vocal duties with Layne because that was how supportive Layne Staley was of his best friend. In fact, they called each other “Best Bud.”
“No Excuses” is one of the most sentimental and melodic tracks to have been released by Alice In Chains. This track was taken from their ‘Jar of Flies’ EP which was released in 1994 to massive commercial success and critical acclaim.
This was and still is the very first and only EP in music history to have reached the Number 1 spot in the Billboard 200. No other band or artist has ever accomplished this feat to this very day ! It was mainly because of the track “No Excuses” which made the “Jar of Flies” EP a record-breaking and chart-topping album.
If you are new to the music of Alice in Chains and would want to listen to their older material when Layne Staley was still alive and their lead vocalist, this track would be a good starting point as it takes you to the ascent of the band into their prime years. I highly recommend listening to “No Excuses” even to kids.
3. “Get Born Again” – This was one of the last of two songs recorded by Alice in Chains with Layne Staley in what sadly would be his final years. This song was dark… I mean really, really dark.
Each time I listen to this song it feels like a thick black smog is enveloping me and I feel a certain sadness because it has been well documented that this was a very difficult process for Layne Staley to record his vocals for “Get Born Again.”
It was because, physically and health-wise, he had already hit rock-bottom at this point in 1998. He weighed around eighty pounds, was sickly pale, and perhaps worst of all because he was such an amazing singer, he had lost all of his teeth already due to the years of his addiction on-and-off to heroin. This last mentioned disturbing and alarming fact is the most depressing for me because it affected Layne Staley’s ability to enunciate clearly certain words, thus a lisp can be heard in some of the lyrics he is singing here.
It felt like one of the greatest vocalists ever was being “robbed” of a singing he used to do with ease and yet with so much raw power as he had exhibited back in the late 80’s to mid-90’s.
For me, “Get Born Again” is a prime example of a soaring human spirit because Layne Staley was able to overcome his detoriating physical condition as he managed valiantly to finish the recording of his vocals even though it was done in separate sessions, and piece by piece his vocal tracks for “Get Born Again” were finished. Significantly, the recording sessions for this song crossed his birthday.
If you are familiar with the background story and have read the testimonials from a few of the people who were present during this recording process with Layne and who assisted him in the recording studio, you would appreciate this track even more.
Layne Staley had to dig really deep from within his soul to get this done and it took a lot out of him because he was very ill already at this point. Judging from the two only photos of him which have been publicly released during this time… he was obviously looking so frail and weak.
When you listen to “Get Born Again” it still sounds exceptional to this very day, engaging even now, and worthy of being compared to some of the earliest and biggest hits of the band. No surprise here because Layne Staley was, and always will be, the “heart” and “soul” of Alice in Chains.
For all intents and purposes, Layne Staley IS Alice in Chains.
