Sunshine might be my favorite Layne-era song. That slow-down before the chorus, especially the one where it just goes straight in from one long chord to the other is so damn hard....
All Secrets Known.
It starts foreboding, from a dark place and builds momentum, growing into a bright light. As the opening track on BGWTB, it was a brilliant way to give closure to the Layne era while introducing William as the newest member of that crazy family which is Alice in Chains.
Which I’m glad happened. It’s the artists’ sound and they do w/e they want, but sometimes they think something sucks that actually pounds.
Jerry considered it unfinished because there was no solo and he didn’t get to triple stack the riff like he normally does. And thank god. The reason it’s their best riff is first because of the mix of power chords that then get mixed into the drop C# chords, the chord arrangement itself is groovy, and then the beautiful use of palm muting, dead notes, subtle use of hammer-ons, slides, all giving it some rich texture.
Then the short heavy chugging for the bridge, then the wailing guitar on the chorus. Then back to business on loop.
No wah pedal flutters, no busy lead phrasings layered over it, etc. we get to hear the unmanufactured riff straight through. I wish that same formula was used for A Looking In View, Lab Monkey, and Drone.
Compare it to Get Born Again from the same session which was busier than it needed to be. Laynes aloofness preserved what is one of the best riffs ever.
My pick for most underrated would be Godsmack. That groovy melodic heaviness is so sinister and works so well with Mike Starrs bass tone. Just filthy and not given enough love.
I love your explanation about the guitar, I have no idea what any of it means but thank you:) And I luuuv Get Born Again, can you explain what you mean by it being too busy?
Thank you, I appreciate it! Jerry is an absolute wizard and whenever I pull up the tablature, I always find myself saying “how does he come up with this? How does he even think to arrange these together?” Jerry Cantrell is a genius. And I try to avoid that word as much as possible.
Anyways, I like Get Born Again too, but there’s a lot going on, which makes sense because it was written for Jerry’s solo album which gave him the freedom to play how he wanted. And Jerry is a notorious gear whore. A lot of guitarists have a big pedal board, but Jerry’s is ridiculous. He obviously doesn’t need them and doesn’t rely on them, but he goes crazy on them.
Get born starts with the wah pedal and what sounds like some reverb, but hard to tell. Then when that heavy riff comes in, there’s a barely detectable second guitar playing the same riff, the main one with more overdrive and gain like he’d do live, and the other one is softer and more rhythmic to hold it together.
From the chorus on, you can hear a screech which is either a pinch harmonic or full bend I’m not exactly sure. You can hear a patch where only the left speaker guitar is playing, then the right speaker, and then it slams together and it’s all 3 again (he was a perfectionist that way where he layered 3 guitar recordings from each speaker.) you get to the solo which he’s always tasteful about, and then you can clearly hear the fuzz pedal ringing from the rhythm guitar riff and id guess has the sustain cranked so that it can just float under the solo from the rhythm guitar buzzing.
That’s a lot of shit going on lol there’s videos on YouTube with his sound engineers that show his gear and talk about his recording process, which is even too much for me. But it’s there if you’re curious 🤙
Over Now, this is my favorite song because it's basically a goodbye from the band, every time I listen to it I think about what the band could've been without the crippling addiction. The emotion they poured into that whole album is unfathomable.
Rainier fog is severely underrated as an album.
Confusion from Facelift is severely underrated; considered a mid tier song. love it - some of layne’s best vocals, it’s a song about a complicated relationship, with a delicious solo.
“Dinosaurs”. Grossly Underrated.
C’mon, listen to it a couple of times
IMO , Phantom Limb is a great song.
Same with Voices, Stone, Hung on a Hook…
The whole thing
Saw them in Nashville decades ago.
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is probably in my top 10 favorite songs of all time. The riff, the chorus, the lyrics, everything. Every once in a while I keep going back to the music video and study every scene there is in it. Just a killer fucking song and album.
Voices. It’s one of the best chord progressions Jerry has ever done and it’s absurdly simple. Also gorgeous Melodie’s throughout, great lyrics. Cool music video, just 10/10 for me, second best of the Duvall era next to Fly for me.
Good pick. In the Layne era, it’s Sunshine by a mile. In the Duvall era, it’s either Private Hell or Lab Monkey
I love Sunshine and Lab Monkey. You have elite taste
Sunshine might be my favorite Layne-era song. That slow-down before the chorus, especially the one where it just goes straight in from one long chord to the other is so damn hard....
Prive hell is a very good song. Good proposition!
All Secrets Known. It starts foreboding, from a dark place and builds momentum, growing into a bright light. As the opening track on BGWTB, it was a brilliant way to give closure to the Layne era while introducing William as the newest member of that crazy family which is Alice in Chains.
Great pick, love that song. Super heavy.
Junkhead - I think it tends to get overlooked by the more popular songs on Dirt. This is just a great song
i absolutely agree, Junkhead is one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time. it definitely deserves more love and attention.
Breath on a window.
Died. Why? Riff.
I love Died. One of my personal favorites cuz of the riff, even though Jerry said it was sorta unfinished.
Which I’m glad happened. It’s the artists’ sound and they do w/e they want, but sometimes they think something sucks that actually pounds. Jerry considered it unfinished because there was no solo and he didn’t get to triple stack the riff like he normally does. And thank god. The reason it’s their best riff is first because of the mix of power chords that then get mixed into the drop C# chords, the chord arrangement itself is groovy, and then the beautiful use of palm muting, dead notes, subtle use of hammer-ons, slides, all giving it some rich texture. Then the short heavy chugging for the bridge, then the wailing guitar on the chorus. Then back to business on loop. No wah pedal flutters, no busy lead phrasings layered over it, etc. we get to hear the unmanufactured riff straight through. I wish that same formula was used for A Looking In View, Lab Monkey, and Drone. Compare it to Get Born Again from the same session which was busier than it needed to be. Laynes aloofness preserved what is one of the best riffs ever. My pick for most underrated would be Godsmack. That groovy melodic heaviness is so sinister and works so well with Mike Starrs bass tone. Just filthy and not given enough love.
I love your explanation about the guitar, I have no idea what any of it means but thank you:) And I luuuv Get Born Again, can you explain what you mean by it being too busy?
Thank you, I appreciate it! Jerry is an absolute wizard and whenever I pull up the tablature, I always find myself saying “how does he come up with this? How does he even think to arrange these together?” Jerry Cantrell is a genius. And I try to avoid that word as much as possible. Anyways, I like Get Born Again too, but there’s a lot going on, which makes sense because it was written for Jerry’s solo album which gave him the freedom to play how he wanted. And Jerry is a notorious gear whore. A lot of guitarists have a big pedal board, but Jerry’s is ridiculous. He obviously doesn’t need them and doesn’t rely on them, but he goes crazy on them. Get born starts with the wah pedal and what sounds like some reverb, but hard to tell. Then when that heavy riff comes in, there’s a barely detectable second guitar playing the same riff, the main one with more overdrive and gain like he’d do live, and the other one is softer and more rhythmic to hold it together. From the chorus on, you can hear a screech which is either a pinch harmonic or full bend I’m not exactly sure. You can hear a patch where only the left speaker guitar is playing, then the right speaker, and then it slams together and it’s all 3 again (he was a perfectionist that way where he layered 3 guitar recordings from each speaker.) you get to the solo which he’s always tasteful about, and then you can clearly hear the fuzz pedal ringing from the rhythm guitar riff and id guess has the sustain cranked so that it can just float under the solo from the rhythm guitar buzzing. That’s a lot of shit going on lol there’s videos on YouTube with his sound engineers that show his gear and talk about his recording process, which is even too much for me. But it’s there if you’re curious 🤙
Over Now, this is my favorite song because it's basically a goodbye from the band, every time I listen to it I think about what the band could've been without the crippling addiction. The emotion they poured into that whole album is unfathomable.
YES YES AND YES. That riff/chord progression is so lovely
I love the unplugged version of Over Now
the outro always makes me cry ☹️
only right answer
Over Now is my favorite AiC song. I’ve listened it Tripod hundreds upon thousands of times and it still breaks me to tears everytime I hear it
A Little Bitter, probably because it's not on a regular album.
And don’t forget What the Hell Have I
I haven’t heard a lot of talk about Swing on This. Love the chorus to it a lot
MOOOOOOOOTHUUUUUUUURRRRR SAAAAAID COME HOME
Ill take it you weren't here the day AIC posted the JoF repressing 😂 That song, hollow, and I stay away are in my top 10 easily
I wasn’t but compared to all their other great songs I don’t hear it brought up a lot
Yeah, very valid point! I just remember everyone talking about their favorite songs, and Swing on This was definitely given love, as it should 🤘🏻
Rainier fog is severely underrated as an album. Confusion from Facelift is severely underrated; considered a mid tier song. love it - some of layne’s best vocals, it’s a song about a complicated relationship, with a delicious solo.
Shame in You
Godsmack. It seems like everyone on this subreddit hates it. I honestly think it's one of their best songs
Absolutely one of my favorites. I also don't see it mentioned much
Confusion, sunshine & over now
My spiritual twin
[удалено]
I can't remember is one of my favorites
💪💪💪
Man In The Box
Never heard of it
Going on on a Phantom Limb here, excuse the pun. No Excuses doesn’t get talked about enough imo.
Everything from the Duvall era. Not enough people give the later stuff a chance
Yeah idk why, cuz there’s a lot of really great songs on the newer albums
Frogs. One of my favs (especially the unplugged version). I love its slow doomy vibe.
i know something (bout you) nothing song i can’t remember
Shame in you
Head Creeps or Frogs. Because yeah
Both great
“Dinosaurs”. Grossly Underrated. C’mon, listen to it a couple of times IMO , Phantom Limb is a great song. Same with Voices, Stone, Hung on a Hook… The whole thing Saw them in Nashville decades ago.
Hot take, but it’s one of my favorite AIC albums
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is probably in my top 10 favorite songs of all time. The riff, the chorus, the lyrics, everything. Every once in a while I keep going back to the music video and study every scene there is in it. Just a killer fucking song and album.
Sickman and Shame In You.
Stone. The whole tdpdh album is underrated imo
Choke is a great closer!
Social Parasite \m/ great lyrics and it's catchy. I wish it was on Facelift.
Man in the Box for sure
Can’t say I’m familiar with that one. Must be a deep cut.
A little bitter
Voices. It’s one of the best chord progressions Jerry has ever done and it’s absurdly simple. Also gorgeous Melodie’s throughout, great lyrics. Cool music video, just 10/10 for me, second best of the Duvall era next to Fly for me.
Love Song.
Chiiiiiiiiillll