During the early 90's my musical taste received an upgrade. I was mostly a classic rock kind of guy. It wasn't quite as classic then as it is now. Zeppelin, Stones, Pink Floyd, Clapton, etc. dominated my radio station and CD (do they even make those any more??) collection. Most were 20 years or so beyond their heyday. Now the DJ's playing the classic rock music are 60-yrs+. Does it boggle anyone's mind that a 70-year old could be jamming to Zeppelin this very minute?? It does me.
Anyway,
Around 1992 my future wife and her friends introduced me to the "new" music. It all started with Hunger Strike by Temple Of The Dog. It was the first exposure to Eddie Vedder and the "Grunge" era. It was a quick progression to Pearl Jam, STP, Soundgarden, Nirvana et al. Something about the music was right in my listening wheel-house. I was now officially a grunge/alt rock devotee.
One day I heard
Rooster on the radio. It seemed like a time warp song. Nineties music with a Vietnam theme...it made me sit up and listen and then immediately I needed to know who that voice was. It turned out to be Layne Staley and the fantastic band
Alice In Chains. (More changed than just the classic music, band names became head-scratchers at times as well.) This song was about guitarist Jerry Cantrell's father's Vietnam experience (he was the Rooster in the song). I needed to hear more from this band.
Alice In Chains produced four studio albums. My favorite was their second album Dirt. This album had no "sophomore jinx". It reached number 6 on Billboard and went 4 times platinum.The album was released in '92 and spawned 5 powerful singles from '92 to '93. I have included two of the best at the end of this post. The
backstory of the album is typical of the times and the industry.
Layne's vocals and guitarist Cantrell's searing riffs and vocals were an experience to listen to. Their 1996
MTV Unplugged performance is one of the best if not THE best unplugged set ever recorded. I played this CD into the ground when it came out. I could have gone and watched them perform this live every week. At the top of this site there is a page with all the videos from the show. They are HD and if you have any fanship of this genre of music, you will not be able to stop watching until you have seen them all. At least that is what happened to me and inspired the page in the first place.
Then of course...Layne Staley died of a heroin/cocaine overdose on April 20th, 2002. The band broke up for three years and then reunited with a new lead singer. As good as Cantrell is...it's not as good as Cantrell and the mercurial Staley.
RIP Layne, you selfish bastard!
This is a great song, listen when you have time.
Down In A Hole lyrics
Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In her tomb...(in bloom)
Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I've decorated like a grave
You don't understand who they
Thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won't let himself be
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied
Down in a hole and they've put all
The stones in their place
I've eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
Of my feelings beneath
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin'' my soul
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied
Bury me softly in this womb
(Oh I want to be inside of you)
I give this part of me for you
(Oh I want to be inside of you)
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
(Oh I want to be inside of you)
In her tomb...(in bloom)
(Oh I want to be inside)
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, out of control
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied
Another great song.
Little know fact: the members of Metallica were in the audience for this show and the writing on the bassist's guitar was a reference to the fact that all of the Metallica had recently shorn their locks before making their epic monster album - Load.
C you tomorrow for D!