After solid touring behind that debut, the band returned to the studio, but before diving into a new full album, they recorded and released the acoustic EP “Sap” (legend states drummer Sean Kinney had a dream that they recorded an EP called ‘Sap’, and so the band decided not to push fate). From here came the writing and recording of their full length follow up, titled “Dirt”. They already written the song “Would?”, which had appeared on the soundtrack for the film “Singles” which has been released in early 1992. There were several impediments to this process along the way. Their first day of recording for the album was also the day that the LA riots started over the acquittal of the four policemen involved in the bashing of Rodney King. As a result, the band along with Slayer vocalist Tom Araya, heading into the desert for six days until the riots had been calmed down. It was also during these recordings that lead vocalist Layne Staley checked out of rehab, and then quickly back in when he picked up his heroin habit once again. Also at this time both Sean Kinney and bass guitarist Mike Starr were dealing with alcohol problems, so it was a tough session to get through, and it is no surprise that many of the songs on the album can be linked to these issues that members of the band were dealing with.
The opening track “Them Bones” is a positive start, a song that lyrically discusses the fact that we will all die one day and that everyone should just enjoy their time while they have it. “Dam That River” just has a brilliant groove about it, the riff from both guitars and bass held together by the simple but perfect drum beat. No halting through the song, everything flows along beautifully, just like pouring honey from a jar. The dual vocals through the verse and Layne spitting out the chorus. There aren’t a lot of Alice in Chains songs that move like this one does, and perhaps its uniqueness is what is so enjoyable about it.
When it comes to emotional ties in the lyrics, the next two songs perfectly exemplify that. “Rain When I Die” is an angsty song about a girl, to a girl, the way love struck teenage boys feel when it came to trying to express their feelings... or was that just me? Oay, maybe let’s just move on from that then...
“Down in a Hole” is one of my favourite tracks by the band, and it is mostly from the vocals, the emotional impact between Layne and Jerry throughout the song but especially in the chorus, with the music suitably sombre and toned down to meet the needs of the song. It’s what this band does so well, the intensity of the song isn’t relying on fast pace or heavy guitars, and it doesn’t lose the presence of the band in the process.
The heroin trilogy comes through the middle of the album, first with “Sickman”, and followed by “Junkhead” and “Godsmack”. All three have lyrics focused on that drug use, which have met with some critical reaction against them. It is interesting to read interviews with both Layne and Jerry following the release of this album on those songs. Layne was as saying “I didn't want my fans to think that heroin was cool. But then I've had fans come up to me and give me the thumbs up, telling me they're high. That's exactly what I didn't want to happen." Jerry backed this up, saying "That darkness was always part of the band, but it wasn’t all about that. There was always an optimism, even in the darkest shit we wrote. With Dirt, it’s not like we were saying ‘Oh yeah, this is a good thing.’ It was more of a warning than anything else”.
Breaking up these three songs is the magnificent “Rooster”, which Jerry wrote about his father, and the title track “Dirt” where Layne more or less gives it to an unnamed associate who ticked him off enough to get this rise out of him. Both of these songs are important in not only competing and living up to the tracks around them, but also in helping to restore a less ‘drugs are good’ anthem that many fans mistook them for. They also help to retain the power of those tracks as well. The 30 second “Iron Gland” features Tom Araya coming in on guest vocal and nailing the audition.
Two solo Staley writing tracks follow, and both possess the exact kind of frustration and anger that you sometimes feel Layne must have possessed at time. “Hate to Feel” is another angst driven song lyrically and moodily in the music, while “Angry Chair” is just as you would imagine it, with a gutteral guitar riff, and those spitting lyrics that are then beautifully enhanced in the bridge and chorus by both Layne and Jerry to top off another uniquely Alice in Chains song.
The album then concludes with the previously mentioned “Would?”, a song that is dominated by the bass riff and drum fill throughout that gives it its own perfect style, and one that tops off an amazing music experience.
“Facelift” had been a bit of a bolt from the blue when it came to my music listening habits. In and around that time, the albums that had changed the way I thought about what I was listening to were Faith No More’s “The Real Thing”, Scatterbrain’s “Here Comes Trouble” and Alice in Chains’s “Facelift”, all before the explosion that came with Nirvana’s “Nevermind”. Those three albums showed that heavy music could be combined with a different style to create an album that was unique to the time.
“Dirt” came out a year after the “Nevermind” phenomenon that had gripped so many people I knew who kept telling me how great that album was (even though they were not really interested in any music I enjoyed), but it was the excitement of another Alice in Chains album that was the driving force for me. The anticipation of how this band would develop on their follow up to an album that was so starkly individualistic in its own right. Having heard how Faith No More had upped their game between “The Real Thing” and recent release “Angel Dust”, what would Alice in Chains offer?
The answer is they would give you an album that is almost without rival when it comes to the day and age. There is a rawness to the other albums I have mentioned here. There is none of that on “Dirt”. It is a flawless production where the songs are played immaculately, the instrumentation precision perfect. The drums and bass stuck solidly together to hold together the basis of each track, the guitars harmonise together in synch. The duelling vocals of Layne and Jerry pieced together perfectly, and melding into sweetness in their gentle moments, and then powerfully in their anger moments. There are moments where some critics feel the band has moved to becoming more commercial, but to me it is just a maturing of the band, able to write and perform songs that speak to generations.
I played this – a LOT – when I first got the album. I remember expecting something similar to that first album, the hardcore, loud, driven band. What I got was different, and I remember on those first listens I was... surprised... and amazed. Initially it was songs like “Down in a Hole”, and “Rooster” and “Angry Chair” that I just thought... wow, this is not what I expected... but it is amazing. And the more I listened to the album, the more I was amazed at what the band had produced.
30 years on, and Layne is gone and Mike is gone. But this album lives on, and is still as amazingly potent and relevant as it was on its release. No doubt many people will be out there getting their hands on the 30th anniversary releases that are flooding the market. If you don’t already own the album, then now would be the perfect time to get out there and buy it. It is still the high water mark of the era when it comes to the Seattle scene.
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