1141. Jerry Cantrell / Brighten. 2021. 4/5

Jerry Cantrell had already dipped his toe into the solo recording business long before this album ever saw the light of day. In essence his first album, Boggy Depot, came out of the staleness that followed Alice in Chains instability, or perhaps more accurately singer Layne Staley’s drug dependency. With little writing or touring, Cantrell instead put his energy into that album and touring supporting Metallica and Van Halen throughout 1998. That success eventually led to a second album, Degradation Trip, written in 1999 but not realised until 2002, and released under the despondent time of what he called the ‘death of Alice in Chains’ and the cloud of Layne’s eventual drug overdose and death.After a number of years of inactivity, it was Alice in Chains that came to revival with William DuVall coming in, and three further albums in Black Gives Way to Blue, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here and Rainier Fog. Thus, with his main band and focus now once again firmly established in the public’s eye and ears, Jerry once again turned his attention to a solo album. Like almost every album in the past 18 months it was bogged down in the onset of the pandemic, which led to it being delayed by a year from being released, despite having been written and started to being recorded as far back as January in 2020. Was there a reason why he felt that now was the time to do another solo album? Was he comfortable enough that his main band was now stable enough for him to come out and perhaps do material that he felt wasn’t quite right for the band? Though I don’t have an answer for that, this seems the most likely scenario.

The opening songs were the first singles released from the album, “Atone” and “Brighten”. Both set up the album nicely, providing a mix of Jerry’s workmanlike solo vocal as well as his harmony within the songs, and his acoustic guitar mixed with his terrific lead guitar that complements both of those things. You can almost hear Layne singing along in harmony on the chorus of “Brighten”. These are followed by “Prism of Doubt” Unlike most of the fans by the sounds of it, I am not as taken by “Siren Song” which was the third single released from the album. It’s far too mellow and quiet for my own personal taste but it has certainly struck a chord with the music community out there. I must insist though that that doesn’t mean I don’t like the song, I just think there are better ones here. “Black Hearts and Evil Done” which is very acoustically based throughout I enjoy more despite it being in a similar category to “Siren Song”. For me the vocals carry it and make it a more accessible song, given the same acoustic guitar strum that lies underneath for the entirety of the song. Jerry’s vocals give it the oomph it needs when it comes.
“Had to Know” is the most electrified track here, and it is great to hear Jerry giving a little bit more on that instrument here. Still, why does it sound to me that is has more in sync with REM than Alice in Chains? For most of the song I just feel as though if you substituted in Michael Stipe instead of Jerry it could pass as an REM song! “Nobody Breaks You” returns to the acoustic guitar base of the song, but it is the lead solo break in the back third of the song that is the winner here. I must admit that I would loved to have heard more of that in the songs here than the acoustic medleys, but you can’t have everything can you? “Dismembered” is probably the hardest rocking song on this collection (but don’t read much into that, there isn’t a plethora of it in any case). And the album finishes off with the Elton John cover “Goodbye”, a song that Jerry played to Elton to get his approval before he would put it on the album.
While there are several guest stars who come on and play on this album, for the most part Jerry does it almost all himself. Guitar, bass, keyboards and of course all of the vocals, as well as writing all of the songs himself. It is a real tour de force where we get Jerry’s heart and soul almost unfettered by other influences around him.

It is important not to come into this album and expect it to be Alice in Chains. There is a different mood and tempo to the songs that that band produces even in the modern day, and certainly not like the fire and brimstone and anger and angst that came from their first two albums. Indeed, if trying to compare this to anything, it is much closer to the songs produced on the Sap and Jar of Flies EPs than anything else. This of course sounds phonically like Alice in Chains. Jerry’s vocals are the most giveaway, and you aren’t going to be able to change those just because this is a solo project. And his own melody lines throughout are a triumph. And, even though I have said this about his other two solo albums, I’m going to say it again. Imagine if Layne was duetting here on these songs, just imagine how much better they would sound. That is a very unfair thing to say, but for me and I guess many other fans, Jerry and Layne together is a monster, either on their own isn’t quite the same. There, I’ve said it. Now I’m just going to move on.
This has been a really nice surprise leading into the end of 2021, I must say. Yes it’s familiar which is always a positive, but it still has to have the right stuff to make that happen, and “Brighten” certainly has that. Even though it has that easy listening feel to it, there are still some terrific guitar riffs and solos that bring this to the next level without turning off those that aren’t into that kind of thing. And again, without trying to compare green apples and red apples, if you enjoy Alice in Chains, then you will certainly get something out of this album – sort of like an Alice in Chains Lite.