January 25, 1994 - Jar Of Flies

Happy New Year! Over two months after my last release and 16 months since "Dirt", Alice In Chains released their second acoustic EP "Jar Of Flies" on January 25, 1994. It was actually the first EP in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 which is quite the feat! It only took Alice In Chains one week to record it and it shows more of their lighter side, similar to 1992's "Sap", after the quite heavy "Dirt", though it's still nice and grunge-y. It's also the first release with new bassist Mike Inez (who toured with Ozzy Osbourne for several years) who replaced original bassist Mike Starr, who was fired during the tour for "Dirt" due to drug problems. Starr was a pretty good bassist and will be missed, but Inez helped to write their hit song "Rooster" on "Dirt" even though he didn't actually play on it and touring for Ozzy means he must be a solid bassist as well. Let's check out the latest from Alice In Chains!

The EP begins with the seven minute long "Rotten Apple" and Inez plays a nice acoustic bass riff to keep the pace while Jerry Cantrell plays some epic sounding lead guitar overtop. Sean Kinney eventually comes in with a light drum beat and Cantrell's guitar switches to a quieter but still cool riff for the verse as Layhe Staley starts to sing the verse in his one-of-a-kind grunge-y voice. Things lead right into a similar chorus that's a bit louder and things sound pretty cool with Layne leading the way with some long notes. After after verse and chorus it's solo time for Jerry and he plays some more epic stuff in a short solo, then they fall back to the main riff for a final verse and chorus. They continue to jam out the rhythm section and Cantrell's guitar tone changes to a soft but kind of psychedelic vibe as he starts to lightly solo overtop. This takes us right to the end of the song and goes on for over a minute as Jerry plays some pretty cool stuff. Up next is "Nutshell" and Cantrell leads the way with a slow acoustic guitar riff and Inez nicely amplifies it with the same acoustic bass riff. Kinney's drums signal the starved the verse and Layne begins to sing a really good verse overtop that matches the mood perfectly and he sounds great. Cantrell plays some cool electric guitar between the epic verses and his second electric bit turns into a full-blown solo as he plays some pretty epic and sweet stuff that also fits the slow mood of the song really nicely. This also continues until the song just eventually fades to a close and both songs so far have been pretty cool for being mostly acoustic. Track 3 was one of three singles released off this EP, titled "I Stay Away" and Cantrell leads the way with a pretty catchy acoustic guitar riff that shows why this was a single. Layne begins the verse overtop and he sounds great as usual holding some long notes. When they switch to the chorus, the whole mood of the song changes as we go from a light and pop-y acoustic riff to a more standard Alice in Chains riff that sounds dirty, grunge-y and pretty gnarly! Inez's bass sounds crazy in the background and Cantrell plays some cool guitar while Layne holds some nice grunge-y notes in this pretty cool chorus. Then they just fall back into the light main riff and play another catchy verse before shifting to another gnarly chorus. Layne then sings the name of the song, we hear some brief orchestral music which is unexpected but cool, and then it's solo time and Cantrell delivers a short but pretty sweet solo that is both fast and matches the mood nicely. It rolls right into another gnarly chorus and then we hear a longer version of the "I stay away" part with more strings and Layne sounding pretty good and this takes us to the end of the song. The next song was the big hit single, "No Excuses" and Kinney plays a nice light drum beat, Inez plays a catchy bass riff and Cantrell plays some acoustic guitar to form another cool main riff and Cantrell sings the lead vocals on this one and he sounds solid doing his best Layne impression. Layne backs him up, but Jerry takes the lead and he spices up the chorus with some electric guitar played overtop the acoustic main riff. After another verse and chorus it's solo time and Cantrell plays an electric guitar solo that isn't too fancy but it matches the mood nicely. It rolls right into a final verse before they close things out with a final chorus, another easy pick for a single. Track 5 is an instrumental track titled "Whale & Wasp" and Cantrell plays a light guitar riff to keep the pace while Inez plays some loud and droning bass that sounds just like another guitar in long one note bursts. It sounds a bit haunting and makes the otherwise light music sound ominous and cool. Eventually we hear a strings section join the mix and it sounds pretty cool mixed with Jerry's light guitar. They return to the opening riff briefly and then the ominous bass takes over as the lead riff and the strings are back to play behind it and things sound pretty cool! This is certainly unlike your typical Alice in Chains, but things sound really nice! They close out the song with the opening riff once more and for a short song I thought it was very interesting. Up next is "Don't Follow" which also has Cantrell on lead vocals and was also another succesful single. Jerry opens the song by playing a while verse by himself as he leads the way with a cool acoustic guitar riff and also does a nice job lightly singing overtop. Layne joins in to back him for the next verse and a harmonica joins in and plays a prominent role for the rest of the song. It sounds pretty good with Jerry's slow guitar and he and Layne both sing a couple verses before the song takes a bit of a turn. Inez finally joins in on bass (though there are no drums all song) and the pace picks up a bit and it's solo time for the harmonica! The faster harmonica sounds pretty cool and it continues in the background as Layne takes over on lead vocals and sings a nice new verse. They jam out this new riff nicely for a bit and then things fall back to the soft opening riff as Cantrell closes the song out on a nice note. The final song on the EP is "Swing On This" and Kinney has a job right away with a light from beat and Inez plays a pretty cool and catchy bass riff that drives things along. Cantrell comes in and out with acoustic guitar bits and Layhe begins a solid verse with some extra grunginess to his voice. The chorus sounds more like a typical Alice in Chains song then an acoustic one and i'm ok with that as things sound pretty cool. After another light verse and grunge-y chorus they just continue to jam the main riff with no vocals for a few bars, and then it's right into a final verse and chorus. The sing seems to be ending, but Inez's bass continues and then Cantrell plays us out with a closing acoustic guitar solo that sounds pretty good and is a cool way to end the song and EP. We even hear someone say "that sounded pretty fuckin' good" and then someone else says "that was tight as shit, what are you talking about?" in a pretty funny way to finish things off.

That's the end of "Jar Of Flies" and I thought it was a pretty cool little EP. While it obviously can't be ranked alongside their heavier, full albums, I thought this acoustic EP was pretty sweet and there were no weak songs at all! All of them were interesting and well done and I think it easily surpasses their first acoustic EP "Sap". Well it seems like another heavy, full-length album is due up next and I can't wait to to hear where Alice In Chains go from here!