Unplugged is a live album and DVD by Alice in Chains. It was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre as part of the MTV Unplugged series of concerts and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's songs.
Overview
Alice in Chains resurfaced on April 10, 1996 to perform their first concert in two and a half years for MTV Unplugged , a program featuring all-acoustic set lists. The show first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. A live album of the performance was released in July 1996, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and was accompanied by a home video release. The album has received platinum certification by the RIAA and the home video release has received gold certification by the RIAA. A full length DVD of the concert was also later released in 1999. The songs "Angry Chair", "Frogs", and "The Killer Is Me" were cut from the original MTV broadcast but are included on both the CD and home video releases. The album was re-released as a CD/DVD package on September 18, 2007.
The performance was one of the band's final appearances with vocalist Layne Staley. The performance featured some of the band's highest charting singles, including "Down in a Hole", "Heaven Beside You", and "Would?", and introduced a new song, "The Killer Is Me". The show marked Alice in Chains' only appearance as a five-piece band, adding second guitarist Scott Olson. Layne Staley is visibly weak and emaciated and had problems singing at times, including stopping the song "Sludge Factory" due to forgetting the words. He was nevertheless received by the audience with loud applause. It is often hailed as one of the most memorable editions of MTV Unplugged , with a reputation comparable to the famous editions featuring Nirvana, Eric Clapton, and Pearl Jam.
Mike Inez's bass has the phrase "Friends Don't Let Friends Get Friends Haircuts" which was directed at Metallica, whose members had recently cut their hair prior to the release of Load . Inez and drummer Sean Kinney did pay tribute to the band, however, playing the intro to Metallica's hit song "Enter Sandman" just before breaking in "Sludge Factory" (this can be heard on the CD and the DVD) as well as the intro riff to Battery at the start of "Down in a hole".
Track listing
- "Nutshell" (Cantrell/Inez/Kinney/Staley) – 4:58
- "Brother" (Cantrell) – 5:27
- "No Excuses" (Cantrell) – 4:57
- "Sludge Factory" (Cantrell/Kinney/Staley) – 4:36
- "Down in a Hole" (Cantrell) – 5:46
- "Angry Chair" (Staley) – 4:36 *
- "Rooster" (Cantrell) – 6:41
- "Got Me Wrong" (Cantrell) – 4:59
- "Heaven Beside You" (Cantrell/Inez) – 5:38
- "Would?" (Cantrell) – 3:43
- "Frogs" (Cantrell/Inez/Kinney/Staley) – 7:30 *
- "Over Now" (Cantrell/Kinney) – 7:12
- "Killer Is Me" (Cantrell) – 5:23 *
- The DVD release shows another take of "Sludge Factory", in which Layne Staley mixes up the lyrics and the song breaks down. They then go into the "formal" take which was used on the CD.
- Songs with an asterisk represent footage not shown on the original broadcast, and are on the re-release.
Personnel
- Layne Staley – vocals, guitar
- Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals
- Mike Inez – bass, guitar
- Sean Kinney – drums
- Scott Olson – bass, guitar
- Alice in Chains – producer
- Jon Bates – engineer, assistant engineer
- Alex Coletti – producer
- John Harris – engineer
- Rich Lamb – engineer, assistant engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Toby Wright – producer, engineer, mixing
- John Seymour – mixing, mixing assistant
- Brian Kingman – engineer, assistant engineer
- Don C. Tyler – digital editing, editing
- Mary Maurer – art direction
- Doug Erb – design
- Danny Clinch – photography
- John Bleich – assistant engineer, mixing
- Joe Perota – director
- Audrey Morris – producer
Chart positions
Album
Singles
Video
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Unplugged > Overview". Allmusic . http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Aaangtq8znu4a . Retrieved 23 July 2009 .
- ^ Masuo, Sandy (1998-02-02). "Unplugged". Album Reviews . Rolling Stone . http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aliceinchains/albums/album/284050/review/5944811/unplugged . Retrieved 2008-10-05 .
- ^ a b Perota, Joe (Director). (1996-04-15). Unplugged - Alice in Chains . . New York City: MTV . http://web.archive.org/web/20070217083456/http://www.aliceinchains.com/discography/unplugged.aspx .
- ^ "Alice in Chains Concert Chronology: MTV Unplugged Session". John Bacus . http://www.bacus.net/alice/aicshows/960410.htm . Retrieved 2007-12-12 .
- ^ a b "Alice in Chains - Artist chart History". Billboard.com . http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=3943&model.vnuAlbumId=624727 . Retrieved 2007-11-09 .
- ^ ALICE IN CHAINS: 'MTV Unplugged' Re-Release To Include Unaired Footage
- ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – Alice in Chains". Billboard charts . http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=3943&model.vnuAlbumId=454488 . Retrieved 2008-02-14 .
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains". Australian-charts.com . http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a . Retrieved 2009-07-19 .
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in German). Austriancharts.at . http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a . Retrieved 2008-02-14 . ...
Watch Free Music, Show and Movie Videos | MTV
Web Exclusives, Live Performances & More ... MTV | MTV2 | MTV Tr3s | MTVU | MTV Iggy | | MTV Shop | Think | Seen On MTV | Directory of MTV sites | ...
MTV Tres Introduces New Series - TVWeek - TVBizWire
Sign Up for our Newsletters. E-Daily: Top headlines of the last 24 hours; Viral Video: The most-watched clips from the most popular video sharing Web sites
MTV Christens MTV Tres - 2006-04-03 13:00:00 | Broadcasting & Cable
MTV’s new English-Spanish-language hybrid channel will be called MTV Tres, the company ... Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Think MTV | Activism, Community, Politics, Education, Sexual Health ...
... WEB ... Check out the site for more info: www.votolatino.org ... Malverde representing Voto Latino at MTV Tres Beyond Borders Immigration ...
Malverde at MTV Tres Beyond Borders | Picture | Think MTV
Picture: Malverde representing Voto Latino at MTV Tres Beyond ... WEB ... Check out the site for more info: www.votolatino.org
Carroll freshman to have MTV Tres Quince : Corpus Christi Photo ...
Contact Us | About Us | Site Map | Subscriber Services ... Web Search powered by Yahoo! SEARCH ... Related Stories for Carroll freshman to have MTV Tres Quince
MTV TR3S TV50 (MTV Tres) | MySpace
... Web; Music; Video; Local; Images ... MySpaceID Sites; Schools; Top Blogs; IM; Mobile; Celebrity ... Mtv Tres Dfw's Profile Create Your Badge.. MTV Tres Dallas/Ft ...
L'Histoire Tres Bonne et Tres Joyeuse de Colinot Trousse Chemise ...
... and crew of L'Histoire Tres Bonne et Tres Joyeuse de Colinot Trousse Chemise on MTV.com ... MTV Sites. MTV; MTV2; MTV Tr3s; mtvU; MTV Iggy; Think MTV; All ... WEB
CMT.com : Tres Chicas : Artist Main
Biography; Photo Galleries; Discography; Lyrics; News; Web Sites ... Formed in Raleigh, N.C., in 1999, Tres Chicas features ... ©2009 MTV Networks, © and TM MTV Networks. All Rights ...