Review by Saxy S for Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies (1994)
I'm just gonna say it: Jar of Flies might just be one of the greatest EP's to ever be recorded. Coming from the heaviness that is Facelift and the melodic brooding of Dirt, it would have been alarming to see this group ditch the electric guitars almost entirely. But it produces some of the bands best work. Everybody raves about the sludge like elements on the two previous LPs (and for good reason), but what happens when you take those slow, brooding riffs and minor keys and replace all of the distortion with acoustic guitars? Well you get a song like "Nutshell", which is absolutely brilliant. "No Excuses" as well as "I Stay Away" are also quite good as well. It was almost expected after this album that this group would do an MTV Unplugged concert at some point. This is the equivalent to what Opeth fans must have experienced after Deliverance with Damnation. This is art of the highest degree, created by artists you would never expected to make it.
Comments (1)
Another solid review saxy. I've always been a big Alice In Chains fan but I have to admit that (although they're unquestionably very solid additions to the band's back catalogue) I've never rated any of their acoustic releases as genuine classics. I guess I just prefer the heavier dirges. "MTV Unplugged" probably comes the closest. I went with a 4/5 for "Jar Of Flies" but it was touch & go as to whether I'd go a touch lower. The first three tracks are all high class (particularly "Nutshell" which is amongst the band's best work) but there's a drop in quality from there even though I generally like most of the remaining tracks. "Don't Follow" is the exception as it doesn't do much for me at all really. Perhaps my opinion is being driven by my emotions here. It's certainly possible as my first real girlfriend was obsessed with "Jar Of Flies" at the time of release & we listened to it religiously but she ended up breaking my heart into a zillion pieces (not very metal, I know).