Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Chicago Story: The Complete Greatest Hits 1967-2002 [Original recording remastered] [Import]
Andrew Gentile: Serious Broadway
Music: Turned Away [CD-single] [Import]
Another Late Night [Explicit Lyrics]
20 Gramophone All Time Greats-Vol.4
18 to Party, 21 to Drink [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com
While not their most definitive album (that honor belongs to 1992's Dirt), Jar of Flies represents an important step in Alice in Chains' recording career. Witness "I Stay Away," which is made up of equal portions of hummable guitar riffs and the spookier, scarier, more grinding elements that most fans associate with Alice in Chains. This song most clearly delineates the dichotomy that was a highlight of the band's sound--Jerry Cantrell's listenable tunes and often gorgeous arrangements (just listen to what he does with "Whale & Wasp"!) and Layne Staley's growling vocals, which are just the teeniest bit flat. The collection as a whole, brief as it is, has an elegance that's unusual for metal. --Genevieve Williams