Red Mosquito

LoathedVermin72 wrote:Meh. JOF has never done much for me.

Birds in Hell wrote:

LoathedVermin72 wrote:Meh. JOF has never done much for me.

Me either, I've always been a bit mystified by its reputation as being some kind of high water mark for the band. Facelift and Dirt are so much better.

BurtReynolds wrote:It's not so much that I like AiC. I just really really love Jar of Flies. And maybe a few more of their hits.

BurtReynolds wrote:It's not so much that I like AiC. I just really really love Jar of Flies. And maybe a few more of their hits.

I don't listen to any of the other albums, except maybe Sap, which is kind of a proto-JoF.

Birds in Hell wrote:Crazy.

If I were to make an Alice in Chains top 20, I don't think a single song from Sap or Jar of Flies would make it.

stip wrote:I like Alice in Chains a lot (well, the Sap-Dirt-JoF-AiC run), but Jar of Flies is just heads and shoulders above everything else.

It's entirely possible that Rotten Apples, Nutshell, Don't Follow, and No Excuses are 4 of my top 6 (with Would and A Little Bitter)

Kevin Davis wrote:"Facelift" definitely starts off strong and then takes a nosedive. It's pretty indisputably their weakest album, a kind of grotesque grunge-glam Frankenstein's monster that never really finds its sweet spot.

"Dirt" is pretty much AIC 101 -- I won't say I love every track, but this record is their essence, imitated by dozens, and probably contains more immediately satisfying songs than any other record they made.

The self-titled album is a dense, complex work that repays attentive listening -- the harmonies in particular, both between Staley and Cantrell and between the vocal melodies and chords, are among the most innovative and unusual I've ever heard, a high watermark for music theory within the grunge niche.

Both EP's are essential, not a bad song on either one.

All that said, I don't necessarily disagree that a good 20 song or so comp would pretty much serve my AIC needs from here on out. Definitely not a hits-only comp, though.

Kevin Davis wrote:

Kevin Davis wrote:"Facelift" definitely starts off strong and then takes a nosedive. It's pretty indisputably their weakest album, a kind of grotesque grunge-glam Frankenstein's monster that never really finds its sweet spot.

"Dirt" is pretty much AIC 101 -- I won't say I love every track, but this record is their essence, imitated by dozens, and probably contains more immediately satisfying songs than any other record they made.

The self-titled album is a dense, complex work that repays attentive listening -- the harmonies in particular, both between Staley and Cantrell and between the vocal melodies and chords, are among the most innovative and unusual I've ever heard, a high watermark for music theory within the grunge niche.

Both EP's are essential, not a bad song on either one.

All that said, I don't necessarily disagree that a good 20 song or so comp would pretty much serve my AIC needs from here on out. Definitely not a hits-only comp, though.

I'm going to walk back my classification of "Sap" as "essential" and reclassify it as "pretty okay" but I'm sticking by this. I could reduce AIC to a single disc compilation with minimal heartburn over what to cut; I don't think I could fill a second disc without crossing over into excess.

Kevin Davis wrote:

Kevin Davis wrote:"Facelift" definitely starts off strong and then takes a nosedive. It's pretty indisputably their weakest album, a kind of grotesque grunge-glam Frankenstein's monster that never really finds its sweet spot.

"Dirt" is pretty much AIC 101 -- I won't say I love every track, but this record is their essence, imitated by dozens, and probably contains more immediately satisfying songs than any other record they made.

The self-titled album is a dense, complex work that repays attentive listening -- the harmonies in particular, both between Staley and Cantrell and between the vocal melodies and chords, are among the most innovative and unusual I've ever heard, a high watermark for music theory within the grunge niche.

Both EP's are essential, not a bad song on either one.

All that said, I don't necessarily disagree that a good 20 song or so comp would pretty much serve my AIC needs from here on out. Definitely not a hits-only comp, though.

I'm going to walk back my classification of "Sap" as "essential" and reclassify it as "pretty okay" but I'm sticking by this. I could reduce AIC to a single disc compilation with minimal heartburn over what to cut; I don't think I could fill a second disc without crossing over into excess.