When Jar of Flies hit shelves in January of 1994, the grunge craze was at its zenith, and less than six months later would be all but dead. Kurt Cobain’s drug addictions were just starting to cause concern, Pearl Jam were raising eyebrows everywhere with their political leanings during live shows, and Layne Staley, front man for Alice at the time, was fresh out of rehab. With a new bassist in their midst, the quartet set up shop in the studio in September of ‘93. The second to last studio release from Alice in Chains before their fourteen year hiatus, came in the form of an EP. It kept the band’s dynamic of duality, and evoked a set of emotions with such a level of sincerity not felt in the rock world since the progressive rock era of the 70’s. However it kept the band’s uncompromising unique sound, and on top of it all, it hit number one on the Billboard charts, the first EP ever to do so, and for good reason.
The day I bought this CD I had the perfect atmosphere for listening to some classic Seattle grunge. It had been raining all week, and the temperature hovered in the mid to low sixties. I might as well have been living in an apartment above a Starbuck’s in downtown Seattle. I popped in the CD and was immediately greeted with one of the bleakest and most humbling acoustic intros to any song that I’ve ever heard. The opening track, “Rotten Apple“, sets the tone for the rest of the album, and arguably the rest of their discography, which is an overwhelmingly depressive, bleak, and strangely empowering sound of dissonance. The seemingly impossible duality that existed on their previous release, Dirt, in the form of pulsating metal anthems like “Dam That River” and “Rain When I Die” standing side by side in perfect harmony with the likes of self-loathing ballad-esque type songs such as “Down In a Hole” and “Would?” finds itself embedded in the confines of Flies with mixed emotions being brought up by a single song. The short bluesy intro quickly leads into a psychedelic guitar part that could have easily have been from the mind of Jimi Hendrix, but Jerry Cantrell is the man behind the guitar instead, wailing away as only he can to create a soundscape of blues, psychedelic rock, and sludge metal delivered in a punk D.I.Y. fashion.
After a psychedelic guitar outro, the next song by the name of “Nutshell” starts up, and is again begun with a solemn acoustic intro. Layne’s tortured wails permeate the mellow acoustic and electric melodies in a way that is so uniquely Alice in Chains they might as well copyright it. The band is so unlike anything today in popular music because every ounce of pain, every agonizing riff, every screeching howl was completely genuine. There was no faking it with these guys. Most of their lyrics delved into real life person hells, and you just knew when Layne sang he knew of the exact feelings brought about by the situations and could vocalize the pain and despair swirling around in his head to a T.
Despite being far longer in length than most EP’s, the record never ceases to deliver the band’s unique blend of bluesy heavy rock as the next two tracks were the two big radio hits off the album. “I Stay Away” continues the trend of acoustic intros, but this time instead of a forbidding and depressive atmosphere the music brings about uplifting instrumentation. However, as soon as the churning chorus kicks in and Layne’s one-of-a-kind voice mesmerizingly takes off, the dark tone returns to the forefront. “No Excuses” follows suit with the previous track and delivers elevating riffs along with lyrics of alienation and anguish, yet this time Jerry Cantrell steps up for the vocal duties and Sean Kinney performs a soothing drum intro. Normally Jerry performs backing vocals as his more leveled style is the perfect complement to Layne’s howls of agony. Layne is still in the picture though, performing a sort of duet with Jerry throughout the entire length of the song, though he seems to be mixed behind Jerry just a little bit. Jerry’s guitar work is also absolutely superb in this song as he performs riffs that peak and climax at just the right times throughout the entire track. The fifth song comes in the form of an instrumental named “Whale & Wasp”. It kicks off with a sound that can only be described as a whale breaching underwater. Synths, a violin, and an acoustic guitar carry the song as Jerry performs out-of-this-world guitar work that will leave the listener floored. The next two songs, “Don’t Follow” and “Swing on This” are pure blues songs consisting entirely of the now signature acoustic guitar, a harmonica, Mike Inez’s pummeling bass lines, and Layne’s singing which fit’s the blues vibe perfectly. However, “Swing” features Jerry ripping with his electric guitar during the swirling insanity of the chorus brought about by Layne’s vocals, much like “I Stay Away”. Layne’s apparent fury of being forced to go through rehab for his heroin addiction shine through in the lyrics. “So my friends said come home/ I said/ Let me be, I’m alright/ Can’t you see, I’m just fine/ Little skinny, but okay.”
Since grunge died out in the mid nineties, there hasn’t been a major shake up in the rock world for over a decade. The Seattle four were the last truly great innovators in rock music, and since the demise of Nirvana, Soundgarden, the hiatus of ‘Chains in 1996, and Pearl Jam’s intentional backing out of the spotlight shortly after, not one band has dared to challenge the status quo and find success in America. Bands such as Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman, and Hinder seem content to keep recording the same album over and over, and we need another grunge revolution like never before. Jar of Flies serves as a powerful reminder of the tremendous amount of energy and creativity that was oozing out of Seattle at the time, and we can only hope that something else triggers the next big thing in rock very soon.
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