Always heard this referred to as "The closest someone can get to performing at their own funeral." His story is heartbreaking and when we lost him, the world became lesser, but at least the battle was over and he could finally rest.
This was done in ‘96 and he passed in ‘02. A better use of that analogy would be for Nirvana’s Unplugged session. They recorded in November and Kurt was dead the following April.
@vascof07 lyrically, sure. But you hear the pain in Kurt's voice during his performance, too. I took the o.p. literally and my point was Kurt was closer, in time, to performing at his own funeral than was Layne. Both deaths were tragic and huge losses to the music world.
@@Shake69ification did you see the reviews of the people that were there? They were all saying that Layne was so high that they had to repeat so many attempts of the songs. He had already OD'd a couple times at this point and I can't remember if the interview with him was before or after this where he admits that he knew heroin was going to kill him.
Kurt was tragic too but I can’t call what Layne did after this living. It was one of the slowest deaths. That’s why I think the statement fits. To me at least. I mean Kurt’s too. For sure.
Hearing him sing this when he was healthy was truly stellar. Here he was still great but considering his failing health it's impressive he was able to still sound this good. R.I.P.
I don't think he was ever healthy singling this, but it all went downhill *very* fast, when he started speedballing on a regular basis. There's bootleg concerts in 93 with Layne, and you can definitely see the difference in the before and after. He's with the fairies on the back end of 93, while early on, like in Frankfurt, he was still killing it.
I understand where you're coming from but imo this version is untouchable. Theres no doubt in my mind that Layne knew he was beyond help already at this point and you can hear it, see it and feel it during this performance. Its heartbreaking yet also a brilliant and perfect performance of Nutshell.
@@jeremyfisher9102 nah, his teeth were gradually falling out starting in 95/96. His teeth are kinda hard to see here but you can clearly see them in the Detroit tiger show.
This was the very first song of the entire show, and that’s why the band walked out 1 by 1 to the applause. Haunting knowing Layne walked out there “sick”, sat down and within a second, started singing a whole show that is legendary……and he probably didn’t want to or feel good enough to.
Jerry later admitted that Layne was using again and was shooting up heroin between his fingers in order to conceal his track marks, that’s why he wore gloves to this performance. Unfortunately, part of what makes this song resonate with so many is the feeling he projects from his genuine pain.
@scozier2539 he was dope sick before and they realized he had to use to be able to perform. He had just got his fix buy by the third song when he takes off his glasses is when he felt correct for his addiciton
You talked about how the song itself feels "tired", and I think that's spot on. I think "Nutshell" is a perfect representation of how depression feels, just an empty body within, a shell. The instrumentation and pace of the song is a perfect addition to this. The whole Jar of Flies EP is a masterpiece and more viby, melancholic. Rotten Apple is honestly one of their best songs, I think you'd enjoy it.
Jar of Flies changed my life. I was a fledgling 15-year old guitarist when this album came out in 1994. I thought only electric guitar could be cool. Then I heard this album. I can go years without touching my electric, but my acoustic is in my lap as I type this. Still my all-time favorite album/EP.
@@edmo922 Yeah, completely. I'm still a 17 yo fledgling guitarrist too lmao, but honestly, while I think the electric has a lot of power, I mostly play on my acoustic. It has a much more somber, melancholic sound to it that I just love. It feels like I have a whole apocalypse, a distopian world in my hands, if that makes sense lmao
I get what your saying unlike the other guy who said your comment makes no sense because he can't read. I think his condition here added to the acoustic performance and sound of it, if it was a electric performance I don't think it works or he is up to it right here in this shape.
The Unplugged show in 1996 is so heartbreaking to watch because he was deep in his heroin addiction (and yes, I know he was doing other drugs on top of Heroin). His liver was damaged from the years of drug use and he knew it. He was just high enough to do the show to deal with the withdrawal symptoms and so he didn't get dope sick. He was such a ghost of himself during Unplugged. (Of course, Jerry had food poisoning) All Jerry saw when he looked over at Layne was his best friend was going to die soon due to the path Layne had chosen for his life. That show was filmed in April 1996, premiered in May 1996. They did four shows with KISS in June-July 1996, after which Layne survived an overdose and became a recluse. After that, it was a 6-year-long slow suicide. On Unplugged, Scott Olson was the second guitarist. He was there to boost the guitar sound on the stage. Layne was better Live than the studio version. LOVE HATE LOVE live at the Moore in December 1990 is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. Other rock bands should strive to have a live performance that perfect. Layne Staley's vocal range can run rings around any other grunge singer in my opinion. Layne could sing the phone book and never hit a wrong note. Even at the end of his life, with no teeth and a lisp, his voice, wit and humor were all still there. Layne's voice and vocal range were so powerful he did NOT need auto tune or pro-tools until he lost his teeth and had a lisp around 1998, and even then he still killed the vocals. (He started losing his teeth in 1995 due to grinding) Barrett Martin (who played with Layne in Mad Season) said that when he stood to the side of the stage, he could hear the sound of Layne's vocal resonance come out of Layne's body LOUDER than it did coming out of the speakers, Layne's voice was that powerful. I'm in the camp of No Layne/No Chains, because no matter which singer you put up there to sing those songs, it'll only be a cover. Layne had a unique voice you cannot replicate or replace. A lot of those songs were great because Layne pretty much wrung his entire soul out singing them, others were personal to Layne and to have someone else sing those, the songs lose their meaning because the new guy didn't go through the ordeals those songs are inspired by. William DuVall singing THEM BONES on the 2006 reunion tsunami gig.... William DOES NOT have the power in his voice that Layne had especially for that song. Maynard James Keenan could get remotely close to Layne's vocal range for that song (and many others). And Maynard would have the reverence for Layne's memory, he was friends with Layne, he KNEW Layne, had a history with Layne, and saw what Layne went through from Lollapalooza 93 until Layne became a recluse. Besides, Maynard already had 3 bands going on, why not join a fourth band? He had tried rehab 13 times, but he could never completely give it up. He tried quitting cold turkey on two of the last attempts at rehab, but neither one worked either. Mad Season is made up of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders and they all went through rehab. They all got together and dragged Layne out of his condo, got him excited about doing ABOVE album, thinking if he was creative he wouldn't want the drugs, and for the length of time it took to do that, Layne was excited about the project, but it didn't curb his drug habit. Layne wrote the lyrics to the songs he sang on the ABOVE album (minus the John Lennon cover song I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier) and he drew the cover art for the album. NUTSHELL was about how magazines like FOR EXAMPLE Rolling Stone only reported on Layne's addiction as if that were the only thing that defined the band as well as Layne's depression. Rolling Stone magazine has some unknown thing to do with the Hall of Fame, and after what Rolling Stone did to Layne and the band in the 1996 The Needle and the Damage Done article ("Oh no, it will be about the music" "Oh yeah, the band's picture will be on the cover" turns out it was only Layne on the cover and the article focused on Layne's addiction -- which Layne DID NOT want to happen -- and everything going wrong internally with the band.) that pissed off AIC management and the entire band to the point they threatened to kick the writer, Jon Weiderhorn's ass over it. I don't see Rolling Stone chomping at the bit to vote AIC into the Hall of Fame. Although if they do finally get in with William as the singer and NOT Layne. I'm going to be pissed. As far back as late 1992, Rolling Stone has personally had a bone to pick with Layne Staley, even though I can name a dozen bands who wrote about drugs in their lyrics that Rolling Stone never cared to target before or after Layne came along. Layne’s mentioned Rolling Stone hounding him in passing to Riki Rachtman during the New Orleans episode of Headbanger’s Ball in late 1992 when Layne and Mike Starr tour New Orleans and a Voodoo museum with Riki back then. There were other magazines and "reporters" BEFORE 1996 that hounded Layne over his drug addiction. Rolling Stone wasn't the only rag mag to do it. Spin Magazine and many other tabloid music mags only wanted to focus on Layne's addiction. It's why they stopped doing interviews for the longest time, and after the 1996 Rolling Stone interview, they closed ranks and as far as I know, while Layne was alive they never granted another interview. They DID do Rockline in 1998 (Layne called in while Jerry was promoting his Boggy Depot solo album) and 1999 (when the band was promoting Nothing Safe and the Music Bank box set). But for the most part, they closed ranks around each other. MTV (and the music industry) has more or less blackballed Layne (and yet, they laud over Kurt Cobain every April 5th, because Kurt was the "face of grunge", meanwhile Layne gets a "by the way"). The Grammys went so far as to invite Jerry, Mike, and Sean to the Grammy show in 2003 and then refused to put Layne's picture up in the memorial of the musicians who died in 2002. (Or they "forgot" to) which pissed Jerry, Mike, and Sean off and they walked out on the show. Even though the music industry would like to have written him out of history, Layne DID exist. He was on this earth for 34 years. In that time he wrote songs that gave a normal person insight into the mind and journey of an addict. The pain and depression he endured to write the most brutally honest lyrics a musician could write concerning his feelings on his own addiction, his depression, and the tumultuous relationship with his former fiancee Demri. The emotional and physical strength he had to perform those songs live when all he wanted to do was curl away and lose himself in the drug haze I can’t imagine what it was like for him. He was hounded by the press about his addiction. He was ridiculed for his addiction. The music industry blackballed him for his addiction. The Grammys forgot about him when he died. As far as MTV and music rag mags like Rolling Stone were concerned he’s just another addicted singer. They don’t want to acknowledge his contributions to music. Layne Staley WASN'T just some rock star junkie. HE DESERVED BETTER than what he received from the people around him who he thought mattered. He wrote about drugs, his addiction, what he was feeling and what he was going through with maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. He didn’t deserve to be turned into tabloid cannon fodder by the press. I remember a show in London on February 26, 1993 where a reporter who was based in London wrote about a concert they did in another part of Europe and got Mike Inez confused with Mike Starr. Layne got on the microphone between them finishing HATE TO FEEL and beginning ANGRY CHAIR and said, "I want to say um, I want to say hello to the guy who wrote the review on the show a few weeks back. You’re in London - an enemy. I want to introduce our bass player, MIKE INEZ, not Mike Starr, you fucking idiot! Fuck that prick! Fuck the press! We’re not playing for the fucking press, all right?” "Layne was just an incomparable talent. He was like a fucking myna bird. Any accent or sound or voice, he could just immediately repeat it. He just had a gift. And I’d like to think that I have a bit of a gift myself. One of the funniest descriptions I’ve ever heard, and I don’t know that it’s true, but it just sounds fucking great, was we sound like “the satanic Everly Brothers.” Together we were kind of a two-headed monster. It added a lot of depth to the material the way we worked together." -- Jerry Cantrell (Noisey, June 7, 2018) My Top 20 AIC songs... Love Hate Love (Live at the Moore, December 1990...Layne Staley in his prime and is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. All other rock bands should strive to have a live performance this perfect), Man in the Box (Live at Weedsport, NY 1991 - the Layne’s Pissed Version...though the original version may be better to react to, because Weedsport was during Clash of the Titans tour where Slayer fans were giving the band crap and Layne got pissed and changed the lyrics), Bleed the Freak (Live at the Moore, December 1990), It Ain’t Like That (if you need a video use Singles Pro Shot video), Queen of the Rodeo (Live in Dallas, TX 1990), Real Thing (Live ANYWHERE), Them Bones, God Smack (Live at Hollywood Rock, 1993), Grind, Again, No Excuses, Brush Away, Frogs, Sludge Factory (During MTV Unplugged 1996, Layne screwed up the 2nd verse like 8 times, though the show only included one of those times), What the Hell Have I, God Am, Got Me Wrong, Swing On This, Social Parasite, We Die Young
Alice In Chains has always been underrated. When they came out they got pigeonholed with all the grunge bands but they were so much more than that. Their albums were masterpieces.
So I was coming home back from a job in Atlanta when I heard on the radio station that they had found Layne’s body. They played rain when I die after they announced it and no shit it was pouring rain. Not gonna lie, we lit one up and sent it up to the man.
In my eyes Layne was the best. Not only was he a very technical singer, but he had all these emotional attributes that made him feel personal to everyone. He was like a son, brother, or father to many many people and still is. I hope he’s happy wherever he may be
Lane was and still is one of the greatest voices I've ever heard!! I know from interviews and documentaries that he was fighting a lot of demons. R.i.p.!!
Nobody can sing sorrow like this man. "if I cant be my own... I'd feel better dead...) you can feel that line. It is a short song but that's it in a "Nutshell"
I saw Layne in a three piece suit at the start of their set on Lollapolooza in 93 and it was like 95 degrees that day! Needless to say he took the jacket tie vest and shirt off after playing Would the first song to start the show! Very charismatic singer and great stage presence! His voice very unique and an unbelievable range! RIP Layne!
I was never a fan of AiC, but I still to this day consider this one of the greatest live concerts ever. They sounded so DIFFERENT unplugged, and really showed off how talented they were. Layne was spot on perfect as well, but it's obvious that this person is very near death, which adds a layer of sadness that absolutely destroys me.
This was Layne at his lowest and worst. Mind you he’s doing this performance super high after being really dope sick and he hardly has any teeth left. They weren’t even sure he would show up, and if he did, if he’d be able to pull off some of the notes and chords. If you watch Down in a Hole, you’ll see Jerry Cantrell turn around and smile and look at another band mate. This is because Layne hits a high note so well and Jerry was so confident that he could do it.
Yes. Layne is wearing shades on a dark stage. He has a long sleeve shirt on and is wearing gloves to hide where he would shoot up (i.e. between fingers, etc.). Heroin driven death shouldn't be something we glorify in all these musicians that basically KILL THEMSELVES. A long list of them from the 60's until today and in almost every genre of music.
Awesome reaction Rachel, it's sad that Layne is not here anymore, suggestion Alice in Chains Live at The Moore the awesome song is Love Hate Love it's incredible and you will be blown away!! RIP Layne Staley 😇💝🌹
The song itself is about how Layne was battling his addictions and how the media coverage on it was that messed up fully displaying all the ugliness of his battle,R.I.P. Layne
This song was not aboutLayne when it was written. It was about Layne for this show. Jerry made the playlist for the show and hoped it would pull Layne back
Some have said this was Layne’s favorite Alice In Chains song. He did write the lyrics himself, and they are some very personal sentiments. So I imagine it was quite close to his heart.
MTV unplugged was amazing, so many different eclectic bands and artists. I'm biased on 90s rock though. The MTV unplugged audio engineers were top notch as well. Every show sounded amazing and studio quality. Thanks for the videos!
This is the very beginning of the concert, and this is also how the studio version sounds with the composition, only difference being that the lead guitar solo was electric
Actually this is the opening song of the show. It's an silent introduction of the band, adding the pieces together, and, wham, everything here, let's go. One of the all time greatest performances.
This song was written by Jerry the lead guitarist and Layne best friend. It t was considered his eulogy to Layne. Layne walked out of rehab and was found in a hotel room unconscious. They woke him up he said he would do the concert. During the taping he actually falls asleep in the chair. He was a mess
His mouth formation and haunting vocals screams that his vocals are almost a self-soothing mechanism, and we were just lucky enough that he performed for us. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell made a formidable musical combination. F H for taking so many talented souls. And F H for taking so many more now. His vocals still resonate with so many people, myself included, today.
I’ll never forget seeing Alice for the first time . Going to that show changed my life forever. September 3, 1991 Minneapolis Minnesota they played at first ave I was 20 feet from the main stage and seeing them perform LOVE, HATE, LOVE live that was an experience like no other. After the song I bumped into this beautiful girl who eventually became my wife and the mother of our two children we been happily married for 29 years thanks to a Alice In Chains show!
I love that you are interested in Alice in Chains. I hope that you react to "Love Hate Love - Live at Moore's Theatre" - it's a great live performance where you see Layne at his peak. Thanks for posting this one.
Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland, Shannon Hoon, Andrew Wood, - all of my favorite singers from the grunge era....all gone. That's what I was listening to in high school... Rest in Peace - all of you. Music of this kind, dark & brooding, was a release....keep in mind in the 80's and 90's and even into the early 00's, mental health for men was never, ever talked about. Guys, and being one from this era, we were taught that the only emotions ok to let out are joy - getting married, wife or girlfriend just gave birth to our child, scoring a game winning score in whatever sport we were playing. Sadness - only ok if an immediate family member died - yes that includes the family dog too - that was ok, but no other reason.
I’ve seen some people describe this as a call for help, he was passed that, and I’m pretty sure he knew it, this was goodbye. And one of the best live performances of all time, just as a bonus. We’ll miss you, sir. Also thank you so so much for doing this, an awesome reaction & breakdown.
What a way to open a show. One of the last times this line-up would play together and maybe their best performance. So sad how Layne couldn't make it any clearer that he was fully committed to his own demise by that point and it was now just a matter of how long. A one in a million voice and talent, and one of the best bands ever.
This was Layne saying goodbye to all of us. He put on a hell of a show and knew it would be his last. Shit tears me to pieces as I'm a recovering addict and used AIC to get me through some hard times. All of his music is him warning us of how fast drugs will pull you in and how hard it is to get out once you're in. The older I get the more and more it tears me up. Rip Layne you will live on forever with your lyrics. Just wish more people heard the songs and listened to the lyrics before they decided to use. It would save a lot of lives specially today in the drug crisis we are in.
One of many great examples of the amazing power Layne once possessed in his voice was the live version of "Love Hate Love" at The Moore...but you can hear the tiredness in his voice here, I mean it's still quite powerful but it's more vulnerable than anything else....He was on autopilot here because he was so high on drugs. It's pretty hard to watch as he was singing as if he knew he was gonna die. RIP Layne - one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time!
Such a beautiful song and performance. My son is 22 and loves Alice In Chains because of me and he cries every time he hears this he's so moved. Layne Staley was a star that burned out too soon.
All these years later, this performance is still tough to watch. React to Love, Hate, Love live from the Moore to see Layne in a period of time when he was a powerhouse. Anything from their Live at the Moore concert is great, but Love, Hate, Love or Bleed the Freak are epic.
Something from the Moore Theater 1990 would give you an idea of Staley's vocal power when he was clean and well. Especially Love Hate Love. One of the greatest vocal performances in history.
Commonly referred to as "Singing at his own funeral." The intro was so long because his bandmates weren't sure if he was actually going to come back out on stage. They had tried to help him several times at this point and had to resign themselves to the fact that they couldn't do anything about it.
@wildcat31772 That too. But Staley came out last, and Cantrell said (I think it was an interview) that they weren't sure if he was going to come out at all because of the state he was in.
Wow, the way you described the feeling is perfect, I hadn't thought of it that way, but I could see how much you were surrendered to the sound. great reaction, genuine.🙂
I second Love Hate Love live at the Moore. You can really see his power. It’s kinda hard to watch the unplugged set. Just because you see how fragile he became. But the unplugged series was the best thing mtv ever did. I was in high school when Facelift came out. Still listening to them to this day.
One of my favorite voices of all time. Hated but was privileged to attend his fan memorial in Seattle my senior year. Hundreds of us singing to the musicians playing their songs 💜 a music connection moment my concert loving ass couldn’t anticipate!
Alice in Chains - Love Hate Love(Live at The Moore) shows you a more healthy Layne and shows his vocals at his peak before his addiction took over(and how good Live they were).
I read a comment once that someone wrote about this performance and they wrote “ The closest thing to singing at your own funeral “ which I thought he/she hit the nail on the head. I’m 45 years old and seen Chains perform live and they are one of my favorite bands ever. In the 90’s it was Chains,Tool,STP,Pearl Jam,Soundgarden,Metallica,Megadeth and a few others that I loved.
I love the unplugged show because I love AIC so much, however I never recommend it to anyone that doesn't know them. Most recommend live at the Moore 'love hat love' BUT actually that whole show needs to be watched - it shows how amazing they 'all' are and how versatile.
This was quite awhile after they had stopped playing and recording together. He was super deep into addiction at this point, he had lost all or most of his teeth. and it was still a legendary performance.
Lane had his battles for sure. Also shouts to Jerry Cantrell who was sick with the flu or either food poisoning can't remember. But he still came out and stood with his brother. In a time where Lane really needed that good friend . Layne Staley rest in peace brother, you are a true legend . Sad that troubles have to take so many good ones from us.
The saddest part of the whole unplugged show they did is that he was in real bad shape and was needing a fix before performing and didn’t bring his dope and was really sick. Then scored some just to straighten himself out just to perform. Then he shortly past away, the world was a darker place without him. At least he was finally at peace. God bless you buddy and thank you for all your music.
As someone who is 2 years sober and a huge fan of Alice In Chains listing and looking at him when I watched this for the first time years ago I just felt all the pain and guilt and feeling trapped like death was the best option for me
Everyone I’ve ever heard do a reaction of this version of this song says the exact same thing. That bass sounds so good. It really carries the song in this one.
At the time this was recorded Layne was in the midst of fighting and losing against a serious Heroin addiction. He was so sick the band had not been touring. He is not well here and more than llikely high asf. Knowing how it all ended for him some say this is him crying out for help.. I think its him telling us he is losing. RIP Layne you beautiiful bastard.
Yeah love this song, Layne was a one of a kind singer,.had so much passion in his music, it is so sad he passed away, was and is one of my favorites I could so relate to his music. RIP Layne I hope your at peace now.
Thank God there performances are being produced to newer generations, and that they will never die! This is seriously a man singing at his own funeral!
This is a very delicate version of Layne's voice. On former performances his voice would reach peaks which are nearly non-human as he would sing with feeling and depth, the dynamics available to Layne's voice are incredible. This is a hollow version which leads me to question if he died of drug addiction or some form of a wasting disease. He chose to stay inside of his home playing video games the last few years he was alive. He weighed less than 100 pounds at the time of his death. He had weeping sores during the last couple of years. I had a friend who picked up bodies for a local mortuary and he said that it sounded like the bodies of AIDS victims that he would occasionally pick up. He would nearly cry as he described the shape those people's bodies were in at the time of their death. He said that they suffered greatly at the end of their lives. I am not aware if the life saving drugs were available to those people in 2002. If they were I might be wrong about my questioning his cause of death. I do know that Layne deserved to die with family and friends gathered around him. To die all alone at the end of life , especially when people knew he was close to dying, fills my mind with thoughts of how afraid he might have been when the end did come. Layne, wherever you might be in this vast universe right now, I hope you rest well and have found a new outlet for your unique and beautiful talents. Perhaps you didn't want others to share your pain and so stayed out of the public eye as you slipped away? Suffering alone as your time drew near. RIP with the knowledge that hundreds of millions would have gladly been there with you to help your journey begin. Your bravery in facing this alone is admirable and defines how you chose to live your life... On your terms and hopefully fearless until the end.
May have already been said, but just in case it hasn't. The message on the bassist's guitar was directed at members of Metallica, who were present for this recording. They had just cut their hair short. The band did play a couple of short segments of Metallica songs "Enter Sandman" and "Battery" in homage though. Love that story.
During this set Layne Staley was in the clutches of drug addiction and depression, the supporting vocalist and lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell was recovering from food poisoning, you can see a black trash can they had next to him incase he got sick. I think that actually helped on their sad songs like this, it just makes it feel even more dreary.
missing someone you've never met is a weird concept. but i was introduced to AIC at a young age. i grew up around small town rock/grunge bands in the early 90's and Layne had a huge impact on those i knew. Im 32 now and not a day goes by that i don't listen to an AIC song. This man will forever be missed.
pretty sure the "friends dont let friends get haircuts" on his bass was because they were friends with the members of Metallica, and it was shortly after the entire band cut their hair short. and the reason they cut their hair was because James got his hair burnt off when he walked into a pyro flair on the middle of a set.
Very good reaction. If you only know a piece of Layne’s story and the fact that he is no longer with us, it’s virtually impossible to watch this without getting choked-up. It is intensely sad.
Someone said he was saying goodbye here, its absolutely 😢😢..... haunting, beautiful, mesmerizing, hidden in the shadows, the flame of his soul burning slowly out like those candles....
My grandmother was the closest family member i had. All she ever wanted was me to get clean. Id applied for the methodone program but the list was so long i waited 2 years to get started. Literally a week after she died i got the call for my place. I've been off the heroin since last June, but it just breaks my heart that she isnt here to see me with my act cleaned up. It must have been so hard for Layne cos with that fame he'd never have trouble scoring gear, and being so burnt out it would be the hardest thing to give up. Heroin is addictive, but being numb to pain is even more addictive.
Watching this live... Hurt. He was so drug sick during this performance, the name didn't know if he'd even be able to perform... but he put out perhaps the best performance of his life. If you genuinely enjoy this song, it's from their album "Jar of Flies". It's divisive to many because it was the least "Alice in Chains"-sounding album, yet many argue (myself included) that it was also their best album. I highly recommend it. Every song is quality. And it's not a terribly long album to begin with. I'm 45 now, and "Jar of Flies" remains a favorite for me.
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Always heard this referred to as "The closest someone can get to performing at their own funeral."
His story is heartbreaking and when we lost him, the world became lesser, but at least the battle was over and he could finally rest.
This was done in ‘96 and he passed in ‘02. A better use of that analogy would be for Nirvana’s Unplugged session. They recorded in November and Kurt was dead the following April.
@@Shake69ification its about the music/lyrics not the time the mtv unplugged was
@vascof07 lyrically, sure. But you hear the pain in Kurt's voice during his performance, too. I took the o.p. literally and my point was Kurt was closer, in time, to performing at his own funeral than was Layne. Both deaths were tragic and huge losses to the music world.
@@Shake69ification did you see the reviews of the people that were there? They were all saying that Layne was so high that they had to repeat so many attempts of the songs. He had already OD'd a couple times at this point and I can't remember if the interview with him was before or after this where he admits that he knew heroin was going to kill him.
Kurt was tragic too but I can’t call what Layne did after this living. It was one of the slowest deaths. That’s why I think the statement fits. To me at least. I mean Kurt’s too. For sure.
'Love, hate, love' live version gives a good look into Layne's power
Yeah this please, great performance and he does seem quite different there...
Yep Layne in his prime right there
Also 'Bleed The Freak' live (official video) is amazing.
Metallica was in the front row. The bass player says Friends don’t let their friends get their hair cut 😂
You read my mind. I'd love to see her react to the incredible power in his voice & his breath control. Layne for me= the GOAT.
Hearing him sing this when he was healthy was truly stellar. Here he was still great but considering his failing health it's impressive he was able to still sound this good. R.I.P.
I don't think he was ever healthy singling this, but it all went downhill *very* fast, when he started speedballing on a regular basis. There's bootleg concerts in 93 with Layne, and you can definitely see the difference in the before and after. He's with the fairies on the back end of 93, while early on, like in Frankfurt, he was still killing it.
I understand where you're coming from but imo this version is untouchable. Theres no doubt in my mind that Layne knew he was beyond help already at this point and you can hear it, see it and feel it during this performance. Its heartbreaking yet also a brilliant and perfect performance of Nutshell.
@@neptunevinyl Very true.
He had also had all of his teeth removed a little while before this show.
@@jeremyfisher9102 nah, his teeth were gradually falling out starting in 95/96. His teeth are kinda hard to see here but you can clearly see them in the Detroit tiger show.
The most haunting performance in music history. This is what it's like to sing at your own funeral.
I think I want it played at my funeral!
Another is “when I’m down” live at the troubadour. Chris Cornell
This was the very first song of the entire show, and that’s why the band walked out 1 by 1 to the applause. Haunting knowing Layne walked out there “sick”, sat down and within a second, started singing a whole show that is legendary……and he probably didn’t want to or feel good enough to.
He wasn't sick, he was nodding the whole show. To be able to put on a show that great with all he was going thru, is truly amazing. He was the best
Jerry later admitted that Layne was using again and was shooting up heroin between his fingers in order to conceal his track marks, that’s why he wore gloves to this performance. Unfortunately, part of what makes this song resonate with so many is the feeling he projects from his genuine pain.
@scozier2539 he was dope sick before and they realized he had to use to be able to perform. He had just got his fix buy by the third song when he takes off his glasses is when he felt correct for his addiciton
@@pfang32yes
Yea he had to literally get high for this performance.
You talked about how the song itself feels "tired", and I think that's spot on. I think "Nutshell" is a perfect representation of how depression feels, just an empty body within, a shell. The instrumentation and pace of the song is a perfect addition to this.
The whole Jar of Flies EP is a masterpiece and more viby, melancholic. Rotten Apple is honestly one of their best songs, I think you'd enjoy it.
Jar of Flies changed my life. I was a fledgling 15-year old guitarist when this album came out in 1994. I thought only electric guitar could be cool. Then I heard this album. I can go years without touching my electric, but my acoustic is in my lap as I type this. Still my all-time favorite album/EP.
@@edmo922 Yeah, completely. I'm still a 17 yo fledgling guitarrist too lmao, but honestly, while I think the electric has a lot of power, I mostly play on my acoustic. It has a much more somber, melancholic sound to it that I just love.
It feels like I have a whole apocalypse, a distopian world in my hands, if that makes sense lmao
Rotten apples is soooo good
@@bryanruiz5075 My #1!
Layne was already dead here in spirit but left us something to remember him, and man do we remember him after this performance alone
He died 6 years after this was recorded... Your point makes no sense.
I get what your saying unlike the other guy who said your comment makes no sense because he can't read. I think his condition here added to the acoustic performance and sound of it, if it was a electric performance I don't think it works or he is up to it right here in this shape.
@@brandonfreeman6517 your spirit can die many years before your person...
He was ripped here on stage that is proven fact. This was him singing his eulogy.
The Unplugged show in 1996 is so heartbreaking to watch because he was deep in his heroin addiction (and yes, I know he was doing other drugs on top of Heroin). His liver was damaged from the years of drug use and he knew it. He was just high enough to do the show to deal with the withdrawal symptoms and so he didn't get dope sick. He was such a ghost of himself during Unplugged. (Of course, Jerry had food poisoning) All Jerry saw when he looked over at Layne was his best friend was going to die soon due to the path Layne had chosen for his life. That show was filmed in April 1996, premiered in May 1996. They did four shows with KISS in June-July 1996, after which Layne survived an overdose and became a recluse. After that, it was a 6-year-long slow suicide.
On Unplugged, Scott Olson was the second guitarist. He was there to boost the guitar sound on the stage.
Layne was better Live than the studio version. LOVE HATE LOVE live at the Moore in December 1990 is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. Other rock bands should strive to have a live performance that perfect.
Layne Staley's vocal range can run rings around any other grunge singer in my opinion. Layne could sing the phone book and never hit a wrong note. Even at the end of his life, with no teeth and a lisp, his voice, wit and humor were all still there. Layne's voice and vocal range were so powerful he did NOT need auto tune or pro-tools until he lost his teeth and had a lisp around 1998, and even then he still killed the vocals. (He started losing his teeth in 1995 due to grinding)
Barrett Martin (who played with Layne in Mad Season) said that when he stood to the side of the stage, he could hear the sound of Layne's vocal resonance come out of Layne's body LOUDER than it did coming out of the speakers, Layne's voice was that powerful.
I'm in the camp of No Layne/No Chains, because no matter which singer you put up there to sing those songs, it'll only be a cover. Layne had a unique voice you cannot replicate or replace. A lot of those songs were great because Layne pretty much wrung his entire soul out singing them, others were personal to Layne and to have someone else sing those, the songs lose their meaning because the new guy didn't go through the ordeals those songs are inspired by.
William DuVall singing THEM BONES on the 2006 reunion tsunami gig.... William DOES NOT have the power in his voice that Layne had especially for that song. Maynard James Keenan could get remotely close to Layne's vocal range for that song (and many others). And Maynard would have the reverence for Layne's memory, he was friends with Layne, he KNEW Layne, had a history with Layne, and saw what Layne went through from Lollapalooza 93 until Layne became a recluse. Besides, Maynard already had 3 bands going on, why not join a fourth band?
He had tried rehab 13 times, but he could never completely give it up. He tried quitting cold turkey on two of the last attempts at rehab, but neither one worked either. Mad Season is made up of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders and they all went through rehab. They all got together and dragged Layne out of his condo, got him excited about doing ABOVE album, thinking if he was creative he wouldn't want the drugs, and for the length of time it took to do that, Layne was excited about the project, but it didn't curb his drug habit. Layne wrote the lyrics to the songs he sang on the ABOVE album (minus the John Lennon cover song I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier) and he drew the cover art for the album.
NUTSHELL was about how magazines like FOR EXAMPLE Rolling Stone only reported on Layne's addiction as if that were the only thing that defined the band as well as Layne's depression.
Rolling Stone magazine has some unknown thing to do with the Hall of Fame, and after what Rolling Stone did to Layne and the band in the 1996 The Needle and the Damage Done article ("Oh no, it will be about the music" "Oh yeah, the band's picture will be on the cover" turns out it was only Layne on the cover and the article focused on Layne's addiction -- which Layne DID NOT want to happen -- and everything going wrong internally with the band.) that pissed off AIC management and the entire band to the point they threatened to kick the writer, Jon Weiderhorn's ass over it. I don't see Rolling Stone chomping at the bit to vote AIC into the Hall of Fame. Although if they do finally get in with William as the singer and NOT Layne. I'm going to be pissed.
As far back as late 1992, Rolling Stone has personally had a bone to pick with Layne Staley, even though I can name a dozen bands who wrote about drugs in their lyrics that Rolling Stone never cared to target before or after Layne came along. Layne’s mentioned Rolling Stone hounding him in passing to Riki Rachtman during the New Orleans episode of Headbanger’s Ball in late 1992 when Layne and Mike Starr tour New Orleans and a Voodoo museum with Riki back then.
There were other magazines and "reporters" BEFORE 1996 that hounded Layne over his drug addiction. Rolling Stone wasn't the only rag mag to do it. Spin Magazine and many other tabloid music mags only wanted to focus on Layne's addiction. It's why they stopped doing interviews for the longest time, and after the 1996 Rolling Stone interview, they closed ranks and as far as I know, while Layne was alive they never granted another interview. They DID do Rockline in 1998 (Layne called in while Jerry was promoting his Boggy Depot solo album) and 1999 (when the band was promoting Nothing Safe and the Music Bank box set). But for the most part, they closed ranks around each other.
MTV (and the music industry) has more or less blackballed Layne (and yet, they laud over Kurt Cobain every April 5th, because Kurt was the "face of grunge", meanwhile Layne gets a "by the way"). The Grammys went so far as to invite Jerry, Mike, and Sean to the Grammy show in 2003 and then refused to put Layne's picture up in the memorial of the musicians who died in 2002. (Or they "forgot" to) which pissed Jerry, Mike, and Sean off and they walked out on the show.
Even though the music industry would like to have written him out of history, Layne DID exist. He was on this earth for 34 years. In that time he wrote songs that gave a normal person insight into the mind and journey of an addict. The pain and depression he endured to write the most brutally honest lyrics a musician could write concerning his feelings on his own addiction, his depression, and the tumultuous relationship with his former fiancee Demri. The emotional and physical strength he had to perform those songs live when all he wanted to do was curl away and lose himself in the drug haze I can’t imagine what it was like for him. He was hounded by the press about his addiction. He was ridiculed for his addiction. The music industry blackballed him for his addiction. The Grammys forgot about him when he died. As far as MTV and music rag mags like Rolling Stone were concerned he’s just another addicted singer. They don’t want to acknowledge his contributions to music.
Layne Staley WASN'T just some rock star junkie. HE DESERVED BETTER than what he received from the people around him who he thought mattered. He wrote about drugs, his addiction, what he was feeling and what he was going through with maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. He didn’t deserve to be turned into tabloid cannon fodder by the press.
I remember a show in London on February 26, 1993 where a reporter who was based in London wrote about a concert they did in another part of Europe and got Mike Inez confused with Mike Starr. Layne got on the microphone between them finishing HATE TO FEEL and beginning ANGRY CHAIR and said, "I want to say um, I want to say hello to the guy who wrote the review on the show a few weeks back. You’re in London - an enemy. I want to introduce our bass player, MIKE INEZ, not Mike Starr, you fucking idiot! Fuck that prick! Fuck the press! We’re not playing for the fucking press, all right?”
"Layne was just an incomparable talent. He was like a fucking myna bird. Any accent or sound or voice, he could just immediately repeat it. He just had a gift. And I’d like to think that I have a bit of a gift myself. One of the funniest descriptions I’ve ever heard, and I don’t know that it’s true, but it just sounds fucking great, was we sound like “the satanic Everly Brothers.” Together we were kind of a two-headed monster. It added a lot of depth to the material the way we worked together." -- Jerry Cantrell (Noisey, June 7, 2018)
My Top 20 AIC songs... Love Hate Love (Live at the Moore, December 1990...Layne Staley in his prime and is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. All other rock bands should strive to have a live performance this perfect), Man in the Box (Live at Weedsport, NY 1991 - the Layne’s Pissed Version...though the original version may be better to react to, because Weedsport was during Clash of the Titans tour where Slayer fans were giving the band crap and Layne got pissed and changed the lyrics), Bleed the Freak (Live at the Moore, December 1990), It Ain’t Like That (if you need a video use Singles Pro Shot video), Queen of the Rodeo (Live in Dallas, TX 1990), Real Thing (Live ANYWHERE), Them Bones, God Smack (Live at Hollywood Rock, 1993), Grind, Again, No Excuses, Brush Away, Frogs, Sludge Factory (During MTV Unplugged 1996, Layne screwed up the 2nd verse like 8 times, though the show only included one of those times), What the Hell Have I, God Am, Got Me Wrong, Swing On This, Social Parasite, We Die Young
Thank you for sharing! Powerful stories.... "No Layne, No Chains" - couldn't agree more! Rest easy Layne 💜
bro he was high off his @ss during this show. If you know what to look for, you can see it. He's practically going to sleep during portions of this.
this song makes me cry literally everytime. so much emotion and so many relatable lyrics
Me too hon! I relate and not a user! A depressed human I am though!
Same. It certainly hits home with how I feel
Same
This world would be a far better place with him and his music and voice in it.
The song is haunting, emotional, powerful, and beautiful at the same time. An absolute masterpiece.
Layne was amazing. Rain when I die is a really underrated AIC song.
Rain when I die and don’t follow are my favorite songs
Died is really great too
Who underrated it??🤦♂️
Alice In Chains has always been underrated. When they came out they got pigeonholed with all the grunge bands but they were so much more than that. Their albums were masterpieces.
So I was coming home back from a job in Atlanta when I heard on the radio station that they had found Layne’s body. They played rain when I die after they announced it and no shit it was pouring rain. Not gonna lie, we lit one up and sent it up to the man.
One of the best singers ever...u were so respectful...thank you
In my eyes Layne was the best. Not only was he a very technical singer, but he had all these emotional attributes that made him feel personal to everyone. He was like a son, brother, or father to many many people and still is. I hope he’s happy wherever he may be
For real, he feels like family to me.
Lane was and still is one of the greatest voices I've ever heard!! I know from interviews and documentaries that he was fighting a lot of demons. R.i.p.!!
Nobody can sing sorrow like this man. "if I cant be my own... I'd feel better dead...) you can feel that line. It is a short song but that's it in a "Nutshell"
I saw Layne in a three piece suit at the start of their set on Lollapolooza in 93 and it was like 95 degrees that day! Needless to say he took the jacket tie vest and shirt off after playing Would the first song to start the show! Very charismatic singer and great stage presence! His voice very unique and an unbelievable range! RIP Layne!
This is by far my favorite AIC song and maybe even top 5 favorite songs period. The album this was on, Jar of Flies is absolutely incredible
THE BEST UNPLUGGED IN THE HISTORY.. Nutshell= life of Layne...great reaction!!
Layne actually had another band called Mad Season and his songs “River of deceit” or “wake up” are also amazing songs.
that whole album is sick. November hotel is amazing.
long gone day
And another band called Alice MudGarden and another one called Class of ‘99
I can not watch this without being brought to tears. RIP Layne you are missed
It has always amazed me how effortless Layne made those ghostly howls between the verses look.
Probably my favorite song of all time out of all genres, Ive never felt closer to a song in my life..
I was never a fan of AiC, but I still to this day consider this one of the greatest live concerts ever. They sounded so DIFFERENT unplugged, and really showed off how talented they were. Layne was spot on perfect as well, but it's obvious that this person is very near death, which adds a layer of sadness that absolutely destroys me.
This song, this performance, never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
One of the best performances and songs of the 90s. Just perfect!
This was Layne at his lowest and worst. Mind you he’s doing this performance super high after being really dope sick and he hardly has any teeth left. They weren’t even sure he would show up, and if he did, if he’d be able to pull off some of the notes and chords.
If you watch Down in a Hole, you’ll see Jerry Cantrell turn around and smile and look at another band mate. This is because Layne hits a high note so well and Jerry was so confident that he could do it.
Yes. Layne is wearing shades on a dark stage. He has a long sleeve shirt on and is wearing gloves to hide where he would shoot up (i.e. between fingers, etc.). Heroin driven death shouldn't be something we glorify in all these musicians that basically KILL THEMSELVES. A long list of them from the 60's until today and in almost every genre of music.
His teeth fell out a little after this but i get your point
The BEST song from the unplugged session! Amazing considering he was dying during this perfomance
He was a force to be heard when he was healthy. This was in his deepest addiction. R.I.P. brother
Awesome reaction Rachel, it's sad that Layne is not here anymore, suggestion Alice in Chains Live at The Moore the awesome song is Love Hate Love it's incredible and you will be blown away!! RIP Layne Staley 😇💝🌹
Layne is basically singing at his own funeral in this concert. This song is Laynes life in a nutshell.
Metallica was sitting in the front row,“friends don’t let friends get friends haircuts…” was in a response to Metallica getting hair cuts…
The song itself is about how Layne was battling his addictions and how the media coverage on it was that messed up fully displaying all the ugliness of his battle,R.I.P. Layne
This song was not aboutLayne when it was written. It was about Layne for this show. Jerry made the playlist for the show and hoped it would pull Layne back
Ya Cantrell wrote it I think because of a break up or something but it grew into laynes predicament
@@jeffeffinduvall Layne Staley is credited as the lyricist for Nutshell
it's about the dark side of fame, reading lies about yourself in the press, and invasion of personal privacy.
i still tear up uncontrollably listening to this, 15 years sober but he hit it on the head.......He was so good..
Some have said this was Layne’s favorite Alice In Chains song. He did write the lyrics himself, and they are some very personal sentiments. So I imagine it was quite close to his heart.
This breaks my heart. Layne was such an amazingly talented musician. Its so sad we lost him.
MTV unplugged was amazing, so many different eclectic bands and artists. I'm biased on 90s rock though. The MTV unplugged audio engineers were top notch as well. Every show sounded amazing and studio quality. Thanks for the videos!
This is the very beginning of the concert, and this is also how the studio version sounds with the composition, only difference being that the lead guitar solo was electric
Actually this is the opening song of the show. It's an silent introduction of the band, adding the pieces together, and, wham, everything here, let's go. One of the all time greatest performances.
This song was written by Jerry the lead guitarist and Layne best friend. It t was considered his eulogy to Layne. Layne walked out of rehab and was found in a hotel room unconscious. They woke him up he said he would do the concert. During the taping he actually falls asleep in the chair. He was a mess
This was the opening to the show
His mouth formation and haunting vocals screams that his vocals are almost a self-soothing mechanism, and we were just lucky enough that he performed for us. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell made a formidable musical combination. F H for taking so many talented souls. And F H for taking so many more now. His vocals still resonate with so many people, myself included, today.
I’ll never forget seeing Alice for the first time . Going to that show changed my life forever. September 3, 1991 Minneapolis Minnesota they played at first ave I was 20 feet from the main stage and seeing them perform LOVE, HATE, LOVE live that was an experience like no other. After the song I bumped into this beautiful girl who eventually became my wife and the mother of our two children we been happily married for 29 years thanks to a Alice In Chains show!
Layne is an absolute LEGEND! We all miss him so much.
I love that you are interested in Alice in Chains. I hope that you react to "Love Hate Love - Live at Moore's Theatre" - it's a great live performance where you see Layne at his peak. Thanks for posting this one.
Laynes singing was phenomenal, but Layne and Jerry singing together is damn near untouchable.
Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland, Shannon Hoon, Andrew Wood, - all of my favorite singers from the grunge era....all gone. That's what I was listening to in high school... Rest in Peace - all of you.
Music of this kind, dark & brooding, was a release....keep in mind in the 80's and 90's and even into the early 00's, mental health for men was never, ever talked about. Guys, and being one from this era, we were taught that the only emotions ok to let out are joy - getting married, wife or girlfriend just gave birth to our child, scoring a game winning score in whatever sport we were playing. Sadness - only ok if an immediate family member died - yes that includes the family dog too - that was ok, but no other reason.
😎💭
This was the opening song to this unplugged show. That's why they were walking onto the stage like that❤
I’ve seen some people describe this as a call for help, he was passed that, and I’m pretty sure he knew it, this was goodbye. And one of the best live performances of all time, just as a bonus. We’ll miss you, sir. Also thank you so so much for doing this, an awesome reaction & breakdown.
What a way to open a show. One of the last times this line-up would play together and maybe their best performance. So sad how Layne couldn't make it any clearer that he was fully committed to his own demise by that point and it was now just a matter of how long. A one in a million voice and talent, and one of the best bands ever.
This was Layne saying goodbye to all of us. He put on a hell of a show and knew it would be his last. Shit tears me to pieces as I'm a recovering addict and used AIC to get me through some hard times. All of his music is him warning us of how fast drugs will pull you in and how hard it is to get out once you're in. The older I get the more and more it tears me up. Rip Layne you will live on forever with your lyrics. Just wish more people heard the songs and listened to the lyrics before they decided to use. It would save a lot of lives specially today in the drug crisis we are in.
We are listening to his voice nowadays, the emotion Layne put out there is timeless and a lot of his lyrics are more true today than ever
One of many great examples of the amazing power Layne once possessed in his voice was the live version of "Love Hate Love" at The Moore...but you can hear the tiredness in his voice here, I mean it's still quite powerful but it's more vulnerable than anything else....He was on autopilot here because he was so high on drugs. It's pretty hard to watch as he was singing as if he knew he was gonna die. RIP Layne - one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time!
Such a beautiful song and performance. My son is 22 and loves Alice In Chains because of me and he cries every time he hears this he's so moved. Layne Staley was a star that burned out too soon.
All these years later, this performance is still tough to watch. React to Love, Hate, Love live from the Moore to see Layne in a period of time when he was a powerhouse. Anything from their Live at the Moore concert is great, but Love, Hate, Love or Bleed the Freak are epic.
Totally agree!!
This
MTV's best Acoustic
Something from the Moore Theater 1990 would give you an idea of Staley's vocal power when he was clean and well. Especially Love Hate Love. One of the greatest vocal performances in history.
Commonly referred to as "Singing at his own funeral." The intro was so long because his bandmates weren't sure if he was actually going to come back out on stage. They had tried to help him several times at this point and had to resign themselves to the fact that they couldn't do anything about it.
dude... huh. the intro was long cuz it was the first song of the show and it was an intro entrance lol
@wildcat31772 That too. But Staley came out last, and Cantrell said (I think it was an interview) that they weren't sure if he was going to come out at all because of the state he was in.
Wow, the way you described the feeling is perfect, I hadn't thought of it that way, but I could see how much you were surrendered to the sound. great reaction, genuine.🙂
I second Love Hate Love live at the Moore. You can really see his power. It’s kinda hard to watch the unplugged set. Just because you see how fragile he became. But the unplugged series was the best thing mtv ever did. I was in high school when Facelift came out. Still listening to them to this day.
One of my favorite voices of all time. Hated but was privileged to attend his fan memorial in Seattle my senior year. Hundreds of us singing to the musicians playing their songs 💜 a music connection moment my concert loving ass couldn’t anticipate!
Alice in Chains - Love Hate Love(Live at The Moore) shows you a more healthy Layne and shows his vocals at his peak before his addiction took over(and how good Live they were).
I read a comment once that someone wrote about this performance and they wrote “ The closest thing to singing at your own funeral “ which I thought he/she hit the nail on the head. I’m 45 years old and seen Chains perform live and they are one of my favorite bands ever. In the 90’s it was Chains,Tool,STP,Pearl Jam,Soundgarden,Metallica,Megadeth and a few others that I loved.
Layne is still with us. He makes our days just that brighter when we hear him sing or just think of him
Have you done “Love Hate Love” live at the Moore yet? A must
I love the unplugged show because I love AIC so much, however I never recommend it to anyone that doesn't know them. Most recommend live at the Moore 'love hat love' BUT actually that whole show needs to be watched - it shows how amazing they 'all' are and how versatile.
This was quite awhile after they had stopped playing and recording together. He was super deep into addiction at this point, he had lost all or most of his teeth. and it was still a legendary performance.
I really enjoyed her review sounds like she really understand his pain as a musician n performer
Lane had his battles for sure. Also shouts to Jerry Cantrell who was sick with the flu or either food poisoning can't remember. But he still came out and stood with his brother. In a time where Lane really needed that good friend . Layne Staley rest in peace brother, you are a true legend . Sad that troubles have to take so many good ones from us.
The saddest part of the whole unplugged show they did is that he was in real bad shape and was needing a fix before performing and didn’t bring his dope and was really sick. Then scored some just to straighten himself out just to perform. Then he shortly past away, the world was a darker place without him. At least he was finally at peace. God bless you buddy and thank you for all your music.
6 yrs later he passed
Yeah... "Nutshell" is exactly how I feel most of the time. Anyways, great reaction as always. I've become a big fan of yours.
As someone who is 2 years sober and a huge fan of Alice In Chains listing and looking at him when I watched this for the first time years ago I just felt all the pain and guilt and feeling trapped like death was the best option for me
Love your investigation of this incredible band! Please experience and review the amazing studio work that will literally leave you in awe 🧡🎶🍻
Alice in Chains did make it, young lady.. Their music is still played every day on rock stations across the country.
Everyone I’ve ever heard do a reaction of this version of this song says the exact same thing. That bass sounds so good. It really carries the song in this one.
The song is so beautiful, yet eery at the same time. The end of the 2nd verse always gets me.
Love hate love live at the moore is a must
I forgot how amazing this song was and still is. I haven’t heard this in years so it’s definitely a throwback for me!!
Finally someone pointing out that incredible bass!
At the time this was recorded Layne was in the midst of fighting and losing against a serious Heroin addiction. He was so sick the band had not been touring. He is not well here and more than llikely high asf. Knowing how it all ended for him some say this is him crying out for help.. I think its him telling us he is losing. RIP Layne you beautiiful bastard.
Yeah love this song, Layne was a one of a kind singer,.had so much passion in his music, it is so sad he passed away, was and is one of my favorites I could so relate to his music. RIP Layne I hope your at peace now.
Miss Layne so much! The voice of my generation! Never tire of hearing this! God rest his Precious Soul!
"if i cant be my own, id feel better dead " is one of the greatest lyrics of all time.
I absolutely adore Layne…he was monumental in shaping my musical tastes when I was a kid. He and Jerry had such a beautiful harmony
Thank God there performances are being produced to newer generations, and that they will never die! This is seriously a man singing at his own funeral!
This is a very delicate version of Layne's voice. On former performances his voice would reach peaks which are nearly non-human as he would sing with feeling and depth, the dynamics available to Layne's voice are incredible.
This is a hollow version which leads me to question if he died of drug addiction or some form of a wasting disease. He chose to stay inside of his home playing video games the last few years he was alive. He weighed less than 100 pounds at the time of his death. He had weeping sores during the last couple of years. I had a friend who picked up bodies for a local mortuary and he said that it sounded like the bodies of AIDS victims that he would occasionally pick up. He would nearly cry as he described the shape those people's bodies were in at the time of their death. He said that they suffered greatly at the end of their lives. I am not aware if the life saving drugs were available to those people in 2002. If they were I might be wrong about my questioning his cause of death.
I do know that Layne deserved to die with family and friends gathered around him. To die all alone at the end of life , especially when people knew he was close to dying, fills my mind with thoughts of how afraid he might have been when the end did come.
Layne, wherever you might be in this vast universe right now, I hope you rest well and have found a new outlet for your unique and beautiful talents.
Perhaps you didn't want others to share your pain and so stayed out of the public eye as you slipped away? Suffering alone as your time drew near. RIP with the knowledge that hundreds of millions would have gladly been there with you to help your journey begin. Your bravery in facing this alone is admirable and defines how you chose to live your life... On your terms and hopefully fearless until the end.
May have already been said, but just in case it hasn't. The message on the bassist's guitar was directed at members of Metallica, who were present for this recording. They had just cut their hair short. The band did play a couple of short segments of Metallica songs "Enter Sandman" and "Battery" in homage though. Love that story.
During this set Layne Staley was in the clutches of drug addiction and depression, the supporting vocalist and lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell was recovering from food poisoning, you can see a black trash can they had next to him incase he got sick. I think that actually helped on their sad songs like this, it just makes it feel even more dreary.
Now you have to see Layne in his prime, the best video for that is "Love, Hate, Love -Live at the Moore", it will blow you away!
missing someone you've never met is a weird concept. but i was introduced to AIC at a young age. i grew up around small town rock/grunge bands in the early 90's and Layne had a huge impact on those i knew. Im 32 now and not a day goes by that i don't listen to an AIC song. This man will forever be missed.
The Grunge era was so beautiful.....yet so few of the lead singers are left. Thank God Eddie made it out.
pretty sure the "friends dont let friends get haircuts" on his bass was because they were friends with the members of Metallica, and it was shortly after the entire band cut their hair short. and the reason they cut their hair was because James got his hair burnt off when he walked into a pyro flair on the middle of a set.
Very good reaction.
If you only know a piece of Layne’s story and the fact that he is no longer with us, it’s virtually impossible to watch this without getting choked-up. It is intensely sad.
Someone said he was saying goodbye here, its absolutely 😢😢..... haunting, beautiful, mesmerizing, hidden in the shadows, the flame of his soul burning slowly out like those candles....
In your research on lead vocalist Layne Staley you will understand why he looks and acts the way he does here. RIP LAYNE ❤
This is a GREAT song, GREAT performance and a GREAT reaction. You are natural, you are excelente 🔝
My grandmother was the closest family member i had. All she ever wanted was me to get clean. Id applied for the methodone program but the list was so long i waited 2 years to get started.
Literally a week after she died i got the call for my place. I've been off the heroin since last June, but it just breaks my heart that she isnt here to see me with my act cleaned up.
It must have been so hard for Layne cos with that fame he'd never have trouble scoring gear, and being so burnt out it would be the hardest thing to give up. Heroin is addictive, but being numb to pain is even more addictive.
Watching this live... Hurt. He was so drug sick during this performance, the name didn't know if he'd even be able to perform... but he put out perhaps the best performance of his life.
If you genuinely enjoy this song, it's from their album "Jar of Flies". It's divisive to many because it was the least "Alice in Chains"-sounding album, yet many argue (myself included) that it was also their best album. I highly recommend it. Every song is quality. And it's not a terribly long album to begin with. I'm 45 now, and "Jar of Flies" remains a favorite for me.
A truly heart wrenching song and performance by Layne and the band.
Super recommend Alice in chains " Got me wrong" Unplugged 🤘🏻☠️🤘🏻🎸❤
4:06 your reaction to the lyrics was so good :D