'Whale and Wasp' is the most haunting song they've done, in its simplicity, in its brevity, and without words. That single bending note Jerry both opens and closes the song with is one of the loneliest sounds ever made.
You know, no matter how haunting this song may seem to you, it's one of the most beautiful and uplifting melodies to me. It will always have a special place in my heart.
In 1995, my best friend was killed in a car crash Dont follow was playing on the tape deck when the impact disconnected the battery. He was 20 years old. Still miss you, my friend.
I’m so sorry to hear that. My cousin, who introduced me to AIC, also died in a car crash aged 21. It was raining while he was being buried and my brother turned to me and said “Rain When I Die.” So ever since that bass line has always reminded me of that moment.
The unplugged version of this song always brings a tear to my eye.. The album version is good, but there’s something about the unplugged version that is very haunting to the core.. 😔🙏🏻 #RIPLAYNE
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! Layne’s mom said it best regarding his voice: it’s like Nails surrounded by marshmallows! I agree👍🏻 RIP LAYNE❤️
Well done? This guy does not know what he is talking about. Jar of Flies is NOT an acoustic album. Just because it doesn't have heavy guitar riffs like their major studio albums does not make it acoustic. Their only actual acoustic release was their live MTV Unplugged album. Jar of Flies uses electric guitars with the clean guitar tones without distortion (except on Jerry's lead guitar which uses some distortion). So yeah, this guy is misrepresenting what Jar of Flies is - a great album with electric instruments that is just less heavy then their other work.
Nutshell being one of AIC's most sad and heartfelt tracks as well as lyrically being one of Laynes most personal I don't think it's their most "haunting". We are in an age where people don't listen to albums front to back anymore for some reason i cannot understand. If you do, as you should, listen to their ep SAP. There is a song called "Am I Inside". Another example of Laynes lyrical genius. This is definitely their most haunting song.
ive been an AIC fan for so many years now, and albeit my favourite from them usually changes on a year to year basis, am i inside is one of my all time favourites from AIC. the instrumentals and Layne’s delivery of the vocals are so haunting i can’t help but listen to it on repeat when i do. it’s such a beautiful yet underrated song from them. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t heard it yet, i only WISH i could hear it for the first time again.
Jar of Flies is one of those albums you can listen to on repeat and never get tired of. Nutshell, though extremely dark, but ever relatable, absolutely one of my favorites by AIC. Lyrics though simple are very direct… Love it though very dark.
“Am I Inside” is the most gut-wrenching song by them, in my opinion. It’s easily their most under appreciated song, by far. Anyway, thank you for this great video.
my dad met layne stayley in an airport once, he was him sitting on a suitcase smoking a ciggerette. when he noticed him the first time he walked by without saying a word later he went back and talked to him, giving him his testimony about his past in hard core drug use and his coming to god and how it changed his life. my dad didnt recognize layne and when he told my dad who he was he was surprised(he wasnt a fan but one of his co-workers was and had told him about them)layne told him about his past with god growing up a christian and his conflictions with religion. a couple weeks later he had died but my dad still has his signature. im not a religous person but i hope se died in peace and contentment. although he is no linger with us his words are a nd they continue to impact countless people for years to come.
God's mercy is great! 🙏 He surely knows what the man went through and the beauty that he made of it. Hopefully he was comforted through his death, like with the reported vision of his ex-fiancée the day before, and can now rest in a happier place.
BS ... weeks leading up to Laynes death he never left his house , he couldn't.. he weighed like 95 pounds from the drugs and not eating. He wouldn't be at an airport.
You nailed it. I know there are many dark and haunting songs from my favorite band, but "Nutshell" is the ONE. It's so hard to believe that a song with only 8 lines of lyrics can hit you so hard. I never can listen to it without crying.
AIC was so unique with their vocal harmonies. Something about Layne and Jerry’s vocals together made them one of the the most memorable sounding bands of all time!
Between Don't Follow, Whale And Wasp, and Nutshell i can't really pick a fav on Jar Of Flies the whole album is just hauntingly beautiful in a musical way i just cant put into words its just AIC beautiful
erased84 said it perfectly below. AiC was a band like no other. Creating a heavy debut album in Facelift, then an acoustic EP w/Sap. Following with another heavy record Dirt (their gold standard), followed by another acoustic EP in Jar of Flies. Ending with their heavy finale, self-titled album. This is what makes Chains special and unique. Done by no other band before or since RIP Layne
Swing on this is the furthest thing from a light-hearted track. It sounds lighthearted but when you really think about it, it's heart breaking. The first lines are his family pleading for him to come home. They see how skinny he is and he is trying to convince them he's ok. When they call he's "asleep anyway" They were scared he was going to end up exactly the way he ended up. I can't listen to that song without feeling awful. It actually haunts me.
I remember when this album first came out a few days before my birthday, and my incredible girlfriend at the time bought me the collectible CD that came with actual plastic flies in the side compartment! We had a party that night, and somehow one of my friends opened up the side compartment and took all the flies out and put live moths in there instead, and he was so drunk, he forgot where he put the flies and we never found them. He was my friend since the sixth grade and I almost beat him to death, especially after seeing my girlfriend, crying her eyes out, because it was so hard to find. I’ve never heard about another one, I’ve never seen another one, and if I ever do, I’ll pay any amount of money for it. What an incredible album. I was a huge fan from day one, and I listened to Slayer, Pantera, old Metallica, and all that sort of stuff, but this cut right through it, there’s no denying the incredible talent. And how those guys found each other I will never know. A once in a lifetime scenario for sure.
Hey you your description of your youth is mirror reflection of mine to the t and as a chains conformist I never heard of the flies in the CD myself I received a cassette of the band that Christmas was best gift I ever had too..As a cover band singer learning the album dirt propelled my abilities ten fold Thank you for the story Alice n Chains r my personal mentors
Hey, familiar pressing. Even here in Europe I have that one. And also Flies/SAP-double EP. I have also two Tripods and had three Facelifts because I walked over those and broke them as a pill-drunk when I was bit younger. Thank god I have settled down. Bittersweet short story you have, and even real memories. I had also a Very Lovely 1st girlfriend. I teached her to listen drums and all at songs. I mean hi-hat and so on because I played drums (I learned to play those without own ones. She was a violinist and had a bass ...I learned to play also as I had a guitar already. Often we smoked weed and had so incredible connection that both even these days remembered those days -smiling. We was SO in love. She teached me everything about the Beatles -I did the same but alternative bands like Joy Division, New Order, AIC, Mad Season, the Velvet Underground, Weeping Willows, Anathema, Soundgarden, and Nirvana... just a few example there. We listened and liked the same music. It was really so, not just standing each others favourites. So we had a great record collection as we moved to our first flat. Over 20 years has passed after we broke up... but we still send emails to each other about 1-2 times per year. I still love her. And I was the reason we were shipwrecked. Or the reason for that was our "mutual friend" who tried me for two years... until I as a very drunk (another girl served me large amounts of alchohol many times ‐oh, why on earth?) and cheated on her once ...and I couldn't live with my guilt. I never really let anyone down again after that lesson. I don't understand those for whom it's a little thing. We had two hearts badly broken...
As a former opiate addict I can easily relate to Lane’s lyrics. The exact feelings i had, he felt as well. It’s a very difficult battle to fight but it can be done; you can win.
I just . . . Nutshell is the single most soul-baring piece of art I've ever heard. It hurst to listen to it, but I never ever turn it off. I will listen. Sometimes even loop it. But damned if I don't cry ever single bloody time.
@@user-ei9ns9hq6bthe definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over --you made you point over and over--but you are wrong back then this was considered an Acoustic LP so fk off
There are so many impactful and gutting AIC songs, and I think you nailed it. Nod to Mad Season’s All Alone. Awesome video. Truly. Thanks for reminding me to play this album in whole again.
As a child of grunge coming of age in the early 90s - AIC and the other “big 4” hold a very special place in my heart. I adore this music. However, I’ve noticed lately that I RARELY skip an AIC song. Like - I’m always in the mood. RIP Layne and Mike. Thanks for the music AIC⚡️ 🤘🏾
Same. A few months back I bought an acoustic bass on a complete whim and out of nowhere I just listened to unplugged. Was never a huge AiC fan before then but have gotten hooked so hard and been learning to play a lot of their songs.
Wake up by madseason is his most personal song. I literally cried the first time I heard it as it was after his death. It just hit me so hard knowing what I knew about his struggles
Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Buzz Osborn of Melvins, and if you want to get technical, Dylan Carlson of Earth is still alive & kicking. The difference being, although I prefer these bands to PJ, especially, they weren't even close in popularity to the lineup of the "big 4". Might I add that despite them forming 10 years before grunge became what it became, the originators in the Meat Puppets are all alive as well.
@@evanwright9016 yeah I was gonna say Buzz and Mark Arm are still around. There are other frontmen but not from as big of a group, commercially speaking, even Weiland is gone.
I loved their music. Sang to it over and over. But me being in a depressed state of mind at the time, it started to make me feel too sad. I had to stop listening because it was affecting my mental health. Being an empath, I was absorbing the feelings of the lyrics. Occasionally I'll listen because I loved Laynes vocals and harmonies. RIP❤Layne. Know that you are missed.
Though “Nutshell” is a incredible song, I would argue that “Swing On This” is a less sad song, but it still has a haunting feel to it I feel. Also “Shame In You” and “Frogs” from their self titled album could be the most haunting.
Nutshell was played at my brother's funeral. "Rain when I die" and "Frogs" are a couple of my favorites. But to be honest, I've not heard an AIC song I disliked.
RIP Staley. I’m only 28 but Alice In Chains was my favorite band growing up and continues to be amongst my favorite bands today. They really spoke to me my whole life.
I've heard every chains album. My nominee for most haunting song is off the SAP album. It is "Am I Inside." But if you do not think that this song is it? Then listen to SAP end to end, and Jar of Flies end to end, and you will find the one that you think IS the most haunting song.
Honestly down in a hole is the most haunting if you watch the video of it unplugged and see Layne struggle in his body as the addiction was running through him
When we think about it, AIC was riding high on the success of Dirt, they success of headlining. However, what they were feeling inside is what is haunting and should be a message for those seeking fame. Layne loved playing music but he didn’t love the fame - at all. This goes to show people, no matter how funny, how charismatic they present, they may be lonely, full of regrets.
Always blows me aways if you look at the albums how Layne showed how addiction really goes. Starting great and progressing terribly downhill to your end you know is coming. I appreciate that man for what he showed even though he clearly wasn’t in good mental or physical health
I wouldnt nessecerially agree that nutshell on this specific album is the definitive darkest version of it, I feel like when they preformed it live on MTV unplugged it was much more raw, and you could really hear the pain and suffering in laynes voice as he approached his end. PS. Down in a Hole live on that album is one of the greatest of all times
I just found this channel- I absolutely love AIC- I love your information on this. I’ve listened since they came out- in 47…. So from day one I was blown away… the music always hits my heart. I love it all. Thank you for this !!!! ❤
Nutshell never fails to make me sob my eyes out. The lyric delivery never feels whiny or reads as self pity at all, every lament feels like a statement of hopelessness. This aspect really gets to me because the saddest and scariest feeling is that “there’s nothing we can do.”
I remember watching unplugged MTV. When they would play music. when Layne steely was singing wearing his eye 🕶️. We knew he was HAF, but the unplugged, acoustics, them. Really watching and listening,my goodness. It's possible the best live show they've ever had.( To me, I think.) When he effed up,and laughed. It's haunting, because you get to see,the real,Alice and Chains. My kids were raised on the song "Would " so many related to "(So I a a big mistake, would you rather see it once my way"?) The unplugged version of them sounding as great,as they did.all of it. And (River of decide,) ( and the band he sang with Mad seasons.(Gone long days). Just his voice,. Truly haunting, but so intently beautiful.
I was reluctant to click on this video- as many AIC vids are just the same stories rehashed over and over.. This however is a refreshing take on the band. I also like your straight forward approach in the narration.
Nutshell. It couldn't be any other song. To hear it is to feel Layne's lonely soul, unmasking his grief & offering a painfully honest eulogy to the addict's bleak fate & future. It serves now as an epitaph in which he foreshadows his own death, lyricized as freedom from the demons of addiction.
I just picked up the 30 year anniversary box set of Jar of Flies. I remember finding the cassette in a music store when it came out unannounced. One of the most important albums of my youth. AIC is my favorite band of all time.
It's interesting that you say that only part of No Excuses was written when they went to the studio. September 29th, 1993 In Detroit they opened the show with Nutshell for the first time according to a video of that show posted by Alice in Chains Fans on RUclips. I was there that night and can't begin describe the feel, it was absolutely incredible.
I heard Alice In Chains before I heard the other three of the Big Four. Frankly, I remember it as them being successful with Man In The Box and Facelift selling well before I ever heard any Nirvana or Pearl Jam.
Think I was 16 when Jar of Flies came out. I absolutely loved Dirt, I listened to Dirt and Facelift non stop. To say I was disappointed at the time would be an understatement. Their hard dark sound was what I loved. Over the years I’ve grown to love it, I’m older now so I can appreciate the bands versatility.
I was listening to Jar Of Flies Yesterday while I worked on my barn roof. Looking back at my life and where I was each time I've listened to that album really made me grateful to have found it when I did.
This album always brings me back to 17 years old and a 2400 mile road trip with my girlfriend at the time. I’m no longer smitten with her, but the album is still amazing all these years later.
Love, love, love AIC. Layne Staley is one of the most iconic and soulful vocalists in their genre. His harmonies with Jerry Cantrell are beautifully haunting. I even dig the Mad Season album. And tho Jar of Flies is an acoustic masterpiece, I find myself more drawn to the Sap ep, especially the song Am I Inside. Those lyrics and vocal melodies are absolutely foreboding and intricately woven into the sullen music. Brother and Got Me Wrong also are great standouts. But my fav slow jam of theirs, tho it isn't an acoustic or found on either Sap or JOF, is the track Love/Hate/Love off of Facelift. That mfer is badass rad.
My friend died this year of cancer. When we went to go see his grave, we took a group of 10 and me and my other friend played Nutshell for him. I miss him.
Rain when I Die was playing in my car on a very rainy day when I parked my car. As always, I popped out the disc and was putting it back in the case when the radio dude dropped the hammer about his passing. I still miss him. Gone far far far too soon.
Before I saw this documentary, I heard the song for the first time! The words the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks! It was as if I was listening to my own life! And I texted a comment, this song, the lyrics, so haunting! And then after that this documentary came on talking about the song being the most haunting song they did! It's almost like a omen! Rest in peace 🕊️ Layne Staley!❤❤❤ Is 2024 and it was the first time I ever listened to that song! Ironic! Because it is how I feel!❤❤❤
Rotten Apple is an underrated track that has a dark foreboding sound. Love it, even though it reminds me of dark dire days in my life.
Makes you appreciate life, doesn't it??💙✌️
@@janiephillips4842 I agree
It is my favorite Alice in Chains song
@@nomenbeb5747 criminally underappreciated
It's my favorite aic track
It’s awful how much Dont Follow goes under the radar it is probably one of my favorites by AIC
#1 sung song by me in my car all time
@@TheRJH9er literally. But I’m finding more and more I like, need to find more of the new age stuff too and see about it
Need friends to do this! It was (and is) one of my favorites of all time@@TheRJH9er
Yessss!!!
same, especially paired with whale and wasp.
You don’t listen to Alice In Chains. You FEEL Alice In Chains.
Exactly 💯💯💯
aye, 100%
FEEEEEHHHHHYYEEEHHYEHYEEEEED MAAAAAAYYY EEEEAAAEEEYYYEEESSSS
I feel that 90’s era. I LOVED THE 90’s! I turned 20 in 1990 so that was my decade and grunge,😩 KING!
I bet he really felt that heroin needle
He’s screams “I stay away” at the end of said songs still give me the chills. Epic
'Whale and Wasp' is the most haunting song they've done, in its simplicity, in its brevity, and without words. That single bending note Jerry both opens and closes the song with is one of the loneliest sounds ever made.
Also my all time favorite from them. Haunting and beautiful. You can tell it’s Jerry instantly.
What about Nutshell?
Heard it for the first time a few weeks ago after listening to AIC for years, instantly a top 3 song
You know, no matter how haunting this song may seem to you, it's one of the most beautiful and uplifting melodies to me. It will always have a special place in my heart.
that song puts me in a fever dream like state every time i listen to it
In 1995, my best friend was killed in a car crash Dont follow was playing on the tape deck when the impact disconnected the battery. He was 20 years old. Still miss you, my friend.
Big hugs to you.
🫂
So sorry for your loss it is hard to lose a best friend.
So sorry for your loss it is hard to lose a best friend.
I’m so sorry to hear that. My cousin, who introduced me to AIC, also died in a car crash aged 21. It was raining while he was being buried and my brother turned to me and said “Rain When I Die.” So ever since that bass line has always reminded me of that moment.
nutshell unplugged is so good, i listen to it way more than the studio
The unplugged version of this song always brings a tear to my eye.. The album version is good, but there’s something about the unplugged version that is very haunting to the core.. 😔🙏🏻 #RIPLAYNE
@@Hella916 i think its a bit of everything, but especially layne's vocals on the unplugged. they are just better
@@Hella916 i think its a bit of everything, but especially layne's vocals on the unplugged. they are just better
That entire unplugged album was so well done, IMO it is the best session of the entire series.
Its beautiful!
I think Angry Chair is one of the most haunting sounding songs I’ve ever heard.
it's the song that got me into AIC.
I think the unplugged version of “frogs” is there most haunting work
it sounds like the Bond theme song...
@@Grung20💯🤘
I covered that song in an old band and used a black russian muff on bass to make it as heavy as possible. Such a fun song.
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!
Layne’s mom said it best regarding his voice: it’s like Nails surrounded by marshmallows! I agree👍🏻 RIP LAYNE❤️
Well done. There will never be anyone that compares to Layne Staley. R.I.P
Well done? This guy does not know what he is talking about. Jar of Flies is NOT an acoustic album. Just because it doesn't have heavy guitar riffs like their major studio albums does not make it acoustic. Their only actual acoustic release was their live MTV Unplugged album. Jar of Flies uses electric guitars with the clean guitar tones without distortion (except on Jerry's lead guitar which uses some distortion). So yeah, this guy is misrepresenting what Jar of Flies is - a great album with electric instruments that is just less heavy then their other work.
Yeah-it's those eerie, opposing harmonies that do it. No other band has even come close to that cause and effect
There will never be anyone that compares to anyone else.
@@user-ei9ns9hq6bok.
Nutshell being one of AIC's most sad and heartfelt tracks as well as lyrically being one of Laynes most personal I don't think it's their most "haunting". We are in an age where people don't listen to albums front to back anymore for some reason i cannot understand. If you do, as you should, listen to their ep SAP. There is a song called "Am I Inside". Another example of Laynes lyrical genius. This is definitely their most haunting song.
I think Layne wrote Angry Chair as well, which is also a powerful song IMO.
@@NicholasVila yes..lyrics and music. Same with "Hate To Feel"
Absofuckinglutely!
Should listen to laynes project Mad Season.
ive been an AIC fan for so many years now, and albeit my favourite from them usually changes on a year to year basis, am i inside is one of my all time favourites from AIC. the instrumentals and Layne’s delivery of the vocals are so haunting i can’t help but listen to it on repeat when i do. it’s such a beautiful yet underrated song from them. I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t heard it yet, i only WISH i could hear it for the first time again.
I love Nutshell and Down in a Hole but in my opinion, Frogs is the most haunting. Chilling lyrics.
I was gonna say frogs is definitely the most haunting! That whole self titled album is really haunting just the sound of a band falling apart
When I first heard it I cried, the pat where he repeated "why's it have to be this way?" Just triggered something
I agree! Either Frogs or Shame In You.
@@blondebearanaconda6040omg yes 🤘🖤🤘
@@blondebearanaconda6040 agreed
Jar of Flies is one of those albums you can listen to on repeat and never get tired of. Nutshell, though extremely dark, but ever relatable, absolutely one of my favorites by AIC. Lyrics though simple are very direct… Love it though very dark.
@@charlesoliver4132 Salvatore Sirigu; born: 12.01.1987. in Nuoro, Italy 🇮🇹
My 8 year old son Layne is named after Layne staley such a shame he passed away the way he did he was so talented Rip layne staley
Let's hope he aint a drug addict.
Named after a junky?
@@richnoggin7524 lol
you used the name because you liked the name or the person
@@richnoggin7524isn't Rich short for Richard? Isn't that correct "Dick". Staley was an addict, that is true but he wasn't a prick.
“Am I Inside” is the most gut-wrenching song by them, in my opinion. It’s easily their most under appreciated song, by far. Anyway, thank you for this great video.
my dad met layne stayley in an airport once, he was him sitting on a suitcase smoking a ciggerette. when he noticed him the first time he walked by without saying a word later he went back and talked to him, giving him his testimony about his past in hard core drug use and his coming to god and how it changed his life. my dad didnt recognize layne and when he told my dad who he was he was surprised(he wasnt a fan but one of his co-workers was and had told him about them)layne told him about his past with god growing up a christian and his conflictions with religion. a couple weeks later he had died but my dad still has his signature. im not a religous person but i hope se died in peace and contentment. although he is no linger with us his words are a nd they continue to impact countless people for years to come.
God's mercy is great! 🙏 He surely knows what the man went through and the beauty that he made of it. Hopefully he was comforted through his death, like with the reported vision of his ex-fiancée the day before, and can now rest in a happier place.
BS ... weeks leading up to Laynes death he never left his house , he couldn't.. he weighed like 95 pounds from the drugs and not eating. He wouldn't be at an airport.
My first exposure to Alice In Chains was listening to my dad’s Jar of Flies CD in his truck everyday. Jar of flies holds a special place in my heart.
You nailed it. I know there are many dark and haunting songs from my favorite band, but "Nutshell" is the ONE. It's so hard to believe that a song with only 8 lines of lyrics can hit you so hard. I never can listen to it without crying.
AIC took glam rock grunge metal and blues to another level! Cant thank them enough for what they have done for music!
AIC was so unique with their vocal harmonies. Something about Layne and Jerry’s vocals together made them one of the the most memorable sounding bands of all time!
SOOOOO true
Well said 👏 ❤
Harmony
Listening to Jar Of Flies is for me always a very humbling experience. This EP made me a hardcore fan of AiC.
Best Christmas gift I ever had
its when i saw them on that Zeppelin level.....and Pantera was our Sabbath
Between Don't Follow, Whale And Wasp, and Nutshell i can't really pick a fav on Jar Of Flies the whole album is just hauntingly beautiful in a musical way i just cant put into words its just AIC beautiful
Let’s goo AIC 4 ever 💯
erased84 said it perfectly below.
AiC was a band like no other. Creating a heavy debut album in Facelift, then an acoustic EP w/Sap. Following with another heavy record Dirt (their gold standard), followed by another acoustic EP in Jar of Flies. Ending with their heavy finale, self-titled album. This is what makes Chains special and unique. Done by no other band before or since
RIP Layne
Swing on this is the furthest thing from a light-hearted track. It sounds lighthearted but when you really think about it, it's heart breaking.
The first lines are his family pleading for him to come home. They see how skinny he is and he is trying to convince them he's ok. When they call he's "asleep anyway"
They were scared he was going to end up exactly the way he ended up. I can't listen to that song without feeling awful. It actually haunts me.
I remember when this album first came out a few days before my birthday, and my incredible girlfriend at the time bought me the collectible CD that came with actual plastic flies in the side compartment! We had a party that night, and somehow one of my friends opened up the side compartment and took all the flies out and put live moths in there instead, and he was so drunk, he forgot where he put the flies and we never found them. He was my friend since the sixth grade and I almost beat him to death, especially after seeing my girlfriend, crying her eyes out, because it was so hard to find. I’ve never heard about another one, I’ve never seen another one, and if I ever do, I’ll pay any amount of money for it. What an incredible album. I was a huge fan from day one, and I listened to Slayer, Pantera, old Metallica, and all that sort of stuff, but this cut right through it, there’s no denying the incredible talent. And how those guys found each other I will never know. A once in a lifetime scenario for sure.
Hey you your description of your youth is mirror reflection of mine to the t and as a chains conformist I never heard of the flies in the CD myself I received a cassette of the band that Christmas was best gift I ever had too..As a cover band singer learning the album dirt propelled my abilities ten fold
Thank you for the story Alice n Chains r my personal mentors
I would've cried. That is beyond heartbreaking.
Sorry you lost your flies. I used to put mine in ice trays and put cubes in friends drinks!😆
Hey, familiar pressing.
Even here in Europe I have that one. And also Flies/SAP-double EP.
I have also two Tripods and had three Facelifts because I walked over those and broke them as a pill-drunk when I was bit younger. Thank god I have settled down.
Bittersweet short story you have, and even real memories.
I had also a Very Lovely 1st girlfriend.
I teached her to listen drums and all at songs. I mean hi-hat and so on because I played drums (I learned to play those without own ones.
She was a violinist and had a bass ...I learned to play also as I had a guitar already.
Often we smoked weed and had so incredible connection that both even these days remembered those days -smiling. We was SO in love.
She teached me everything about the Beatles -I did the same but alternative bands like Joy Division, New Order, AIC, Mad Season, the Velvet Underground, Weeping Willows, Anathema, Soundgarden, and Nirvana... just a few example there.
We listened and liked the same music. It was really so, not just standing each others favourites. So we had a great record collection as we moved to our first flat.
Over 20 years has passed after we broke up... but we still send emails to each other about 1-2 times per year. I still love her.
And I was the reason we were shipwrecked. Or the reason for that was our "mutual friend" who tried me for two years... until I as a very drunk (another girl served me large amounts of alchohol many times ‐oh, why on earth?) and cheated on her once ...and I couldn't live with my guilt.
I never really let anyone down again after that lesson. I don't understand those for whom it's a little thing.
We had two hearts badly broken...
As a former opiate addict I can easily relate to Lane’s lyrics.
The exact feelings i had, he felt as well.
It’s a very difficult battle to fight but it can be done; you can win.
I just . . . Nutshell is the single most soul-baring piece of art I've ever heard. It hurst to listen to it, but I never ever turn it off. I will listen. Sometimes even loop it. But damned if I don't cry ever single bloody time.
Whale & wasp is one of the most sad songs I've heard. No words needed to be said to give a haunting feeling.
And if that song was acoustic it wouldn't have Jerry's awesome lead guitar work. This album is NOT acoustic.
@@user-ei9ns9hq6bthe definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over --you made you point over and over--but you are wrong back then this was considered an Acoustic LP so fk off
so sad but also chill for some reason
There are so many impactful and gutting AIC songs, and I think you nailed it.
Nod to Mad Season’s All Alone.
Awesome video. Truly. Thanks
for reminding me to play this album in whole again.
Rotten Apple from this record has always put me in a dark place. Such a good song though.
As a child of grunge coming of age in the early 90s - AIC and the other “big 4” hold a very special place in my heart. I adore this music. However, I’ve noticed lately that I RARELY skip an AIC song. Like - I’m always in the mood. RIP Layne and Mike. Thanks for the music AIC⚡️ 🤘🏾
Am absolutely in love with AIC’s acoustic EPs. Just “discovered” them like 3 months ago lol
Same. A few months back I bought an acoustic bass on a complete whim and out of nowhere I just listened to unplugged. Was never a huge AiC fan before then but have gotten hooked so hard and been learning to play a lot of their songs.
I LOVE “NUTSHELL!”
“If I can’t be my own - I’d feel better dead!”
Well, he got his wish
Learning to sing and play it was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life
@@lazzy2012 That's cruel.
Wake up by madseason is his most personal song. I literally cried the first time I heard it as it was after his death. It just hit me so hard knowing what I knew about his struggles
To me Love Hate Love is haunting. The way he sings it gives me chills
@@rocafella142 brush away, head creeps
Anyone else realize Eddie Vedder is the ONLY one still standing from the best of the grunge scene ?
Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Buzz Osborn of Melvins, and if you want to get technical, Dylan Carlson of Earth is still alive & kicking. The difference being, although I prefer these bands to PJ, especially, they weren't even close in popularity to the lineup of the "big 4". Might I add that despite them forming 10 years before grunge became what it became, the originators in the Meat Puppets are all alive as well.
I think about that sometimes yeah
@@evanwright9016 yeah I was gonna say Buzz and Mark Arm are still around. There are other frontmen but not from as big of a group, commercially speaking, even Weiland is gone.
God AM, live-- gives me chills.
Wicked song man top shelf.
Got that shit on repeat, really incredible song
@@desihayward2510 yo I sing in a cover band and last night were playing Junk head AIC and that's one that everyone can relate to. Check it out🍻🎤💯💯
I loved their music. Sang to it over and over. But me being in a depressed state of mind at the time, it started to make me feel too sad. I had to stop listening because it was affecting my mental health. Being an empath, I was absorbing the feelings of the lyrics. Occasionally I'll listen because I loved Laynes vocals and harmonies. RIP❤Layne. Know that you are missed.
Though “Nutshell” is a incredible song, I would argue that “Swing On This” is a less sad song, but it still has a haunting feel to it I feel. Also “Shame In You” and “Frogs” from their self titled album could be the most haunting.
Nutshell was played at my brother's funeral. "Rain when I die" and "Frogs" are a couple of my favorites. But to be honest, I've not heard an AIC song I disliked.
RIP Staley. I’m only 28 but Alice In Chains was my favorite band growing up and continues to be amongst my favorite bands today. They really spoke to me my whole life.
I've heard every chains album. My nominee for most haunting song is off the SAP album. It is "Am I Inside." But if you do not think that this song is it? Then listen to SAP end to end, and Jar of Flies end to end, and you will find the one that you think IS the most haunting song.
Honestly down in a hole is the most haunting if you watch the video of it unplugged and see Layne struggle in his body as the addiction was running through him
@@19reeves79 “down in a hole and i don’t know if i can be saved” this lyric during the unplugged performance is eerie
“Am I Inside” is Alice In Chain’s most haunting song, hands down!!!
Jar Of Flies is one of the few albums I’ve listened to where every track touched me in some way.
When we think about it, AIC was riding high on the success of Dirt, they success of headlining. However, what they were feeling inside is what is haunting and should be a message for those seeking fame. Layne loved playing music but he didn’t love the fame - at all. This goes to show people, no matter how funny, how charismatic they present, they may be lonely, full of regrets.
OMG.... That voice!!!! Miss him so much!
Always blows me aways if you look at the albums how Layne showed how addiction really goes. Starting great and progressing terribly downhill to your end you know is coming. I appreciate that man for what he showed even though he clearly wasn’t in good mental or physical health
I wouldnt nessecerially agree that nutshell on this specific album is the definitive darkest version of it, I feel like when they preformed it live on MTV unplugged it was much more raw, and you could really hear the pain and suffering in laynes voice as he approached his end.
PS. Down in a Hole live on that album is one of the greatest of all times
“Love Hate Love” and “Wake Up” by MS, but let’s face it, now that Layne is gone, every song he was part of is haunting. 😢💔
I just found this channel- I absolutely love AIC- I love your information on this. I’ve listened since they came out- in 47…. So from day one I was blown away… the music always hits my heart. I love it all. Thank you for this !!!! ❤
I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Nice video, and Jar of Flies is my favorite album/EP, but sludge factory is, I believe, Alice in Chains most haunting song.
Nutshell never fails to make me sob my eyes out. The lyric delivery never feels whiny or reads as self pity at all, every lament feels like a statement of hopelessness. This aspect really gets to me because the saddest and scariest feeling is that “there’s nothing we can do.”
Nutshell is a song that has stuck with me forever. I was in Iraq in 2007 and Nutshell represented so many feelings I had going on at the time.
Nutshell. That song takes me back so far away, somewhere in time.
I remember watching unplugged MTV. When they would play music. when Layne steely was singing wearing his eye 🕶️. We knew he was HAF, but the unplugged, acoustics, them. Really watching and listening,my goodness. It's possible the best live show they've ever had.( To me, I think.) When he effed up,and laughed. It's haunting, because you get to see,the real,Alice and Chains. My kids were raised on the song "Would " so many related to "(So I a a big mistake, would you rather see it once my way"?) The unplugged version of them sounding as great,as they did.all of it. And (River of decide,) ( and the band he sang with Mad seasons.(Gone long days). Just his voice,. Truly haunting, but so intently beautiful.
The most haunting photo is of Layne in the blue shirt with the pipe around his neck. Heartbreaking
I was reluctant to click on this video- as many AIC vids are just the same stories rehashed over and over.. This however is a refreshing take on the band.
I also like your straight forward approach in the narration.
Always have been my favorite of the Grunge big 4.
Love how they kick the bassit out but knew there was no one like layne so they just dealt with him lol
Nutshell. It couldn't be any other song. To hear it is to feel Layne's lonely soul, unmasking his grief & offering a painfully honest eulogy to the addict's bleak fate & future. It serves now as an epitaph in which he foreshadows his own death, lyricized as freedom from the demons of addiction.
I just picked up the 30 year anniversary box set of Jar of Flies. I remember finding the cassette in a music store when it came out unannounced. One of the most important albums of my youth. AIC is my favorite band of all time.
It's interesting that you say that only part of No Excuses was written when they went to the studio. September 29th, 1993 In Detroit they opened the show with Nutshell for the first time according to a video of that show posted by Alice in Chains Fans on RUclips. I was there that night and can't begin describe the feel, it was absolutely incredible.
Frogs is by far the most haunting song
Jar of flies was a masterpiece
I heard Alice In Chains before I heard the other three of the Big Four. Frankly, I remember it as them being successful with Man In The Box and Facelift selling well before I ever heard any Nirvana or Pearl Jam.
"Get Born Again" is CHILLING. To the bone.
Very underrated group. Been there since the beginning. Even when the controversy was about Layne having too much face time in the videos.
Jar of flies was on a loop for most of my teenage years...amazing album
I love Alice in Chains so much!
Think I was 16 when Jar of Flies came out. I absolutely loved Dirt, I listened to Dirt and Facelift non stop. To say I was disappointed at the time would be an understatement. Their hard dark sound was what I loved. Over the years I’ve grown to love it, I’m older now so I can appreciate the bands versatility.
I was listening to Jar Of Flies Yesterday while I worked on my barn roof. Looking back at my life and where I was each time I've listened to that album really made me grateful to have found it when I did.
Lol. I never seen Alice In Chains as a grunge band. Layne is my favorite singer of all time and I bawl my eyes out everytime I hear his music.
This album always brings me back to 17 years old and a 2400 mile road trip with my girlfriend at the time. I’m no longer smitten with her, but the album is still amazing all these years later.
Jar of Flies was the first EP to debut at #1 on the Billboard Album charts.
They made haunted internal torture sound so beautiful ♥❤
No one compares to Alice In Chains ❤ so much talent
The whole Jar of Flies EP is just 🔥
Love, love, love AIC. Layne Staley is one of the most iconic and soulful vocalists in their genre. His harmonies with Jerry Cantrell are beautifully haunting. I even dig the Mad Season album. And tho Jar of Flies is an acoustic masterpiece, I find myself more drawn to the Sap ep, especially the song Am I Inside. Those lyrics and vocal melodies are absolutely foreboding and intricately woven into the sullen music. Brother and Got Me Wrong also are great standouts. But my fav slow jam of theirs, tho it isn't an acoustic or found on either Sap or JOF, is the track Love/Hate/Love off of Facelift. That mfer is badass rad.
I'm just going to throw this out there and say "Brother" is Alice in Chains' most haunting song
Love the video🤘🏻
Love that EP. Swing on this is an amazing tune.
I knew what song it was as soon as I saw the video title.
This album is great for transitioning from late summer to fall.
Nutshell just makes me kind of uncomfortably cry
My friend died this year of cancer. When we went to go see his grave, we took a group of 10 and me and my other friend played Nutshell for him. I miss him.
Not many albums have came with me my whole life, nut Flies has been on my playlist my whole life
Frogs is pretty haunting. The Unplugged version is just as good as the studio version.
I think aic is a rock band . I think the unplugged gig song setlist was arranged perfect couldn't have done it any better .
7 tracks in 7 days! Unreal
This song is the absolute most emotionally invoking to my soul. Hits me hard. Every time, since the day I first heard it. Mad love ❤️
Nutshell is the modt beautiful grunge song I 've ever heard!❤
Nutshell is the only song that can bring a tear to my eye.
nutshell is their best song in my opinion
Rain when I Die was playing in my car on a very rainy day when I parked my car. As always, I popped out the disc and was putting it back in the case when the radio dude dropped the hammer about his passing. I still miss him. Gone far far far too soon.
He gave us his all ❤
I usually find "heaven beside you" to be the most haunting.
Before I saw this documentary, I heard the song for the first time! The words the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks! It was as if I was listening to my own life! And I texted a comment, this song, the lyrics, so haunting! And then after that this documentary came on talking about the song being the most haunting song they did! It's almost like a omen! Rest in peace 🕊️ Layne Staley!❤❤❤ Is 2024 and it was the first time I ever listened to that song! Ironic! Because it is how I feel!❤❤❤
Jars Of Flies will forever hold a special place in my heart and soul!!