Alice in Chains: The Making of SAP (EP) & How Layne Staley Encouraged Jerry Cantrell
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- Alice in Chains: How the band made SAP
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#aliceinchains #jerrycantrell #laynestaley #sap
The world was first introduced to Alice in Chains in 1990 with the release of their debut record Facelift. Contrary to popular belief, Alice in Chainswas the first band from Seattle to have a gold record thanks in large part to the success of their single Man in the Box. To be fair the band had a year head start on Pearl jam and Nirvana who didn’t release their major label debut’s until late 1991. Alice stood apart from the rest of their peers by being the most metal sounding group from Seattle, so people were surprised in early 1992 when they quietly released their first EP titled SAP. The EP showed a softer side of the band that carried through some of their subsequent releases. Today, we’re going to talk about the making of SAP. Stay tuned for the full story.
Facelift was a slow burn for Alice in Chains. Released in August of 1990, it would take almost a year before the band took off. It wasn’t until the single Man in the box got heavy play on MTV in the spring of 1991 that the band really became a household name. By the end of 1991 Alice in Chains booked a week at London Bridge Studios in Seattle where they would work with pearl Jam producer Rick Parashar.
Fans could thank the director Cameron Crowe for SAP being recorded. Crowe was working on the film Singles at the time and asked the band to record a song for the movie soundtrack and provided them with money to book time at the studio. The band would record the song “Would” for Singles it would end up on their follow up LP Dirt, which was released in late 1992. a In fact the version of Would you hear on dirt was from this very session. What people may not know is that during these same sessions the band also recorded Rooster, but it was shelved for the time being.
Apart from recording Would and Rooster, Alice in Chains also used the studio time to record a bunch of acoustic material, which would be released on SAP. Jerry Cantrell would tell Lars Ulrich on his podcast:
The title of the EP Sap came from a dream drummer Sean Kinney had. When it came time to record the EP Parashar ran a tight ship not allowing any partying, drug use or drinking in the studio. According to Assistant Engineer Dave Hillis who worked on the release he would tell author David De Sola in the book Alice in Chains the untold story that any drug use in the studio by layne happened when he would sneak to the bathroom. In the same book Johnathan Plum who also worked as an assistant engineer recalled the two different type of people Layne and Jerry were. He would remember Layne as a very down to earth friendly guy who chatted with the studio staff about their life, while Jerry was very laser focused on work and didn’t wasn’t the type of person to stop and casually chat.
SAP also represented an important evolution for the band as it was the first time Jerry took a bigger role in signing, thanks in large part to Layne Staley’s encouragement. Jerry sings co-lead vocals on the tracks Brother and Got Me Wrong. It was this singing style that the band would become well known for.
The album was also notable because of the high profile guest appearances as well. Ann and Nancy Wilson sang background vocals on the song Brother and Am I Inside, while Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm of Mudhoney would provide additional vocals on the track Right Turn. If you look at the credit for that song it is credited to Alice Mudgarden.
The band didn’t want to do any promotion for the album as Cantrell would tell Ulrich in the same interview. :
The song Got Me Wrong would be featured in the 1994 film Clerks further bolstering the album’s profile. In 1994 Alice in Chains released their follow up EP Jar of Flies which featured a limited edition vinyl version that also came with SAP.
The release of SAP would give Jerry Cantrell and the rest of the band the confidence to literally do whatever they wanted in the studio from that point on as he would tell Lars Ulrich in this interview.
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How Daughters released a hard hitting ear driller You Won’t Get What you Want after a 10 year break up? That album, and their older tech noise grindcore, is such a good band progression.
I can't get enough info about aic so thank you!
@@suicideheadaches4460 more AIC coming! I've got a pretty detailed video planned for late january
@@rnrtruestories Thanks for uploading these. Can you make videos about the bands Spys4Darwin and Live?
@@rnrtruestories Thank you! Love your content! Im a rock n roll content crack addict lol
No other band can live up to alice. They were brilliant with Layne. SAP and Jar of Flies are so good and I listen to songs from each every single day. It's such raw emotion and touches me deeply and emotionally. I cant explain. Anyone who is a dedicated and devoted fan of AIC knows exactly what I'm taking about.
Amen, sister.
Sap is amazing and deserves even more respect. Except for the final joke song where they all switched instruments, every song is a masterpiece, expecially the electric version of Got Me Wrong.
It's my favorite AIC recording by far
Str8. Criminally overlooked.
I know I'm not the first person to say this but Alice's "quieter" songs like NO EXCUSES and GOT ME WRONG, DON'T FOLLOW, etc. are actually my favorites. I love all their stuff but it's the acoustic songs that you can really appreciate the beauty of Layne (and Jerry's) voice.
sap is a beautiful ep, and it had the great side effect of encouraging other bands at the time to explore the softer side of their sound but still be powerful and dark. I also love the humor of the hidden track as it took some of the somber tone off the ep and showed they weren't these depressed vampires.
“Am I Inside” is the most beautifully haunting and saddest song ever written.
@Gisselle ST Nutshell is definitely the saddest.
Definitely not, but, it is a great song.
It’s a beautiful song ❤️
Rotten apple
Rotten Apple, Not the saddest, but awesome sound
I remember when I found SAP at Tower Records, stashed away just as Cantrell described .....It was a total Easter Egg of the best kind!
Exactly. I knew nothing about it but bought it w/ Facelift & thought there had to be a mistake, that these couldn't be the same band!!
I think AIC Unplugged is the best Unplugged album of all time.
Agreed!
Absolutely my brother!🤘
Thats why its an opinion and not fact. Nirvana for
Me
@@inutero10 Nirvana A+++ for me AiC A++
My 2 favorites are AIC & Kiss ! Odd combo...but my opinion !
Never got to see AIC live, but I did see Jerry Cantrell and a few bandmates play an "unplugged" acoustic set featuring AIC songs. One of the best live performances I've ever witnessed.
Seen them play at the Warfield in SF, in like 2010 or 2011 with their new singer, they had an acoustic set in the middle of the show, pretty good but Layne was missed!
Saw them first in Orlando...93' palooza. They were the reason I went.
AIC is and always will be a huge part of my life since 91.
I saw them as a metal band when I picked up Facelift as a kid. I knew they could pull off the softer stuff but I still put Dirt in the metal category when it came out. I mean Them Bones is a pretty heavy song. Bands like Pearl Jam were closer to the rock side of things while Alice leaned towards metal.
This was a great video, I have followed AiC since 1991, and did not know this history with Sap (although I remember the inspiration being from Sean's dream!). Great video, indeed, Sap opened so many doors for them early on.
I really loved both sides of AIC and, to me, both were very successful. I discovered SAP like they had intended...on a whim while desperately searching for more music by them. I felt like I had made a major find. Love all the AIC videos...thank you for making them. My favorite band of all time, for sure! 😊
Alice In Chains has aged better than any Seattle sound over the past 30 years.
Even better than some nirvana songs
Mother Love Bone's "Apple" has held up well too though most people have never heard it. It too had a song on the "Singles" soundtrack.
The work Soundgarden did in the early 90s has held up very well IMO
@@Descro382 ya, a couple of them. I was never that into sound garden. I like Jesus Christ Pose tho..
@@Descro382 agree with soundgarden… but I don’t like them pre-badmotofinger
Jerry without Lars: "What a wonderful day it is. I'm going to go for a walk"
Jerry with Lars: "What a f***ing wonderful f***ing day. F*** it, i'm going for a d*** walk"
AIC was my favorite band in my youth. I was in Hastings records looking for the cassette of Facelift when I found Sap. I can remember skipping class my senior year to drive to the record store to pick up Jar of Flies....What a great time to be young and listen to great music...
Same here - went looking for Facelift & found Sap and then listened to them both and thought someone made a mistake, that there's no way these are the same bands!
Brother is such a beautiful song. Sap is an amazing EP. Also can't bring up sap and not mention Right Turn - Alice Mudgarden
This is my favorite YT channel. I have no suggested material no critiques. I wouldn't change a thing man. This channel reminds me of music conversations with my friend Dave, which is a gift. Thank you so much for what you do.
My favorite band that came out of Seattle !
Facts better than nirvana
I just love how they did NOT do any promotion for this EP., cuz that's exactly how I found this album while I was at Tower Records in Japan.
Amazing video! Love Alice in Chains!
Best band of my time. Hands down! Lots of respect for Jerry. He’s stayed true to his roots over the years and is one of the greats.
Mad season 👍
I published a whole video on mad season a few months back if you haven’t seen it yet
@@rnrtruestories I haven't seen it. But I'll look it up. Alot of alice and chain's Fan's iv talked to never even heard of Mad season. I like the jazz, blue's ,rock sound.
@@smithperformanceracing5848 here ya go here’s the mad season video ruclips.net/video/NM644AElThU/видео.html
@@rnrtruestories Thanks 👍
Love Mad Season!
I love these Alice vids keep it up🤘
Alice in Chains is one of my favorite bands of all time because their helped introduce a generation to a new genre, Grunge. I enjoy Alternative music but I'm a Metal Chick at heart! Alice in Chains was the best of that mix. #RIPLayne #RIPChris
"Got Me Wrong" just might be my favorite AIC song ever.
I love SAP, one of my favorite albums...still on my regular rotation.
Beautiful piece of work, with Ann Wilson, and Chris Cornell...one of those rare albums that you just put on and play.
30 yrs and I'm still playing it, too
Deep love for Alice In Chains. I have tribute tattoos on insides of my wrists. Right is to Layne & Right is to Starr with them bones lyrics Bad Dream on left. Come True on Right. So I literally have Alice in Chains in my veins. They got me through alot of hard times.
Dope my brother. Thats sick as fuck👊💯🐸
Ha ha! Jerry: “Blah blah blah *bleep* blah blah *bleep* blah blah blah *bleep* blah blah *bleep*”
LOL I know right 😂
You threw us for a loop here; I (and most of us) thought you were referring to Queensryche in the clues!
good stuff! Im a hugh AIC fan from the beginning. Didnt know this! awesome
Man in the box is a fucking classic.
"where did that come from?"
"yeah"
RIP Layne, the only "grunge scene" singer who had a (precious) metal voice !
aic best band of all time
haters are gonna hate
Outstanding video! Very insightful 😃
Clerks was where I first discovered Alice In Chains. That soundtrack is so underrated. There's even Bad Religion song.
Except when fucking Paul Westerburg comes in & kills the vibe ...
Love the AIC stuff man. #RIPLayne
I've got that vinyl copy of Sap/Jar Of Flies. Didn't know it was pressed on colored vinyl, because it's still in the cellophane wrap.
The most metal sounding band from Seattle...if you forget about Soundgarden or TAD.
I’ll give you TAD but are you really going to listen to Head Creeps and tell me soundgarden has made anything even close to being as heavy as that?
I love Tad, weren't the U-Men from there also?
@@localman7017 Louder Than Love, the Screaming Life ep, and Badmotorfinger are all much, much, heavier.
Plus Melvins
@@tetfol3315 To be fair though, Melvins were never a part of the Seattle scene. They moved to San Francisco before grunge became a thing.
A Lars podcast? Who could stand listening to that premadonna for hours on end?
but he needs the money
They had an amazing sound
I was 13 year old metalhead when AIC came onto the scene and after buying Facelift I put them in the metal category. Dirt didn't do much to change my mind about that. Metal used to be a little more nebulous than it is today. I don't think I'd see them as metal if the same stuff came out now, although you could still make the argument with songs like Them Bones. That's a metal riff and a metal solo of I've ever heard one.
Would !!!!best Alice song ever !!!!!!
I think soundgarden also had a rather “metal sound” before superunknown
That's the great thing about Chains. They are the only band I know of, to date, that have released a heavy record, then a melodic EP. Back to a heavy LP, then another melodic EP, with their ironically self-titled album to finish off with. Sorry, but there is no Alice in Chains without Layne Staley. RIP man
Track for track, “Sap” is one of their strongest efforts.
*SAP* is really where Alice In Chains became Alice In Chains.
I want that double ep on vinyl
I want the vinyl mentioned at the end SO bad
I’m a big metal head n AIC is in my top five bands and sap is fuckin awesome right turn and am I inside is 2 classics along with the top 10 single I heard a lot on the radio when I was young, got me wrong
Kevin would be thrilled to hear he helped AiC.
Man in box great song
Sap was very hit or miss, some of the tracks are good and some are misses. But it was a step forward for sure.
@@kazombie9784 I much preferred Jar of Flies myself. I think every song on that one is a success, with Don’t Follow and Rotten Apple being two of their all time best.
I definitely liked jar of flies better but brother and got me wrong I love
@@rnrtruestories what about right turn? Chris and Layne are amazing on it!
@@BigMurph45 don’t forget Mark Arm from Mudhoney on that song too!
3:50 is from lollapalooza @ buckeye lake in Ohio
Rooster is the greatest grunge song of all time
Alice in chains is fucking rad.
SEAN KINNEY 😎🖤😍
I had the limited double ep. And sold it like a chump. For money. Just money.
Always love your videos but AIC one's are my favorite
Thanks
How about an Alexi Laiho/Children Of Bodom video??
Do proud I engineered that record with Rick Parashar at London Bridge
Jani Lane cameo at 4:15
Sap is a great ep
alice in chains ❤❤🔥
It's so weird that despite being a one-off acoustic EP, Sap introduced more of what makes Alice in Chains great than Facelift did, in my opinion.
Make more hole videos
I'm writing about sap now for my alice book. What a challenging task guys. All the stuff on sap is gold though short of love song. That was a waste of space. But the crown on this record is right turn. All those harmonies between layne chris mark and jerry omg just incredibly beautiful and so orginal. Since chris is gone it became even more haunting to listen to it. Writing about this track really hurts but I think it will be a great way to honor chris in my book. Layneshonor is all through there. And although jar is my baby my favorite alice album without sap it would never have been born.💝
Who would view or listen to Lars?
Guys...you've left the Envato logo in your lower thirds!!!
Love Got Me Wrong.
One of greatest bands of all-time with layne staley sap great ep I love every record they made for diff reasons LAYNE RULES FOREVER and can't leave out MAD SEASON record outside of aic
Can you do more Nirvana videos and less videos on every other band?
🤘😁🤘
Great band. I don't really consider them to be grunge in the same way as groups like Green River, Malfunkshun, Melvins, Skinyard, Mudhoney, Tad, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Love Battery or Rein Sanction. To me their music is hard rock/heavy metal in a grungy sauce. I would say Dinosaur Jr or older bands like U-Men, Wipers or Flipper are far more grungy than AIC.
How Alice in Chains managed to be fodder for the greed driven corporate music industry to seem 'cool' and grunge friendly
You see, it starts with a tree..
Sat suffering
I knew him when
fair weather friends of mine
Alicia in Chains in the shit!
Buried in it
And somehow they aren’t in the rock n roll hall of fame
Alice In Chains was the best out of the big 4. Dont debate me
Comment
998th
Beep……… Beep……….. Beep
Umm.,.. Jani Layne?
Grunge pioneer, brother
First .....
Yeah I’m bringing it back
There was a guy named Mark Arm... during the heroin 90's... you can't write this shite!
Alice n chains was metal?
Yes they had a metal sound
They weren't really a metal band they toured with metallica but the fans didn't really accept aic n the metal scene. If they didn't tour with metallica they would have never been involved with the metal scene at all.
AIC didn't tour with Metallica while Layne was alive. James Hetfield was pissed at Layne because in 1994 they cancelled at the last minute due to his drug problems. They toured with Ozzy Osbourne, and he's said that Facelift is one of his all time favorite metal albums.
AIC themselves don't consider themselves metal. They consider themselves a hard rock band with metal tinges. Either way they've certainly influenced the hard rock and metal genre.
Correction Facelift my favorite AIC album didn't sound metal at all it was good old hard rock.
Soundgarden and TAD sounded more metal
They absolutely were NOT metal,,they were definitely miles above Nirvomit,,hurl jam ,soundgarbage and the rest of that horrendous grunge scene,, but they were never metal.
That's bullshit, alice N chains was a metal band and alice.in chains remained a metal band, Jerry is a huge metal head and they were touring in clash of the titans, in the last few years they were touring with judas fucking priest.
@@homerc9101 nope,,hard Rock maybe,, metal NEVER
I always thought Alice in Chains sucked. Along with every grunge and alternative band that ever came out.
Alice rules.
I believe it’s your taste in music that sucks 😝