Bass Teacher REACTS | Alice In Chains "WOULD?" is a HAUNTING Hard Rock Masterpiece...
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- Опубликовано: 23 ноя 2024
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➡️ For a long time now, I've been on a personal quest to understand why Alice In Chains sound the way they do. Their songs always tug at me emotionally - both from the lyrics, but also the eerie note choices in their riffs and vocal harmonies. Now - take THIS and stack it on top of Mike Starr's chugging bass line, and the song's heart starts to truly beat. I find @aliceinchains to be one of the most unique-sounding bands, and in this video I breakdown what I think makes them so special. I discuss the unorthodox chords created between Jerry Cantrell's sustained chords, how they almost "clash" with the bass line notes, and how these two counterparts widen the composition to allow the ethereal vocal harmonies from Layne Staley to permeate front and center. I also touch on the production style and how it absolutely lends itself to the mood of the song.
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Mark Michell is an internationally-touring and recording bass player known for his work with Scale the Summit, Tony MacAlpine, Tetrafusion, Watermox, and more. Michell is a published educator and author for Hal Leonard, the world's largest music publisher, and has taught bass clinics around the globe for many years. He has played on several Billboard-charting album releases and is endorsed by Jackson Basses, EMG Pickups, and Dunlop.
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👉Original Video: • Alice In Chains - Would
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#AliceInChains #Would #Dirt #MikeStarr #JerryCantrell #LayneStaley #ReactionVideo #LowEndUniversity
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What’s YOUR favorite element of their sound? I think the emotional subject matter mixed with the dissonance (at times) paints an incredibly deep picture. 🌀
Jerry's riffs, vocal harmonies, cool and quite simple bass lines, and last but not least Layne's amazing vocals. In other words, pretty much everything. But that sadness overall... Maybe even more on Jar of Flies EP.
It’s all about texture to me with AiC, haunting harmonies sitting in layers on top of great heavy guitar, drum and bass tracks. Every part is completely unique and very easy to pick out by ear
The vocals! The enormous power of Layne’s voice, and the haunting harmonies. Would(!) love a breakdown of Nutshell.
I think you hit on all the things I enjoy about Alice in Chains, especially with regards to this song, which is my favourite by them.
I'm always very drawn in to songs where the vocal delivery and it's intensity is given space by the instruments. And yet, despite the space, the instrumentation is arranged in a way that's interesting and invites repeats listens.
The harmonies , them two voices where made to sing together.
I always loved the way Sean Kinney just rips those drum fills at the end of the song. Feel like he flies under the radar when people talk about rock drummers, but he's one of the greats for sure.
Agreed, a very underrated drummer!
Sean is so underrated and under appreciated. He’s so tasteful in his fills and grooves.
Totally agree with ya there
I always loved watching the video. I make fun of it, but out of love. Layne is too cool for anyone, the bassist is rocking way too hard for what’s going on, the drummer is long haired young Dave Grohl, and Cantrell is the only guy that looks like he fits.
Lives in the pocket!!
Let's also not forget the power and driving weight of Sean Kinney's drumming... Perfection!
Primal!
I consider Mike and Sean to be obscenely underrated as a rhythm section, they’re a big part of AIC’s sound
The backstory with WOULD? ... guitarist Jerry Cantrell wrote the song for Andy Wood, singer of Mother Love Bone after Andy died of an overdose in 1990 just as Mother Love Bone was going to hit big. After Andy died, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament dissolved Mother Love Bone and re-emerged as Pearl Jam. WOULD? as a title is a play on Andy Wood's name. Layne sang the hell out of WOULD? and ROOSTER on the album, official videos and concerts in 91-93.
WOULD? appeared on the Singles soundtrack because Seattle, Washington as big as the town is, musically it's a small town. All the bands that came out of the Seattle scene knew each other and went to see each other play the club circuit. Cameron Crowe was married to Nancy Wilson of Heart and he wanted to make a movie about the Seattle music scene and made Singles where a fictional band, Citizen Dick opened for Alice In Chains. They used IT AIN'T LIKE THAT from the Facelift album and Cameron Crowe gave them money to demo songs... AIC took the money, they demoed the 6 acoustic songs that are on SAP EP and two songs ROOSTER and WOULD? that ended up on the Dirt album. Cameron Crowe picked through the songs and used WOULD? out of the bunch. Jerry thought the song was strong enough to be included on the Dirt album and that's how WOULD? ended up on the Singles soundtrack and the same version ended up on Dirt.
Whenever you see Bad Animals Studios in the liner notes, at the time the album was recorded, Bad Animals Studios was owned by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. Nancy Wilson was married to Cameron Crowe between 1986 and 2010.
Drummer Sean Kinney developed that heavy kick-drum at the formation of Alice In Chains. That heavy kick-drum is the foundation of AIC's sound.
Guitarist Jerry Cantrell was fine doing backing vocals on the early songs like the ones they played in their clubbing days and on Facelift like the Call and Return of the chorus on MAN IN THE BOX until one day when he was trying to write songs for the SAP EP and the Dirt album, Layne looked at the lyrics and encouraged Jerry to sing more because after all, they were Jerry's lyrics. He should sing them. When Layne and Jerry sang together they achieved the perfect pitch of two voices making one voice.
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 was 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.
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.
The Unplugged show in 1996 is so heartbreaking to watch because he was deep in his heroin addiction (and yes, I know he was other drugs). His liver was damaged from the years of drug use. He was just high enough to do the show so he didn't get dope sick and to chase away withdrawal symptoms. 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 Layne's choices for his life. That show was filmed on April 10, 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.
Before the show, drummer Sean Kinney and bass player Mike Inez argued with guitarist Jerry Cantrell about whether Layne could even pull off the high notes in some of the songs, which is why Jerry gave them that “I told you so” smirk after Layne hit that long, high note in DOWN IN A HOLE. He did the same thing again when he hit a high note in ROOSTER.
The fact that Sean and Mike didn’t have any confidence that Layne could do the show and Jerry being the only one that knew deep in his heart that Layne could do it because Layne had done so many things against the odds over the years no matter how high he was at the time. When Jerry needed him to be there where it counted, Layne always pulled through.
The entire show was a success because Layne did have a powerful performance despite his condition. He proved to his cynical bandmates that he could still sing the high notes and he pulled it all off beautifully while the same four guys (Metallica) who had mocked him for his addiction sidelining Alice In Chains from ever doing extended tours sat in the front row. The mistakes he made screwing up SLUDGE FACTORY 8 times even though the dvd only shows 1 time (and I think he screwed up GOT ME WRONG once or twice, but Toby Wright didn’t keep that in editing) were endearing, at least to me. They didn’t take away from the performance, it added something to the performance that, had it been removed after everyone had seen it, wouldn’t have made the show what it was.
Knowing what Layne was capable of before, and what you see on Unplugged is the difference between night and day. Watch him sing DOWN IN A HOLE and knowing that this was the same guy who back in 1992 was hanging from the rafters of a low ceiling in a bar belting out LOVE HATE LOVE, that is what's heartbreaking. Knowing how he sang ROOSTER in Tilburg, The Netherlands, in 1993 when his “yeahs” and screams were so loud and high I’m surprised the rafters didn’t come crashing down around him and then watch him sing the same song so low-key on Unplugged knowing he could do to the song what he did in Tilburg is heartbreaking. Knowing he initially sang the hell out of WOULD? on the official video and album and seeing the end of WOULD? on Unplugged . . . and knowing how deep into his addiction he had gotten by that point is heartbreaking.
Mike Starr (who is in the video) was the first bass guitar player. He left the bad after Rock in Rio January 22, 1993 (long story). Mike Starr was the last person to see Layne alive on April 4, 2002. They had an argument and Starr left. No one noticed Layne had died on April 5, 2002, because he never answered the phone nor opened the door. It took inactivity over the span of two weeks for his ACCOUNTANT to notice something was wrong and called Alice In Chains manager Susan Silver who called Layne's mother to alert her to the situation who then called 911 on April 19, 2002. Mike Starr died of a prescription drug overdose on March 8, 2011.
And to pour salt in the wound, 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. Though I do applaud MoPOP including Layne Staley and Mike Starr when they inducted Alice In Chains in the MoPOP Museum of Pop Culture. It's more recognition of Layne (and Mike) than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (thanks to Rolling Stone's criticisms of Layne and his addiction) and the Grammys (who FORGOT him when he died) have EVER done.
Layne's story is more tragic and haunting because you can actually watch and hear him deteriorate over the 12-year span: from the mild use of drugs in 1990 all the way through 1996 when he was deep into a heroin addiction to dropping to 90 pounds by 1998 to 86 pounds when he died in 2002. Layne kept his humor and wit even to the end of his life.
All the information above has longer, deeper stories, and I could say so much more, but RUclips has a cap on comment length. In the end, it all boils down to: Layne Staley deserved better than what he received from the people around him who he thought mattered. He wrote songs about things with maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. He didn’t deserve to be turned into tabloid cannon fodder by the press.
Even if this was copy/pasted, I still appreciate it and truly learned some great details reading this. Thank you!! Saving this for when I do AIC next, would love to re-read before doing some of those songs. I lightly research each song before I listen for some context on the time period, any other bands the members might have previously come from, to paint a picture as I’m listening. Cheers, and hope you enjoyed the video! 🙏🏼
That is 100% Layne doing the verse harmonies. You can hear that signature vibrato while Jerry’s vocals are very clean. The classic AIC sound is how their voices interplay, which is why sadly Jerry hasn’t been able to achieve it on his own.
Spector NS-2 for the win! Mike Starr was definitely one of those players whose bass sound was crushing and it didn't take long to understand why. He is also underrated IMO as a player.
Spector + Ampeg is a classic combo fo sho. He also used GHS bass boomers if anybody cares
As a bassist myself I agree. I saw them with both Mike's on bass. I love both bassist for AIC. I also use Ampeg SVTS but I use Fender jazz basses. Love the tone Mike Starr had great bassist. RIP Mike.
He was one of the reasons why I started playing bass. It's so sad that things didn't work out with him and Alice in chains and he struggled so much with substance abuse.
I was fortunate to see them during the Facelift tour. They were so good live, as well. Jerry and Layne’s harmonies were unlike any other. They work with their style of music.
It's crazy how Jerry never thought that much of himself as a singer back then.
I saw them on that tour as well, opening for Ozzy. One of the best opening acts I've ever seen and a favorite band to date.
I saw them open for Ozzy right about the time the movie Singles came out. It was Ozzy's No More Tears tour and the first time he was supposed to have gone into retirement...LOL Name of the tour was No More Tours. It is one of the best concerts I have ever been to. AiC killed it and then Ozzy comes out and it was Zakk Sabbath, all the original members of Sabbath minus Iommi with Zakk Wylde on guitar and they only played Sabbath songs. Motorhead was supposed to be their to as an opener but couldn't make it. Also saw them in sept of 2022 with William Duvall and they still sound great. Jerry is the man!!!
As a Reggae Bassist, I’m from the dedicated finger style school of playing. That said, remember in the 90s when I heard that bold and ethereal bass line, I was a fan ! A bit Simon Gallup of The Cure sounding, haunting but not subtle at all and there is an Arabic sound w those half spaces in the notes there ! One of my favorite Rock tracks ever !
In my opinion this is a perfect song perfectly performed.
Totally agree, every part is on point, such tight song writing, never get sick of this song, still blows me away
In Mark Lanegan's memoirs he described AiC the best way I have ever heard. He said they were like a monolithic machine on stage & nobody ever wanted to have to play after them. Definitely IMO one of the most unique & creative, yet dark & brooding bands there ever will be. A real shame we lost Layne & Mike, I can only imagine what kinds of great music we would've gotten if AiC didn't implode at their peak....
This song to me kind of has a psychedelic style to it, the solo for example reminds me of that. Like you’re on a trip going somewhere and it isn’t necessarily a good trip at all
I got to see them on the Dirt Tour. Phenomenal show. Dirt is for me a "Desert Island Disc." From start to finish, it paints dark, haunting, sorrowful images. A true masterpiece.
Plus, it rips your face off from the start. I had never heard an album hard charge in like Dirt did.
I played this constantly on my Walkman! Good times indeed!
😎✌️
By far, the best band of that era... No other band even came close.
I beg to differ... Soundgarden was just as good... Smashing Pumpkins as well... each in their own style.
They were always my favorite from that scene.
Waiting for someone to say “don’t forget about nirvana” 😂 drives me crazy when people put them in the same sentence
Ok, the fact Alice covers Soundgarden, you know who really commanded respect back in the day.
Alice in Chains is amazing but let's not exaggerate.
Really glad about this video, Mike deserves all love! He is a really underrated player in my opinion. His bass lines really are the heartbeat of the songs. RIP 🖤 to Mike and Layne
This band always had an ebb and flow to them like the ocean. The harmonies, the melodies, and the heaviness swirling together. Also, during the verses, the high-pitched, vocal line is actually Layne Staley.
You have no idea what this song, album, band mean to me. Where i was in life when it came out makes it very special to me, so thank you for this video! I still rock my Dirt CD i bought all those years ago.
Such a good song, album, and an amazing band. No one else does harmonies the way they did. Please do Them Bones. That's the song that got me into heavy music and odd time signatures.
Amazing song from an amazing album. Made the 90's and still a crowd-pleaser today.
That bass intro is just iconic.
I've heard that the final line was something Andrew Wood said, like, "If I would OD, could you write a song for me?"
Holy shit… 😧😔
One of my favourite bands, one of my favourite songs and one of my favourite bass intros ever.
Beautiful! AIC blessed us with their great talent and soul.
I just don’t understand why AiC is not considered grunge by many. To me, they are the grungiest Grunge of all! Not even among the first grunge bands I listened to, but when I found them, I felt like coming home after a long journey. I still feel like this IS Grunge. The very thing that grunge was destined to be! The end goal of the movement, so to speak.
It's a gatekeeping thing. Metal people hate grunge and try to claim that AIC is more metal than grunge because they look down upon grunge as watered down punk-metal. And plus grunge is not a very well defined style of music... it was more a scene and aesthetic.
As a fellow bass player, I gotta say I love your channel. I'm self taught, not alot of music theory, so your breakdowns help me understand what's Goin on. Really cool! You nailed it when describing this song. Easily one of my top 5 songs ever. I can hear it anytime and it still haunts me every time! You should check out billy Gould of faith no more, striptease. Great bassline that carries the whole song.
Love this breakdown on such a sad song. AiC was one of my all time favorite bands. A couple thoughts; Tom Morello once said Layne sang like an angry Angel and on this song I hear it. It is like he is singing out of void, or a dream, like the opposite of a Siren from legend, warning us about the life choices he made. So tragic. About the harmonies - thank you for explaining them! Their sound is so iconic that it has been copied. SOAD use unique harmonies between Serj and Daron. Do they also use 5th harmonies? How do their harmonies differ as I have heard SOAD compared to AiC because of the harmonies. Thank you for expanding on the half steps and how they are used.
Amazing Album and absolutely timeless. Thank you for reacting to this. Cheers!
classic. epic bassline Duran Duran - Rio
Absolutely! I did that song just a few weeks ago here. Hope you can check it out: ruclips.net/video/SgQ4Ez97SaI/видео.html
@@LowEndUniversity ty, watching now :)
Alice and Chain was just perfect timing for a bunch of extremely talented dudes to jam and produce some of the best Music ever made.
Even 30 years later the songs are just soooo on point and so we'll put together I can't not listen to them! 👌
Maybe that's why so many of us born in the 70's and 80's struggle with newer music as it's just not on the level as the music we we're spoilt by growing up. 🤷
I'd really like you to cover "Nutshell," in particular, the unplugged version with Mike Inez. I understand he didn't originate the part, but I think the interplay between the acoustic bass and acoustic guitar were especially poignant. Keep up the excellent work!
I think Inez did do Nutshell on the studio version, If I’m not wrong Jar of Flies was his first thing with AIC
It’s crazy. I was in college in the mid 90s and thought I was “plugged in” to the music scene - loved Depeche Mode, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc. BUT I completely overlooked Alice In Chains. It wasn’t until the past few years that I really tuned into AIC and now regard them to be one of my favorites, decades later!
Such a great bass riff
I love the little swell going into the chorus. Really makes it hit harder.
The last 45 seconds of this song makes me wanna run through a brick fucking wall!
Had the opportunity to speak with Mike Starr at length a few times. We spoke about this song. I brought up his plectrum use. He mentioned that he didn't use his standard setup, in that he used a borrowed bass. Not sure if he was trying to pull my leg, but he said he borrowed Nikki Sixx's Firebird. He also commented that he hated Firebirds. Lol. I think of this particular conversation when I hear this song ever since. He was always extremely nice. Glad I got to chat about a lot of things, not just AIC.
Jerry sings verse, with Layne coming in at the end of the verse and Layne does the Chorus. This is one of my favorite songs and I consider it a pump up song. Layne had one of the most unique voices ever, no one will ever capture the pain and emotion that comes thru as he could.
For me this is one of the pinnacle AIC songs...the composition, the production, the performances...for me it's SO evocative. The tears well up almost every time I hear it and I've been hearing since 1992.
I've always believed that Mike Starr showed up to practice with this bass line and they wrote the song around it.
I've always felt the same about Rotten Apple from Jar of Flies (except that was Inez instead of Starr).
Long time casual guitar player here who recently subscribed. I recently picked up the bass, mainly to compliment guitar parts I've started recording. While I initially subscribed to help with the bass stuff, I'm finding your analysis and breakdowns to be just as relevant to increasing my guitar and general music theory knowledge as it is to the bass. Awesome content!
I think Layne sings harmony on verses.
An NS2 through an SVT and an 8x10 there is something magic about it.
Layne comes in on the harmonies during the verse. Feel free to listen to an isolated vocal, watch the music video or any live performance if you have any doubt.
Yep, I had a feeling, just didn’t want to rewind too much to verify! It’s cool how Layne can match Jerry’s tone so well and blend, and then rip it with grit in the chorus. Crazy natural talent.
On the studio recording, Layne is definitely singing harmonies during the verse, but I believe Jerry's voice is at least double-tracked as well... So Mark may not be completely wrong, Jerry could be harmonizing with himself on the studio recording... as for live versions, OF COURSE Layne sang the harmonies... I don't think ANYONE can harmonize with themselves in a live setting. 😅
@@The_ChrisD Double tracking is a very standard thing to do in the studio and it's all over the Dirt album, so no surprise there. And I meant watching a live version because Layne would sing it the same exact way and timbre as on the album recording.
@@The_ChrisD "I don't think anyone can harmonize with themselves in a live setting." Some throat singers would disagree. Lol.
This song actually changed my life. I was very young when I heard this studio track, and it absolutely blew me away. Not just the instrumentation, but the rock look and style of the band, too, Layne in particular. Plus how some instrumental sections affected me, told me a lot about my tastes as a music fan. Really appreciate knowing the bass line is in Em, I find value in that type of info. And Alice In Chains definitely excelled at dark, powerful art.
Last song on the album. Unbelievable!
Right? WHAT a statement!
Absolutely love this bass line from one of my all time favourite Alice in chains songs. When I was learning bass I asked to learn this one. Great video
Mark, I've been binging all of your reacts videos lately and I really appreciate how much insight you give into what is going on with the bass musically, but also how what they are playing creates an atmosphere and setting to the story of the song. You bring so much more insight and information compared to typical "react" videos. Your audience probably skews more metal, but I'd love to see a Bootsy Collins vid one day!
Thank you for your time and hard work to bring us these fantastic and educational videos!
That chugging bass line is what hooked me the first time I listened to Would. It keeps such rising tension building underneath everything else. It’s like something chasing you that you can’t escape. I honestly wish AIC were brought up more in conversation about vocals, bass, and guitar are being done. Such amazing art came out of so much misery and despair. They have something to them you can’t name. It sinks its hooks in you and it never leaves. A band I will always come back to. Wish Layne had a longer tenor with the band. That voice is beyond comprehension. Just magical.
AIC, one of my absolute favorites. I'm enjoying the more technical aspect of your analysis (as opposed to generic "I like this part" comments from many reviewers). Also, good insight. Thanks for highlighting Mike Starr - Sean always killed it too.
Just love AIC ,thanks for the video
Glad you enjoyed it!
AIC are Professors when it comes to driving emotions. Same with Soundgarden & Pearl Jam for me. The 3 kings of The 90’s & Grunge 👌🏻❤️💪🏻
God I love AIC. Great video
Fun fact: Mike Inez, joined AIC in 93, got to play two of the most iconic bass led songs of the 90s. No More Tears and this.
My high school band used to play this, I can't believe how much of this song I played wrong, pretty much everything except the main riff
You ain’t the only one who played it wrong since day one. Lol
3 different tempos! ;)
1. Bass riff
2. Verse
3. Chorus
Awesome song! ❤
R.I.P. Mike....
Awesome commentary
Thanks👍🎶
Glad you enjoyed it Charlie!!
The story is that Jerry plays that intro bass riff on the album. He thought Mike’s tracks were too loose.
Alice n Chains is one of my favorite bands
My favorite version of this song is the MTV unplugged cuz the bass has such a growl and Layne has such a haunt in his voice
There's not a person on earth with a soul that isn't moved by that performance.
I don’t know how to play bass nor do I know anything about music theory but I just like hearing you talk about songs that I love.
Subscribed!
I was in my early twenties when this came out and i couldn't get enough of this album...
Layne and Jerry are the mouthpiece...but the secret sauce is that half step tuning drop. "Alice Tuning" makes it magic
My band covers this song and learning that strumming pattern was trickier that I thought.
Always enjoy your reactions. Whatever band you review, you point out their strengths. The strengths in song construction, melodies, progressions, etc. Your pointing out how well they conveyed the emotions the were feeling. Art is that. Emotion dancing on a string…brushstrokes bringing a smile… sculpture invoking a tear.
A.I.C. Were/are genius at this. 🤘🕊❤️🤘
Awesome video... this is my fav song from my fav band.... I think I was 11 years old when I first heard this song and I was mesmerized with it since.... I appreciate the knowledge that you give in it's breakdown 🤘
R.I.P. Layne and Mike. Was left out bit forever in our hearts
They paved the way for Korn, Tool, Slipknot etc. one of my favorite bands ever (love alternative metal ❤)
5:29 I always loved how AiC wove those dreamscapes into what was essentially metal. Jane's Addiction & Smashing Pumpkins also excelled with their own brands of "dreamscape" alt-metal - sometimes even dipping into psychedelia - & it was amazing. Faith No More probably deserves a big nod in that regard as well I suppose.
Edit: I very much enjoyed this vid bro. Subbed immediately. Cheers.
Hey, I found your content on Instagram bc of your funny reels so I was surprised to find this uploaded so recently. Alice in Chains is my favorite rock band and I think you did a great job analyzing this song. I like how you mentioned that they weren't sitting around discussing music theory when they made these songs bc they probably weren't .. from what I've read and seen from interviews they pumped Dirt out pretty quickly because after the Facelift years they had a wealth of new ideas and by the time they started composing the album they were already performing Would? and Rooster at live shows. So, it's an interesting example of an album written during a time when the band was primed and ready to bust out new material.
Pretty rad video. Nice breakdown of a song/band that will forever remain at a completely different level as almost any other band!!!! Side note,(and I’m aware that they are equal) you’re the first person who I can remember that said Mike’s name before Layne’s in reference to AIC. Gained a sub from me. Looking forward to seeing more of your stuff. ✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻
I listened to AiC during a time of my life i don't remember well. But the way it it kind of saved me sticks with me. I wanted to find something that broke down the sounds in Would? because I'm really drawn to the melody. Thanks for covering it
great choice!!!!
Always a good day when Mark posts a new reaction video! Great song choice and analysis as per the usual. Appreciate the constant amazing content and the knowledge, sir.
Thanks Ryan, always great to hear from you!! Glad you dig it 🙏🏼
Very timely. My new cover band is playing this song, I'm on bass. It's a fun song to play. You highlighted some points I didn't notice or pay attention to that will help me make it sound better.
Awesome!! Appreciate the kind words, and thank you for stopping by. This song sounds fun as hell to cover. Have fun and hope to see you around here soon. 🙏🏼
One of the best songs ever written! Yes, they were very unique... Major chords but still dark and sad. What a band...
Song to this day gives goose bumps no matter when and where I hear it
Love AIC and I consider Would a masterpiece and Alice in Chains's definative work.
Would? was the only song completed before my friend (well known bassist, business owner in Seattle) was called in to write all the bass lines for the rest of Dirt. He also was in the studio with them during Facelift. All my friend asked for (for Dirt) was to have his named mentioned in a "Special Thanks to..." but when the album came out he wasn't mentioned. That was the end of their friendship & they never reconciled (my friend & Mike Starr). My friend though maintained a good relationship with Mike's mom & sister after his ipassing.
Saw them a few years ago on a festival.
William DuVall (Vocals) and Mike Inez did a great job
because they didn't try to copy the old line-up.
It's been awesome to list to the old "new" songs. 😃👍🏻
I had been playing bass about a year when this came out, and I was absolutely obsessed! Still such a fun bassline to play.
I was just coming out of college just before Grunge arrived and of them all, no one encapsulated the genre better than AIC. They were THE poster band for such and imo Stanley’s vocal range was unmatched. They always set it all way off. One of the best of all time.
So much pain in this song, so many of these early songs.
I lived thru it (Gen X), felt it but didn’t fully understand it, knowing we’d lose both Layne & Mike Starr to addiction.
Belated hug of love & support, guys. Fly free, brothers. 🌈🦋🦋🏵
Layne will forever remain in my heart as a Legend
The bass tone, the bass riff, the drums patterns and the cohesion of both. The foundations are great, add to this the beautiful voice of Layne ( all notes he sings were like crystal) and the harmony on the guitar by Jerry, the perfect cocktail. The songs sounds dark , but a bit dissonant like the grunge bands from Searle at this period ( pearl Jam, stone Temple pilots, nirvana...) Alice in chains is the only band which play metal with this kind of influences. They still my favourite. And sorry for my poor English.
Another banger video!! Great way to start my day
I admit I wasn't so hot on this band until I heard this song. Now, they're one of my favorites of this era.
I've heard that Jerry Cantrell re played the bass for the intro.
This song is the masterpiece of the 90’s
I was 15 years old when Dirt dropped. I was already a fan but Dirt instantly became my favorite album of all music. AIC is the greatest rock band the world has ever seen. I'm glad I got to see them live with Layne. The Lollapalooza 93 show at the Santa Fe Damn in So. Cal. was epic, I still remember their set to this day.
@0:34-0:37 Thank You!!
🙌🙌
From desperation and dispare comes beauty and artistry.
The bass lines by Starr and Inez are incredible.
I'm not a bass player but I loved this vid! I'm intrigued by the 5 harmony now. Hitting subscribe!
Thanks Mark. One of my favorite to listen to and play.
That riff at 2m41s always gives me goosebumps. I don't know what it is but it always feels like a release of tension. (you mention the tritone, it could be that).
"Would?" always felt like a weird song to end an album as (in 90s rock) the final song was often something light, often acoustic, or a huge epic long overblown thing, and this is neither on an album that is so well structured, but then the ending of "Would?" is amazing and it just works so well.
Man, I’ve always noticed that acoustic / ballad trend on the last song for albums, but never put it together that so many 90s records did this. Like, Pantera with “Planet Caravan” even! Real lightbulb moment 🤩
lol Mark LOVES his triplet fills. Can't blame him, the breakdown at the end just rules
Triplets FTW! Always catchy.
I'm a drummer and I never appreciated their music until I was joining an Alice in Chains tribute. Would is one of my favorites. Sean Kinney is a great drummer.
This is definitely the best song analysis I've seen of Alice in chains! Unique band
Hey, thank you so much! Means a lot! They sure are.
For some reason it took me forever to get the correct right hand feel going when I had to learn this, but once I got it... So much fun!
Jerry was playing the Music Man that Eddie VanHalen had given him. Not Jerry's signature G&L Rampage he normally used
For your own enjoyment, as a music fan, watch Breaking Benjamin and Gavin Rossdale cover this live. I did not think Gavin could still wail like that, but it’s so good.
Another cool thing about this bassline is leading up to the chorus, Starr strums on this power chord sorta in the higher registers but you only really hear it in the isolated track
Jerry and Layne are in fact doing those 5th harmonies at the end. Jerry on the low, Layne on the high