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Rating: Everyone sees "Dirt" as AIC's masterpiece, but they have forgotten their debut album, a gold record in 1990 with half a million copies sold just in the U.S.A., epitomizing the whipped generation that was rampant in those years. Influenced by Led Zeppelin-era rock, possessing a metallic sound and a psychedelic atmosphere, "Facelift" is, for me, the true masterpiece of the band, without taking anything away from the splendid "Dirt".
The album embraces many influences, starting from the "heavy" sound of quite old and seasoned metal. Staley's voice is syncopated, managing to deliver great aggressiveness at the right moments. An exalted, sharp voice that never ceases to move, becoming the album's strong point alongside Cantrell: his imploding guitar screeches, scorching and agonizing. The riffs, slow, hard, and incisive, are supported for almost the entire record, distorting the tormented melodies. The rhythmic base is cadenced, yet in any case ferocious, always ready to keep up with the raw sounds.
Arriving in the period before Nirvana's "Nevermind," the album brings AIC into the music world, establishing them as one of the best bands of the era, even though very different from the grunge groups that emerged in the so-called Seattle era.
Laney, the true soul of the group, leads the remaining three members into rough and harsh sounds, the undisputed queens of "Facelift". The tracks flow dense and gruesome, with a sense of absurd paranoia, to the point of completely scraping the gray matter of the human brain.
The prophetic "We Die Young," a hugely successful single, and the biting "It Ain't Like That" are episodes with more metallic content. The Black Sabbath-like rock can be heard in the unforgettable "Man In The Box".
Hypnotic "I Can't Remember" and "Love, Hate, Love" follow each other in a progression that grows until reaching Laney's sad singing.
The cheerful hypocrisy of "Sea Of Sorrow," a loving third track, anticipates the anguish of "Bleed The Freak". Beautiful and intense are also "Sunshine", "Put You Down" and "Confusion". Energetic grunge is expressed by "I Know Somethin' ('Bout You)," which precedes the last song of the album, considered by me the most beautiful of the entire CD.
"Real Thing" advances decisively and insistently, constantly presses, and offers a compelling rhythm, assimilating the dark aspects of the genre.
All these wonderful songs enclosed in one great grunge masterpiece.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 We Die Young (02:32)
Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way
Watch where you spit
I'd advise you wait until it's over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better
And we die young
Faster we run
Down, down, down you're rollin'
Watch the blood float in the muddy sewer
Take another hit
And bury your brother
[CHORUS]
Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way
Another alley trip
Bullet seeks the place to bend you over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better
Faster we run
and we die young
02 Man in the Box (04:46)
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
I'm the man in the box
Buried in my shit
Won't you come and save me, save me
Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
I'm the dog who gets beat
Shove my nose in shit
Won't you come and save me, save me
Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut
Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes now you've sewn them shut
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, oh
03 Sea of Sorrow (05:49)
Mind, of destructive taste
I chose... To stroll amongst the waste
That was your heart
Lost in the dark
Call off the chase
Walls of thought, strong and high
As my castle, crumbles with time...
I think of you
Oh, yes I do
Such a crime
You opened fire... And your mark was true
You opened fire... Aim my smilin' skull at you
You opened fire...
I live tomorrow, you I'll not follow
As you wallow, in a sea of sorrow
Lines cut across my face
Why you laugh at my disgrace
I'll never know
How far to go
To reach that place
You opened fire... And your mark was true
You opened fire... Aim my smilin' skull at you
You opened fire...
I live tomorrow, you I'll not follow
As you wallow in a sea of sorrow
08 Sunshine (04:44)
Am I too contagious
Full of sick desire
Am I that I promise
Burning corpsed pyre
Then some dude came down to touch the Mother
Mother touched, and dude ain't here no more
Suck it one more time
Am I your reflection
Melting mirror smile
Am I worth the value
Do my love defile
Then some dude came down to touch the Mother
Mother touched and dude ain't here no more
Ain't no day the sun don't crack
Try brand some name across my back so you care?
Find someone to tell you
[CHORUS]
Sunshine... Sweet love my labor
Don't mind... I don't care no more
Memory, set me free, yeah
I don't care no more
Mother please, come for me
Can you face the question?
Is my soul entire?
Sunshine... Sweet love my labor
Don't mind... I don't care no more
[CHORUS]
10 Confusion (05:44)
There's no time to give at all
I cause you grief and blow my hatred
Further in your mind
You reach, I run, you fall
On skinned knees you crawl
[CHORUS]
I want to set you free, recognize my disease
Love, sex, pain, confusion, suffering
You're there crying, I feel not a thing
Drilling my way deeper in your head
Sinking, draining, drowning, bleeding, dead
So you sit and think of love
I wait, hate all the more, I fall
On skinned knees I crawl
[CHORUS]
Now there's time to give it all
I put my fears behind again
On skinned knees we'll crawl
[CHORUS]
11 I Know Somethin (Bout You) (04:21)
Why can't I take it all OK?
I like to dig and fuck around with your day
I'm gonna tell your mama
Yeh I'm gonna blackball your name
Ain't now way you'll go without me
Every chance I'll make you pay
On your face, in my space, I tell you I know
Somethin' 'bout you, I know somethin' 'bout you
In my space, on your face, I tell you I know somethin'
'Bout you, I know somethin'
Why can't I put your words away
I'd like to have more of you in my veins
I'm gonna tell your papa
Yeh I'm gonna try and ball your babe
Your gold key don't fit my crapper
Ain't got no shit today
On your face, in my space, I tell you I know
Somethin' 'bout you, I know somethin' 'bout you
In my space, on your face, I tell you I know somethin'
'Bout you, I know somethin'
On your face, in my space, I tell you I know
Somethin' 'bout you, I know somethin' 'bout you
In my space, on your face, I tell you I know somethin'
'Bout you, I know somethin'
I'm gonna tell your mama
Yeh I'm gonna blackball your name
Ain't no way you'll go without me
Every chance I'll make you pay
On your face, in my space, I tell you I know
Somethin' 'bout you, I know somethin' 'bout you
In my space, on your face, I tell you I know somethin'
'Bout you, I know somethin'
On your face, in my space, I tell you I know
Somethin' 'bout you, I know somethin' 'bout you
In my space, on your face, I tell you I know somethin'
'Bout you, I know somethin'
12 Real Thing (04:03)
I messed around as a little boy
I grew up, made the blade my new toy
Friends said boy with what you screwin' around I said
Don't concern yourselves and just
Gimme another blast
Yeah
[CHORUS]
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Take it away, don't want no more
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone
I grew up, went into rehab
You know the doctors never did me no good
They said son you're gonna be a new man
I said thank you very much and
Can I borrow fifty bucks?
[CHORUS]
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white lne
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
[REPEAT]
I messed around as a big boy
I grew up and made the blade my new toy
Friends said boy with what you screwin' around I said
Oh my god and here we go again
Yeah yea'
[CHORUS]
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
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Other reviews
By Starblazer
Jerry Cantrell’s guitar and Layne Staley’s voice strike and leave the listener stunned like a punch to the nose.
'Love, Hate, Love'... six intense minutes that truly give you chills, with a truly superhuman Layne Staley.
