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Rating:
According to a theory almost as old as the world itself, things are seen better at a distance of time. Small nuances, colors, sensations become clearer and appear to us for what they are, escaping the deceptive and ephemeral smokescreen that encloses a moment. If one then thinks of Alice in Chains and this "Jar of Flies", it immediately becomes clear how what was said above contains far more than a half-truth. Native to Seattle and the flourishing Grunge scene like the more acclaimed Nirvana, Alice was initially at least overshadowed by the charisma of Kobain's band, which had left a rock milestone of the '90s behind called "Nevermind" (September 1991) and would indelibly mark so much music to come.
After a very interesting first effort but still immature from some points of view and a second album, "Dirt," which perfectly embodies the soul of Alice in Chains and which I consider to be their most convincing work, it is precisely "Jar of Flies" (excluding the mini, also acoustic but in my opinion negligible Sap) that shows what the group was capable of. Indeed, confronting the decidedly Metal base that emerges in "Facelift" and in "Dirt," it is precisely their more intimate and dramatic soul that gives the true reading perspective of the group.
The album opens with "Rotten Apple", a very sad melodic piece, very close to a funeral march. Then comes the best track of the album, "Nutshell", in which over a few simple guitar riffs, Layne Stanley's voice, expressive and very sweet, throws in everyone's face the private pain that slowly crumbles him from the inside ("and I tell myself that if I couldn't be alone, I'd rather be dead"). "Stay away" sees the use of string instruments, especially violins, which play well with the singer's vocal harmonies, supported by a band that does its duty perfectly. The work lives of the delicate musical intuitions of Cantrell on the guitar and Stanley's vocal charisma, leaving no room for doubt in terms of interpretation and conviction. "Whale" and "Wasp", an entirely acoustic piece, and "Don't Follow", in which the harmonica takes the lead painting almost country-like, very suggestive scenarios, and Cantrell's voice, almost whispered in the first part, perfectly maintains the global balance of the track, are also very beautiful.
A very beautiful album, therefore, recommended to those who do not know anything about Alice in Chains and to all those who consider the Seattle band capable only of producing noise because their acoustic and intimate side is worth as much as or perhaps more than their Metal-Grunge component.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Rotten Apple (06:59)
Hey ah na na
Innocence is over
Over
Hey ah na na
Ignorance is spoken
Spoken
Confidence is broken
Broken
Sustenance is stolen
Stolen
Arrogance is potent
What I see is unreal
I've written my own part
Eat of the apple, so young
I'm crawling back to start
Hey ah na na
A romance is fallen
Fallen
I repent tomorrow
Tomorrow
Is suspended my sorrow
Sorrow
Recommend you borrow
Borrow
02 Nutshell (04:19)
We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home
Oooh...Oooh...
Oooh...Oooh...
My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead
Oooh...Oooh...
Oooh...Oooh...
03 I Stay Away (04:14)
Yeah, hey yeah
I want to travel south this year
Won't prevent safe passage here
Why you act crazy, not an act maybe
So close a lady, shifty eyes shady
Yeah, hey yeah
Tears that soak a callous heart
Why you act frightened, I am enlightened
Your weakness builds me, so someday you'll see
I stay away!
Why you act crazy, not an act maybe
So close a lady, shifty eyes shady
I stay away!
I stay away!
I stay away!
I stay away!
04 No Excuses (04:16)
It's all right
There comes a time
Got no patience
To search for peace of mind
Layin' low
Wanna take it slow
No more hiding
Or disguising truths I've sold
Everyday
Something hits me all so cold
Ya find me sittin' by myself
No excuses that I know
It's okay
Had a bad day
Hands are bruised from
Breakin' rocks all day
Drained and blue
I bleed for you
Ya think it's funny
Well you're drownin' in it too
Everyday
Something hits me all so cold
Find me sittin' by myself
No excuses that I know
Yeah, it's fine
Walk down the line
Leave our rain
A cold trade for warm sunshine
You my friend
I will defend
And if we change
Well I love you anyway
Everyday
Something hits me all so cold
Ya find me sittin' by myself
No excuses that I know
07 Swing on This (04:05)
Mother said come home
Father said come home
Sisters said come home
So my friends said come home
I said
Let me be, I'm alright
Can't you see, I'm just
Fine
Little skinny, okay
I'm asleep anyway
Then I heard a voice
Said "son you have a
choice"
I then slapped my face
Let me be, I'm okay
I'm awake anyway
It's too bright over there
I can shift, cannot steer
So I drive them away
For a while, then I stay
Little skinny, okay
I'm awake, anyway
Now I have to go home
Do as, when in Rome
Let me be, I'm alright
Can't you see, I'm just
Fine
Little skinny, okay
I'm asleep anyway
Let me be, I'm okay
I'm awake, anyway
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Other reviews
By AndJusticeForAll
7 songs, 7 emotions.
'No Excuses' I find no words to define it other than a great song.
By bONJ
You realize you can no longer live without these gems.
Only some distorted echo of the word 'grunge' remains in your head, buried under thirty minutes of amazing music.
By andre'79
"'Nutshell,' the track that all, guitarists or not, would dream of writing at least once in their lives."
"Jar of Flies, an apparently ordinary cassette, is one of those 'proofs' that cannot leave anyone indifferent. Authentic and heartbreaking confession."
By danass
"A song that is alone worth the entire discography of Alice In Chains."
"Jar of Flies is undoubtedly one of the best musical products of the 90s, a monumental work but at the same time so experimental and different from the classic tone of Alice in Chains."
