•
Rating:
[Perdindirindina! This is review number 1000! And no one said anything! How is this possible? Bravo Rooster, bravo Alice in Chains, bravo everyone, but now: we want another 1000.]
Of course, a release like this in the year 2000 cannot hide that bitter taste of a commercial maneuver; however, since the band had never released a true live album, it’s only right that they have one, albeit late. The compilation draws individual tracks from different periods and recordings, causing a certain discontinuity, which, in the end, is the only weak point. Aside from this, what matters most is that the atmosphere of the best Alice In Chains is once again absorbed.
All four members of the group are in top form: Cantrell forges incomparable melodies with the guitar and accompanies Staley with his fluid voice, while Kinney, on drums, gives his best in every situation, especially during the unleashed anthem of “Would?”. In the first track, “Bleed the Freak”, Staley’s wild singing immediately breaks in, in a truly unique performance. Subsequently, a song is proposed that resurrects the band's roots, it is “Queen of the Rodeo,” whose apparent vagueness should not deceive: from the beginnings to success, the lyrics focus on the more difficult aspects of life. The tracks alternate in an esoteric journey: the powerful vocals of “Man in the Box” thunder while the succession of agonies generated by “Angry Chair” still shadows the mind; and so on, with the passionate rage of “Love, Hate, Love,” the toxic “Junkhead,” the menacing, decadent stride of “Them Bones,” and the grotesque and dirty “Dirt.” “Rooster,” slower and more marked, still manages to give chills.
Even tracks from the self-titled album are not neglected; in fact, after the desolate and foggy “God Am”, we plunge into the mix of burning percussion and marble tones of “Again.” Towards the end, a little-known song is discovered but worthy of listening: it’s the controversial “A Little Bitter,” which entangles itself in distorted sounds and sacrilegious phrases.
To conclude with instinctive ferocity, the lacerating “Dam that River” opens. Emotions are not lacking in the live, whose essence reopens the gates of the murky abyss carved by the music of Alice In Chains.
“Some say we’re born into the grave.”
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Queen of the Rodeo (04:40)
My daddy was a trucker
Left home when I was three
He fell for some dude in Dallas
Then it was mom and me
She always wanted a daughter
Well look at what she got
Hit me, beat me, a faggot I ain't
But a real man they say I'm not
I'm the queen, queen of the rodeo
Queen, queen of the rodeo
So cowboy, if you're lookin for lovin'
I ain't no queer, go fuck a steer
I think there might be one right over there...
I drink too much, I smoke too much
I'm a human waste
I buy a lot of cheap alcohol
But I'll tell ya honey, I really hate the taste
I dressed in drag, they call me a fag
But boy, I really don't care
Cause last night I met your mother, fucker
And I hope ya like to share, cause she did
I'm the queen, queen of the rodeo
Queen, queen of the rodeo
So cowboy, if you're lookin' to fight
I ain't no wimp, I scratch and bite
"And I'm gonna kick your ass too..."
Queen, queen of the rodeo
FUCK YOU!
Queen, queen of the rodeo
Queen, queen of the rodeo
03 Angry Chair (04:22)
Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care
What do I see across the way, hey
See myself molded in clay, oh
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey
Changing the shape of his face, aw yeah
Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
Burning on the angry chair
Little boy made a mistake, hey
Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh
All that I want is to play, hey
Get on your knees, time to pray, boy
I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind
Corporate prison, we stay, hey
I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh
So I'm strung out anyway, hey
Loneliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away
Saw my reflection and cried, hey
So little hope that I died, oh
Feed me your lies, open wide, hey
Weight of my heart, not the size, oh
I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind, I-I-I
Pink cloud has now turned to gray
All that I want is to play
Get on your knees time to pray, boy
04 Man in the Box (04:57)
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
06 Rooster (06:48)
Ain't found a way to kill me yet
Eyes burn with stinging sweat
Seems every path leads me to nowhere, mmm
Wife and kids household pet
Army green was no safe bet
The bullets scream to me from somewhere, mmm
Here they come to snuff the rooster, oh yeah
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain't gonna die
No, no, no oh, you know he ain't gonna die
Here they come to snuff the rooster, oh yeah
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain't gonna die, oh
No, no, no oh, you know he ain't gonna die
Walkin' tall machine gun men
They spit on me in my home land
Gloria sent me pictures of my boy, mmm
Got my pills 'gainst mosquito death
My buddy's breathing his dyin' breath
Oh God please won't you help me make it through
Here they come to snuff the rooster, oh yeah
Yeah here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain't gonna die
No, no, no oh, you know he ain't gonna die
08 Junkhead (05:20)
(Junk, Fuck)
A good night, the best in a long time
A new friend turned me on to an old favorite
Nothing better than a dealer who's high
Be high, convince them to buy
What's my drug of choice?
Well, what have you got?
I don't go broke
And I do it a lot
Seem so sick to the hypocrite norm
Running their boring drills
But we are an elite race of our own
The stoners, junkies and freaks
Are you happy? I am, man
Content and fully aware
Money, status, nothing to me.
'Cause your life is empty and bare
What's my drug of choice?
Well, what have you got?
I don't go broke
And I do it a lot
You can't understand a user's mind
But try with your books and degrees
If you let yourself go and opened your mind
I'll bet you'd be doing like me
And it ain't so bad
What's my drug of choice?
Well, what have you got?
Say I don't go broke
And I do it a lot
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
Say, I do it a lot!
09 Dirt (05:23)
I Have Never Felt Such Frustration
Or Lack Of Self Control
I Want You To Kill Me
And Dig Me Under, I Wanna Live No More
One Who Doesn't Care Is One Who Shouldn't Be
I've Tried To Hide Myself From What Is
Wrong For Me, For Me
I Want To Taste Dirty, A Stinging Pistol
In My Mouth, On My Tongue
I Want You To Scrape Me From The Walls
And Go Crazy Like You've Made Me
One who doesn't care is one who shouldn't be
Iv'e tried to hide myself from what is
Wrong for me, for me
You, You Are So Special
You Have The Talent To
Make Me Feel Like Dirt
And You, You Use Your
Talent To Dig Me Under
And Cover Me With Dirt
10 Them Bones (02:39)
I believe, them bones are me
Some say, we're born into the grave
I feel so alone, gon' end up a
Big ole pile a them bones
Dust rise, right on over my time
Empty, fossil of the new scene
I feel so alone, gon' end up a
Big ole pile a them bones
Toll due, bad dream come true
I lie, dead gone under red sky
I feel so alone, gon' end up a
Big ole pile a them -
I feel so alone, gon' end up a
Big ole pile a them -
I feel so alone, gon' end up a
Big ole pile a them bones
12 Again (04:23)
Hey, let them do it again, yeah
Hey, you said you were my friend
Hey, turn me upside down, Oh
Hey, feelin' so down
Hey, hey...hey...hey...
You made a fool of me again
Again
Hey, I know I made the same mistake, yeah
I, I won't do it again, no
Why, Why you slap me in the face, oww
I, I didn't say it was OK, no
No, No...
You violate a part of me again
Again
Ah, ooo
Whoo whoo, yeah
Hey, you had time to think it out, yeah
Hey, Your weak will won't help her heal her heart
Hey, I'll bet it really eats you up
Extending part of me again
Again
Ooo
Whoo whoo, yeah
13 A Little Bitter (03:51)
How the mind does shout for rest
When the bodies shaken, yeah
Oh the tightness in my chest
Still your leaves I'm raking
Lord is this a test
Was it fun creating, yeah?
My god's a little sick
And he wants me crazy
Who
Are you
Who can say
It's ok to live through me?
Live to be
Part of me
You're a wrinkled magazine
Yeah
Was it something that I said?
Was it how they're breaking, yeah
I'm so selfish, paying your rent
While your blood I'm taking
You
Spend me
Like a tree
Dirty dollar bills for leaves
Dark in a sea
Of my seeds
And the tears on which you feed
You feed
The body is a temple
A dormant alter
To where infantile men lie around
Itching and nibbling
For a small piece of sanity
Of which you can not give
Shit!
Individuality
Buying pennies with my soul
And a little Heaven spent
While the Hell I'm taking
Thieves
Parasites
Hide from life
You know they'll remember me
They are abhored
In self-worth
All that matters much to me
14 Dam That River (03:32)
I broke you in the canyon
I drowned you in the lake
You a snake that I would trample
Only thing I'd not embrace
Oh, you couldn't dam that river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away
I pushed and then you stumbled
I kicked you in the face
You stare at me so hollow
Got to keep that killin' pace
Oh, you couldn't dam that river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away
I burned the place around you
I hit you with a rake
You piss upon my candle
So proving you're a fake
Oh, you couldn't dam thar river
And maybe I don't give a damn anyway
So you couldn't dam that river
And it washed me so far away
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