Alexander77

Ah, I almost forgot... just for the record, MTV hasn’t cared and won’t care about either looking in view or Check my brain, because that riff is enough to crush the dreams of all the bimbiminkia on earth (I’m not just talking about MTV Italy, feel free to ask friends abroad)! Not to mention the radio... someone give a shout to the ringaccio and that filobritpop crap of GIGGIN radio...

@alè: check my brain, you have to take it for what it is, a track pulled to change up the album's flow a bit. A sort of DAmn that river 2009...if you don’t like it, that’s fair, but come on, the riff is pretty heavy!
@Don: just so you know, we're expecting you in Milan...and go for a swim! ;)
@Gio: we have different points of view, and I don’t see where the disrespect lies or that implication that Layne wasn’t all that essential...The album constantly speaks of him, and the final song is a tribute. Let me understand: Cantrell (but also Inez and Kinney) shouldn’t play the songs he wrote (practically all except angry chair and head creeps if I'm not mistaken)? Don’t you think that's a bit pretentious?
One last note: do the math, and realize that if Cantrell and the others had wanted to, they could have laid on a beach under the sun scratching their jewels while some groupies handled the rest for at least 10 lifetimes with the money they made!
I see only great passion and pride for their band...and Kinney is amazing, even in this album! I just wanted to say that. Saludos.

I subscribe... Alè, were you referring to "a looking in view"? Because if you were referring to "Check my brain," the rest of the album is muuuch more challenging!

I think you'd better let it go, Alè... The sound and vibe of the album are just like that!

The concert is on December 2nd at Alcatraz. Kurt... ticket price is 30 euros, just to point out to the purists the cost of the AIC tickets compared to, I don't know, PJ (50-60 bucks) or luminaries like Leonard Cohen (150 kicks in the ass) and Tom Waits, champion of the miserable (150-200 kicks in the intimate parts...)! Kurt brings in a lot of people, Franci has already noted the date in the DEmeeting, and it seems they better play the classics, otherwise they risk being stoned!

Nice review JAY!

@kurt: I didn't give a rating partly because I don't like the whole grading system (I've seen too many random five-star ratings) and partly because I believe it's hard to assign a score to an album like this. A rating doesn't express the many nuances that an album can evoke. Are you coming to Alcatraz too?
@Galla: No, no, don't worry, you're not alone... I think there are a lot fewer fans of Cantrell!
@El: Thanks... See you at Alcatraz, then!

Is it ironic, Kurt?! "Check My Brain" has a slightly more catchy refrain, but there's a long way from that to being easy listening, and anyway the album seems anything but easy listening... I repeat, "Check My Brain" reminds me of "Damn That River" for its intensity; it breaks the flow of the album.

Sadness of the page... like the new enlighteners, everyone feels entitled and believes they hold the truth in their hands... Non-existent dialogue, we only shoot at the enemy, whoever that may be. A bit of a reflection of the country.

Thank you Panico...I don't know, maybe it's me who is overdoing it with Cantrell (I consider him an artist of extraordinary talent...and I thought the same of Staley). The acoustic pieces didn't entirely convince me, but private hell (I don't know if you'd call it a ballad, it somehow reminds me of down in a hole) is chilling for me!