Thread: Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies

Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies

Release Date: January 25, 1994
Genre: Acoustic rock, blues, grunge

Track Listing
1. "Rotten Apple"
2. "Nutshell"
3. "I Stay Away"
4. "No Excuses"
5. "Whale & Wasp"
6. "Don't Follow"
7. "Swing on This"

Notable songs: All of them!!!



Review: Jar of Flies to me is Alice in Chains' best work. The majority of the track is quite downbeat, but absolutely beautiful. Amazing acoustic and electric guitar work by Jerry Cantrell, while his harmonic vocals with Layne Staley are equally satisfying. The mixing is nothing short of perfect, the chemistry between all the band members must have been at an all time high. The only downside is, it's only an EP and features only seven songs. Arguably the greatest album of the 90's.

Trey and FT sweetly requested that I add more to this review:

Released in 1994, Jar of Flies was a follow up the Alice in Chain's acclaimed album "Dirt." It is said that Layne Staley was battling depression throughout the recording of the album, which comes out in songs like Nutshell and Rotten Apple; his emotional instability and problems with substance abuse make for a tragically beautiful sounding album. The title was derived from a grade school experiment that Jerry Cantrell remembered, about two jars of flies, one which was overfed while the other was underfed. Like most of Alice in Chain's work, the meaning of the title and most of the songs can be interpreted in any way you want. That is the beauty of their music, it personalizes to everybody who listens to it, and that really shows in Jar of Flies. Musically the album ranges from dark depressing songs like Nutshell, to upbeat songs like No Excuses. Jar of Flies has a very soft and soothing sound to it. It's about as close to perfection as music can get.

Very nice review Droogie! Thank you for contributing.

Nice review, Jar of Flies is nothing short of amazing.

Good review man.
You're right, the chemistry on that album between all 4 of them just shines through. The new guy is good but they'll never be the same without Layne.

here i go again resurrecting another dead thread but anyways..
Swing on This leaves a bad taste in my mouth at the end of the album. it just doesn't sit well with me, and i kind of find it annoying. it's probably my least favorite of the songs i know by AIC in total. the rest of the album, however, is damn near flawless.

those songs have something special, and Nutshell is a total masterpiece.

I was just reading through the album reviews and felt like checking this one out... I see that you added more information to the review... Nicely done...

Very nice edit Droogie. I hadn't heard that story about the album name before.

I'm glad FT left one album for you to review.

We really do appreciate the contribution very much.