Alice in Chains - Unplugged [Import]

Nirvana's 1994 Unplugged CD was certainly ground-breaking, and has many similarities with Alice In Chains' 1996 effort. Both Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley were heavily dependent on heroin at the times of recording yet both managed to not only perform to an incredible level, but also manage to bring subtlety and melody to a genre previously decried as post-punk garage music. Where I think Alice In Chains' Unplugged set offers more than Nirvana's undoubted classic is down to the music itself, AIC capturing the dark beauty of the Seattle scene, Layne Staley's vocals particularly haunting given his state of health, and barely out of tune despite the fact that the band hadn't played a gig for nearly two-and-a-half years. All thirteen tracks are original works (where half the Nirvana equivalent are covers of one sort or another) and, while "the concentrated catharsis in Alice in Chains' music is still best heard with the amps cranked up to eleven" according to Sandy Masuo of The Rolling Stone Magazine, I think that this really captures the talent of AIC as a group and will appeal to anyone who loved the music coming out of Seattle at that time, particularly and obviously AIC fans. If you've got a lot of Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden music, you will love this, whether you've got all of AIC's studio albums or never heard of them before today.

Just to hear a great band

This is as important an album as Nirvana's MTV unplugged. Strongly recommend it

Tidy

simply superb

Layne Staley. Nothing else

I just brought this DVD a few days ago and I have to say this is a truly great memorable live performance buy one of my favourite bands. Layne Staley's looking a bit frail and unwell when he first comes on stage and when the band are playing the first few tracks. But his voice improves and he settles well into the rest of the live performance. The standout performances are mainly the acoustic or more slower and melodic tracks like "Rooster", "Down in a hole" and "Heaven beside you". Although the performance of "Would" is great too. After the unplugged performance in 1996 Alice in Chains would only perform live once more opening for KISS on their reunion tour. Layne in this last days had become a reclusive, withered, tragic figure, even as his band's sound was being ripped off by crap bands like Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback, bands who can never be compared to Alice in Chains. I really recommend anyone who is a Alice in Chains fan old or new to buy this live DVD. This is truly one of the better music DVD's to be released.

Being a big Grunge music fan and having seen Nirvanas Unplugged performance, I was eager to find out how it would compare and it does'nt dissapoint, its absolute magic, the vocal harmanies are superb as always, this is one of the best intimate live performances ever!!!