Unplugged (Alice in Chains album)
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| Unplugged | |||||
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| Live album by Alice in Chains | |||||
| Released | July 30, 1996 | ||||
| Recorded | April 10, 1996 on MTV Unplugged, Brooklyn, New York | ||||
| Genre | Acoustic rock, grunge, alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 71:26 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Alice in Chains, Alex Coletti, Toby Wright, Audrey Morrissey | ||||
| Alice in Chains live albums chronology | |||||
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| Alice in Chains video chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Alice in Chains | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| Sputnikmusic | [3] |
MTV Unplugged is a live album and DVD by Alice in Chains. It was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre as part of the MTV Unplugged series of concerts and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's songs and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
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[edit] Overview
Alice in Chains resurfaced on April 10, 1996 to perform their first concert in two and a half years for MTV Unplugged, a program featuring all-acoustic set lists.[4][5] The show first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. A live album of the performance was released in July 1996, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and was accompanied by a home video release. The album has received platinum certification by the RIAA and the home video release has received gold certification by the RIAA.[6] A full length DVD of the concert was also later released in 1999. The songs "Angry Chair", "Frogs", and "The Killer Is Me" were cut from the original MTV broadcast but are included on both the CD and home video releases. The album was re-released as a CD/DVD package on September 18, 2007.[7]
The performance was one of the band's final appearances with vocalist Layne Staley. The performance featured some of the band's highest charting singles, including "Down in a Hole", "Heaven Beside You", and "Would?", and introduced a new song, "The Killer Is Me".[8] The show marked Alice in Chains' first appearance as a five-piece band, adding second guitarist Scott Olson.[4] It is often hailed as one of the most memorable editions of MTV Unplugged, with a reputation comparable to the famous editions featuring Nirvana, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan.
Mike Inez's bass had the phrase "Friends Don't Let Friends Get Friends Haircuts..." written on it, directed at the members of Metallica who were in the audience and had recently cut their hair short. Inez and drummer Sean Kinney did pay tribute to Metallica, however, playing the intro to their hit song "Enter Sandman" just before "Sludge Factory" (this can be heard on the CD and the DVD).
[edit] Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nutshell" | Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney, Layne Staley | 4:58 |
| 2. | "Brother" | Cantrell | 5:27 |
| 3. | "No Excuses" | Cantrell | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Sludge Factory" | Cantrell, Kinney, Staley | 4:36 |
| 5. | "Down in a Hole" | Cantrell | 5:46 |
| 6. | "Angry Chair" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release.) | Staley | 4:36 |
| 7. | "Rooster" | Cantrell | 6:41 |
| 8. | "Got Me Wrong" | Cantrell | 4:59 |
| 9. | "Heaven Beside You" | Cantrell, Inez | 5:38 |
| 10. | "Would?" | Cantrell | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Frogs" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release.) | Cantrell, Inez, Kinney, Staley | 7:30 |
| 12. | "Over Now" | Cantrell, Kinney | 7:12 |
| 13. | "The Killer is Me" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release.) | Cantrell | 5:23 |
- The DVD release shows another take of "Sludge Factory," in which Layne Staley mixes up the lyrics at the beginning of the song which is ended shortly after. They then go into the "formal" take which was used on the CD.
[edit] Personnel
- Alice in Chains
- Layne Staley – vocals; acoustic guitar on "Angry Chair"
- Jerry Cantrell – acoustic guitar, vocals
- Mike Inez – acoustic bass; acoustic guitar on "Killer Is Me"
- Sean Kinney – drums, percussion
- Additional performer
- Scott Olson – acoustic guitar; acoustic bass on "Killer Is Me"
- Production
- Produced by Toby Wright and Alice in Chains
- Produced for MTV by Alex Coletti
- Recorded by Toby Wright and John Harris, assisted by Brian Kingman, John Bates, and Rich Lamb
- Mixed by Toby Wright, assisted by John Bleich and John Seymour
- Digitally edited by Don C. Tyler
- Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
- DVD audio by John Alberts, Toby Wright, and Mike Fisher
- Directed by Joe Perota
- Line producer – Audrey Morrissey
- Art direction – Mary Maurer
- Design – Doug Erb
- Photography – Danny Clinch
- Management – Susan Silver
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Charts[9] | 12 |
| Austrian Albums Chart[10] | 23 |
| Finnish Albums Chart[11] | 13 |
| German Albums Chart[12] | 46 |
| Netherlands Albums Chart[13] | 33 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart[14] | 8 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[15] | 9 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[16] | 7 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[17] | 41 |
| UK Albums Chart[18] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[6] | 3 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Main [8] |
US Mod [8] |
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| 1996 | "Over Now" | 4 | 24 |
| "Would?" | 19 | — | |
| "Down in a Hole" | 24 | — | |
| "Nutshell" | 15 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||
[edit] Video
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Music Videos[19] | 7 |
[edit] References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Album review at Allmusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ^ Masuo, Sandy (1998-02-02). "Unplugged". Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/unplugged-19980202. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Album review". sputnikmusic.com. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/9112/Alice-in-Chains-MTV-Unplugged/. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
- ^ a b Perota, Joe (Director) (1996-04-15). Unplugged - Alice in Chains (Television production). New York City: MTV. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20070217083456/http://www.aliceinchains.com/discography/unplugged.aspx.
- ^ "Alice in Chains Concert Chronology: MTV Unplugged Session". John Bacus. http://www.bacus.net/alice/aicshows/960410.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
- ^ a b "Alice in Chains - Artist chart History". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=3943&model.vnuAlbumId=624727. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ ALICE IN CHAINS: 'MTV Unplugged' Re-Release To Include Unaired Footage
- ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – Alice in Chains". Billboard charts. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=3943&model.vnuAlbumId=454488. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains". Australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in German). Austriancharts.at. http://austriancharts.at/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in Finnish). Finnishcharts.com. http://finnishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains". musicline.de. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Alice+In+Chains/longplay. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ^ "Discografie Alice in Chains" (in Dutch). Dutchchars.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains". Charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in Norwegian). Norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in Swedish). Swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ "Discography Alice in Chains" (in German). Hitparade.ch. http://hitparade.ch/search.asp?search=Alice+in+Chains&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ Roberts, David, ed (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). HIT Entertainment. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Top Music Video – Unplugged". Billboard charts. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=388&cfgn=Videos&cfn=Top+Music+Video&ci=3024947&cdi=7116969&cid=11%2F09%2F1996. Retrieved 2008-02-14.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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