Alice in Chains: Unplugged DVD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Burkes]

Hi, everyone. I've never really listened to much of Alice in Chains' music, but lately, a new friend of mine has been telling me about them. He's gotten me pretty interested. What do you all think of this DVD? Is it a good performance, and how are the audio and video? Is it a good place to get acquainted with Alice in Chains? Thanks for any input!

Rob

 

[Dan B]

Is it a good place to get acquainted with Alice in Chains?

I would have to say that the answer to that is no. While they did have acoustic material, some of it quite good, it's not representative of what they were about live. Also, Layne was in quite poor health by this time. (note the gloves he wears at this concert to cover the needle damage on his hands)

Unfortunately, the only live video they released that I can remember (maybe someone will correct me though) was Facelift Live. This is only available on VHS right now.

If you are looking for a DVD specifically, I can recommend Music Bank: The Videos which is a collection of their music videos plus some behind the scenes clips. It even contains a performance from MTV Unplugged.

If you are looking for music, I would start with the first 2 albums, Facelift and Dirt.


-Dan B.

 

[Dean DeMass]

Robert,
Avoid the Unplugged performance like the plague. Many here know how I feel about that performance.
If you want to experience Chains on DVD, pick up the Music Bank DVD. It is quite good. However, if I were you, I would run (not walk) and buy Dirt. Dirt is one of the 10 best albums ever released, IMHO. I would then pick up Sap, then Facelift, then Jar of Flies, then Alice in Chains (their worst). Again, avoid the Unplugged show.
Also, pick up the CD "Above" by Mad Season. This was a group composed of Layne (singer of chains), Mike McCready (guitar player from Pearl Jam), a guy from Screaming Trees and another person who's name evades me. That is another fantastic album that I would put in my Top 20.
-Dean-

 

[Brian L]

May I issue an contrary opinion??????

I would probably agree that AIC was not an acoustic band, but putting that aside, its a damn fine performance, IMHO, and the sonics are outstanding. Very solid bass and drums. Great harmonies. IMHO, the 5.1 mix puts the 2 channel mix to shame.

You get a very unvarnished look at their songcraft which was first rate. You will hear some references to the Beatles in some of the harmonies, which I guess for some folks is a sin, but I think its pretty cool. FTR, you will hear the same thing in certain Nirvana (who I can take or leave) and Foo Fighters stuff (who I really like).

I had already bought all the CDs before this came out, and found that I thoroughly enjoyed that Unplugged set. I would probably go along with Dean WRT to what to buy (with the exception of the Unplugged set).

I consider AIC to be one of the best hard rock bands of the era (note I did not say Grunge band, which I consioder to be a myth created by critics that always need to catagorise things!). I really like Guns and Roses, and AIC; pretty much everything else from the '90s was disposable. Of course, YMMV!

They were generally very well recorded, and the unplugged set continues that. I guess I would say, take a listen. You will either like it or not.

I am also going to have to hunt down the Music Bank DVD; sounds cool.

BL

 

[Eric Peterson]

I also have to disagree with Dean's review of the Unplugged performance. I absolutely love this performance and it is probably my 2nd most listened to AIC album after "Dirt". I bought this DVD about 2 months ago and have watched it twice already, and this thread has me wanting to go home and watch it again. It is sad to see how bad Layne looked in this performance, and to think that he lasted another 6 years is amazing. I like to watch the disc, just to see the interaction the band has with each other and the crowd.

As far as CD wise, I would agree with the above order in which to buy their albums with the exception of the Unplugged Album, but the DVD is much better than the CD.

 

[Dean DeMass]

Great harmonies.

You are kidding, right? Jerry and Layne never sounded worse together.
I saw Chains live a couple of times on the Dirt tour, and trust me, what they were doing on Unplugged was not harmonizing. Jerry was where he needed to be, but Layne was in another world. His heroin problem was very evident in this performance. He is f**kin' sleeping for pete's sake. I really do miss Layne, but I would never recommend this performance to a person who is just now wanting to get into Alice in Chains.
-Dean-

 

[Dean DeMass]

I am also going to have to hunt down the Music Bank DVD; sounds cool.

Brian,
The DVD is fantastic. The 5.1 mix is very good. Plus, you get "What the Hell Have I" in 5.1, which is one of my favorite songs.
-Dean-

 

[Brian L]

The DVD is on order from Amazon...thanks for the tip, Dean.

BL

 

[Robert Burkes]

Thanks for all the replies. I will definitely be picking up ALL of AIC's CDs in the near future. I did purchase the unplugged performance, and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a very cool performance. Now, one more question, if you all don't mind. What do you guys think of the Music Bank CD box set? Worth the investment? Thanks again for advising a new AIC fan!

Rob

 

[Dean DeMass]

Robert,
I thought the box set was a bit of a waste. Just pick up the regular release CDs. Also, according to CDnow, there is a new re-mastered version of Dirt coming out either this week or next week. However, the current release sounds amazing.
If you enjoyed Unplugged, I can't wait to read your posts on Dirt.
-Dean-