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Dirt is Alice in Chains' major artistic statement and the closest they ever came to recording a flat-out masterpiece. It's a primal, sickening howl from the depths of Layne Staley's heroin addiction, and one of the most harrowing concept albums ever recorded. Not every song on Dirt is explicitly about heroin, but Jerry Cantrell's solo-written contributions (nearly half the album) effectively maintain the thematic coherence -- nearly every song is imbued with the morbidity, self-disgust, and/or resignation of a self-aware yet powerless addict. Cantrell's technically limited but inventive guitar work is by turns explosive, textured, and queasily disorienting, keeping the listener off balance with atonal riffs and off-kilter time signatures. Staley's stark confessional lyrics are similarly effective, and consistently miserable. Sometimes he's just numb and apathetic, totally desensitized to the outside world; sometimes his self-justifications betray a shockingly casual amorality; his moments of self-recognition are permeated by despair and suicidal self-loathing. Even given its subject matter, Dirt is monstrously bleak, closely resembling the cracked, haunted landscape of its cover art. The album holds out little hope for its protagonists (aside from the much-needed survival story of "Rooster," a tribute to Cantrell's Vietnam-vet father), but in the end, it's redeemed by the honesty of its self-revelation and the sharp focus of its music. [Some versions of Dirt feature "Down in a Hole" as the next-to-last track rather than the fourth.]
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - L. Staley, Composer, Lyricist - Jerry Cantrell - S. Kinney, Composer, Lyricist - DAVE JERDEN, Mixing Engineer, Producer - M. C. Starr, Composer, Lyricist - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - DAVE JERDEN, Mixing Engineer, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Bryan Carlstrom, Engineer - Jerry Cantrell - Annette Cisneros, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Engineer - ULRICH WILD, Assistant Engineer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Steve Hall, Mastering Engineer - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - L. Staley, Composer, Lyricist - Bryan Carlstrom, Engineer - Jerry Cantrell - Annette Cisneros, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Engineer - DAVE JERDEN, Mixing Engineer, Producer - ULRICH WILD, Assistant Engineer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Steve Hall, Mastering Engineer - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Composer, Guitar, Lyricist - Bryan Carlstrom, Engineer - Annette Cisneros, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Engineer - DAVE JERDEN, Mixing Engineer, Producer - ULRICH WILD, Assistant Engineer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Steve Hall, Mastering Engineer - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - L. Staley, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Composer, Guitar, Lyricist - Bryan Carlstrom, Engineer - Annette Cisneros, Assistant Engineer, Mixing Engineer - DAVE JERDEN, Mixing Engineer, Producer - ULRICH WILD, Assistant Engineer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Steve Hall, Mastering Engineer - Eddy Schreyer, Mastering Engineer - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Producer - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - L. Staley, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - L. Staley, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - DAVE JERDEN, Producer - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Alice In Chains, Associated Performer, Guitar, Main Artist, Producer, Associated Performer, Guitar, Producer - J. Cantrell, Composer, Lyricist - Layne Staley, Guitar - Jerry Cantrell - Jerry Cantrell, Guitar - Sean Kinney, Drums - Michael Starr, Bass
(P) 1992 Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Dirt is Alice in Chains' major artistic statement and the closest they ever came to recording a flat-out masterpiece. It's a primal, sickening howl from the depths of Layne Staley's heroin addiction, and one of the most harrowing concept albums ever recorded. Not every song on Dirt is explicitly about heroin, but Jerry Cantrell's solo-written contributions (nearly half the album) effectively maintain the thematic coherence -- nearly every song is imbued with the morbidity, self-disgust, and/or resignation of a self-aware yet powerless addict. Cantrell's technically limited but inventive guitar work is by turns explosive, textured, and queasily disorienting, keeping the listener off balance with atonal riffs and off-kilter time signatures. Staley's stark confessional lyrics are similarly effective, and consistently miserable. Sometimes he's just numb and apathetic, totally desensitized to the outside world; sometimes his self-justifications betray a shockingly casual amorality; his moments of self-recognition are permeated by despair and suicidal self-loathing. Even given its subject matter, Dirt is monstrously bleak, closely resembling the cracked, haunted landscape of its cover art. The album holds out little hope for its protagonists (aside from the much-needed survival story of "Rooster," a tribute to Cantrell's Vietnam-vet father), but in the end, it's redeemed by the honesty of its self-revelation and the sharp focus of its music. [Some versions of Dirt feature "Down in a Hole" as the next-to-last track rather than the fourth.]
© Steve Huey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:27
- Main artists: Alice In Chains
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Columbia
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
(P) 1992 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
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