Listening To The Lost, (Part 4, J-K-L)
The trip through the unlistened smart play list continues. Now up J K L.
A different turn on this round. I know what all these bands and albums sound like. I listened to these cds a bunch when I first got them, but its been years.
Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies (1993) EP
Despite me turning 20 two weeks prior to Facelift coming out, and already having a handful of Sub Pop and grunge cds; AIC was never my thing and one of the reasons the EP remained unplayed for 10 years. Their first two lps (Facelift and Dirt) only have a single play each in the past 10 years, Sap is still unlistened to.
I know I bought it new, first pressing with the flies in the jewel case, back when I was buying everything related to grunge. I still own the flies in the jewel case and it has survived every physical cd culling over the years because having the 'one with the flies' is kinda awesome. I had the flannel, saw 'Singles' in the theater, and strategically put holes in my jeans. I never did the leggings under my shorts because I was spending all my money buying all the records.
Technically their third EP, although any EP before a debut album is less of a statement, and more of gauge. Once Nevermind broke open the doors, record labels didn't give a crap about gauging the record buying audience any more, they were more worried about dropping as much 'grungy' product as possible. So, the rock EP became an oddity, except in case of AIC. They used the ep to its fullest effect, this wasn't a stop gap measure between records. Jar of Flies was the band going into the studio to try new bassist Mike Inez; and Layne Staley said "just wanted to go into the studio for a few days with our acoustic guitars and see what happened."
It's a good thing they did and that they recorded the results from that week. 30 minutes of great hard acoustic rock. Dark and brooding (would you expect anything else from AIC?). Due to the success of Dirt, which this followed, it became the first EP to debut at Number 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. The combo of Cantrell and Staley separated AIC from the rest of the Seattle bands and this EP was, in reality, the last music AIC recorded with a clean Staley. They didn't tour for the EP because of his growing addiction.
A couple of great songs, "No Excuses" and "I Stay Away"; a sonically pleasing instrumental "Whale & Wasp" and a bunch of other stuff, including a throwaway or two. It would be hard to expect seven bangers in just a week, but AIC proved they belong in the 'Big 4' of the Seattle grunge bands (you know who they are), and for them to still not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is criminal.
Belly - King (1995)
Tanya Donelly is the best alt rock second banana, and possibly the best second banana in all of music history. A member of Throwing Muses through their first four (and best) records, and a member of The Breeders on their debut (and first EP, the brilliant Safari). Both bands continued to put out more music after she left, but their sounds changed and the bands were never the same and never as good.
Out of the three records in this batch, this is the one that I remembered the most. More songs were familiar, and I even remembered some of the words. One of the reasons, Tanya can write and sing the hell out of melody. Her songs on the Muses (and Breeders) records stood out from Kristin's and Kim's songs and not just because she sang them, they just had a different feel. Poppier, less harsh.
Belly broke up the next year and there wasn't another record under their name for the next 23 years, so they fell off my radar. Even her solo album, released in 1997, wasn't soon enough to keep my interest as I left the alt-rock period of my life. 97 is the year of Ok Computer (Radiohead), Portishead (Portishead) and Dig Me Out (Sleater-Kinney), and I had new rabbit holes to dive down.
Bonnie Raitt - Luck Of The Draw (1991)
It is always interesting to listen to the record after THE RECORD by the artist. Do they try something jarringly different (ie Rush Signals, follows Moving Pictures); do they shoot for the moon (Fleetwood Mac Tusk, follows Rumours.) Or do they hold steady and go for the repeat?
Raitt took the third option, and succeeded. While this record did not repeat the critical success of Nick of Time and its three Grammys (including Album of the Year in 1990) and numerous all-time best of accolades; it has out sold Nick of Time. Seven million to five million.
Too ballsy for adult-contemporary (although this record is adjacent, ie "I Can't Make You Love Me"), its blues/roots rock to a T. Known as an incredible slide guitarist, there are criminally just four (of 12) songs she's listed as playing the slide guitar; but that's enough to reinforce her talent. "Tangled and Dark" and "Slow Ride" show her skills, but its the lead single "Something To Talk About" that shows off all her skills, wonderful slide guitar and her smooth smoky voice.
I listened to this (and Nick of Time) a ton when they first came out. Probably found some guitarists she name checked in an interview or two and picked up a few Alligator compilations, which sit on the hard drive, also criminally un-listened too.
While each review dies without a proper ending it's because the three would all have the same conclusion. I liked (or loved) these records when they came out, but there was a reason all three have been ignored since.
It's not that they are bad records; all are good, solid pieces of music. It's not that I don't like them because they don't hold up. They all hold up, but they are all very much products of their time and you can pinpoint a year of release just by listening to them. There are plenty of records I still love and listen to that don't stand up (again, another post).
They are just part of my collection, none hold any special meaning to me. None hit me upon initial listening to to become that album for any period of my life, and therefore have become tertiary in my collection. I'm not going to search any of them out again. A song or two across all three records may get 6starred, but none of them go back into a rotation. It might be another 10 years before any get another listen.
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