Dirt was the second studio album from grunge heavyweight hitters Alice In Chains, and ended up being the band’s best-selling record to date, selling over five million units in the US alone. It would end up being the last record with all four original band members in the group, as their bassist Mike Starr was fired shortly after the touring support of the album. The songs found on Dirt are brutally honest, heartfelt, and deal with the themes of addiction, depression, and the fragility of relationships. The majority of the album was written by lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell, with the exception coming from two solo songs from Layne Staley in “Hate to Feel” and “Angry Chair.” The album would peak at #6 on the Billboard 200 and make Alice In Chains a household name in the crowded Alt Rock and grunge scenes in general.
My relationship to the album started in the mid 90’s after hearing the pulsating lead track “Them Bones” on the radio. There was something about the aggressive-toned vocals from Staley paired with Cantrell’s wailing guitars that just immediately clicked for me, and millions of other fans, that would lead to so much success for the band. As strong as the singles are on this album, even non-singles like “Rain When I Die” are brilliantly constructed and feature hooks for days in both the instrumentation and vocal delivery.
The promotional cycle of the record would span over roughly a full year, and five singles backing it in “Them Bones,” “Would?,” “Angry Chair,” “Rooster,” and finally “Down in a Hole.” These singles and deep cuts would take on new life on the brilliant MTV Unplugged performance that further showcased the band’s ability to convey such raw emotion in their musical delivery. More somber songs like “Rooster” and especially “Down in a Hole” lend themselves well to these type of acoustic-based performances, and put a microscopic lens on the talent the band has.
The frenetic drumbeat on “Sickman” by Sean Kinney is almost tribal in its delivery, and his underrated performance throughout the record is only overshadowed by the brilliant playing of Cantrell and vocals delivered by Staley. Other deep cuts like the sprawling “Junkhead,” “God Smack,” and the stops and starts of “Hate To Feel” rounded out an impressive sophomore effort from these brilliant rockers. These songs still sound as loaded and emotionally invested as my first few spins of the record in the early 90s, and I’d highly recommend everyone snag a copy of the newly remastered vinyl LP, as it sounds rich and full on my current setup. Alice In Chains would go on to release another impressive EP called Jar of Flies, and their self-titled record would sadly be the last before Layne Staley passed away who died in 2002. The band still remains active to this day, and made their triumphant return to full-length recordings with Black Gives Way To Blue with Jerry Cantrell taking on lead vocal duties. Dirt deserves its critical acclaim and your full attention on the album’s 30th anniversary.