Desert At the End

SAP
2/4/1992

My favorite MTV Unplugged memories…Macca in '91, James Smith's armpits, Nirvana's amazing take on "Lake of Fire."

Despite a bravura turn by their singer, I never thought AIC's 1996 appearance was much special. The appeal of Unplugged came from hearing hard rocking acts scaling back. By the time of their performance, Alice In Chains had already released two largely acoustic EPs, so fans were well familiar with their softer side.

Per band lore, following up their platinum debut with a friggin' extended player was a happy accident: they convened in studio to record demos for #2 and wound up with Sap.

"Brother"--Jerry Cantrell's acid-blessed olive branch to his blood brother features spirit sister Ann Wilson on co-vocals. Yes, that Ann Wilson. (She and sis Nancy provided early support for many bands in the local scene.) Even the mirage of reconciliation is beautiful, yeah?

"Got Me Wrong"--Alice try the soft/loud thing with excellent results. This thoughtful* look at the state of give-take in a relationship is powered along by a bouncy bass line and those gorgeous vocal harmonies which gave the band the majority of their charm.

"Right Turn"--The only song credited to "Alice Mudgarden," "Right Turn" features Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm from Mudhoney. Grungegasm, fer sure, and I dig the general unsteadiness.

"Am I Inside"--Mr. Webster is of no assistance. Just wait for the last of the dust to fly off the sun and commence with leaving prints.

"Love Song"--Oh good, some drunk American kids decided to remake "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"! This is goofier than punctuating a marriage proposal with a purple nurple.



*Jerry wrote the lyrics for "Got Me Wrong," and while I don't regard them as particularly insightful, they at least aren't hateful. For that, refer to this quote from Layne Staley in the 2/8/96 issue of Rolling Stone:

"Women are so chemically different from men, and that makes it hard to sustain a relationship. They have their periods, they go through horrible, awful emotional swings and trying to be logical with a person that's got a whole different logic running around in her brain is just impossible."