Probably the most suprising and greatest efforts from a band. The Jar Of Flies EP is outstanding in every aspect. If you take in account it only took them a week to create; its crazy! The first EP to go to #1 in the charts theres no reason why it shouldn't off with every song becoming so memorable from Alice In Chains. If you haven't listened to their first EP entitled Sap this EP compared to their earlier work blows it out of the way in 'seriousness'. Sap was supposedly a laid back release from AIC and no one thought much of it. Though the first 3 tracks are amazing (4th track 'Love Song' is a total nonsense song). Now that you know their previous release lets breakdown the album. The breakdown goes track by track there are a total of 7 songs.


'Rotten Apple' The opening song of the album already sets the feel for the EP. The guitar work is really soothing in every aspect. When Staley's voice enters it sounds like it's full of sorrow, but the lyrics seem so true written by Cantrell. The longest track on the EP set at 6:58 truley never gets boring because of the constant gracefulness of Cantrell's guitar and Staley's vocals. 4.5/5

'Nutshell' written by Staley himself is truley the masterpiece of the album once you listen to the rest. The calm and serene, but haunting vocals are amazing. This track is depressing and uplifting in the same way. 'Nutshell' really shows how fragile Layne Staley was with his drug addiction. 5/5

'I Stay Away', which is the first single off the album is very dark. Equally to it's video in comparision. The vocals and lyrics to this track are warming and filled with anger. As heard with "Why you act crazy? I am not, maybe." The guitar tones on this track are great and really go with Staley's vocals. Sticking with Staley's original vocal style in part of the song it goes wonderful with the soft spoken Staley. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is really enjoyable. 5/5

'Don't Follow' The countryish feel by Cantrell's guitar goes well with Layne's voice. They go back with the same direction with 'Don't Follow' and follow the 'Rotten Apple' feel. The vocals in this track are probably the best on the EP and this truley is my favorite song on any EP; especially this one. 5/5

'Whale & Wasp' The instrumental track is quite beatifully crafted and is a slow burner to get used to on the EP. Though it fits well with the rest of the album it's ends at a great track time not making it to long for the listener. 4/5

'No Excuses' One of the few written songs by Staley 'No Excuses' is a great track and Cantrell/Staley's voices go so well with this track. 'No Excuses' is a beautiful masterpiece in every aspect and deserves to be. Staley's talents exceed his vocals. 5/5

'Swing On This' is a quirky, jumpy track that has a jazz feel to it. It's fun to listen to especially the lyrics. Probably the most laid back song of the EP helps you leave the album with a great mood. A great track though not as good as it's predecessors it still captures what you need in a closing track. Though depressing like the others it's under the surface.


Overview:

A truley haunting masterpiece by Alice In Chains. This is a EP that is a must listen to anyone who is fond of acoustic work. This EP is filled with regret, sorrow, and truth. One of the first EP's I've ever listened to and I'm happy I ran into it.

Grade: A+

my favourite aic album without a doubt.

Yeah, I like this album alot...simply put, it's excellent....maybe a bit too weird and demanding for non-AiC fans; the most demanding part would probably be Staley's whiney voice, especially on "I Stay Away".

One thing I noticed is how it used a certain rhythm alot:
|12312312:|......it's probably the most popular rhythm since it emulates triplet feel while staying in 4/4, and it's used ALOT on this album...in fact, in most of the songs.

I wish the stores sold it for cheaper since it's kinda short (about $12 for seven songs)....but Sap is way more overpriced at about $10 for four songs (I wish I had Sap, but it isn't economically viable right now.)

agreed

Same here. I have nothing else to add, but I agree it's my favorite AIC album.

...but you must agree that without making the album 'Dirt', I highly doubt they would've progressed out of the so-called Grunge era.

"Did they progress out of the pigeon-hole?" is indeed a good question. Have you heard their self-tiltled (which of course is the only album that came after Jar of Flies)? I love it and I think it has a lot of depth, which we started seeing on Jar of Flies. But considering the added textures and a wider variety of tempos, I supoose it is a progression out of the grunge-era, which started with Jar of Flies. Speaking of which, I should write a review of the self-titled...