Jar of Flies - Alice in Chains (1994)

Jar of Flies is the third studio EP released by Seattle grunge outfit Alice in Chains. The EP came out two years after their second and most successful record Dirt in 1992 – an album that has since gone 4x platinum in the US alone. Jar of Flies is a step back from the heavy metal influenced grunge sound that fans come to expect from Alice in Chains (abbreviated to AIC). The album is almost entirely acoustic aside from various guitar licks and solos from legendary guitarist and primary songwriter Jerry Cantrell. Jar of Flies is indeed the group’s second attempt at an acoustic EP, with 1992’s Sap being the first. Sap featured four songs with the song ‘Got Me Wrong’ eventually becoming a single in 1994 after being featured in the movie Clerks. Sap is certified Gold by the RIAA however is deemed to be the precursor for the more refined and commercially successful Jar of Flies. Jar of Flies was also the band’s first album with bassist Mike Inez (of Ozzy Osbourne fame). The EP came out of a variety of jam sessions with Inez merely to see if there was chemistry between himself and the other three members. Cantrell believed it would be a waste of material to not release the songs the group had recorded with Inez, and thus came Jar of Flies.

Jar of Flies was recorded in London Bridge Studio, Seattle off the back of AIC’s headline Lollapalooza tour in 1993. The acoustic material was written because the band did not want to play more “loud music” after touring extensively on Dirt. The EP features a warm timbre throughout due to the use of an analogue mixing desk, careful microphone placement and drummer Sean Kinney using drum brushes instead of sticks (on some tracks). Kinney’s use of brushes is apparent on ‘Don’t Follow’ and ‘Nutshell’ where a gentle drum sound fits the soft texture of the song. ‘Don’t Follow’ is reminiscent of the Guns N’ Roses track ‘Patience’. The riff is eerily similar as well as replacing Axl Rose’s whistling with a harmonica towards the end of ‘Don’t Follow’. This does not mean to say that AIC have plagiarised ‘Patience’ but have lifted some of the desirable elements from the GN’R track and put them to good use. Jar of Flies utilises the textured sound that Alice in Chains have become synonymous with perfectly. The blending of Layne Staley (lead vocalist) and Jerry Cantrell’s vocals on tracks like ‘No Excuses’ and ‘I Stay Away’ especially exemplify what can only be described as classic AIC. ‘No Excuses’ also uses the instrumental accompaniment to push the vocals to the forefront of the track. The intricate syncopated drumming blends with the treble boosted acoustic guitar to create a large range in the lows and mids for the vocals to sit. The whole EP is low-key driven by the rhythm section. The bass and the drums pave the way for the guitar and vocals to steal the limelight, and Cantrell and Staley do not miss a beat. ‘No Excuses’ and ‘Nutshell’ are both spooky but beautiful – there is pleasure and pain in every bar, every verse and every chorus. From the soaring guitar solo in ‘No Excuses’ to the soulful vocal performance by Staley on ‘Nutshell’ sum up Jar of Flies superbly.

The stand-out tracks for me are ‘Rotten Apple’, ‘No Excuses’ and ‘Nutshell’. A special mention must go to ‘I Stay Away’ because of its more signature Alice in Chains sound and the harmonica feature. ‘Rotten Apple’ is the opening track from Jar of Flies; it starts with an acoustic bass guitar lick that acts as almost as a lead guitar riff. It allows the guitar to be more rhythmic and Staley’s vocals to take the lead – the song stood out instantly because of this vocal performance and the groovy bass intro. This along with ‘I Stay Away’ and ‘Swing On This’ are the three tracks where AIC’s heavy side still comes through. I have picked apart both ‘Nutshell’ and ‘No Excuses’ above so will not reiterate – these two tracks are regulars in live sets though, which speaks volumes. There is a reason this EP is the only EP in music history to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200, and it is not just because of the success of Dirt. It holds its own in a way different from any other Alice in Chains release. It took what they started on Sap and made it ten times better. Everything about this EP is fantastic: the songwriting, the production, the instrumentation. This EP is a must-have for any music fan and has reaffirmed my love for such a fabled band.