‘The Essential Alice in Chains’ features historic career-spanning 2 CD collection

By Patrick Luce Aug 15, 2006, 17:36 GMT

Fueled by the energy and rebellion of heavy metal, and tempered by the demons that hastened the reactionary blowback of grunge, Alice in Chains has forever been the source of myth and legend since first emerging from Seattle onto the national scene in 1990, on Columbia Records. 
 
Ten years after their last concerts, the band decided to reclaim their heritage and embarked on a surprise U.S. club tour as a warm up for their 5-month tour of the UK and Europe.  They returned for a several U.S. festival dates and will pick up again in the fall (dates to be announced soon).   The band looks forward to its 20th anniversary next year with the release of ‘The Essential Alice in Chains’ – which will be released on Sept. 5th from Columbia/Legacy, a division of SONY BMG Music Entertainment.
 
The first comprehensive two-CD collection ever issued on Alice In Chains is a chronological ascent from 1990 (four cuts from their debut album, Facelift, including “We Die Young,” title track of the three-song Columbia debut EP released earlier that year) up through 1999, (“Get Born Again” and “Died,” the two newly recorded tracks on their three-CD box set retrospective, Music Bank).

‘The Essential Alice in Chains’ gathers its 28 selections from all four original albums they recorded, ‘Facelift’ (1990), ‘Dirt’ (1992), the self-titled ‘Alice In Chains’ (1995), and the live ‘acoustic’ ‘MTV Unplugged’ (1996), as well as from their two EPs, SAP (1992) and ‘Jar Of Flies’ (1994).  Also included are remixes of their two songs from the Last Action Hero original motion picture soundtrack album (1993, the only band with two cuts on the album).
 
Adding to the collection is a comprehensive liner notes essay by Steffan Chirazi, who wrote the liner notes for Music Bank.  Chirazi is author of “Faith No More: The Real Story” (Viking Penguin, 1994), and editor of the Metallica fansite chronicle “So What!: The Good, the Mad, and the Ugly” (Broadway Books, 2004).

Affection for Alice in Chains by their fans and fellow musicians alike knows no boundaries.  They kicked off their recent tour with a special free open rehearsal for their hometown fans in Seattle.  The 75-minute set at the Moore Theatre – which included such signature tracks as “Man In The Box” and “Would?” – featured guest appearances from Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Chris DeGarmo (Queensrÿche), Ann Wilson (Heart) and Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver).  This was followed by a Los Angeles show featuring guest appearances by Mark Lanegan, Billy Corgan, and Duff McKagan.
 
That musical legacy rises on ‘The Essential Alice in Chains’ - whose release finds the current lineup (Cantrell, Kinney, Inez, and vocalist William Duvall) returning from a series of club dates and festival appearances in Europe and Japan, and about to embark on a series of late-summer shows.

‘The Essential Alice in Chains’ is now available for pre-order at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information.