10 Greatest Rock Albums That Are Totally Acoustic
3. Alice in Chains Unplugged - Alice in Chains
At the turn of the '90s, Alice in Chains seemed to be unravelling at the seams. After coming off of a really fractured album with their self titled effort, it was clear that Layne Staley was not going to win his battle with his demons for much longer. Though things seemed slated to fail, the grunge icons ducked into MTV Unplugged and made alt-rock history.
On the surface, most of the songs on here are just your typical unplugged affair, with Staley's voice being a little frayed around the edges because of his condition. However, context does end up playing a big part of this project. Coming from a guy who had been extremely candid about his condition, songs like Nutshell absolutely sparkle on this outing, with Staley giving it his all even though he is fighting a losing game. Even on the tracks where Staley takes a back seat, his harmonies on Jerry Cantrell's Heaven Beside You stand out as amazing feats unto themselves.
By some miracle, fans were also given a sneak peek of a new track called the Killer Is Me, which marked the only iteration that this song was ever played live. For a grunge band that was all about heavy riffs from the outset, rarely has metal ever sounded this pretty.