10 Greatest Unplugged Albums In Rock History
1. Jar of Flies - Alice in Chains
By the time that Alice in Chains reached the mid '90s, things were looking pretty dire. After multiple relapses, Layne Staley was still firmly fighting his battle with heroin addiction and Mike Starr ended up having to leave the band due to his own demons. Even though their previous album Dirt felt like a slow pathway down to Hell, Jar of Flies feels like the moment where things start to heal.
Released as an EP a few years after Dirt's release, this is the perfect mixture of the beauty and the darkness that was always Alice in Chains' calling card. Although most of this track listing features some beautiful moments, the lyrical structure hasn't changed all that much, with Layne still having all of his scars on display in songs like Rotten Apple and No Excuses.
From the sounds of these songs, there are even a handful of tracks where things seem to parallel reality a bit too well, like Layne talking about possibly losing his battle with heroin on Nutshell or the cautionary tale that Jerry Cantrell tries to tell us during the verses of Don't Follow. While there's a lot of darkness on this record, it's not trying to wallow in its misery or anything. Art is always meant to comfort the disturbed, and this makes for a great confidante even when t