10 Rock Songs NOT Sung By The Lead Singer
3. Heaven Beside You - Alice In Chains
The self-titled Alice in Chains record is typically defined as a dark time in the band's tenure. After the masterpieces Dirt and Jar of Flies, it seems that the demons that had made those albums so magical were coming back to haunt the band members. With Layne Staley beginning to spiral into a drug haze, Jerry Cantrell decided to step up for this acoustic cut.
"Heaven Beside You" is an interesting case study given the way it's composed. Given the bending riff and power chord led passages, this song feels like its more suited to a full electric arrangement rather than its acoustic form. It may have been due to Staley's frail condition that the song was not able to reach its maximum potential, but Cantrell's voice is absolutely beautiful on this track.
Since a lot of the traditional Alice songs tend to feature Layne and Jerry harmonizing together, the sound of his voice solo is just familiar enough to get you hooked into the song's groove.
It's a shame this album marked the beginning of the end for Alice in Chains, but "Heaven Beside You" still has that perfect blend of beautiful melodies mixed in with some of the darkest grooves you've ever heard.