Sorry, guys. I had to chance the quality of the video to up it on dailymotion in order to avoid copyrights issues. Hope you understand.
When Seattle grunge icons Alice In Chains arrived at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Majestic Theatre on April 10, 1996 for a live taping of MTV Unplugged, it’s unlikely anyone involved was aware of just how historic the performance would be. As one of the final concert appearances by the late Layne Staley, it seems only fitting that the recording (later released as both a live album and DVD simply titled Unplugged) would be remembered as one of the band’s all-time greatest shows.
At the time, it was just great to see Alice In Chains at all. The recording for Unplugged came after an extended period of inactivity for the group: The concert (which aired the next month), was their first gig in roughly two and a half years, amid a turbulent period of canceled tours and trips to rehab as Staley’s downward spiral of drug abuse and depression worsened. Based purely on the magic captured that evening, you’d never know it.
For fans, what makes Unplugged so captivating is that it’s an extension of the band’s prior work. Unlike their peers in Nirvana who stepped well outside their sonic comfort zone in 1993 for their own legendary installment of Unplugged, Alice In Chains already had a long history of acoustic recordings, most notably on their haunting EPs Sap (1992) and Jar of Flies (1994). The MTV show’s format provided the perfect opportunity to showcase those songs, along with stripped-down versions of the band’s usually heavier material.
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And while Unplugged wasn’t a huge departure from the Alice In Chains fans already loved, Unplugged offered a kind of cohesion between their acoustic and electrified material, made all the more vital by the intimate setting. On top of that, the group (backed for the first time by second guitarist Scott Olson) also proved they surely didn’t need stacks of amps to sound amazing.
In fact, the clarity of the recording only illustrates the skill of Alice In Chains’ members. If you’re not wowed by Jerry Cantrell’s masterful guitar playing, there’s also his intricate harmonies with Staley. Meanwhile, bassist Mike Inez plays the holy hell out of his bass, filling the empty auditory spaces with thick, melodic fuzz while locked in a steady groove with drummer Sean Kinney. Staley, of course, provides the soulful, inimitable croon that made him a legend, gently gliding between a low-octave rumble and breezy falsetto with remarkable grace.
Aside from the acoustic arrangements, what’s also astonishing is how tight the performance is, even though the band were anything but at the time. Cantrell played the show extremely sick with food poisoning, after eating a hot dog earlier that day; Staley, on the other hand, was suffering from rapidly declining health due to his drug use. When he spoke between songs, there was a palpable weakness and fragility in his voice that’s chilling to hear now, knowing his eventual fate. On that evening though, he held nothing back.
Read More: 20 Years Ago: Alice In Chains Perform for MTV's 'Unplugged'
