Dirt (Alice in Chains album)
Dirt is the second studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on September 29, 1992, by Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album received critical acclaim. It has since been certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Dirt the band's highest selling album to date.[8] It was the band's last album recorded with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was fired in January 1993 during the tour to support the album.[9][10] The album spawned five singles: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole", all with accompanying music videos. Dirt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The music video for "Would?" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film, as the song was featured on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles.
Dirt
September 29, 1992[1]
April–July 1992[2]
- Eldorado (Burbank)
- London Bridge (Seattle)
- One on One (Los Angeles)[2]
57:37
- Dave Jerden
- Alice in Chains
The album's lyrics feature dark subject matter, focusing primarily on depression, pain, anger, anti-social behavior, relationships, drug addiction (primarily heroin), war, death, and other emotionally charged topics. The track "Iron Gland" features Tom Araya from Slayer on vocals. Most of the music from the album was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, but for the first time vocalist Layne Staley wrote two songs by himself ("Hate to Feel" and "Angry Chair"), both also featuring Staley on guitar.
Retrospectively, the album has continued to receive acclaim, with Rolling Stone placing the album at No. 26 on its list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[11] Dirt was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It was voted "Kerrang! Critic's Choice Album of the Year". Guitar World named Dirt as the best guitar album of 1992. Loudwire named it as one of the best metal albums of the 1990s, and Rolling Stone ranked it at No. 6 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" in 2019.
Background and recording[edit]
The recording of Dirt began in the spring of 1992. Producer Dave Jerden, who had previously worked with the band on their debut, Facelift, wanted to work with them again. He admired Layne Staley's lyrics and voice, and Jerry Cantrell's guitar riffs. The track "Would?" produced, engineered and mixed by Rick Parashar, was recorded before the album, and first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 movie Singles.[12] Dirt was recorded at Eldorado Recording Studios in Burbank, London Bridge Studio in Seattle, and One on One Studios in Los Angeles from April to July 1992.[2]
Dirt was recorded during the Los Angeles riots that erupted following the acquittal of four LAPD officers caught on camera beating unarmed black motorist Rodney King.[13] The riots started on the first day of recording. The band was watching TV when the verdict for the incident was announced.[13] Jerry Cantrell was in a store buying some beer when a man came in and started looting the place. Cantrell also got stuck in traffic and saw people pulling each other out of their cars and beating them.[14] The band tried to get out of the town without getting hurt while LA was protesting against police brutality. They took Slayer vocalist Tom Araya with them and went to the Joshua Tree desert for four or five days until things calmed down, then moved back into the studio and started recording the album.[13]
When recording the album, Staley had previously checked out of rehab and quickly went back to using heroin.[12] Staley later went cold-turkey on his own while reading The Bad Place by Dean Koontz.[12] Jerden later said that he was told Staley felt animosity toward him dating back to the Dirt sessions due to Jerden repeatedly recommending to Staley that he get sober at the time.[15] Jerden said, "Apparently he got all mad at me [during the Dirt sessions] ... And what's my job as a producer? To produce a record. I'm not getting paid to be Layne's friend."[15]
Staley was not the only one who went through heavy drug use; drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr were also struggling with alcohol addiction.[16]
Jerden got the album's famous guitar tone by blending three different amps - a Bogner Fish preamp for the low end, a Bogner Ecstacy for the mid frequencies, and a Rockman Headphone amp for the high frequencies.[17]
Release and commercial performance[edit]
Upon its release in September 1992, Dirt peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and charted for 102 weeks,[35][36] ending at number 196 in the week of September 24, 1994.[37] Dirt granted Alice in Chains international recognition, and the album was certified 5× platinum in the United States,[38] platinum in Canada[39] and gold in the UK.[40] The album had sold 3,358,000 copies in the United States as of 2008.[41] A remastered reissue of the album was released on vinyl on November 23, 2009.[42][43]
The album returned to the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart at No. 9 following the release of its 30th anniversary reissue on September 23, 2022.[44]
Outtakes[edit]
The songs "Fear the Voices" and "Lying Season" were featured on Alice in Chains' 1991 demo tape that featured songs from Sap and Dirt.[10] Both of these songs were later included on the band's 1999 box set, Music Bank. "Fear the Voices" was released as a single in 1999 to promote Music Bank and became a radio hit that same year. Regarding the two songs, Cantrell said that they came from a time when the band was still developing its sound.[10]
Alice in Chains
Additional personnel
Production