Album: Dirt
Original release date: Sept. 29, 1992
Label: Columbia

Personnel:

• Alice In Chains – producers
• Layne Staley – guitar, vocals
• Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals
• Mike Starr – bass
• Sean Kinney – drums
• Tom Araya – vocals on "Iron Gland" (SLAYER!)
  
• Bryan Carlstrom – engineer
• Annette Cisneros – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
• Kelly Curtis – management
• Doug Erb – design
• Peter Fletcher – product manager
• Steve Hall – mastering
• Dave Jerden – producer, mixing
• Mary Maurer – art direction/fx
• Rocky Schenck – photography
• Eddy Schreyer – mastering
• Susan Silver – management
• Nick Terzo – A&R
• Ulrich Wild – assistant engineer

Track list:

All music and lyrics by Cantrell unless noted otherwise.

1. "Them Bones" – 2:30
2. "Dam That River"  – 3:09
3. "Rain When I Die" (Cantrell / Staley / Kinney / Starr) – 6:01
4. "Down in a Hole" – 5:38
5. "Sickman" (Cantrell / Staley) – 5:29
6. "Rooster" – 6:15
7. "Junkhead" (Cantrell / Staley) – 5:09
8. "Dirt" (Cantrell / Staley) – 5:16
9. "God Smack" (Cantrell / Staley) – 3:50
10. "[untitled]" – 0:43 (this track would later be identified as "Iron Gland")
11. "Hate to Feel" (Staley) – 5:16
12. "Angry Chair" (Staley) – 4:47
13. "Would?" – 3:28

Alternate track list (AU/UK release):

1. "Them Bones" – 2:30
2. "Dam That River" – 3:09
3. "Rain When I Die" – 6:01
4. "Sickman" – 5:29
5. "Rooster" – 6:15
6. "Junkhead" – 5:09
7. "Dirt" – 5:16
8. "God Smack" – 3:50
9. "[untitled]" – 0:43
10. "Hate to Feel" – 5:16
11. "Angry Chair" – 4:47
12. "Down in a Hole" – 5:38
13. "Would?" – 3:28

Singles:
"Would?"
"Them Bones"
"Rooster"
"Angry Chair"
"Down in a Hole"

Billboard Top 200 peak: #6

Alice In Chains' second full-length album. Some regard it as their best. Others don't. What do you think?

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What do I think, you ask?

I think it's one of the most powerful, brilliant albums ever made.

It's perfect from beginning to end.

 

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"We play so fine, don't you agree?" ~ Layne Staley

"We want to celebrate what we did and the memory of our friend." ~ Jerry Cantrell

its like these songs were handcrafted by a god or something.

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My signature sucks

PunkyLunky:

It's perfect from beginning to end.

Yes it is. Although Iron Gland does get on my nerves every now and then. Definitly a sinister and bleak album, although I love every second of it.

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Evacuate, assemble here

This is a brilliant and brutal album. Facelift got me interested, DIRT got me hooked.

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RIP Layne. The music lives on..........

this album absolutely blew me away. I think what was best about this album, and Chains in general, was their versatility.

PunkyLunky:

What do I think, you ask?

I think it's one of the most powerful, brilliant albums ever made.

It's perfect from beginning to end.

 

 

AGREED!!!!!

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"Walls of thought strong and high"

This album is my personal favorite of all time.Not just for the musical nature of it, but because of the way i can connect and relate to laynes lyrics in songs like "sickman" and "junkhead"...without getting into to many details, this album helped...and is still helping me with an addiction. Being able to connect thru music with someone going through (or who was going through) the same shitty mess you are, man it really makes life a little less bleak.

</insert_depressing_comment>

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-You don't understand who they thought I was supposed to be

That's my favorite Alice album. The first thing I was in contact besides "Man in the box", "Would?" or "Angry Chair" was Unplugged. But I was feeling a little down listening to it.. it's so emotional. So, I search for new things to listen when I stumbled across "Dirt" (the song)... I was hooked. That song kept playing in my mind on and on for weeks. It was amazing and scary at the same time. hahaha Then I listened to the whole album. Wow! Truly a masterpiece... it has such a brilliant opening. I mean, how many albums do you know that starts with a shout "AH... AH..."?! Them Bones is so strong!! It's not only the dark lyrics, the haunting and dark interpretation that Layne gave to them... but it's Jerry's guitar... Wow! It sounds like a helicopter. It's so powerful! haha :P

"Dirt" is my favorite song too. It has one of the most beautiful and yet sad lyrics ever written. Everything is perfect in Dirt. Everything. It gives me chills when I listen to it. That's why I'm kinda frustrated that it wasn't released as a single. Does anyone have any idea why "Dirt" being the track that titled the album, didn't become one of their working tracks?

Then we have... Junkhead, Godsmack, Sickman, Angry Chair... songs that Layne sang with his very heart and soul. Beautiful. I have to mention the amazing Solo drum in "Sickman". Fantastic as well as Jerry's riffs too. And we have "Down in a hole". Words can not describe DIAH. We just have to feel it. Jerry was enlightened when he composed that song.

At last but not least.. 'Would?". I was listening to it today in my car on my way to work and it's always the same.. "Layne's and Jerry's voice match so well in that song. Don't you think?"

Hm. Maybe Punky has said it best.. Dirt is perfect from the beginning to the end period.

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~ I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me ~

http://laynestaley.forumotion.com

Love it love it love it!!!!!

At first I had a hard time being used to the Unplugged and being bad at new music....So I'd just skip to the end and listen to Down in Hole, Would?, Rooster or Angy Chair I was familiar with but then....Bloody hell, Dirt is amazing!!!! So solid!!!!! Yeah, solid, I think that's the right word!!!!

Layne's voice is just...I cant even find the right adjectives here....It changes from song to song.....Junkhead, Sickman, Dirt, Godsmack....I love his voice in this last one!!! I mean in Sickman the music is sick!!! You really feel that heaviness...Or Dirt....

I have to say that with Alice I cant say which album I like the best....They were (and we'll know whether they still are...but I dont have a doubt about it) just great with any style...Hard, bluesy, acoustic, classic (Whale & Wasp??? Well, nearly....)....

DIRT IS ONE FUCKING GREAT PIECE OF MUSIC!!!! But then, is there any Alice fan who's going to say they dont like it?

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"words and music, my only tools, communication"



Going to the LSF Tribute this year?
http://www.myspace.com/layngel
http://www.laynestaleyfund.com/donate.html

Layne's vocals in Godsmack are just amazing! You can't hear him without think "How he can do that?"  

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~ I've tried to hide myself from what is wrong for me ~

http://laynestaley.forumotion.com

This album, more than any other , as well as Mad Season Above, I believe, are Layne's best work. Facelift was great, but it was Dirt, for me that set AIC apart from other grunge bands. THE album of the nineties, BAR NONE!!!!

 

YOU

 

 

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I personaly think that this is the best album of the nineties,  the album had five singles, but could have easily had ten lol.  this album was their best selling one, and it's amazing that AIC could go double platinum. I say this because AIC does not make music for the pop charts, they make music for the right reason: self expression, and their self expression is usually pretty dark and depressing.  I cant tell you how many of my friends who dont like AIC argue that they are too depressing.  I just tell them "thats what makes them special, they can make great music and sell records without appeasing to narrow minded people like you" lol

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You're right as rain, but you're wrong to blame, agreed my crime's the same. My sins ill claim, give you back shed pain, go find a place for own shame. So you can deal with this thing unreal, no one made you feel any hurt

AMH81088:

I personaly think that this is the best album of the nineties,  the album had five singles, but could have easily had ten lol.  this album was their best selling one, and it's amazing that AIC could go double platinum. I say this because AIC does not make music for the pop charts, they make music for the right reason: self expression, and their self expression is usually pretty dark and depressing.  I cant tell you how many of my friends who dont like AIC argue that they are too depressing.  I just tell them "thats what makes them special, they can make great music and sell records without appeasing to narrow minded people like you" lol

Completely agree lol. But as for a little update, Dirt went four times platinum in the USA only.

I really can't leave out a single track from this album. It's one of the most amazing records I've ever heard, the heavy sound of Them Bones and Dam that River are a perfect intro to the album, Layne's vocals on Rain when I Die blow me away. Down in a Hole is my favorite song on the album, and in general. The rest of the album portrays Layne's stuggle with drugs in songs such as Junkhead, Godsmack, Hate to Feel which gives them a certain power no other artist could provide. Would? makes a perfect ending to a perfect album, nothing more to say.

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Speaking of Dirt I saw it mentioned in a news article on ultimate-guitar the other day.

"To celebrate its 100th issue, Sweden's longest-running music magazine Close-Up has published a list of the top 100 albums in metal, hard rock, hardcore, punk and extreme rock released during the past 17 years (1991-2008)."

01. At The Gates - "Slaughter Of The Soul"
02. Metallica - "Metallica"
03. Pantera - "Vulgar Display Of Power"
04. Entombed - "Wolverine Blues"
05. Alice In Chains - "Dirt"

 
Good to see the album getting some recogniton.