1994 In Review: Alice In Chains - "Jar of Flies"

Upon its original release twenty years ago today, there wasn't a lot of hoopla surrounding Alice in Chains' second EP. A tidy seven song package designed to hold over fans eagerly anticipating a follow-up to their breakthrough sophomore album Dirt, Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies certainly didn't feel like a major event. Thought of as a sombre addendum to Dirt and a baby brother to Sap (the 1992 EP that preceded Dirt), it didn't strike anyone as more than a place for lighter and/or weaker material.

We couldn't be blamed for lowered expectations; Sap, while home to a few worthy tracks, didn't take itself too seriously and didn't leave much of a lasting impression. However, Jar of Flies was soon discovered to be no mere stopgap release. The playing, acoustically leaning is it was, had the same weight as Dirt's best moments; it's apparent from the opening seconds of Rotten Apple that real care was taken to give these songs not just a chance to exist, but to thrive in the environment. 

The real shock in listening to Jar of Flies, even twenty years later, is that every song deserves to be there. Silly distractions are kept to a minimum; unlike Sap, where any sense of earnestness is deflated by embarrassing hidden track Love Song, and even Dirt, a very serious album that couldn't help but riff comically on Iron Man. Even its loosest moments have meaning; closer Swing On This could have easily degenerated into the same schlock and awe as Love Song, but pulls itself together with its nice, hefty choruses.

It's difficult to pick a highlight, but for me it's practically a five-way tie between everything aside from Whale And Wasp (a capably performed instrumental that nonetheless smacks just a little of filler) and Swing On This. The other five all have merit and, depending on your mood, pack quite the punch. There's tremendous heart and guts on display, and lifting some of the crunch from their trademark sound reveals a band whose emotions were best served raw.

Alice in Chains would go on to release one more album with Layne Staley as principal vocalist before drugs started to take the ultimate toll on the revered singer. 1995's self titled album was (in this guy's opinion) a triumph, but even there you can tell the difference a year and change on drugs can make. Often meandering, sometimes bewildering, it's more suitable as a case study than a record. So, in many ways, Jar of Flies was the last time we heard Staley's true voice, the one still fighting his demons rather than being defeated by them. In this context, haunting ballad Don't Follow feels much more haunted than even Alice in Chains closer Over Now. It's a beautiful, sad, heartbreaking track that (correctly) predicts a bleak future for its narrator.

It's true that Alice in Chains would soldier on, eventually recruiting William Duvall and making new music. But (as far as Layne is concerned) Jar of Flies feels like the band's most poignant statement, especially given what the coming years were to bring. If Dirt was the acknowledgment of the problem and the self titled album was admission of defeat, Jar of Flies spoke to the uncertainty of it all that most of us can relate to (albeit on a smaller scale). It surprised twenty years ago, and it still resonates today.

January 25, 1994 • Columbia

Highlights Nutshell • I Stay Away • Don't Follow