Dirt is Alice in Chains' major artistic statement and the closest they ever came to recording a flat-out masterpiece. It's a primal, sickening howl from the depths of Layne Staley's heroin addiction, and one of the most harrowing concept albums ever recorded. Not every song on Dirt is explicitly about heroin, but Jerry Cantrell's solo-written contributions effectively maintain the thematic coherence -- nearly every song is imbued with the morbidity, self-disgust, and/or resignation of a self-aware yet powerless addict. Cantrell's technically limited but inventive guitar work is by turns explosive, textured, and queasily disorienting, keeping the listener off balance with atonal riffs and off-kilter time signatures. Staley's stark confessional lyrics are similarly effective, and consistently miserable. Sometimes he's just numb and apathetic, totally desensitized to the outside world; sometimes his self-justifications betray a shockingly casual amorality; his moments of self-recognition are permeated by despair and suicidal self-loathing. Even given its subject matter, Dirt is monstrously bleak, closely resembling the cracked, haunted landscape of its cover art. The album holds out little hope for its protagonists (aside from the much-needed survival story of "Rooster," a tribute to Cantrell's Vietnam-vet father), but in the end, it's redeemed by the honesty of its self-revelation and the sharp focus of its music.
(Hate to Feel", features vocals by Tom Araya of Slayer, who the band brought in so he could provide an Angel of Death scream)(Some versions, including the European release, feature "Down in a Hole" as the second last track instead of the fourth one. This was due to an early error, where putting Down in a Hole as the second to last track disrupts the storyline of this semi-concept album about addiction.)



Dirt -September 29, 1992

#1 Them Bones" (Cantrell) - 2:30
#2 "Dam That River" (Cantrell) - 3:09
#3 "Rain When I Die" (Cantrell/Kinney/Staley/Starr) - 6:01
#4"Down in a Hole" (Cantrell) - 5:38
#5 "Sickman" (Cantrell/Staley) - 5:29
#6"Rooster" (Cantrell) - 6:15
#7 "Junkhead" (Cantrell/Staley) - 5:09
#8 "Dirt" (Cantrell/Staley) - 5:16
#9 "God Smack" (Cantrell/Staley) - 3:50
#10 Untitled ("Iron Gland") (Staley) - :43
#11 "Hate to Feel" (Staley) - 5:16
#12 "Angry Chair" (Staley) - 4:47
#13 "Would?" (Cantrell) - 3:27




Dirt(International Edition] (1993)

#1 Down In A Hole(Radio Edit)
#2 Down In A Hole (LP Version)
#3 What The Hell Have I
#4 Rooster (LP Version)

+
Junkhead(Unreleased Demo)
Rooster(Unreleased Demo)
What The Hell Have I(alternative version)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lisa Patto (AKA) ADDICTEDtoStAiND,

In my opinion the best grunge album ever.

Superunknow and ten <dirt

quote:

Originally posted by john2340:
Superunknow and ten <dirt

Dude stop posting files man you can't do that shit here.