Friday Full-Length: Alice in Chains, Sap EP
Alice in Chains, Sap (1992)
I don’t think I really need to go out of my way to justify including Sap as a heavy work. Sometimes I wonder what I would’ve thought of Alice in Chains had I been 15 or 20 years older than I was when they broke big, if the whole thing would’ve seemed as ridiculous to me then as a lot of modern alternative and pop hard rock seems to me now. Like Primus, of whom I’ve expressed a similar enduring affection, Alice in Chains hit me at just the right time. Dirt came out in Sept. 1992, and that would be the first of their albums that I heard. I was 11 years old.
Their post-reunion stuff hasn’t really interested me — I bought a used copy of Black Gives Way to Blue not so terribly long after it came out, but hardly listened to it. I heard part of one song from the one they did last year on the radio and it had that computerized wall of sound guitar anti-tone thing going for it, like Nickelback with a pitch-corrected Jerry Cantrell harmony. A futuristic nightmare in which something that once seemed so pure, on Facelift, Sap, Dirt, Jar of Flies, and the self-titled (which gets written off a lot but was actually really, really dark), comes back as unaware self-parody. Robots impersonating flowers. Food: Now with more flavor. Somewhere in a nameless city, Rowdy Roddy Piper puts on a pair of sunglasses.
But this. Beautiful. At least for the four songs of Sap proper, and then they get into the silly bonus track lest they be taken too seriously. I had this on earlier this week, turned up loud, was singing along to notes I used to be able to hit I guess before I turned 30 and finally hit puberty. My intention was to close out this week with something else, something a little more “the norm” as much as there is one, or at least something that’s not such an unrepentant downer, but this was more honest to where my head’s been at the last few days so there wasn’t really a choice. If it’s not your thing, or maybe it didn’t get into you when you were the right age, I’d be happy to hear about it in the comments.
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Sorry about that whole “no posts” thing yesterday. I try to avoid that whenever I can, at least get something up. Yesterday The Patient Mrs. and I were on the road all day coming back from a mid-week trip south to Jersey. There’s a good chance this will come up again. I’ll try to give some notice or post what I can. I do my best.
Lots of news this week. Lots of videos. Not a lot of reviews. Here are the next five album reviews I’m going to write for this site. Ready? Weedpecker, Colour Haze (the Ewige Blumenkraft reissue), Conan, Mammatus and Papir. I really fucking hope it’s not a month before I get those done, but if it is, fuck it. That’s what I want to write about so that’s what I’m going to write about. I spend an awful lot of time feeling obligated and like I’m behind on shit. Well, I am behind, a lot, but when it comes to it, I do this to have a good time and write about music I enjoy, so if you’re not one of those next five reviews, I’m sorry but you’re gonna have to wait a little longer. Please know that your patience is appreciated.
I did a killer interview the other day with Rev. Jim Forrester about the Sixty Watt Shaman reunion. I’m not sure when I’ll have the time to transcribe it — Conan is next, then Alcest — but I’ll get there. I wish I had more time. Also money. Also abdominal definition. Also the ability to express emotions beyond frustration. It’s a long list. I wish and wish.
But life is what happens while you sit around and wish on bullshit you either can or can’t make real, so fuck it. I hope your week was incredible like the first time you heard Sabbath and it clicked, and I hope your weekend follows suit. If you stick around, I’ll have a new podcast coming either Sunday night or Monday morning, and there’s a lot of other silly nonsense to come as well next week other than whatever reviews I can get done. I hope you’ll hang out.
Thanks all, enjoy Sap, and please check out the forum and radio stream.
Tags: Alice in Chains, Alice in Chains Sap, Columbia Records, Sap, Seattle, Washington
This album rules man….I still remember when it came out. I was 22. Saw the video for We Die Young when Facelift was first released and was hooked from that point on. And Dirt, of course, was the cherry on top….fuckin Sabbath inspired doom if I ever heard it. Always imitated, but never matched.
Dunno what I would have thought about AiC had I been older. I was only 4 when Sap and Dirt came out, so, I got into them when they while they were dormant. I’m so glad I had them, among other bands, to listen to while I was in high school aside from the pop punk garbage that was popular at the time.
One of my favorite bands. Never got to see them with Layne–one of my biggest regrets. :(
I have, however, seen the current AiC a few times now and it is definitely worth seeing if you ever liked even one of their songs. Not the same, but they play a lot of the old stuff and it’s pretty damn good considering they’re missing their “voice”. Jerry is the mastermind, but I feel he needed the darkness from Layne, as well as signature AiC harmonizing of the two.
All the classic Layne albums, including the self-titled are excellent. BGWtB was decent, and I really dig the latest album, regardless of the strange name–it’s darker overall than its predecessor.
I had relatives who worked at a tow-truck company, and I got the DIRT cassette tape out of an unclaimed impound vehicle when I was 12 or so (we’re apparently about the same age). Probably my favorite album ever.
I still revisit to their catalog quarterly.
Bought “Dirt” on cassette at Tower Records at the midnight release.
Still got it.
AIC MK II isn’t terrible by any means, but of course with Layne gone…like replacing Jim Morrison/Mick Jagger-can’t be done…and speaking of Primus-caught them with AIC at the ’93 Lollapalooza…
…and you top it all off with a John Carpenter reference-NOSTALGIA OVERLOAD!!!
Loved SAP just as I loved GN’R LIES, long ago. Agree with you on how overlooked the self-titled has been, and the same could probably be said about Facelift, which I revisited one month ago, I’d dare say it’s almost as huge as Dirt. New AIC is very much fine for me.
Since I guess we’re all sharing our age circa 1992, i was 14. AIC and “grunge” hit at the perfect time for me. I stopped getting picked on for being a “grit” and girls actually wanted to hang with me all of the sudden.
That said, Sap was ok…Jar of Flies was a bit better…i didn’t really dig the 3 leg album that much and then Layne died…BGWTB came out and i was very very impressed (also coincidentally came out at a good time for me after a long term relationship ended)…TDBDH is very very excellent in my opinion, possibly as good if not better than Dirt. Don’t know what you’re missing i suggest getting to spinnin’ both records asap man.
I was around 22 when this came out and I completely missed it busy as I was trying to decipher those bloody Napalm Death fast riffs and trying to imitate them. 22 years later I discover Alice in Chains both reccomended by my young bandmates and here at the Obelisk. I only knew about the band because someones tshirt in a drunken party, and confused later with Jane´s Adicction in someone´s car late at night…blurry memories. Anyway it touches the right key in thisl moment, thanks for sharing it.
Sap and Jar of Flies are both excellent, I love their mellower, acoustic stuff. One of the few heavy bands who does it well without it coming off as corny sounding. Good shit.
It goes without saying that this and Jar are fantastic. I’ve heard Dirt just too many times, although I loved it for years when it was new. Stuff before Dirt didn’t suck but they were still growing up as a band. The self-titled is still one of my all-time favorite records. If you don’t like it, you can fuck off! It’s so dark and weird for a major label release – and freakin’ heavy!
The new shit – can’t get into any of it.
I was 19 and in college when Facelift came out. Blew my mind. It was Sabbath-esque, but with a modern alternative twist and fantastic yin/yang harmonizing between Layne and Jerry. Sean Kinney on drums is very underrated. Dirt is the greatest heavy album of the 90s imo and in my top 5 all time. Sap, Jar and the S/T (Head Creeps fucking kills) are all fantastic. I dig both the new albums too even though there are some mainstream bs production values going on. I wish they’d strip down the production and let DuVall take the lead vocal more often. Still love em regardless.