Facelift (album)
| Facelift | ||||
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| Alice in Chains studio album | ||||
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Publication |
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admission |
December 1989 - April 1990 |
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| Label (s) | Columbia Records / CBS | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, MC |
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
53:54 |
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Studio (s) |
London Bridge Studio, Seattle , Capitol Recording Studio, Hollywood |
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Facelift is the debut album by the grunge band Alice in Chains , released on August 21, 1990 on CBS . It reached double platinum in the USA .
style
Comparisons with Black Sabbath or the Stooges can often be read for Alice in Chains during facelift times . Heavy guitar riffs characterize the music, the characteristic two-part singing by singer Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell is already included. The band themselves named Soundgarden , Jane's Addiction , Faith No More or Danzig as influences.
“Our strength is the fact that we cannot be assigned to any particular direction. Our influences are far too different for a clear picture to emerge. "
In terms of text, "relationship boxes" were processed in the same way as gang fights in the USA or "teenage problems":
“We may not take ourselves as seriously as other bands ... We are not philosophers and we have no plans to change the world. We're a couple of street kids who sing about what moves them. Their feelings, their frustrations, their experiences. It is more important that the lyrics go with the music than that they contain a great message. "
History of origin
In 1988 Alice in Chains had released their demo tape The Treehouse Tapes , which they distributed when they performed in local clubs in Seattle . Nick Terzio from Columbia / CBS came across music managers Susan Silver and Kelly Curtis, who already worked for Soundgarden . After the band signed a long-term record deal for seven albums, two firm plus options, in December 1989, they began recording the album that same month, for which Dave Jerden was won. By April 1990 the mix had been done, which Jerden also did. In July of that year, the promo EP We Die Young was released, but only on vinyl and cassette. Their title track was also Alice In Chains' first music video to make it into the heavy metal and hard rock-friendly media. Aside from that, Facelift , which was released on August 21, 1990 - about a year before Nirvana's Nevermind - initially wasn't a major success. 40,000 copies were just sold in the first six months. It was not until 1991 Man in the Box has been extracted, it into the rotation at MTV managed soared the sales figures upwards, which reached its climax in the spring 1991st
After the band opened the US part of the Clash-of-the-Titans tour with Slayer , Anthrax and Megadeth in early 1991 , they toured Europe as the opening act for Megadeth and also accompanied Extreme , Van Halen , Poison and Iggy Pop as opening act. At the end of that year, the facelift had achieved gold status. Other singles followed in 1991 Bleed the Freak and 1992 Sea of Sorrow . Man in the Box was nominated for “Best Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991, and in 1992 for the Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance”, which went to Van Halen. The play It Is not Like That was in 1992 in the movie Singles - Together lonely , in addition Would? from the Dirt album, played by the band.
reception
At the time of Facelift's release , the Seattle scene had only received more attention in underground circles, although Soundgarden had recently made their major debut with Louder Than Love . Steve Huey from allmusic writes that Facelift first of all reached hard rock and metal listeners, and that Man in the Box paved the way for the grunge boom at the end of 1991. He calls some parts of the second half of the record "pompous, cumbersome bombast", but on the whole it is "fresh, exciting and powerful." The rating was three out of five stars. Rock Hard magazine listed Facelift at number 113 of the 500 best albums selected by the editorial team. Thomas Kupfer wrote that the record “exuded that very special magic that ultimately makes great albums.” It was “peppered with hits”. For editor-in-chief Götz Kühnemund , Alice in Chains were the “latest insider tip in matters of street metal”, he certified the band “format, class and identity” and awarded eight out of ten points. In Metal Hammer Andrea Nieradzik compared Layne Staley's vocals with singer Valor Kand from Christian Death . The "melancholy" sound of Alice in Chains has "exactly the intensity that it takes to keep going." Above all, the songwriting is "outstanding". They awarded six out of seven possible points.
Track list
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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- We Die Young - 2:32 (Text and music: Cantrell)
- Man in the Box - 4:46 (Text: Staley, Music: Cantrell)
- Sea of Sorrow - 5:49 (Text and Music: Cantrell)
- Bleed the Freak - 4:01 (Text and Music: Cantrell)
- I Can't Remember - 3:42 (Text: Staley, Cantrell, Music: Cantrell)
- Love, Hate, Love - 6:26 (Text: Staley, Music: Cantrell)
- It Ain't Like That - 4:37 (Text: Cantrell, Music: Cantrell, Starr, Kinney)
- Sunshine - 4:44 (text and music: Cantrell)
- Put You Down - 3:16 (Text and Music: Cantrell)
- Confusion - 5:44 (Text: Staley, Music: Cantrell, Starr)
- I Know Somethin (Bout You) - 4:22 (Text and music: Cantrell)
- Real Thing - 4:03 (Text: Staley, Music: Cantrell)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.riaa.com: Alice in Chains , accessed March 9, 2010.
- ↑ a b c www.allmusic.com: Facelift review by Steve Huey
- ↑ a b c d Götz Kühnemund: Between Heaven and Hell , in Rock Hard, No. 46, January 1991.
- ↑ Booklet Boxset Alice in Chains - Music Bank
- ↑ Chris Gill: Dirt , in: Guitar World, September 1999.
- ↑ www.allmusic.com: Band biography Alice in Chains by Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Greg Prato
- ↑ Rock Hard: Best of Rock and Metal , p. 178.
- ↑ www.rockhard.de: Facelift review by Götz Kühnemund
- ↑ Andrea Nieradzik: Review Facelift , in: Metal Hammer, No. 17/18, 1990, p. 65.
- ↑ Chart source: US