Alice In Chains - Dirt [Music On Vinyl 180g LP] 24-bit/96kHz & CD-compatible format

“

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 - Steve Huey/AMG

”

Dirt is the second studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains and was released on September 29, 1992 through Columbia Records. Peaking at number six on the Billboard 200, the album was well received by music critics and has since been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA, making Dirt the band's highest selling album to date.

The album spawned five singles: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole". The songs on the album focused on depression, drug use, war, death, and other emotionally heavy topics.

Release and reception

Dirt was the band's breakthrough album. Upon its release in September 1992, Dirt peaked at number six on the Billboard 200. Dirt was released on the same day as another important album of the grunge era, Core by Stone Temple Pilots. Dirt granted Alice in Chains international recognition. Dirt was certified four times platinum status in the United States, platinum status in Canada and gold status in the UK. The album has sold 3.03 million copies in the United States.

The album was a critical success, with Steve Huey of Allmusic saying "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 (nearly half the album) 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." Michael Christopher of PopMatters praised the album saying "the record wasn't celebratory by any means -- but you'll be hard pressed to find a more brutally truthful work laid down -- and that's why it will always be one of the greatest records ever made." Chris Gill of Guitar World called Dirt "huge and foreboding, yet eerie and intimate," and "sublimely dark and brutally honest."

Dirt included the singles "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole", all of which had accompanying music videos. Dirt spawned five top 30 singles, including "Rooster", "Them Bones", and "Down in a Hole", and remained on the charts for nearly a year. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, Dirt received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band also contributed the song "Would?" to the soundtrack for the 1992 Cameron Crowe film, Singles, whose video received an award for Best Video from a Film at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Dirt was named 5th best album in the last two decades by Close-Up magazine.




Track listing

Side A

1. "Them Bones" Jerry Cantrell 2:30
2. "Dam That River" Cantrell 3:09
3. "Rain When I Die" Cantrell, Layne Staley, Sean Kinney, Mike Starr 6:01
4. "Down in a Hole *I" Cantrell, Staley 5:38
5. "Sickman" Cantrell 5:30
6. "Rooster" Cantrell 6:15

Side B

7. "Junkhead" Staley 5:09
8. "Dirt" Cantrell 5:16
9. "God Smack" Cantrell 3:50
10. "Untitled (Iron Gland) *II" Cantrell 0:43
11. "Hate to Feel" Staley 5:16
12. "Angry Chair" Staley 4:47
13. "Would?" Cantrell 3:28

* I On the Australian, European, and early US and Canadian versions of the CD, "Down in a Hole" is located between "Angry Chair" and "Would?".

* II "Iron Gland" is unlisted on the CD; the song got its name when Music Bank was released.

Personnel

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