Cost: $4.00US
Page Count: 341 (with lots of footnotes and resources after)
A bit of history: When I was 16, my friends and I were totally psyched to learn that the completely awesome Van Halen was coming to the area supporting their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. So, we piled into 3 or 4 cars and headed to the Orlando Arena (the O-Rena) for the show. The lights came up for the opening act: Alice In Chains. We knew of the band...they had one album out, at the time (Facelift) and thought they would be super cool. Letdown...they sucked. Actually, the band was quite good, but the singer, Layne Staley, was obviously bombed out of his mind. They finished up and a dozen or so people clapped. At least Van Halen was awesome.
Listening back to the Alice in Chains catalog, you can really get a sense of the immense power and talent of Layne Staley. While The Untold Story goes into the formation of the band, dynamics, etc...it's always abundantly clear that the crux of the story is on Layne. To read about his start with the band, decline, and his eventual death were just heartbreaking. We all know the outcome of Layne Staley's life but it was the decline...damn...that was heart wrenching.
What was nice to read about was the jocularity and just how damned funny that the Alice in Chains guys really are. This is a band that created some of the most somber (yet rocking) tunes on the '90's. So, this was kind of cool to read.
Finally, enough can't be said about Jerry Cantrell. He is the creative and driving force of that band, and always has been. A true talent and, seemingly, stand-up guy.
Anyway, if you are a fan of Alice in Chains go ahead and give The Untold Story a read.
A bit of history: When I was 16, my friends and I were totally psyched to learn that the completely awesome Van Halen was coming to the area supporting their album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. So, we piled into 3 or 4 cars and headed to the Orlando Arena (the O-Rena) for the show. The lights came up for the opening act: Alice In Chains. We knew of the band...they had one album out, at the time (Facelift) and thought they would be super cool. Letdown...they sucked. Actually, the band was quite good, but the singer, Layne Staley, was obviously bombed out of his mind. They finished up and a dozen or so people clapped. At least Van Halen was awesome.
Listening back to the Alice in Chains catalog, you can really get a sense of the immense power and talent of Layne Staley. While The Untold Story goes into the formation of the band, dynamics, etc...it's always abundantly clear that the crux of the story is on Layne. To read about his start with the band, decline, and his eventual death were just heartbreaking. We all know the outcome of Layne Staley's life but it was the decline...damn...that was heart wrenching.What was nice to read about was the jocularity and just how damned funny that the Alice in Chains guys really are. This is a band that created some of the most somber (yet rocking) tunes on the '90's. So, this was kind of cool to read.
Finally, enough can't be said about Jerry Cantrell. He is the creative and driving force of that band, and always has been. A true talent and, seemingly, stand-up guy.
Anyway, if you are a fan of Alice in Chains go ahead and give The Untold Story a read.
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