Layne Staley died one of the most gruesome drug deaths ever. I can't believe they weren't able to involuntarily put him to a psych hospital.
Alice in Chains only had one great complete album (Dirt) and one good EP. Yeah, "Man in the Box" kicked ass, but the rest of their debut was kind of blah. The one after Dirt had it's moments but was pretty uneven. Pearl Jam all the way, and I haven't even like anything they've put out since <i>No Code</i>. Their first three albums are 90s classics with Vs. being their most underrated and best.
Alice in Chains, not only cuz they are a great band, but they inspired the name of p*rn actress Allysin Chaynes.
I think Facelift is as good if not better than Dirt. Sea Of Sorrow Bleed The Freak Love, Hate, Love We Die Young Man in The Box Other than Down In the Hole, these are my favorite Chains songs. But based on the amount of quality work, Pearl Jam does blow them away, I'll give you that.
Its a close call, but Pearl Jam (although I lost them by the time they reached to "world wide suicide" , Alice is not far behind-special in its own way. Temple of The Dog was classic- wow. Wish these classic bands would come together again and do something similar
Yes! Temple of the Dog remains one of the greatest one off albums ever released. "Hunger Strike" is freaking epic!
Pearl Jam didn't go down hill after Ten. Vitalogy - No Code - Yield - Binaural is their best stretch IMO. The last two albums were weaker, but what I've heard of their upcoming album, Backspacer, sounds GREAT.
Pearl Jam. And I have to agree with the previous poster who said they didn't like Nirvana. Yes, they were pioneers of a genre, but I sure don't much care for most of their music.
Pearl Jam definitely for me. I was a huge Pearl Jam and Nirvana fan back in the day, and was one of those kids that would proudly wear flannel shirts in Houston summers.
Pearl Jam, but I honestly don't know much about Alice in Chains. 'Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town' is my favorite PJ song.
Seriously, you should see a Pearl Jam show these days....I saw them at Lollapalooza 2 and then last year at MSG and I swear they got better.
Word. I despise the "they sucked after Vitalogy" crowd. All of their albums have some level of variation to them, and I like/love them all.
They ripped the roof off MSG. I couldnt believe the energy level of the show. Plus they played well beyond the union lighting guys' contract time so they had to turn on all the lights in MSG for the second encore. I'm debating driving down to Philly on Oct 28 or 30 and seeing them again, but I gotta score tickets first.
Have seen them in 2003, 2005, 2006 and will see them again this November. As you suggested, the shows get better every time, they age like fine wine.
You do realize that Facelift hit gold before PJ had recorded and released Ten (and Nevermind, but we are comparing with PJ), right? And Man in the Box was already in rotation on MTV before Ten was released or PJ. Dirt went platinum almost immediately...which ended up being about the same time Ten sales took off. Obviously, Ten was the more commercially successful album over the long run but AiC did not need Pearl Jam to usher in anything. AiC had great critical response and were also able to tap into the metal crowds because they were not that straight grunge sound. I was not 7 at the time, either. AiC, STP, and Soundgarden all existed before PJ set the stage and sound of Seattle grunge. As far as financial success, Nirvana set the stage and PJ took advantage with 10 and most caught the public's admiration. They were the most radio friendly.
