Jar of Flies

Jar of Flies
EP by Alice in Chains
Released	January 25, 1994 (1994-01-25)
Recorded	September 7 - 14 1993 at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, Washington
Genre	Acoustic, blues-rock, grunge
Length	30:49
Label	Columbia
Producer	Alice in Chains
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] Robert Christgau [2] Rolling Stone [3]
Alice in Chains chronology
Dirt (1992) Jar of Flies (1994) Alice in Chains (1995)
Singles from Jar of Flies
"No Excuses" Released: 1994 "I Stay Away" Released: 1994 "Don't Follow" Released: 1994 "Whale & Wasp" Released: 1995

Jar of Flies is the third studio EP by the Seattle, Washington grunge band Alice in Chains, released on January 25, 1994 through Columbia Records.

Background and recording

Following Alice in Chains' extensive 1993 world tour for Dirt and appearance at Lollapalooza, the band members returned home to Seattle to find themselves evicted from their residence after failing to pay the rent. The band then moved into London Bridge Studio feeling lonely and depressed.^[4] Vocalist Layne Staley said the band "just wanted to go into the studio for a few days with our acoustic guitars and see what happened."^[5] "We never really planned on the music we made at that time to be released. But the record label heard it and they really liked it. For us, it was just the experience of four guys getting together in the studio and making some music."^[5]

Written and recorded in one week in September 1993,^[6] Jar of Flies was produced by the band members themselves. Jar of Flies marks the first album with bassist Mike Inez. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell said, "That was the first time we'd written with Mike Inez...The whole Jar of Flies EP proved to both us and the fans what a talented and valid part of the band Mike was. He plays the nastiest, darkest shit but he's got the sweetest heart in the world."^[7]

Music and lyrics

Jar of Flies well demonstrates Alice in Chains' broad musical scope and features a variety of predominately acoustic songs ranging from dark, depressed passages like "Nutshell" to the more upbeat anthems like "No Excuses". It also boast various instrumentation not otherwise common in the Alice in Chains catalog; the opening track, "Rotten Apple", features a talk box effect, and "Don't Follow" includes both harmonica and soul-driven vocals. However, Cantrell's signature electric guitar style still plays a prominent role in correspondence with the acoustic rhythms. "Whale & Wasp" also offers another Alice in Chains rarity in its purely instrumental nature.

Release and reception

While never originally intended for a public release, Columbia Records released Alice in Chains' second acoustic-based EP, Jar of Flies, on January 25, 1994. Jar of Flies debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP—and first Alice in Chains release—to top the charts.^{[8][citation needed]} It was the only EP ever to gain this distinction until 2004, when a mashup EP by Jay-Z and Linkin Park titled Collision Course also achieved the number one spot. Jar of Flies has since been certified double platinum. Paul Evans of Rolling Stone called the EP "darkly gorgeous,"^[3] and Steve Huey stated "Jar of Flies is a low-key stunner, achingly gorgeous and harrowingly sorrowful all at once."^[1]

Jar of Flies included the singles "No Excuses" and "I Stay Away", both of which had accompanying music videos. "No Excuses", which was a number one single on the Mainstream Rock charts, was Alice in Chains' most successful radio song until 2009. The second single, "I Stay Away", reached number ten on the Mainstream Rock charts, while the final single "Don't Follow", reached number 25.^[8] The final single released from the EP was a bold offering for a grunge-oriented band; a promo of the string instrumental "Whale & Wasp" was released as a promo-only single in January 1995. "I Stay Away" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1995.^[9]

Packaging

According to Staley, the title for the album came from a science experiment Cantrell conducted in third grade: "They gave him two jars full of flies. One of the jars they overfed, the other jar they underfed. The one they overfed flourished for a while, then all the flies died from overpopulation. The one they underfed had most of the flies survive all year. I guess there's a message in there somewhere. Evidently that experiment had a big impact on Jerry."^[10]

The first pressing of the CD contained plastic flies in the spine of the jewel case. In 1995, the album was briefly re-released in a limited edition, short-lived format called CD Plus. It contained a second CD of drivers in order to access special computer content on the CD. The key extras were lyrics, a discography and the full versions of both of the videos released from the EP, "No Excuses" and "I Stay Away". The picture on the CD itself is the purple/orange photo negative of the one found on the regular release CD.

In addition to the CD, the album was also released in a limited edition double vinyl along with Sap (Jar of Flies was on sides 1 and 2, Sap was on side 3, and an etching of the Alice in Chains logo was on side 4). In the UK, Jar of Flies and Sap were issued as a double CD, as Sap had not previously had a UK release.

Track listing

Personnel

Chart positions

Album

Singles

• I^  Did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100; peak chart position represents Billboard Hot 100 Airplay data.

References