Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies was released on Jan. 25, 1994. There are some interesting facts about this album that you may not have known. 1992’s Dirt album was a major mainstream success with metal tracks. JOF was a much softer album and really dug into some of the bands struggles. It really showed off the bands ability and depth.

“And yet I fight / And yet I fight / This battle all alone / No one to cry to / No place to call home.” Layne Staley

The release is often regarded as one of the band’s best, especially because of songs like “No Excuses” and “I Stay Away,” in addition to “Nutshell.” The last time Staley would ever sing those words live was during the band’s 1996 performance on MTV’s Unplugged.

Bassist Mike Inez said of “Nutshell” when asked what song makes him think of Layne Staley the most:

I think the No. 1 for me is “Nutshell.” Layne was very honest with his songwriting. And in “Nutshell,” he really put everything in a nutshell for everybody. That song still gets me choked up whenever I play it. I get a little teary-eyed, and sometimes when we’re doing the arena runs especially, they’ll have some video footage of Layne. And I look and see me and Jerry [Cantrell, vocals and guitar] and Sean [Kinney, drums] looking the wrong way. We’re not looking at the audience, we’re looking back at Layne, and it’s pretty cool that there’s still that song for us. Yeah, it’s just a sad thing.

My favorite song on the album is Don’t Follow. I always have loved when Jerry and Layne sing together and this is very powerful. The album is now 30 years old.

Here is a top ten list of things you may or may not have known about the album

• 1. The name came from one of Jerry Cantrell's science experiments.

  The album’s title’s origin came from a science experiment Jerry Cantrell conducted in the third grade. “They gave him two jars full of flies,” Staley explained to Hit Parader. “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. “

• 2. Photographer Rocky Schenck took the album cover seriously.

  Rock Schenck, a photographer who worked with Alice In Chains on several occasions throughout their career, recalled how the idea for the EP’s cover came about in a post on his Instagram.

  “It was just me and my assistant, and a child whose name I’ve forgotten. My assistant made multiple trips up the street to gather hundreds of flies with a butterfly net at some horse stables. The flies kept dying, the kid kept complaining, and my assistant kept gathering more flies. The album was nominated for a Grammy for best recording package… and I still have the jars.”

• 3. They were homeless before they started recording it.

  As the members of the band returned home to Seattle from the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, they discovered they’d been evicted for failure to pay rent. Thus, they moved into London Bridge Studios — where the EP would eventually be recorded.

• 4. They didn't actually have songs written when they went into the studio.

  The band hired producer Toby Wright to collaborate on the project with them, but it turns out, there hadn’t actually been a project in mind yet. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s hear those songs.’ Jerry smiled and said, ‘Funny thing about those songs… we don’t have any,’” Wright told AV Club. “I laughed and said, ‘So what do you guys wanna do for the next 10 days?’ Cantrell said, ‘Mind if we just jam?’”

• 5. It wasn't their first recorded music with Mike Inez

  Former bassist Mike Starr was fired from the group in 1993, following their run opening for Ozzy Osbourne. Before heading to Europe to tour in support of Dirt, they recruited Osbourne’s bassist, Mike Inez. Jar of Flies isn’t the first release by the band to feature him playing bass, though — the two singles “What the Hell Have I” and “A Little Bitter” were recorded prior to the EP for the Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Last Action Hero.

   

  Although Facelift had several hits and Dirt attained mass popularity, Jar of Flies was the first Alice in Chains release to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Their third self-titled studio album followed suit a year later.

• 6. It was the first Alice in Chains release to top the charts

  Although Facelift had several hits and Dirt attained mass popularity, Jar of Flies was the first Alice in Chains release to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Their third self-titled studio album followed suit a year later.

• 7. it was the first EP to ever go No. 1

  Jar of Flies was the first EP in history to top the Billboard 200, a feat that would not be achieved again until 2004 with Linkin Park and rapper Jay-Z’s collaborative effort, Collision Course.

• 8. It was the first and only release they self-produced

  based on the credits for all of Alice In Chains’ discography, Jar of Flies is the only release the band produced entirely on their own.

• 9. "No Excuses" was their only song with Layne Staley to go No. 1.

  As many amazing songs came from Alice in Chains’ catalog during the Staley era, “No Excuses” was the only one to ever top the Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

  With such songs as “God Smack” and “Hate to Feel” crammed thick with junkie rage and Oedipal tension, Dirt (1992) is the musical equivalent of coughing blood — harrowing and real. Dense guitars spin ominous, flattened melodies: the sound of cages rattling. Acoustic leaning, the new seven-song EP from the Seattle quartet Alice in Chains is subtler — strings lighten “I Stay Away,” and “Whale and Wasp,” an instrumental, is darkly gorgeous. On “Swing on This” and “Rotten Apple,” Layne Staley’s vocals, owing as much to Styx and Kansas as Jerry Cantrell’s guitars do to Black Sabbath, evoke pathos as well as anger. Yet this is hardly Alice lite. “I repent tomorrow,” Staley sings, wary even of hope, and in nearly every song, the word home wrenchingly resounds — an ache, a bitter prayer.

• 10. All seven songs were recorded in seven days

  All seven songs were recorded in seven days at London Bridge Studios. According to David De Sola’s book Alice In Chains: The Untold Story, the sessions lasted 14 to 18 hours a day, and each song was complete in one or two takes.

Get The 98.5 The Sports Hub Newsletter Delivered To Your Inbox

Stay up to date with the latest Boston sports news and analysis, local events, exclusive contests, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.