Dirt (Alice in Chains album)

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Dirt is the second studio album by the American grunge band Alice in Chains. The album was released on September 29, 1992 through Columbia Records. Dirt was produced by the band and Dave Jerden. Debuting at number six on the Billboard 200, the album received favorable critical reviews and has been certified 4× platinum by the RIAA.

Many of the lyrics contained within the album deal with depression and drug abuse. Five singles were released from the album, "Would?", "Them Bones", "Rooster", "Angry Chair", and "Down in a Hole".

Background and recording

Dirt began recording in the spring of 1992. Producer, Dave Jerden was determined to work with Alice In Chains again, as well as vocalist, Layne Staley and lead guitarist, Jerry Cantrell, as he truly admired Staley's vocals and Cantrell's riffs and lyrics. For the songs "Them Bones", "Rain When I Die", "Down In A Hole, "Dirt" and "Would?", Cantrell brought in his Black Gibson Les Paul and an amplifier he had bought when he was 17 which had a faster and much raunchier distortion than any amp he had used in the past.

When recording the album, Staley had previously checked out of rehab in Portland, Oregon and quickly went back to using heroin. Sean Kinney claimed in a 2005 interview that Staley had told Kinney that he was extremely high on heroin and marijuana during the recordings of Down In A Hole and Angry Chair as well as taking Oxycodone for back pain on every other song on the album. Cantrell had also agreed with Kinney's report, saying that Staley, Jerden and the rest of the band would smoke marijuana in the studio room, even saying that Staley would shoot heroin in front of everyone. Staley was not the only one who went through heavy drug use, Sean Kinney and Mike Starr were also struggling with alcohol addiction, Cantrell was also going through severe clinical depression from the death of his mother and his friend, Andrew Wood and used Xanax, an anxiety medication prescribed by his doctor to ease his depression as well as his heavy drinking on tour... "I was going through a tough time, everyone was, but that's what made the album stronger and more intense, I look back on that period of time as the longest four years of sex, drugs and alcohol we all went through." Cantrell said in a 2007 interview with The Seattle Times.

For the bands cover design, Layne Staley provided the artwork, even painting his girlfriend Demri Parrott on the cover, when approaching the band with the design they quickly agreed with it. In June 1992, the albums post-production was complete and the album was 100% complete by the end of June.

Music and lyrics

Themes on the album consisted of feelings of depression, anti-social behaviour, drug use, war, death, entrapment, deep relationships and various other heavy topics. Cantrell had stated that this album was the band's best work and most intense work, and that they all intentionally for years wanted to make a "brutal" record. Six songs on the album were about heroin, including "Sickman", "Junkhead", "Dirt", "God Smack", "Hate to Feel" and "Angry Chair".

Release and reception

Dirt was the band's breakout album. Upon its release in September 1992, Dirt peaked at number 6 on the Billboard's Top 200 album chart. The album granted Alice in Chains international recognition. Dirt was certified 4x Platinum status in the United States and platinum status in Canada and Gold status in the UK.

Beginning with the single "Would?", Alice in Chains second album sold became their best-selling album. In the fall of 1992, "Man in the Box" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Hard Rock Performance.

Steve Huey of Allmusic said "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."

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Them Bones"	Cantrell	2:30
2.	"Dam That River"	Cantrell	3:09
3.	"Rain When I Die"	Cantrell, Staley, Starr, Kinney	6:01
4.	"Down in a Hole[I]"	Cantrell	5:38
5.	"Sickman"	Staley, Cantrell	5:29
6.	"Rooster"	Cantrell	6:15
7.	"Junkhead"	Staley, Cantrell	5:09
8.	"Dirt"	Staley, Cantrell	5:16
9.	"God Smack"	Staley, Cantrell	3:50
10.	"Iron Gland[II]"	Cantrell	0:43
11.	"Hate to Feel"	Staley	5:16
12.	"Angry Chair"	Staley	4:47
13.	"Would?"	Cantrell	3:27

^ I On the Australian, British, and early US 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

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1992	Billboard 200	6

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1992	"Would?"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	5
		Modern Rock Tracks	11
	"Them Bones"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	24
		Modern Rock Tracks	30
1993	"Rooster"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	7
	"Angry Chair"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	34
		Modern Rock Tracks	27
	"Down in a Hole"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	10
		Modern Rock Tracks	10