Dirt (1992) Alice in Chains

Written by Meenakshi Nirmalan

I remember stumbling upon Alice in Chains’ MTV Unplugged performance of Would? on YouTube. I was instantly captivated by the song’s dark, moody feel. Would? is the album’s outro and the first sounds you hear are the tones of Mike Inez’s bass: deep yet crisp. And I thought the interplay between Layne Staley’s lead vocals and Jerry Cantrell’s harmonies was beautiful. The song ends abruptly, with Staley posing the ambiguous question “if I would, could you?”, leaving many of the album’s questions unanswered, hazy. When I first encountered this live performance on YouTube, I played the video on loop multiple times. This was when I was around 15. I had become really interested in Nirvana the year before and was just beginning to fade out of this phase. Alice in Chains was the next logical musical avenue for me to venture down. If you haven’t done so already, I would highly recommend watching Alice in Chains’ MTV Unplugged set, as the band’s songs are re-imagined with an acoustic feel. It is interesting to hear Alice in Chains’ music without distortion pedals. Although not all the tracks from Dirt are performed, the ones that are, have an added layer of magic to them.

Along with Would?, Down in a Hole is another one of my favourites of the MTV Unplugged performances. It’s one of the softer tracks from Dirt. It feels delicate, different to the other tracks. I particularly loved the opening lyrics: “Bury me softly in this womb / I give this part of me to you / Sand rains down and here I am / Holding rare flowers in a tomb / In bloom”. As well as the amazing vocals, Sean Kinney’s drumming is great. You have a wonderful pairing of the sludgy sound of the toms and bass drums with the gentle sprinkling of cymbals, which add a light flourish.

The album’s intro, Them Bones is energetic, setting the tone for the rest of the album. The track has a dense and murky power to it, typical of grunge. The verses of Them Bones are in 7/4, however, the choruses are in 4/4 and the track switches between the two, throughout its duration. The transition across time signatures in this song feels seamless; you don’t notice it unless you actively tap along, counting the beats. People often criticise grunge for being musically simplistic and lacking innovation. Dirt proves otherwise. The entire album has many abrupt tempo and time signature changes that work well. For example, the song Sickman is characterised by a lot of abrupt changes. Sickman starts off with many jolty tempo changes, however, the track eventually mellows out into a sequence of great vocal harmonies that kick in around the 3 minute mark. It just works well, especially considering the song’s lyrics. 

I suppose it’s difficult to read the lyrics of Dirt as separate from Staley’s life. I try to refrain from viewing lyrics in terms of absolutes, as nothing ever has a definitive meaning. However, many of Dirt’s lyrics underline themes of addiction. Going back to Sickman, the lyrics which stand out to me go: “I can feel the wheel, but I can't steer / When my thoughts become my biggest fear / Ah-ah, what's the difference, I'll die? / Ah-ah, in this sick world of mine”, which exemplify many of the sentiments expressed throughout the rest of the album. Moreover, the track, Dirt, which is the song the entire album is named after, is placed in the middle of the album and epitomises the thick, grungy mood found throughout all the other songs. The main riff of the track is ominous, slow, and has a chromatic feel to it. There is something solemn and poignant about the whole album, carried throughout moments of intensity and loudness, as well as quieter points of the various songs. That sustained solemnity is what makes Dirt such a powerhouse of an album.

There were a few tracks that I didn’t like. Angry Chair was one of them, along with Junkhead. They feel like filler tracks and sound too similar to one another. Initially, I also didn’t like Godsmack and Hate to Feel, however, they are growing on me, particularly the latter. Whilst the sounds of grunge may not be for everyone, I think that Alice in Chains is an underrated band. They are often lumped together with other Seattle grunge pioneers, such as Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, and most notably, Nirvana. However the grouping of all these bands never made much sense to me, as they all have such a distinct, unique sound. Alice in Chains’ style sounds murkier than Nirvana's and feels heavier, sludgier. In any case, Alice in Chains is definitely worth a listen, and Dirt is the ideal starting point.