Alice In Chains, Would? - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- #aliceinchains
Setting a beautiful modal melody reminiscent of another time and place, this piece evokes an inner purity and simplicity, fittingly supporting the lyrics. Altogether a loyal tribute in honor of a friend who “made a mistake”.
Here’s the link to the original song by Alice In Chains:
• Alice In Chains - Woul...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by Alice In Chains
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After all these episodes I'm still amazed on how sincerely and intelligently you approach music that is light years distant from your musical experience. Congratulations. It's hard to find people so open minded, these days.
Yes, you can tell Amy really loves music and all it's artistic forms.
She is amazing. I love her music reactions. She’s really taught me a ton of things about how music works.
She's a born teacher with extensive knowledge of music, music theory and just how music works to effect the the way we feel.
Yes it's quite obvious that the more she's exposed to rock music the more she likes the genre
@@peterhughes8699 I’ve been waiting on her to react to Echoes at Pompeii. Wish to God she would do that one. See Pink Floyd playing live to the ghosts of Pompeii.
The unmistakable harmonizing of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell is haunting. The trademark sound of AIC
Sean Kinney was such a beast on this album. Often under rated drummer.
Totally agree. His use of the toms to add dark texture and to punch up the guitar stabs was masterful.
Layne Stayley was one of the most amazing vocalists ever. Heroin destroyed him, but even on death's door he was in the top 1%
For sure, never heard anyone even closé to Layne's power and ability.,
Power and soul taken too soon
1000%
@@SeanEnginetechnologyPhil Anselmo (Pantera) is right up there too imo. My 2 favorite singers
😭
"Monastic" is such a fantastic description of the verse here. I'm gonna use that now.
It's also accurate. Jerry Cantrell's choir group would perform Gregorian chants, it appears to have influenced his song writing and the group's harmonies.
Don't forget to give Amy credit for coming up with that discription.
“I prefer a monastic Alice N’ Chains on a Sunday morning”
Like a Gregorian chant, yes.
apparently one of Jerry Cantrell's inspirations was "creepy church music" I think I read him say one time
Jerry Cantrell used to sing in a choir where they used sing 14th and 15th century music, and that inspired him to compose those dark monastic vocal harmonies. It's super cool to see you noticing this influence without knowing the band!
It's been thirty-one years I've been listening to this masterpiece and yet you managed to make me look at it from a different angle, and that's so rare for me. I thank you for that.
Amen
The best technical reaction to Alice in chains yet, bravo.
This is my favorite band, thanks for giving it a listen.
Also my favorite. Their brilliance was/is too often overlooked.
Same
You have to do "I stay Away". It's such a beautiful song and features a lovely string section.
I recommended I stay away as well, since she’s a classical musician I think she love that one because it’s really epic and has great strings in it.
I’ll throw my support to “I Stay Away” as well. 👍🏼
Great suggestion. Seconded ☝️👍
I Stay Away goes from beautiful to dark and disjointed sounding and back again. It's a great song!
Vote up!!
These guys had an amazing vocal harmony sensibility. It’s a cornerstone of their sound
Personally Soundgarden is my favorite, but everytime I listen to AIC I notice that their vocals and instrumentals of each member are so cohesive, and as a band that is a sum of its parts, simply can't be topped
I think it was Rick Beato who went deep into the techniques that made Layne and Jerry's vocal harmonies sound so good.
I'm so glad that you described their vocals as "monastic". That is something that has always attracted me about Alice in Chains, something that I could always pick up on from years of catholic mass attendance as a child. I never liked church, but I'd always been hypnotized by traditional church music, Gregorian chants and the likes.
I heard it when she called it but couldn’t place it before, but that is how I hear his vocals too. It’s amazing.
yeah I hear it. never thought of it that way before
Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell had some of the harmonies together in all of rock history . Plus Layne and his voice was so haunting on its own . He will forever be one of my favorite vocalist until nothing is left of me but Them Bones . Which is another awesome song by them . RIP Layne Staley and Mike Starr .
They definetly had some harmonies
Those notes on the words "have I gone " and " am I wrong " are so awesome how they decline and drop down and hang .
Mind boggling those drops are. Shoo wee
Absolutely love the way Amy describes the interplay of musical elements as a 'conversation' it's so true
The bassline is one of the most memorable and dark and haunting out there. I can never get enough of it.
I have to agree. I play finger style but I still like covering Mike Stars composition on the bass. Most that cover it leave out a lot of notes as it’s really subtly faster than what it sounds like. It’s an excellent riff. And the chorus and bridge/outro complement the main riff so well.
I am so impressed with this lady as she picked up the bass line fairly accurately in one listen. Brava!
Whenever i close my eyes and listen to that opening it reminds me of the flash floods that happen arouns where i live during the summer thunderstorms. It just pulls you into this dark heavy current that is so hypnotic.
Into the flood again may be more related to shooting up. As in heroin entering the flood of blood. And after injecting, same old trip it was back then. It’s always the same warm rush. Then he realizes the mistake of the downward spiral towards death that shooting up will eventually bring. Think of it in the context that it was written in for Andy Wood who was so likable and easy going and who was having trouble dealing with being so popular. Layne and Mike both had the same addiction as did Andy’s roommate at the time and you should know who that was. Say Hello 2Heaven. Layne was also so likable and loved to make people laugh whereas Mike was not. He would steal, lie, or cheat to get his next shot to get well. Sorry Mike but it was true. So, learn what the song was written about and understand how horrible the heroin addiction is. Imagine you just had sex for the first time and then you ate for the first time, the best thing the best thing you have ever eaten in your life. Couple those tow emotions and that is how opiates can make you feel on a good day. But the mental and physical addiction won’t let you quit. Then imagine its five years later and you are filled with feelings of guilt and remorse. The money you have wasted…the people close to you that you have hurt. But still your body and your mind crave this drug. It’s wonderful and terribly awful at the same time and so very tragic. Heroin is NOT a recreational drug but one that consumes your entire life. Sorry I got emotional.
I love this band. Their singer (Layne) is one of my favourites. The vocal harmonies are haunting and unusual. Often a lot of parallel 4ths and 5ths (Them Bones for example). This might be something that would make classicly trained musicians cringe, but it makes their music sound so eerie and heavy. It just works. Love your reactions and breakdowns. More AIC please!
No classical musician born after about 1750 is going to cringe at parallel 5ths unless they are "retro" LOL. Parallel 5ths do stand out and sound kind of bad in counterpoint. If your writing a fugue, avoid parallel 5ths. Any other time, have at it.
@@wingracer1614 I guess you are right about that. It is nevetheless a very specific sound that can easily sound bad compared to 3rds. AIC does it REALLY well!
If you like Layne Staley listen to Mad Season.
If you like someone who sounds 98% like Staley, listen to Chout. Also they were formerly called Skorned. You can find songs by both online. Eerily similar to listening to A.I.C. songs.
I'm an absolute Soundgarden fan, but THIS song just gets me. It's glorious in its pain, and I have to say that, to me, this is paramount to all that was released in the early 90s. A total album -ending tune. I couldn't listen to anything else for a bit.
I saw Layne in a three piece suit at the start of their set on Lollapolooza in 93 and it was like 95 degrees that day! Needless to say he took the jacket tie vest and shirt off after playing Would the first song to start the show! Very charismatic singer and great stage presence! His voice very unique and an unbelievable range! RIP Layne!
Around the time of this song an album of Gregorian Chants went to number one. It was in the air.
I remember that because I had a friend who was already listening to them when it became popular.
@@richpeltier9519 and there was another band that used Gregorian chant in their song, real Gregorian chants not just alluded to like in this song.
Eniagma?
@@davidcardoso3525 yes. Enigma thank you.
A few years later a group called Era had a smash hit in Europe and Latin America with a song called Ameno, which had similar vibes.
That bass line is just awesome. That whole intro encapsulates AIC.
Mount Rushmore of Grunge:
Nirvana
Alice in Chains
Stone Temple Pilots
Soundgarden
Pearl Jam
Honorable mentions:
Mad Season
Temple of the dogs
Screaming trees
Smashing pumpkins
Andrew Wood was the singer for Mother Love Bone. He was very talented and had quite the personality. When he passed, Mother Love Bone re-formed themselves as Pearl Jam. They, along with AIC & Chris Cornell were all part of the Seattle grunge scene in the late 80s - mid 90s
Jerry, Chris, and Mudhoney invented grunge. So great. I was 14 in 1990. In my wheelhouse.
Two suicides, two drug overdoses and Eddie Vedder is still alive thankfully
You could do a whole series on Alice in Chains, they definitely deserve it. Also consider listening to the arrangement on the Unplugged album, which is all acoustic and one of the best live albums ever recorded in my opinion.
She should listen to I stay away next because it has awesome strings it it that she’d probably really like as a classical musician. Unplugged after that Imo because that’s classic stuff as well but I stay away should be right up here alley
Yea with Layne on deaths door during that recording his power, tone, range ect. Didn't sit right or open his mouth hardly and STILL killed it. What a special human he was. RIP
@@GrooveGoblinDW he wasn’t even remotely close to death, he was not in great health but the people who act like he was about to die are totally wrong, he lived 6 more years where he didn’t take care of himself and abused drugs all day everyday. He wasn’t in great health but he still could’ve turned his life around at that point, 6 more years of abusing the shit out of you body is a long time. So while this was a diminished Layne he was not near deaths door at this point and he was still great even if he wasn’t as great and powerful as he was earlier in their career
She’s just got to hear their song Nutshell next! live and/ or studio version
R.I.P. Layne
Alice in Chains is by far my favorite grunge band. Even their newer work is stellar
The guitar player Jerry, is a good enough singer to front a good rock band on his own. His harmonies behind Layne are brilliantly constructed.
Layne's voice was so powerful and versatile. His ability to move between his throat, nose, head and chest voice is unparalleled. Combined with Jerry's harmonies, the AIC vocal pallet is devastatingly versatile and powerful.
Take all that into consideration and look at the EP Sap, recorded just prior to going into the studio for Dirt.
The vocalists on Sap include not just Chris Cornell and Mark Arm, but the legendary Ann Wilson of Heart. The vocal harmonies on Sap are otherworldly. Just a short selection of (fairly) simple songs, done almost as an experiment in what can be done with the human voice in a modern recording studio.
🤟🧙♂️🤟
Rich the Ancient Metal Beast
It never totally took off, but I really enjoyed Jerry Cantrell's solo stuff..."Cold Piece" is a particular favorite of mine (and features Les Claypool on bass!).
@flingonber record sales are an indicator of how good music is. They're just not a good indicator of how good music is. -Paraphrasing Quincy Jones as best I can.
It's good stuff. The fact that it's not popular is irrelevant.
🤟🧙♂️🤟
@@richpeltier9519 an _indicator_ -- just not a _good_ indicator... important distinction you (and QJ) raise! Nice! :)
@@flingonberJerry’s solo career has been fairly successful even if he never blew up like AIC did and sold a ton of records. his solo work is amazing tho, boggy depot is a great record and Degradation trip vol1&2 is a masterpiece, his recent record brighten is very good as well. His solo work has definitely always deserved more attention than it’s gotten because it’s damn good.
@@flingonber Your Decision is also an excellent song
Alice in Chains is the cream of the crop as far as I'm concerned. So good in all aspects.
One of my all time favorites and in my opinion, far and away the best of the Seattle grunge scene
This is an amazing song. I never really appreciated it til I got older. If you notice, the song is balanced. The drums, base, guitar and vocals, all shine, equally. The song abruptly ends, as you're getting into it, just like Andrew Wood's life😥😢
Those harmonies of fifths are a key element of Alice in Chains’ signature sound. Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell sang these harmonies in many of their songs, often switching the high and low parts back and forth mid-verse. Jerry had choral training in his youth (including Gregorian chant) and Layne just seemed to gravitate to that sound. Jerry continues to sing these same harmonies with William DuVall to this day.
Layne Staley on lead vocals provides such a unique and captivating vocal journey through so many of their songs. One of my favorites is their MTV Unplugged set with this song as well as some other incredible renditions such as "Down in a Hole".
I had a friend, many years ago, that told me about this amazing up and coming band called Alice In Chains. Because of her, I got Alice In Chains album, Facelift (On cassette) and wore it completely out. I remember talking about them with my sister, and then, because I was a huge Anthrax fan, got tickets to Clash of the Titans tour with Anthrax, Megadeath, and Slayer. Alice and Chains opened for the bands. The absolute best concert I have ever been to. I told my, oldest (21), daughter about not much more than a month ago and she was completely blown away that I had seen those bands live. Such an amazing time back then. Temple of the Dog is still an album that I absolutely love. Alice and Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Mother Love Bone... all of them... Huge influence on who I am today. My daughter, all my kids grew up in the Seattle area, would be blown away.
So many amazing things I could say about this video... But, I feel like "Thank You" is the best way to express my feelings right now... ☺
I love heavy music that has a prettiness to it. No band in the world has ever combined those two elements as well as Alice in Chains (maybe tied with Black Sabbath). This is one of my top 30 favorite songs, and I've heard it countless times, yet I love it even more now, since I've heard the melody and harmony with fresh ears and deeper understanding. Very interesting analysis as always, Amy.
This song, along with Blue Öyster Cult’s ‘ don’t fear the Reaper’, are my two favourite hard rock songs that employ this sort of “ monastic“ harmonic structure in the vocals.
Medieval, monastic, yes, then it cries out in pain and frustration. I love your analysis. This is my favorite Alice in Chains song. I was listening to them as a physics grad student when it came out, headed to a Ph.D. No, I wasn't listening to Mozart and Beethoven at the time, but I love them both now.
Got to see them live in the early 90s.. Mindblowing live
Yup!
Missed out on my first show ever being Alice in Chains during the Facelift album cycle. I still have nightmares about it to this day 😂😭
Saw them open for Van Halen. Man in the box was just getting big and was the only sing of theirs I knew. I was stoked to see VH before hand but AIC blew them away that night. I left mightily impressed with AIC and very disappointed with VH who just went thru the motions. Layne in particular was incredible we were right up front and his vocals seemed to go right thru you
I saw Van Halen (Hagar) at the tacoma dome with a brand new band opening for them. Alice in chains. It was amazing.
UA-cam recommend this video to me. A big fan of Alice and Chains, but also grew up with a strong classical backgrownd.
I love what you are doing here!
Yay! I love this! I can cross it off my Virgin Rock dream list. Amy has the best descriptions... "Cool call and response", "monastic sound", "ancient improvisatory", and "plainchant modal sound world". I love the harp examples and harmony lesson. Extremely educational! Please also consider Radiohead (Paranoid Android), The Police (Every Little Thing She Does is Magic), Jim Croce (Time in a Bottle), The Cure (Just Like Heaven), Faith No More (Epic), Bee Gees (How Deep is Your Love), Sting (Shape of My Heart), Marvin Gaye (What's Going On), Metallica (Orion), Mr. Bungle or Fugazi would be amazing too.
This guy^^, does the sex!
Orion. Nice!
I've been listening to this song and this band for more than 20 years. And yet, you've managed to make connections and find nuances that I've never connected before. The abrupt end of Would? and the abrupt end of Andy Wood - I'd never made that connection before and it's absolutely chilling. Instantly subscribed based on the strength of this analysis alone.
One of my all-time favourite songs! Intriguing analysis! The old stone monastery chant feel we're getting from the song has largely to do with the monotone melody in the verses, the tight vocal harmonies, and the choice of reverb used - which could actually be emulating a large stone structure. All this gives this song an ethereal and haunting feel.
You helped put into understanding the missing link..,the haunting,.. that is Alice n chains musical alchemy!
if you want to hear Alice in Chains with a string section listen to "I stay away"
You explained better why I love Alice in Chains than I ever could. They are one of my favorite rock bands. They touch my soul in the same way as many other ancient pieces of music. That was a great reaction and perspective!
Thank You for this Video. lm 53 and AnC is one of my FAV all time bands. Saw them many times, "back in the day". Them and the Others, from the PNW, drug me kicking and screaming out of the 80s. If you go down the AnC rabbit hole, it will change the way you look at music and song writing and (expression of thoughts and feelings). RIP Layne, AND Mike Star. U guys are missed. (Now that your STEPPED into Seattle. Gotta hear another, TOP FAV of the time (and mine) Queensrÿche (with Geoff Tate ) Ull be impressed. LOL )
You approach this with a fascinating perspective. It makes me appreciate the music in new ways. I didn't think I could like this song any more than I already did, but I was wrong. Much gratitude!
The MTV Unplugged acoustic version of this is really good too & worth a listen.
A perfect song off of a perfect album.
Also, for the creator of the video, one thing to understand about grunge music, as it’s typically tune down 1/2 step.
To D# or Eb that’s why you had to change the tuning on your harp.
This practice was basically started off by Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath with damage to his fingers just down tuning a guitar. A half step reduces a tremendous amount of stress, making Ben’ds easier, but also gives it a more dark, muddy tone.
I think guitars generally sound better tuned down a half step, I’m not sure why. Guitarists were playing in Eb back in the Jazz age for compatibility with brass and wind instruments. Tony tuned down to C# which is totally different sound.
@@Hartlor_Tayley thank you for filling me in the body jazz side.
You’re correct Tony did tune down to see sharp, but only after paranoid, which is Eb (but sped up a few RPMs in post production to sound like it was in standard E).
My understanding from watching interviews with him is that he turned down to C# sharp, starting on the second Album.
@@MartinBryan that makes sense. Thanks for those details
Really enjoyed this analysis. Pointed out things that had never registered with me before. Thank you!
This is the best reaction video I've come upon for this song! I never really thought about harp playing until now and she played it right into their sound.
Appreciate you exploring music outside your genre while still able to apply classical principles. Also you hear more than just the notes and chords, you appreciate contrasts and dynamics. I never considered the medieval similarities, thanks! Gothic grunge
You are now our new Yoda of music. Delving deep into our souls ❤️🤘
What an amazing analogy with monastic voices, I'm a more than 30 years AIC fan, listened that songs thousands of times probably, and this never occured to me, so true! By the way we also tend to forget how brilliant and tasteful drummer Sean is, whether it's light and sweet (the cymbals touches in the first measures) or pounding heaviness on the descending toms triplets you noticed on the end of the song. Alice in Chains is my favorite band of all time, along with Death (for other qualities/emotions). I'd hope you'd analyse "Without Judgement" by them some day by the way, and thank you for this video!
Great reaction to a great 90s song and band. You found a lot to appreciate in it. They have several other really good songs for you to react to ("Rooster", "Man in a Box", "Down in a Hole" as just 3 examples). Loved your discussion of the modes, which some tend to make more complex and mysterious than they are. Interesting comparison to Gregorian monastic chants in the vocals, which I can now hear in the verses. As always I loved your harp demos. Unfortunately Layne Staley (lead singer during the chorus and singing harmony with the Jerry Cantrell verses) also died of an overdose in 2002 just 10 years after this song.
I’ve listened to this song since it was released. I never caught that cathedral sounding vocals in the beginning. You never disappoint on catching those unique things that make these songs great.
In to the flood again, same old trip it was back then
So I made a big mistake, try and see it once my way
Growing up as a teen in the 90s I had plenty of reasons to never try heroin
I grew up with this song in the 90ies, AIC was a big influence on me as a drummer.. saw this video and you nailed it so much in every aspect. Brought a tear to my eyes.. THANK YOU.
Excellent review of one of my favorite songs of all time! If you want to learn a little more about Andrew Wood, his band was called Mother Love Bone and I would recommend stardog champion or Chloe dancer/crown of thorns. Most people, myself included, fell in love with Andrews voice. I hope you get a chance to listen and that you like what you hear. The only thing we can do for Andrew anymore is remind people of the sheer beauty of his voice. I didn’t know him, but I suspect he would’ve liked that.
It absolutely HAD to be THIS band and THIS song that has me subbing to your channel after the first visit!
What a gloriously fun breakdown and frankly historical, but at the same time contemporary, musical education all wrapped into one.
Your, "my favorite childhood teacher," tone and peaceful presentation just add to your obvious unconditional love and appreciation for all music.
Thus just tickles me! 😊
I couldn't agree anymore
Goosebumps when i listen to this track
I love this listen and analysis, AiC were band of my youth, grunge is generally music of my youth.
If you are interested musically in this band, I suggest you look next at song "Man in the box" from first album, it has interesting dynamic, similar as song "Would?" but slightly different.
Both songs are written by guitarist and second vocalist Jerry Cantrell, main vocal is Layne Staley, dynamic in vocals, between them was great.
Unfortunately, this song is also personal for both of them, not only cause of early death of Andy Wood, cause of fact that Layne Staley also had similar issue and struggles with addiction and on the end, had same tragic end as Andy, few years later.
Great Job as always Amy, keep on good work!
Greetings for Vlad, love for little one!
Yeah! Man in the Box was plastered over MTV for so long!
Wow!! I was in a trance when you were explaining the Dorian Mode, it took me a while to realize that you were playing part of the song. It's amazing to identify all these elements of ancient music in rock.
Thank you, I really enjoyed this video.
I love people who love music, I really hate music snobs. Well done for being open to things outside of your musical perview.
Hi there! - I just watched your video on Would? by Alice In Chains where you briefly go into the differences between the musical scales and modalities.
DANG! Back when I was taking a music theory course, that subject sure did confound me!
It's like statistics was easy for me because it was intuitive - but its sister, probabilities just messed me up bigtime because it was counter-intuitive (and that ain't as easy as counterclockwise to reverse!).
So... I hope you do more about scales and modes in your explication of musical ideas. One thought in this regard:
Perhaps you can do a compare-and-contrast on two versions of the same song: The first is the original: IMAGINE by John Lennon in 1971, and a cover by A Perfect Circle (a side-project of Tool singer James Maynard Keenan) in 2004.
A Perfect Circle does a very TOOL-like number on "Imagine," changing either the scale or the mode or both or neither.
So you see my confusion more clearly now, huh?
Vlad - perhaps you can take a listen and see if it might provide a nice intro for Amy to bring in scales-vs-modes... Tanks a lot!
I am indeed pleased that you have finally arrived here. If you reacted to the video for "Love Hate Love" live at the Moore Theater, it would be great.
One of the greatest bands ever!!!!
Amy, this was a fantastic job breaking down the harmonies. AIC is truly genius with their harmony work. Keep listening to them. they are great.
Might I suggest you listen to Black Gives Way to Blue. A beautiful tribute to the Original Lead Singer Layne Staley who passed in 2002 also due to a Heroin overdose.
Andrew wood was a key musician that paved the way for grunge. People would consider his vocals very glam metal, but the music, the music was grunge before grunge had a name. Very influential, and died before his time.
This is in my top 5 all time favourite tracks, and I’ve been listening to it since it came out (I was 15 at the time). Your analysis - which at times felt like synesthesia - helped me to hear things I hadn’t heard before, in 31 years of listening. I’m actually blown away. Incredible work.
“Timeless quality” Indeed, and one of the greatest vocalists. Ever.
I love that you do these without the video. So many reaction videos get sidetracked from the video or are otherwise influenced by the video. I like the "monastery" comment because it's something someone watching the video might not ever think of.
At the very start of the vocals you spot-on identified the monastic, chants element. This is Jerry singing , the guitarist who also sings. I read that in high school when he was in the choir he studied the chants.
Yes he has said they used to do Gregorian chants and things. Definitely an influence!
I love how deep and enthralled you are in theory, its a pleasure to listen to.
Great content!!! Perhaps we can do some more Alice and Chains.....try their unplugged album. Recorded as an MTV unplugged performance, live, it is considered one of the greatest live acoustic performances of grunge of all time.
Amy, thank you so much for covering AIC. I’m new to your channel and I’ve been selecting my favorites from your catalogue, for the last couple of weeks. I was hoping you would get around to AIC, and I hope you will cover more from them. I also would like to see you cover “I Stay Away”, as others have mentioned. I really enjoy your videos, for someone with your knowledge and appreciation of music to cover these rock songs that mean so much to us “rockers”, is truly special. I admire your ability to analyze and critique without passing judgement, even if you don’t necessarily connect to all of these songs. Watching your reactions to my favorite bands, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Floyd and now AIC, has been amazing. Your gentle nature , amazing musical abilities and endearing personality make for great content. I hope you and Vlad will keep up the good work. Thanks again.
@Virgin Rock You had me at Monastic. I had to look up the definition but that's beside the point 😃 AIC is my favorite band of all time. I call their sound The Beautiful Darkness. You've got a new subscriber💯
Got to see them on the tour for Facelift in '91 at CalExpo where they played eight of twelve songs from Facelift and Would? which at that point was unreleased, so that was the first time I heard the song. They opened for Van Halen. Odd coupling, but a great variety at the same time. Really enjoyed the show as AIC was great, and VH filmed the shots for their "Top of the World" live music video too...fun times.
A great crescendo
Your musical intelligence is honestly incredible, great breakdown.
I’ve always thought about those drums at the end as brakes! It was crazy to hear you say that.
We all knew Layne was gonna OD and pass away. EVERYONE knew it. He was telling us in the music that it was gonna happen, for Pete's sake.. It was just a matter of time and it surprised NO ONE.
One of the all time greatest. Ancient indeed!
What always gets me about Layne is his sheer power. He may start off mellow but will build up until he just explodes like an atom bomb. It was said that to hear him in a live performance you’d feel his voice in your chest. Such an incredible, unforgettable voice.
I came across your video again, after several months of watching it, and since I can't “Like” it again, I'll leave this comment. I watched the whole video again, there is no waste in it.
hello, I'm new to the channel, and I'm glad you referred to the music as a "conversation". This only recently appealed to me when I discovered Stanley Clarke and saw him preform live.
I believe Alice in Chains refers to the beauty in their music being "chained" by pain and addiction - you can almost hear it through the speakers. I loved this music growing up, and mainly listen to stuff with lots of energy now, lots of power and motivation and gratitude. However, I've had plenty of time to drive through this highway of pain they made with their music, surrounding myself with all the negative feelings associated with it and I feel everyone should explore music in that way. I really felt the helplessness and despair when i used to listen to them, and I always come back to it time and again, but I'm able to beware the negativity; it drowned him and other artists like him, so I try to learn from them and NOT wallow in sadness and bad feelings. I'm glad I was able to explore them when I was younger and more "downtrodden", cause now I feel I'm on top of the world and can't really relate anymore. Jar of Flies and even their live acoustic album are some of the deepest sadness I've ever heard in all of music. It's really nice to hear a review from a classical perspective. Thanks for the video
PS: I heard you mentioned Temple of the Dog, they do a song called "Hunger Strike" that was played on the radio back in the day . Also, Chris Cornell and Alice in Chains as well as a guy named Mark Arm from Mudhoney do a song called "Right Turn" that is a neat listen.
Glad you chose "Would?" as the song you reviewed, it is one of their most famous and hard hitting pieces. Cheers
PSS: Thanks for the music lesson towards the end, I really appreciate that. I love music, as alot of us do, and its difficult to really understand, much like painting and mixing colors, the Major scale and modes vs scales is something I think eludes alot of us, and we long to learn it, so thanks for putting that in there.
love the fact that the assertive ending, as you've put it, is also where the question (in the title) is being asked.
Your musical knowledge & the sincerity of your reactions sets this channel apart from all the others. I think you would enjoy Ozzy Osborne with Randy Rhodes "Mr. Crowley" the live version. Keep up the good work and thanks.
Or:
• Revelation Mother Earth
• Diary of a Madman
Classically trained Randy Rhoades on the guitar. Would be interesting to hear your take on his playing
@@aliendroneservices6621 I totally agree both songs are amazing.
❤ I love the look of cognative dissonance at 10:23 !!
It's like..."that can't be right, but damn...it sounds amazing!"
The power of music; bringing people together since forever. 😊
Awesome reaction as per usual.
Lane's vocal delivery in this song reminds me of trying to remember a dream as it's fading away, not sure how else to explain it, the key shifts and not so subtle vocal changes in each chorus, it feels familiar and distant at the same time.❤
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who recognizes the medieval sound of this song.
Thank you for a wonderful new way to appreciate this piece. I love AIC and have always loved this track. You're reactions are great!
My no 1 band of all time with my favourite song of all time. I could name so many songs to look at. But check out there modern work still fantastic
This is one of my favorite channels. Great stuff
Love the playing around with the harp I believe it’s like I’m in a music class that I never got. I respect this!
Not gonna lie. I’ve heard that song thousands of times but will never listen to it the same way after hearing your examination. Excellent job.
Definitely check out some Mother love bone songs. I would recommend Chloe dancer/Crown of thorns and Stardog Champion for a start.