Alice In Chains "Live (USA, Columbia Records, 501139 2)"

Live is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on December 5, 2000, through Columbia Records. The live version of "Man in the Box" featured in the album was released as a single.

Live was the band's only live album other than the acoustic album Unplugged. While most of the songs on Live had been released on previous albums, "Queen of the Rodeo" had not; although, the same live performance had been released on the Music Bank box set. Live includes five songs ("Them Bones", "God Am", "Again", "A Little Bitter" and "Dam That River") from the band's final two shows with vocalist Layne Staley.

The album received generally positive reviews from most critics, with Greg Prato of AllMusic writing in his review of the album "Their detuned sound and tales from the darkside are even more sinister and gripping on the concert stage, as evidenced by this 14-track set."

Track listing

1. "Bleed the Freak" (December 22, 1990, Moore Theatre, Seattle) Jerry Cantrell 4:33
2. "Queen of the Rodeo" (November 5, 1990, Dallas) Jett Silver, Layne Staley 4:39
3. "Angry Chair" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Staley 4:22
4. "Man in the Box" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Cantrell, Staley 4:59/4:48 unmarked reissue
5. "Love, Hate, Love" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Cantrell, Staley 7:47
6. "Rooster" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Cantrell 6:54
7. "Would?" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Cantrell 3:51
8. "Junkhead" (March 2, 1993, Glasgow Barrowland, Glasgow, UK) Cantrell, Staley 5:21
9. "Dirt (Drunk and Disorderly version)" (October 24, 1993, Nagoya, Japan) Cantrell, Staley 5:24
10. "Them Bones" (July 2, 1996, Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri) Cantrell 2:39
11. "God Am" (July 2, 1996, Kiel Center, St. Louis, Missouri) Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney, Staley 3:59
12. "Again" (July 3, 1996, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri) Cantrell, Staley 4:24
13. "A Little Bitter" (July 3, 1996, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri) Cantrell, Inez, Kinney, Staley 3:52
14. "Dam That River" (July 3, 1996, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri) Cantrell 3:33

Total length: 66:09

Recording information:

Compilation producer – Peter Fletcher

Tracks 1 and 10–14 mix engineered by Elliot Bailey and mixed by Toby Wright

Tracks 2 and 9 recorded and mixed by Mark Naficy

Tracks 3–8 engineered by Mike Walter

Tracks 3–8 BBC producer – Tony Wilson

Mastered by Stephen Marcussen

Art direction – Mary Maurer

Design – Mary Maurer and Brandy Flower/Happenstance

Photography by Marty Temme

Packaging concepts by Sean Kinney

Management – Susan Silver

Alice In Chains "MTV Unplugged (USA, Columbia Records, 484300 2)"

Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996, by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. Home video releases of the MTV broadcast were released on VHS in October 1996, and on DVD in October 1999. The MTV Unplugged was Alice in Chains' first concert in two and a half years, and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's biggest hits and lesser-known songs.

A new song, "The Killer Is Me", was performed for the first time during the concert. The acoustic version of "Over Now" (originally released on Alice in Chains' 1995 self-titled album) was released as a single. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The performance was released on DVD on October 26, 1999, and re-released as a CD/DVD package featuring unaired footage on September 18, 2007. The home video release has received gold certification by RIAA.

On April 10, 1996, Alice in Chains resurfaced to perform their first concert in two and a half years for MTV Unplugged, a program featuring all-acoustic set lists. The band was offered to do the segment numerous times prior to the actual taping before finally accepting. The show was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. It was Layne Staley's idea to have big candles decorating the stage to keep it dark and moody, as the band never liked bright lights on stage, so Staley himself bought the candles at Seattle's Pike Place Market.

The performance was one of Alice in Chains' final appearances with vocalist Layne Staley and featured some of the band's highest charting singles, including "Rooster", "Down in a Hole", "Heaven Beside You", and "Would?", and introduced a new song, "The Killer Is Me". The show marked Alice in Chains' first appearance as a five-piece band, adding second guitarist Scott Olson.

Jerry Cantrell has attested to being fairly ill during the performance as a result of food poisoning from a hot dog consumed before the gig. Mike Inez's bass had the phrase "Friends Don't Let Friends Get Friends Haircuts..." written on it, directed at the members of Metallica who were in the audience and had recently cut their hair short. Inez and drummer Sean Kinney did pay tribute to Metallica, however, playing the intro to their hit song "Enter Sandman" just before "Sludge Factory". Before "Angry Chair," Jerry Cantrell paid further tribute by playing the intro to "Battery" going into the Hee Haw song, "Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me". This was omitted from the CD but can be found on the VHS and DVD. On the CD version of the MTV Unplugged concert, as Staley says "Okay, that's it," at the end of the song, booing can be heard (presumably due to the performance concluding). Staley responded to the heckler by shouting, "Hey, fuck you, man!" which was greeted by laughter from the audience.

Cantrell has stated that the band was considering playing the songs "Love, Hate, Love" and "We Die Young" for the set, but ultimately chose not to, chiefly as a result of limited time. Moreover, a few songs such as "Got Me Wrong" and "Sludge Factory" had to be replayed numerous times due to error. Accordingly, the taping took approximately three hours to finish.

Cantrell said that one of his favorite things from the concert was when Staley said at the end of the show, "I wish I could hug you all, but I'm not gonna".

A live album of the performance was released in July 1996, which debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and was accompanied by a home video release. The album has received platinum certification by the RIAA and the home video release has received gold certification by the RIAA. A full length DVD of the concert was also later released on October 26, 1999. The songs "Angry Chair", "Frogs", and "The Killer Is Me" were cut from the original MTV broadcast but are included on both the CD and home video releases. The album was re-released as a CD/DVD package on September 18, 2007.

The album initially received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review of the album: "It doesn't offer anything that the albums don't already. The acoustic arrangements of the harder songs sound like novelties, and the rest sound like rehashes of their previous work, only without much energy." Sandy Masuo of Rolling Stone wrote in her review "Unplugged certainly reaffirms the emotional range and technical prowess of Alice in Chains. But it lacks electricity in more ways than one. The concentrated catharsis in Alice in Chains' music is still best heard with the amps cranked up to 11." Despite this, the album eventually gained more recognition and praise after the death of vocalist Layne Staley, mainly due to his powerful performance despite his condition, and is now considered an iconic live album. Alice Pattillo of Metal Hammer considers Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged as the best live album ever made.

Track listing

1. "Nutshell" Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell/Mike Inez/Sean Kinney Jar of Flies 4:57
2. "Brother" Cantrell Sap 5:27
3. "No Excuses" Cantrell Jar of Flies 4:57
4. "Sludge Factory" Staley/Cantrell/Kinney Alice in Chains 4:36
5. "Down in a Hole" Cantrell Dirt 5:46
6. "Angry Chair" Staley Dirt 4:36
7. "Rooster" Cantrell Dirt 6:41
8. "Got Me Wrong" Cantrell Sap 4:59
9. "Heaven Beside You" Cantrell/Inez Alice in Chains 5:38
10. "Would?" Cantrell Dirt 3:43
11. "Frogs" Staley/Cantrell/Kinney/Inez Alice in Chains 7:30
12. "Over Now" Cantrell/Kinney Alice in Chains 7:12
13. "Killer Is Me" Cantrell 5:23

Total length: 71:26

• "Angry Chair", "Frogs" and "The Killer Is Me" were removed from the original broadcast, but are included in rereleases.

Recording information:

Produced by Toby Wright and Alice in Chains

Produced for MTV by Alex Coletti

Recorded by Toby Wright and John Harris, assisted by Brian Kingman, John Bates, and Rich Lamb

Mixed by Toby Wright, assisted by John Bleich and John Seymour

Digitally edited by Don C. Tyler

Mastered by Stephen Marcussen

DVD audio by John Alberts, Toby Wright, and Mike Fisher

Directed by Joe Perota

Line producer – Audrey Morrissey

Art direction – Mary Maurer

Design – Doug Erb

Photography – Danny Clinch

Management – Susan Silver

Warrant "Ultraphobic (Canada, CMC International Records, CMC 7203-2)"

Ultraphobic is the fourth studio album by American rock band Warrant. Released on March 7, 1995, on CMC International, after the apparent breakup of the band, the record was regarded as the band's "comeback" album. It is the first album to feature former Kingdom Come and Wild Horses members Rick Steier and James Kottak who came in to replace original band members Joey Allen and Steven Sweet.

Warrant began recording Ultraphobic in November 1994 with producer Beau Hill. The band supported the release of the record with a national tour beginning in Dallas, Texas.

A music video was made for the first single "Family Picnic" with a strong message against family violence and for the second single "Stronger Now", which ended up becoming Lane's best song because it was therapeutic to him.

"Followed" was released as the third single of the album.

Ultraphobic saw Warrant acknowledging the grunge phenomenon with a record that openly admitted to a Seattle influence, although it was still a natural progression from the hard edged Dog Eat Dog. It is vaguely similar to Danger Danger's Dawn, which was also released in 1995. In particular, the record represented an experimentation with the grunge sounds which had by this time become popular, and which, ironically, had contributed to the band's commercial demise. In songs such as "Undertow" and "Followed", the band attempted to mix pop metal sounds with the alternative stylings of Seattle bands such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.

Lyrics

Many of the lyrics on Ultraphobic were inspired by Jani Lane's divorce from Bobbie Brown, the video model who appeared in the "Cherry Pie" music video.

Track listing

1. "Undertow" Jani Lane, Rick Steier 3:12
2. "Followed" Beau Hill, Jani Lane, Jerry Dixon 3:41
3. "Family Picnic" Beau Hill, James Kottak, Jani Lane, Jerry Dixon 4:43
4. "Sum of One" Jani Lane 3:37
5. "Chameleon" Jani Lane, Jerry Dixon, Rick Steier 5:23
6. "Crawl Space" Jani Lane, Rick Steier 2:38
7. "Live Inside of You" Erik Turner, James Kottak, Jani Lane, Rick Steier 3:17
8. "High" Jani Lane, M. Tanner, Rick Steier 4:02
9. "Ride #2" Erik Turner, Jani Lane, Jerry Dixon 5:07
10. "Ultraphobic" James Kottak, Jani Lane, Rick Steier 3:25
11. "Stronger Now" Jani Lane 3:57

Total length: 43:03

Production

Beau Hill – mixing

Mixed at Enterprise Studios, Burbank, California

Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City

War Babies "War Babies (Japan, Sony Records Japan, SRCS-5873)"

War Babies was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988, fronted by former TKO vocalist Brad Sinsel. Although associated with hard rock, the band's sound incorporated some elements of grunge music. They only released one album, in 1992, the self-titled War Babies.

After the break-up of TKO, vocalist Brad Sinsel and guitarist Rick Pierce (ex-TKO, Q5, Ze Whiz Kidz) teamed up for a project called Suicide Squad, aided by Seattle drummer, Richard Stuverud who had played with punk rock band, The Fastbacks, and was working with the power metal band Fifth Angel. Suicide Squad released the one-off album, Live it While You Can, (1988), an EP engineered by Jack Endino, on the Music For Nations label in Europe.

After Suicide Squad, Sinsel spent time in Los Angeles but was eventually contacted by Stuverud to check out his new band, War Babies with guitarist, Tommy 'Gunn' McMullin. Stuverud and McMullin persuaded Sinsel to join War Babies and the band began to gig around the Seattle area, playing with popular local bands such as Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and others. In 1990, at the time of Andrew Wood's death and the end of Mother Love Bone, Jeff Ament joined War Babies for a brief period before he left to join Stone Gossard's new band, Pearl Jam.

War Babies, featuring the line-up of Brad Sinsel (vocals), Tommy "Gunn" McMullin (guitars), Guy Lacey (guitars), Shawn Trotter (bass), and Richard Stuverud (drums) scored a contract with Columbia Records in 1991. They recorded their debut album, War Babies (1992) at A&M Studios in Hollywood, CA with noted producer, Thom Panunzio and engineer, Bill Kennedy. Their first single and MTV video, "Hang Me Up", was co-written by McMullin and Paul Stanley of Kiss. Two other singles were released, "Blue Tomorrow" (a song dedicated to Andrew Wood, who was a friend of Sinsel and McMullin's), and the power ballad, "Cry Yourself to Sleep", co-written by Sinsel and Stanley. The song "In The Wind" can be heard in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer but was not included on the official soundtrack.

By 1993, the War Babies' sound was deemed too glam metal, and the band broke up. They played their last show on June 6, 1992, as part of the "Rock the Environment" benefit with headliners Queensrÿche, Heart, The Walkabouts, Metal Church, Bananafish, and Rumors of the Big Wave, among others.

War Babies was re-issued by German label UlfTone Music in 2003 and French company Bad Reputation in 2007; both contain radio edits of "Hang Me Up" and "Cry Yourself to Sleep" and an alternate 'guitar version' of the latter as bonus tracks.

War Babies is the only album by the band War Babies, who disbanded in 1993. The album was released by Columbia Records in 1991 and re-issued by German label UlfTone Music in 2003 and French company Bad Reputation in 2007.

The album produced three singles, "Hang Me Up" (co-written by Tommy McMullin and Paul Stanley), "Cry Yourself to Sleep" (co-written by Brad Sinsel and Stanley), and "Blue Tomorrow" (a song dedicated to Andrew Wood from Mother Love Bone, who overdosed two years earlier). In addition, the song "In the Wind" is featured in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Sinsel later commented about his writing session with Stanley, calling him, "one of the biggest egomaniacs I have ever come across in my career. He was rude and disrespectful and at some point, I'm playing (TKO's) "Kill the Pain" while we're warming up. So, he says, "I'm going to start playing some stuff and you just tell me if you hear anything". What came out of it was just "Kill the Pain" backwards. At some point he goes, "how about in this part we do blah, blah, blah" and it was off of Love Gun. By now I've had enough of his remarks and I just looked at him and said, "look, it's not like I'm like Tommy [McMullin]" and he says, "what do you mean?" and I said, "it's not like I own a KISS doll, or something."

Track listing

1. "Hang Me Up" – 4:04
2. "In the Wind" – 4:25
3. "Cry Yourself to Sleep" – 4:46
4. "Sweetwater" – 4:15
5. "Sea of Madness" – 4:56
6. "Blue Tomorrow" - 5:56
7. "Satellite" – 4:23
8. "Death Valley of Love" – 3:45
9. "Big Big Sun" – 3:28
10. "Killing Time" – 4:40
11. "Care (Man I Just Don't)" – 4:08

Recording information:

Thom Panunzio – producer

Bill Kennedy - engineer

Nick Terzo – executive producer

Alice In Chains "What The Hell Have I (Single & Video)"

 "What the Hell Have I" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 John McTiernan film Last Action Hero starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was included on the compilation album Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999). A remixed version of the song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).

The song was originally written for their breakthrough album Dirt, but was shelved at the time and used later for the Last Action Hero soundtrack. Contrary to popular belief, Jerry Cantrell did not use a traditional sitar during the recording session although he did attempt to play one but was unsure how. While experimenting with sounds, he adopted a guitar-sitar into the session to achieve the sound of the opening riff.

In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, guitarist Jerry Cantrell said of the song:

This and "A Little Bitter" were mixed by Andy Wallace because Toby [Wright] had a previous commitment, and they always bothered me because they were too "tinny" compared to our other stuff. So I was happy to see Toby finish his work off with the remixes [on Music Bank]. That's not to disrespect Andy, it's just that he wasn't there when they were being created. Toby's like a brother, he knows all our shit, all our personalities and we don't trust anybody unless we've got something on them.

"What the Hell Have I" was released to radio stations on June 7, 1993 in support of Alice in Chains' appearance on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour. The single peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The music video for "What the Hell Have I" was released in 1993 and was directed by Rocky Schenck, who had previously directed the "We Die Young" and "Them Bones" music videos for the band, and who would later direct the music video for "Grind". In the music video, singer Layne Staley's face is projected on him with different expressions, while guitarist Jerry Cantrell is seen with the same contact lenses with a smiley face that was worn by Mr. Benedict (played by Charles Dance) in Last Action Hero. The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos.

Track listing

1. "What the Hell Have I"
2. "A Little Bitter"