I believe this was the third CD I ever owned, after the aforementioned Kerplunk and Paul's Boutique. It was the first album I bought upon moving to Illinois after my parents separated, so understandably it holds a lot of memories and sentiment to me. When Alice In Chains recorded this, singer Layne Staley was going through a vicious bout with heroin addiction, and if you've seen the broadcast or DVD of this night you can see it had taken it's toll. With dark rings around his eyes the frail Layne, sporting pink hair, looked like he wouldn't had been able to lift a guitar had he needed to. But his voice, my favorite voice ever, that was still intact. At the time the original broadcast aired this was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in my young life, but now it's almost painful to watch. Layne's is just such a sad story. But this album was his swan song, his last gift to everyone who loved him. He and Jerry Cantell provided some of the best harmonizing to ever be shown on MTV, everything about the entire set was perfect. From the songs chosen to the performance to the visualization, it will always stand the test of time.
Key Tracks: Brother, Down In A Hole, Over Now
Bonus- Video of Down In A Hole from the broadcast.
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