INITIAL THOUGHTS ON ALICE IN CHAINS’ “A LOOKING IN VIEW” (THE SHORT VERSION)
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 2:28pm by Axl Rosenberg
So there’s this new Alice in Chains song, and this morning I wrote and posted this whole long critique, and now shitty computer issue mean it’s gone forever, and I’m way too lazy to re-write it all. So here are the highlights of that now-departed piece:
- No one will ever be able to replace Layne Staley, but William DuVall does a good job and his harmonies Jerry Cantrell are great.
- The band brought the heavy, which makes me happy.
- At seven-plus minutes, I think it’s too long, especially since it’s kind of redundant.
- I’m excited to hear the whole record.
- Fuck Godsmack.
- Download the whole song for free here.
- Weigh in with your thoughts below.
-AR
No Layne, no Chains.
I dig Jerry Cantrell and all, and like his solo stuff……but he needs to retire the name Alice in Chains. Seriously……now there will always be an asterix next to the band’s name.
But he’d sell half as many tickets.
Seriously, good thing AC/DC never limited themselves like that.
Now, moving right along…
Shinaain said it perfectly……..
These guys shouldn’t be expected to hang it up because they lost their friend, and the best
way they can honor Layne is to move on and celebrate the music they made with him.
William does a great job on the classic tunes and the new songs sound great so far! I’m very
excited about the new album.
AIC would sound way less like AIC if Layne was still there but Jerry was gone. Nobody will be able to completely replace or do what Layne did exactly like he did but Duval is doing a damn good job and I like the fact that he is not trying to be a note for note copy cat of the original and he stillsounds sounds like himself but still like AIC at the same time. It’s just a different AIC now,Jerry has always been the major song writing force in that band and has way more vocals on the albums than most people realize. I have no doubt this new album will be a good listen.
Other than Will, i’m pretty sure the other 3 members are originals or have been in the band since at least their Self titled album.
Wrong, Mike Starr is the original bassit up until their self-titled record came out.
Actually, Starr split during the Dirt tour, and Inez, who was touring with Ozzy took up the responsibilities, and he stayed. The first work he did was for the two tracks ‘What the Hell Have I?’ and ‘A Little Bitter’ for the Last Action Hero movie, then worked on Jar of Flies, along with their self-titled effort.
I concur, that means agree for people with a limited vocabulary. :) It just doesn’t feel right or look right for that matter. I was an extreme AIC fan from the beginning and don’t get me wrong, Jerry’s great and I’ve followed his solo career. I just can’t be defiant to originality. That goes for all the bands out there who think they can replace the front man or crucial member, keep the band name, and still get my attention. *cough* that’s not G&R*cough*
Saw them live two summers ago with the new guy and he got the job done then! This song should be a crusher live. Hope the new album delivers all the way! (Did someone slip something in the water of every famous band for the past 20 years so that they’d all want to release new albums after years of inactivity?)
Yeah saw them on the same tour with Velvet Revolver in Vancouver. He wasn’t bad, but I still don’t understand why it was a seated show. Maybe they were trying to prevent fans from rioting… lol.
You paid money to see Velvet Revolver?
shame on you.
In my defence I refused to pay full price. Bought them from scalpers after the show started. Works every time (for Velvet Revolver shows at least).
Yes, they slipped in NeedToMakeTheMortgage into their water.
It definitely has the trademark Alice in Chains feel. That’s the bare minimum requirement for any new AiC to be accepted. That’s also enough to make us listen to it, but obviously whether or not it will be a good album remains to be seen.
… and fuck Godsmack.
I think it’s fucking awesome, definitely could’ve used a guitar solo though.
Jerry Cantrell rhymes with Junkie XL
I dig this new song, but I want to hear the whole album before I pass judgement. So far, so good IMO.
Great new song. It’ll make me buy the album- the greatest form of appreciation.
I’ll buy the album because Cantrell is the songwriting force of the band and always has been. His vocals are way more present than you’d think in most AIC songs. And this song sounds like AIC. Every one of their albums has great songs, even if some occasionally miss the mark.
And, aside from this particular song being a tad too long, it’s still damn good.
I was talking about this track on Twitter yesterday, and @vurnt22 says to me “That’s my friend, William Duvall singing.” I, like an ignoramus, was like “Oh, cool.” I then went to @vurnt22’s page, and realized it was VERNON MOTHERFUCKING REID. So, like a fanboy, I gushed about how great he was. I bet he thinks I’m a fucking idiot. Ugh.
This is funny. I’m a Vernon fanboy too.
this song did not dissapoint me whatsoever
» “No one will ever be able to replace Layne Staley, but William DuVall does a good job and his harmonies Jerry Cantrell are great.” – Yes
»” The band brought the heavy, which makes me happy.” – Yes
» “At seven-plus minutes, I think it’s too long, especially since it’s kind of redundant.” – No
» “I’m excited to hear the whole record.” – Yes
» “Fuck Godsmack”- My sentiments exactly! I had a long conversation with someone yesterday about how much I hate Godsmack, especially after hearing “Whiskey Hangover.” Unfortunately, not everyone I know agrees with me. I think most of my hatred for Godsmack stems from how much I heard them on the radio at work, and I guess it triggers a Pavlovian response in my head. Godsmack = Goddammit!!!
No behavioral conditioning necessary and it wasn’t the context. Trust me.
godsmack = meh
alice in chains = fucking awesome
They definitely brought the heavy – this sounds like a mix between AIC s/t and Degradation Trip, but I think Sean Kinney’s drums bring it to a new level. No slagging on Puffy, but Degradation had one goddamn drumbeat for the whole record.
Really looking forward to hearing this in the fall – the only true season to listen to AIC.
Fucking love it. Time to bring out Dirt for a few spins.
this new song is pretty fuckin’ good. i got chills the first few seconds in… having been a fan since before “dirt” ever came out, i never thought the day would come that i’d hear new AIC that really, REALLY sounds like AIC. gotta admit, i’m still skeptical about the album in whole.
Sounds like the old dark sinister AiC to me, I’m definitely a little more excited about the new album. The new vocalist does a nice job, sounds good with Jerry. I agree with the opinion the song could’ve used a guitar solo, but I’m not complaining. Just happy to hear something new from them.
I dig it.
I was one of the “WILL NOT BUY BECAUSE OF NO STALEY” folks, but after actually listening, I’m now totally stoked. Can’t wait for the album to drop.
My thoughts exactly.
I really didn’t think I’d be able to get past the fact that they’re carrying on without him, but hearing the music, I think they’ve cracked it.
I love it. They’re back. I’m happy. I’m more stoked about this than I was when I heard Metallica’s “My Apocalypse” for the first time.
I like.
Very definately Alice in Chains,and thats a good thing.
Cue anticipatory boner. This is AIC. Anyone saying otherwise has their head too far up their ass to hear.
its AIC with a heavier edge….kickass
I really like it. It is a bit long and could have used a solo but overall I enjoyed the whole thing. We will see how I feel after a few more listens….
Been a long time since a new song made me smile. Cant wait to hear the rest of the album and based on this first track its gonna be at least on par with the ‘tripod’ album. I think expecting a return to probably their most critically acclaimed album – ‘Dirt’ – would be a bit premature. But still, top of the list for sure.
Saw Cantrell on his DT Euro tour a few months after Layne passed and he had Comes with the Fall as his back up band. The mustve played like 4 of his solo tracks and then it was all AiC with Duvall doing all the harmonies. Then saw them about 3 years back after Duvall had been confirmed as the singer. Hes not Layne. but he does a damn good job of complementing Jerry and vice versa, so the main dynamic still works. All that said…. Comes with the Fall original material is pretty damn good too.
im a huge AIC fan and i have been scared of this day for a few years now, i saw their tribute show in seattle 3 years back and i saw them open in vancouver for velvet revolver (which stole the show, although im not a VR fan) and both times willem did a good job, but as i nervously listened to a looking view, i found myself not only laughing at how awesome this new tune was, but hairwhipping at my computer desk with no control! im glad jerry is so in the mix to ease my transition, and i cant wait to hear the rest of the album, solos ballads and all, maybe they should have came up with a new name, but even if they did, it sure sounds like pure alice in chains… just awesome
I was saying to a friend of mine a few weeks back ‘I wish the new AiC album had a huge Stayley Scream at the beginning just like in Dirt’ lol. Thats how worried I was about Duvall actually working on new songs, hes just no Stayley and I think even the most uninterested of fans wouldve still been a little worried about what the first song they hear would be like.
Luckily though, I, like you was feeling pretty f’ing good about what I heard. Although, Im gonna do my very best to stay away from it until more songs are released so I can enjoy 2 or 3 one after the other.
With all these reunions and new albums … Cornell should be thinking about it too… C’mon, Summer 2010…. AiC, STP, Soundgarden, PJ all touring together….. now I know its not metal…. but Id pay to see that.
i have a feeling you HATERS would have dogged this song even if it;was only minutes long had Lane singing both harmonies, and was released ten years ago! that’s why you’re called HATERS! go write your own song! go make your own band! since you’re all experts on what’s good and what’s not. Welcome Back Jerry! WEll Done! Well Done indeed!
You are a complete moron. By my count, there are 23 comments above yours that comment positively on the song and two that are negative. Who exactly are all these haters?
sorry to confuse you sammy, but there are other people out there beyond this thread, namely, Aliceinchain.com itself. and i’ve been reading negative reviews most of the morning. ihad not replied to anything until i ended up here. coincidence. The HATERS to whom i refer are not just HATERS of anything AIC but also HATERS of anything post-Staley. I should have been more clear in my post and will do my best to be more specific in the future. thx. -moron
Okay…let’s see a decent tour and hope the rest of the c.d. is good. The song doesn’t seem like a single…more like a first track/mood setter. To say it is reminiscent of Jerry’s stuff is stating the obvious- the songs were almost always Jerry’s with Layne’s vocal talent performing them. Did a good job creating a a faint, Layne-esque tone. Been waiting 14 years for this…was pretty shitty being the only kid on the block that listened to hard rock back in the mid nineties, but there’s something to be said about not being part of the common majority….
Initial thoughts? Luv it!!! Wanna hear the rest of the album.
Maybe it was the diminished expectations, but this was wayyyyyy better than I could have ever expected. I’m sold. I like that it has kind of a Degradation Trip sound to it – I always thought that was the lost AIC album we never got. I’m really looking forward to the album now…
I too was really afraid the new stuff was would be watered-down radio-friendly shit; I’m glad I finally took the time to listen. I might actually buy the album now.
I’ll most likely buy this album when it drops just out of pure curiousity, since I think the new track is solid.
I Have Cantrell’s solo album and Degradation Trip is excellent.
yeh, Degradation Trip ruled! especially disc 2. ANYHOW…on the duvall situation.. I didn’t like the kat during the Degradation Trip tour and was super dissapointed when I saw that he became the vocalist of one of the most influential bands of the 90’s, This song is ok, but I’m a fan a just changin’ their name, just doesn’t seem right, fuckin Starbucks, Wolfmother, At the Drive-in hipster…. could’ve made a better choice. Anyone hear Dug Pinnick’s new shit with Razr13?
Yeah, it would be better if they changed their name altogether, it’s like when Blaze Bailey joined Iron Maiden, they should have changed their name to something else and the albums might have performed better commercially, since there was some (and I stress SOME) valid material on those two albums.
It’s ok when a bass player leaves a band, but your lead vocalist is too traumatic of a change.