Alice in Chains - Sap
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Free Music Notes for Sap
Free Music Review: A Great E.P from Alice In Chains!
Hit: 4 Stars
I bought this CD about 1 year ago and I have to say that it's actually really fantastic. The first four songs are acoustic pieces, but there are also moments of powerful electric guitar and angst that Alice In Chains are famous for. The fifth and final song is more of a joke-song and not one I enjoy particularly. However it is pretty funny and decidedly strange, so it's good to see that the band are capable of having some fun too. Lets take a closer look at Alice In Chains' "SAP."
"Brother," is just an extraordinary track. The acoustic guitar is quite light and the lyrics are almost whispered. The words themselves also contain some very powerful imagery and enhance the song's emotion and sadness. I always think of my brothers when I listen to this song and the fact that I hardly ever see one of them. It's a personal thing but the song seems to be talking about the special relationship that brothers share. This song gets 10/10 in my opinion, it's simply flawless.
"Got Me Wrong," is slightly heavier than "Brother" and seems to talk about what happens when two or more people disagree with each other. The acoustic parts are melancholic and sombre while the electric parts are full of energy and angst. It's another fabulous song with some stunning melodies and lyrical content. Another solid 10/10, no doubt about it.
"Right Turn," is a song performed with Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Mark Arm (Mudhoney). It's got a very gentle and soft acoustic guitar riff with a tamborine that enters in later on. The lyrical work is phenomenal and all vocalists sound brilliant on this track. There are no drums at all in this song and the tamborine serves to keep the rhythm. It's a really good song but not my absolute favourite. 9/10 for "Right Turn."
"Am I Inside?" begins with an acoustic guitar being plucked and even some very subtle piano in the background. There are numerous cymbal washes that add to the ethereal feeling of the song. You never actually hear anything other than the gentle ringing of cymbals in the background, so the idea behind this song is very similar to "Right Turn." The lyrics are haunting and seem almost distant in certain instances. It's a beautiful song and around about the 2:40 mark a female vocalist enters the song (it sounds female anyway). It's the longest and most gentle song on the album and is very effective. It gets 9/10 in my book.
"Love Song," is the mess-around song that begins with a sort of Honky-Tonk piano and some weird wailing and almost goofy drums. There are a series of farting noises and grunts in this song and it sounds really creepy actually. Cantrell "sings" on this song and I'm not exactly sure what the hell he's saying. Except for "my gums are bleeding." It's pretty aimless and probably Alice In Chains most ridiculous and um...disturbing song. It's not really a song I listen to because of its weirdness and directionless approach. It ends off with Cantrell saying "kiss the midget" (cough cough). I'd give it 5/10 because it actually is kinda funny and scares the hell out of me.
So there you have it. 4 out of 5 songs are pure 24-carat gold. And the last song is good for a laugh or just getting spinal shivers. Overall I'd give this E.P 85%. It loses points because it's a little short, and the last song is just a joke-song. Other than that, it's a great CD and essential for any Alice In Chains fan's collection. It's a really entertaining little E.P and one that is worth the money. So go ahead, buy it today!
Free Music Review: SHORTEST ALBUM EVER?
Hit: 3 Stars
This Alice In Chains Album has my favorite Alice In Chains' song "Got Me Wrong". But, other than that the rest of the songs are average by AIC standards. There is only three other songs by the way one of which, Chris Cornell lends his vocals to. Well, there is actually 5 songs total if you count the ridiculous bonus track complete with fart noises and, other silly sound effects. If, you are a serious Fan of Alice In Chains you should buy this Album. If, you are looking to purchase your first Alice In Chains CD, buy either Jar Of Flies or, Dirt. But, if your looking to buy Sap chances are you already own those two albums.Free Music Review: A detour on the way to "Dirt".
Hit: 3 Stars
Totally unprecedented by their debut album, Alice in Chains' "Sap", a four-song EP that preceeded the release of their dark masterpiece "Dirt", is a great little record. Named due to a dream had by drummer Sean Kinney (he dreamed they held a press conference to announce their upcoming record, "Sap"), the band abandons the electric guitars and noise of their debut for acoustic rock full of vocal harmonies. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell steps up and sings leads for the first time and the band is augmented by vocals from Ann Wilson (of Heart) and on one piece Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden) and Mark Arm (of Mudhoney).
Opener "Brother" sets the stage-- strummed acoustic guitars dominate the piece, and rather than vocalist Layne Staley's angry wail, Cantrell steps up and sings the lead, softly intoning his haunting lyrics, with Staley and Wilson providing support on the choruses. Admittedly, for me the rest of the album doesn't quite live up to this piece-- "Am I Inside" is similar in mood, but isn't as strong a piece, "Right Turn" is a lot of fun, with Cantrell, Staley, Arm and Cornell all taking turns at lead vocal, and "Got Me Wrong" ended up being a hit a couple years later, but to be honest isn't one of the band's finest moments. It's always struck me as kind of a throwaway.
The extra track is called "Love Song"-- it's a lot of fun, though I won't seriously discuss it.
Invariably, this album set the stage for "Dirt" as much as "Facelift" did, featuring a more introspective view of the band, and while I don't find the material particularly gripping (although when I first heard this, I played it to death), it's certainly an interesting detour along the way.
Free Music Review: Another 5-star album
Hit: 5 Stars
Short, but beutiful.
Brother-Very melodic 4.5/5
Got Me Wrong- Heaviest song on here, also very catchy 5/5
Right Turn-Performed by "Alice Mudgarden" (AIC, Soundgarden, Mudhoney.) 4/5
Am I Inside-Same as Brother, not as heavy though. 4/5
Free Music Review: Another flawless and worthwhile AIC release
Hit: 5 Stars
But get it for cheap, due to its length.
All of the songs are wonderful AIC mellow material like the more acoustic songs on Dirt or all the tracks of Jar of Flies. These songs aren't as experimental as Jar of Flies, but they are all extremely solid and are classic AIC songs.
This EP has the unique feel of being the eye of the storm, the moment at the end of a hard day when you realize it's over and you can just sleep. It's interesting to see AIC trying to be optimistic when they were obviously going through bad times (leading to the total hopelessness of Dirt and onward). "Something's gotta turn out right" says Layne in "Got Me Wrong". The whole album sounds painfully honest.
"Brother" is primarily sung by Cantrell, and is one of 2 songs to feature Ann Wilson. Simply an awesome song. Good intro to the CD. "Got Me Wrong" most will have heard due to the fact that it was on the radio quite a bit. Good guitar solos. "Right Turn" and "Am I Inside" are more simplistic than the first 2 songs (probably why some people don't like them) using no drums or bass from what I can tell. "Right Turn" has Mark Arm and Chris Cornell on lead vocals, and with Layne they make this a very interesting song. With a lone guitar, each singer has a verse until the end where they all finally sing at once. Fantastic but short. "Am I Inside" has clever lyrics and a wonderful chorus, again with Ann Wilson. Very mysterious and strange. They never did anything like it again. The hidden song "Love Song (Take 1)" isn't really even worth mentioning. If it was actually considered part of the album, it would totally ruin the mood. I didn't find it particularly funny, either, but I'm not going to criticize the band for putting it there.
The production is worse than Jar of Flies by a long shot, you can still hear everything but it's harder. The acoustic guitars have a more percussive and less melodic sound so you have to listen close to tell exactly what is being played during lower notes. This doesn't really bother me though.
Highly recommended along with all their other albums.