As a simple, "Best of" package, the new "Alice in Chains" "Nothing Safe - The Best Of The Box," succeeds. The 15 songs, although weighted heavily toward their 1992 release, "Dirt," provide a solid recap of the band's first five albums. Tossing in unreleased demos, live takes on hits, and a brand new song, they even manage to avoid the trap of making fans buy a disc of material they already own.

Unfortunately, in turning out "The Best Of The Box," an allusion to the forthcoming 3-disc "Alice In Chains" box set due next year, the band reversed the trap into something more monstrous. Not only are fans going to buy this "preview" disc, they're expected to spring for the big collection, over one-third of which is already represented by "Nothing Safe." Cynical marketing at best, it's an embarrassing money grab by a band which hasn't released an album since their 1996 MTV Unplugged effort.

However, if you can put that fact aside, or if you're like me and don't own any previous "Alice In Chains" material, and having no intention of buying the box set, "Nothing Safe" is one heck of a disc. AIC is, after all, the best of the so-called "grunge" bands to emerge from the early 90s, mixing enough heavy riffage to attract metalheads with an accessibility that allowed them to make a big commercial splash.

Over the course of 15 tracks, we get the big guns like "Man In The Box" (one of my all-time favorite songs) and "Grind," unreleased material like the emotionally draining live version of "Rooster," demos like the early version of "We Die Young," and even a new song, in the form of "Get Born Again." The last of these, recorded last October, is a welcome sign that the years of battling drug-induced demons hasn't mellowed Layne Staley's supremely sardonic snarl.

The collection, however, is at its best when reminding casual fans of those great song we may have forgotten, or presenting material we may have never heard before. This segment is best represented by Jerry Cantrell's droning intensity on "Angry Chair," which got one of those, "How could I have ever forgotten this incredible song?" reactions from me. "What The Hell Have I" is another one of those discoveries. Originally released on a movie soundtrack, I'd never heard its snarling Middle Eastern vibe before.

Ultimately, the role of a greatest hits package should be to satisfy old fans with classic tracks and a few cool surprises, while drawing casual fans and new listeners to check out the band's previous output. If only "Nothing Safe" were not a 62-minute, full price advertisement for the upcoming box set, it would have accomplished that mission admirably.