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File this one under, "Why
would you?" "Alice in Chains" hasn't released any new
material in over 5 years.
Since that last, self-titled studio disc, however, they've put
out one unplugged disc, one live disc, a box set, and a
sampler' from that box set, which serves as a pretty good, "Best
of" type set from that band. But apparently the record company
they are beholden to isn't done with raping their fans' wallets
just yet.
Instead, another year goes by, and we get
yet another "new" "Alice in Chains" disc. But there's
no new stuff on "Alice in Chains Greatest Hits." There's no
multimedia on there, nor, I am told, is there anything special
about the packaging of the album.
What's worse, all but one of the ten
tracks considered "greatest hits" were on the "Nothing Safe
Best of the Box." disc that came out a couple years ago.
Sure, a couple of songs were alternate or live versions on that
CD, but the music is still the same. So, going back to the
question I started with, I'd ask the record label: "Why would
you put the same material out yet again?" And to people
considering buying this item, "Why would you buy this album,
when a far superior disc containing almost exactly the same
music was put out a mere two years ago?" The only track not
available on, "Best of the Box," that is found on "Greatest
Hits," is "Heaven Beside You," which may have been a hit, but
isn't necessarily among their best songs.
That one star you see above is there
because, no matter how pissed off I may be at whoever is
responsible for this recycling job, the rest of the songs still
kicks ass. Layne Staley's tortured vocals still send shivers
down my spine, and Jerry Cantrell's guitar still delivers that, "Don't
you dare call me grunge" spark that lifted Alice in Chains above
many of their Seattle-sound counterparts in the first half
of the 90s. Songs like "Man
in the Box," and "Them Bones," are about a decade old, but still
sound fresh, and bleak dirges like "Rooster" and "Angry Chair"
still cause chills. It's just too bad that these songs are being
used, and re-used in a naked grab at squeezing even more money
out of the fans that made the band in the first place.
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| Artist |
Alice in Chains |
| Title |
Greatest
Hits |
| Label |
Columbia
Records |
| Reviewer |
Partha
Mukhopadhyay |
| Rating |
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| web site |
Moonjune
Records Home |
| win stuff |
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