This shocked you huh... Just reread the lyrics, with the knowledge he was the subject of endless media gossip, speculation, lies, and even insults. You'll understand exactly what the song was about. "If I can't be my own..." is almost saying "if I can't be left in peace with my own life..." But idk maybe he felt "owned" by the record label. 🌠 Edit: I think it's short because the words capture how he felt in a "nutshell" (if you're familiar with that phrase "in a nutshell"..?), so no other verse etc was needed. Peace.
This song was the Singer's "goodbye" to the world, after this, he killed himself. It is about his struggle with addiction, mental health issues, and how the media and society treats people who are suffering, especially him who was constantly under attack in the media because his name being dragged through mud made profits.
@@ghostbravo7127 I like what you said. Except that this song was written in early 94 and he didn't die until 2002, so to say it was his "goodbye to the world" and "after this he killed himself" is not true.
My favourite description of this performance is that "it was like watching Layne perform at his own wake". Juiced up on heroin and vomiting blood prior to coming on stage, and then he performs this timeless exceptional performance. Absolutely incredible.
This song shows you exactly what life can and probably will put you through the older and older you get. Addiction,Love,Pain and Surprise. For you young people....be prepared.
@Maclib_ I'm sorry....that is hard. I'm 47 and my entire family is gone. Mom,Dad,Sister,Brother and Niece. Not to mention many friends. Sometimes it seems like this place is a Hell dimension. I would believe that if I weren't a Athiest. All we can do is keep moving forward.
The media drug him through the dirt in regards to his addiction. Nothing about his life / struggle with addiction was private. Hence the "My privacy is raked"
Its bullshit he got dragged for his addiction while being honest and open in hopes others would see how bad it was and not fall into it. Layne never gets the credit he deserves as the best grunge vocalist ever. I mean AIC not that they need it isn't even in the RnR Hall of Fame even though that place is a utter joke now, that's still unbelievable
The Unplugged show in 1996 is so heartbreaking to watch because he was deep in his heroin addiction (and yes, I know he was doing other drugs on top of Heroin). His liver was damaged from the years of drug use and he knew it. He was just high enough to do the show to deal with the withdrawal symptoms and so he didn't get dope sick. He was such a ghost of himself during Unplugged. (Of course, Jerry had food poisoning) All Jerry saw when he looked over at Layne was his best friend was going to die soon due to the path Layne had chosen for his life. That show was filmed in April 1996, premiered in May 1996. They did four shows with KISS in June-July 1996, after which Layne survived an overdose and became a recluse. After that, it was a 6-year-long slow suicide. On Unplugged, Scott Olson was the second guitarist. He was there to boost the guitar sound on the stage. Layne was better Live than the studio version. LOVE HATE LOVE live at the Moore in December 1990 is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. Other rock bands should strive to have a live performance that perfect. Layne Staley's vocal range can run rings around any other grunge singer in my opinion. Layne could sing the phone book and never hit a wrong note. Even at the end of his life, with no teeth and a lisp, his voice, wit and humor were all still there. Layne's voice and vocal range were so powerful he did NOT need auto tune or pro-tools until he lost his teeth and had a lisp around 1998, and even then he still killed the vocals. (He started losing his teeth in 1995 due to grinding) Barrett Martin (who played with Layne in Mad Season) said that when he stood to the side of the stage, he could hear the sound of Layne's vocal resonance come out of Layne's body LOUDER than it did coming out of the speakers, Layne's voice was that powerful. I'm in the camp of No Layne/No Chains, because no matter which singer you put up there to sing those songs, it'll only be a cover. Layne had a unique voice you cannot replicate or replace. A lot of those songs were great because Layne pretty much wrung his entire soul out singing them, others were personal to Layne and to have someone else sing those, the songs lose their meaning because the new guy didn't go through the ordeals those songs are inspired by. William DuVall singing THEM BONES on the 2006 reunion tsunami gig.... William DOES NOT have the power in his voice that Layne had especially for that song. Maynard James Keenan could get remotely close to Layne's vocal range for that song (and many others). And Maynard would have the reverence for Layne's memory, he was friends with Layne, he KNEW Layne, had a history with Layne, and saw what Layne went through from Lollapalooza 93 until Layne became a recluse. Besides, Maynard already had 3 bands going on, why not join a fourth band? He had tried rehab 13 times, but he could never completely give it up. He tried quitting cold turkey on two of the last attempts at rehab, but neither one worked either. Mad Season is made up of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders and they all went through rehab. They all got together and dragged Layne out of his condo, got him excited about doing ABOVE album, thinking if he was creative he wouldn't want the drugs, and for the length of time it took to do that, Layne was excited about the project, but it didn't curb his drug habit. Layne wrote the lyrics to the songs he sang on the ABOVE album (minus the John Lennon cover song I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier) and he drew the cover art for the album. NUTSHELL was about how magazines like FOR EXAMPLE Rolling Stone only reported on Layne's addiction as if that were the only thing that defined the band as well as Layne's depression. Rolling Stone magazine has some unknown thing to do with the Hall of Fame, and after what Rolling Stone did to Layne and the band in the 1996 The Needle and the Damage Done article ("Oh no, it will be about the music" "Oh yeah, the band's picture will be on the cover" turns out it was only Layne on the cover and the article focused on Layne's addiction -- which Layne DID NOT want to happen -- and everything going wrong internally with the band.) that pissed off AIC management and the entire band to the point they threatened to kick the writer, Jon Weiderhorn's ass over it. I don't see Rolling Stone chomping at the bit to vote AIC into the Hall of Fame. Although if they do finally get in with William as the singer and NOT Layne. I'm going to be pissed. As far back as late 1992, Rolling Stone has personally had a bone to pick with Layne Staley, even though I can name a dozen bands who wrote about drugs in their lyrics that Rolling Stone never cared to target before or after Layne came along. Layne’s mentioned Rolling Stone hounding him in passing to Riki Rachtman during the New Orleans episode of Headbanger’s Ball in late 1992 when Layne and Mike Starr tour New Orleans and a Voodoo museum with Riki back then. There were other magazines and "reporters" BEFORE 1996 that hounded Layne over his drug addiction. Rolling Stone wasn't the only rag mag to do it. Spin Magazine and many other tabloid music mags only wanted to focus on Layne's addiction. It's why they stopped doing interviews for the longest time, and after the 1996 Rolling Stone interview, they closed ranks and as far as I know, while Layne was alive they never granted another interview. They DID do Rockline in 1998 (Layne called in while Jerry was promoting his Boggy Depot solo album) and 1999 (when the band was promoting Nothing Safe and the Music Bank box set). But for the most part, they closed ranks around each other. MTV (and the music industry) has more or less blackballed Layne (and yet, they laud over Kurt Cobain every April 5th, because Kurt was the "face of grunge", meanwhile Layne gets a "by the way"). The Grammys went so far as to invite Jerry, Mike, and Sean to the Grammy show in 2003 and then refused to put Layne's picture up in the memorial of the musicians who died in 2002. (Or they "forgot" to) which pissed Jerry, Mike, and Sean off and they walked out on the show. Even though the music industry would like to have written him out of history, Layne DID exist. He was on this earth for 34 years. In that time he wrote songs that gave a normal person insight into the mind and journey of an addict. The pain and depression he endured to write the most brutally honest lyrics a musician could write concerning his feelings on his own addiction, his depression, and the tumultuous relationship with his former fiancee Demri. The emotional and physical strength he had to perform those songs live when all he wanted to do was curl away and lose himself in the drug haze I can’t imagine what it was like for him. He was hounded by the press about his addiction. He was ridiculed for his addiction. The music industry blackballed him for his addiction. The Grammys forgot about him when he died. As far as MTV and music rag mags like Rolling Stone were concerned he’s just another addicted singer. They don’t want to acknowledge his contributions to music. Layne Staley WASN'T just some rock star junkie. HE DESERVED BETTER than what he received from the people around him who he thought mattered. He wrote about drugs, his addiction, what he was feeling and what he was going through with maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. He didn’t deserve to be turned into tabloid cannon fodder by the press. I remember a show in London on February 26, 1993 where a reporter who was based in London wrote about a concert they did in another part of Europe and got Mike Inez confused with Mike Starr. Layne got on the microphone between them finishing HATE TO FEEL and beginning ANGRY CHAIR and said, "I want to say um, I want to say hello to the guy who wrote the review on the show a few weeks back. You’re in London - an enemy. I want to introduce our bass player, MIKE INEZ, not Mike Starr, you fucking idiot! Fuck that prick! Fuck the press! We’re not playing for the fucking press, all right?” "Layne was just an incomparable talent. He was like a fucking myna bird. Any accent or sound or voice, he could just immediately repeat it. He just had a gift. And I’d like to think that I have a bit of a gift myself. One of the funniest descriptions I’ve ever heard, and I don’t know that it’s true, but it just sounds fucking great, was we sound like “the satanic Everly Brothers.” Together we were kind of a two-headed monster. It added a lot of depth to the material the way we worked together." -- Jerry Cantrell (Noisey, June 7, 2018) My Top 20 AIC songs... Love Hate Love (Live at the Moore, December 1990...Layne Staley in his prime and is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. All other rock bands should strive to have a live performance this perfect), Man in the Box (Live at Weedsport, NY 1991 - the Layne’s Pissed Version...though the original version may be better to react to, because Weedsport was during Clash of the Titans tour where Slayer fans were giving the band crap and Layne got pissed and changed the lyrics), Bleed the Freak (Live at the Moore, December 1990), It Ain’t Like That (if you need a video use Singles Pro Shot video), Queen of the Rodeo (Live in Dallas, TX 1990), Real Thing (Live ANYWHERE), Them Bones, God Smack (Live at Hollywood Rock, 1993), Grind, Again, No Excuses, Brush Away, Frogs, Sludge Factory (During MTV Unplugged 1996, Layne screwed up the 2nd verse like 8 times, though the show only included one of those times), What the Hell Have I, God Am, Got Me Wrong, Swing On This, Social Parasite, We Die Young
Hola! Te saludo desde Chile Sudamérica 🇨🇱, no sé nada de inglés por lo tanto el "traductor" ayudó bastante a la lectura de tu nota y la AGRADEZCO enormemente, Layne es un Ángel aún cuando no esté entre nosotros físicamente, su voz es tan genuina y su personalidad por lo que he leído le hace justicia a esa increíble voz, los tabloides y la prensa se pueden joder e ir a la mierda cuántas veces quieran, ellos se podrán morir sin más, Las leyendas no mueren. Este año me he vuelto una "Re adicta" a AIC y me he tomado el tiempo de ir viendo y sobre todo escuchando muchísimo material y mucho más aún APRENDER gracias a otros fans que recomiendan o comentan estos post, sus interpretaciones son profundas, no cabe ninguna duda y para mí está en el centro de mi corazón, muchas gracias por compartir tu opinión con el máximo respeto que lo has hecho 🙏🏼✨ Layne 💜 seguirá por siempre en nuestras almas desoladas.
Usually don't read novels people put in comment sections, but this was well written. Although I gotta disagree with you on love,hate,love at the moor being the best version. Think the version on their live cds a little better and also the best rooster I've heard. That whole CD though had to of been Layne in his prime cause he nails every song....anyways good write up 👍
The MTV Unplugged sessions were fantastic. I think I have seen most if not all of them back then. Listening to them now makes it clear how great they were and I wouldn't mind if new ones would be recorded.
I agree they were amazing I just can't think of a band now days that could put on such a performance like those bands did. We truly got to witness greatness back then.
He was having a lot of trouble in his life during this stretch. He could barely sing at this point (drugs and depression), but he still sounds like an angel. He didn't live long after this performance... So sad.. He was battling a lot, and those who loved him couldn't save him. There is a decent documentary out there.
As if the connection between the lyrics and Layne wasn't gut-wrenching enough, the song itself is just so beautifully written, and so purely Alice in Chains. It's 1000% the sound of this band, and you can see how careful Jerry is being in how he plays every note. It's a stunning performance.
This song is so hard to listen to if you ever had issues with suicide and depression, also pls react Man in The Box live at moore to see layne in his prime
It’s hard to listen to in the best way though 😁. I been listening since I was a kid and I will listen until I die. Long live Layne. Don’t ever give up, Jesus loves you.
Lane had a lot of internalized anguish and managed to put it on lyric sheets, lots of people were able to relate in some way, almost as if the song was written for them. And then you add the talent & skill of the band as a whole, you have a recipe for epic music.
This performance isn't about "enjoying" as much as it is about expressing/reflecting something true, in raw form. It is a foreshadow of what was soon to come. Even with all the heavy darkness, the beautiful light he was still manages to cut through, captivating us, as we watch and listen to him becoming surrounded and consumed by his own shadows.
Very painful and Sad 😢,Scary to watch, this is like him saying GOODBYE, AND SINGING HIS OWN EULOGY, he looked very frail, and was not himself. A SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF, BAG OF BONES, he became a recluse after this for 6 years, and then he passed away.
It definitely hurts to see and watch and hear this because 3 years before I saw Layne on LOLLAPOLOOZA and his vocals were AMAZINGLY STRONG and he still looked healthy! 3 years before that saw AIC at the Moore doing songs off Facelift. RIP LAYNE 💔💔💔😭😭😭
Layne wrote this song about his struggle with heroin addiction, and then yes the 2nd verse talks about being in the spotlight, his addiction a well known fact and how he hated reading articles about him and that was all they talked about, as apposed to the good things he had done. This unplugged concert was the first time the band had performed in nearly 2 years because Layne had checked himself into rehab and also bassist Mike Starr's struggles with addiction as well left them fractured. It wasn't too long after this performance that Layne left this Earth and he is greatly missed to this day!
@@budwhite9591 I'm well aware, I didn't give a specific time span, just said not long after. Which, at this point Layne was getting to where his addiction was spiraling
As a 60 year old man who loves music, I was stuck in the 80's for quite sometime. As I reached out to 90's grunge I found Alice in Chains. The first time and every time I have watched this video, I cry. To watch Mr. Staley write and sing about his own pain and suffering for mere others to enjoy is beyond words. As a musician I also understand that most writers write about life and self experiences, but this is over the top. RIP Mr. Staley, thank God for the music, the gift that keeps on giving.
One of the best songs ever written and one of the best singers. Addiction, Pain, Loneliness. How to go on when you can’t be your true self while struggling. One of the best ever
This song was very powerful for me the first time I heard it. Layne was singing about his struggles with addiction and fame, but it can apply to anyone going through hard places in their lives. For me, I just returned from War, my wife divorced me while I was in combat, and I had been estranged from my parents and siblings for years. In this complete isolation , I had been released from the Army after being wounded, and was back in the USA and having great difficulty rejoining society. This song reminded me that although I had to battle alone, it was still a battle , and when in a fight you must stay engaged until it is finished. This song helped to me to remind myself that if I kept up the struggle , and stay true to myself, that things would change. As the old saying goes, tough times come and go, but tough people stay. If anyone is going through tough personal struggles, please reach out to those around you, don't be afraid to express your doubts and fears. But most of all, stay in the fight, and understand that life is a rollercoaster. You may be in the pits now, but if you keep striving and moving forward , life does improve. ❤
Layne (the singer) had drug addiction problem and you can really see it here, he could barely sing and they weren't sure if he could pull off this whole concert, but he was absolutely incredible. Unfortunately he died not long after this. I highly recommend you to listen to Love, Hate, Love - Live at The Moore it's Layne at his best and it's one of the best live performances ever in my opinion.
I grew up seeing these guys in Seattle. Blue collar rock n roll, success was rapid from the last time I saw them perform in 1989 when they opened for great white in Spokane Washington. Just before they got signed to their record deal. The success and the pressure made drugs an easy escape. They all battled with it, many others also famously struggled from this era including Nirvana and soundgarden. As recently as last year another friend took his own life and another guy I knew in high school passed from the effects of long term drug use. Not sure why it seems the guys from my generation in the Pacific Northwest seem to struggle so much. Anyway, the pain resonates from this song as many recognize it.
Aside from everybody else telling you about Layne and his latter stages of life, I believe you are correct and the song was originally about the price of fame, somewhat. That's the short version.
It's almost painful reading and listening to people completely misunderstand this song. This is the most powerful, painful, and calming songs in my life. And I relate to it in way I cannot with any other song. The most frustrating part is this song is so succinct. If it's not clear, you can't relate. But that's OK! Even if you don't , or can't, you should really listen to it again after reading this comment . It's simply about an individual who's misunderstood and doesn't know where and how they fit into society. And refusing to try to be like everyone else just to feel accepted. At the cost of losing your identity. Your you. Your soul. Purpose. Your life. This is clear in "If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead." We lost a generational talent. And what if it came down to him not getting a call back from someone he loves when he needed it most. If you don't have someone who has your back at all costs, you have nothing. This is the gospel for anyone who feels like an outcast. Anyone who feels constantly misunderstood. Those who are rigid, strong, and refuse to lose who they are just for the feeling of being "normal" and accepted.
It's about his heroin addiction and how it's taking his life. He's on his death bed while singing this song. He's essentially singing his own eulogy, at his own funeral.
Great interpretation of the lyrics - I think it was drugs, fame, and relationship problems all rolled up in one manifested in the lyrics. If you want to see Alice in Chains and Lane Staley at their height, I recommend "Love Hate Love - Live at the Moore". This is a great song, but you really don't get to see Lane's talent too much here. You can also listen to "Down In A Hole" from this same MTV Unplugged show for a taste of Lane and Cantrell's awesome harmonies. Also, just wanted to say I see you recognizing Cantrell's fantastic guitar skills. His phrasing and note/chord choices are so, so good.
Layne and Mike Starr the basis in that performance they both struggle with depression and addiction. Layne in that state nailed it, it was his own cry out for help at the first verse but the second one is like Layne saying like I give up I m tired. As a society we don't do anything about persons that struggle with depression and other stuff. REST IN PEACE LAYNE STALEY AND MIKE STARR
Layne, Chris, Eddie, Andrew, ect… a.k.a Grunge singer/songwriters are all Gen Xer’s. The forgotten generation. Most of us were taught: A. you didn’t talk about your feelings. B. Our feelings weren’t important. When with our parents in public we were to be seen & not heard. As with most writers/artists: poets, writers… they write about what they know. Many tormented artists of this time turned to drugs to numb the pain, sadly many didn’t make it out alive. There are many songs of this era that are hard hitting “bangers”, some that sound like love songs but many are about depression & drugs. The depression that they used drugs to try to numb, the depression from the drugs and the dark places that depression takes you. As someone who suffers from depression I love their music. It confirms that I am not alone in my feelings, that if I don’t keep it under control I could end up like Layne or Chris. Yes, Layne OD’d from heroin (and a cocktail of other drugs) but he used those to numb the pain he felt inside. At least that is my interpretation. Loved your reaction and am a new subscriber because of it. 🥰✌🏻
It’s about depression, it’s about server loss and mental illness, it’s addiction it’s hopelessness and heartbreak all in one sitting. That’s Alice In Chains. Try The Rooster. ❤️
There was a lot of turmoil leading up to this performance, I don't think the band knew how epic this performance would be, but they were well aware it would be their last. They were all dealing with some form of addiction, but for Layne, it had taken control of his life. They were no longer a band, and the pain of the breakup continued with Layne fronting the band Mad Season, and Jerry working solo. Deep down I don't think the band really thought unplugged would really happen, when it did they made sure to make it something special.
He went through a very public intervention regarding his also very public heroin addiction. "My sense of self is raped, my privacy is raked" is him relating to his feelings about that
This was his suicide song... Do not ever forget that he died soon after this. This song told us he was going to die. None of us were willing to believe it.
Would is another really good song by AliceNchains and yes Layne was basically singing at his own funeral. By this time the Heroin had already won and he wasn't doing well at all during this performance.
He died 6 years after that performance if memory serves. That was the last time he performed. He went full hermit, then died from an overdose. It was 2 weeks before he was discovered dead in his apartment. No one checked on him until his accountant noted that he had not made any cash withdrawals for 2 weeks. Layne had surrendered to the heroin and voiced more than once that his death was inevitable
He was an addict and couldn't ever stay clean. I watched a documentary on this show and he was struggling to get thru it. He was messed pretty badly. His band tried to help him but he refused it.
This gutwrenching performance of Nutshell was Layne Stayleys greatest. The song is about addiction. He ended his life by the embrace of his addiction. Almost as though it had been destined, and he knew it.Truely heartbreaking.
God gave him the most beautiful voice ever and it breaks my heart every time I watch it and I watch this and listen to it all the time. Only those who have gone down that road can relate.
the lyrics talk about old age and how we have to face it (face the path of time). old people losing his mind, all alone and abandoned (no to cry to, no place to call home)... there is more explanation, but i think you know my point.
When you look at the lyrics to this song. Remember, it was written before the internet. So, everything about them would have come out in magazines and news papers.
Thank you very much for watching guys ❤ see you soon on twitch.tv/innasolo
This shocked you huh...
Just reread the lyrics, with the knowledge he was the subject of endless media gossip, speculation, lies, and even insults.
You'll understand exactly what the song was about.
"If I can't be my own..." is almost saying "if I can't be left in peace with my own life..."
But idk maybe he felt "owned" by the record label.
🌠
Edit: I think it's short because the words capture how he felt in a "nutshell" (if you're familiar with that phrase "in a nutshell"..?), so no other verse etc was needed.
Peace.
@@eternity8811perfect
This song was the Singer's "goodbye" to the world, after this, he killed himself. It is about his struggle with addiction, mental health issues, and how the media and society treats people who are suffering, especially him who was constantly under attack in the media because his name being dragged through mud made profits.
@@ghostbravo7127 I like what you said. Except that this song was written in early 94 and he didn't die until 2002, so to say it was his "goodbye to the world" and "after this he killed himself" is not true.
it's a few things.... many emotions he was dealing with
My favourite description of this performance is that "it was like watching Layne perform at his own wake".
Juiced up on heroin and vomiting blood prior to coming on stage, and then he performs this timeless exceptional performance. Absolutely incredible.
Most beautiful song ever written, best performance ever created.
This song shows you exactly what life can and probably will put you through the older and older you get. Addiction,Love,Pain and Surprise. For you young people....be prepared.
Great advice. If most young people that read this are as stubborn as I was, it will be blown off until it’s far too late. You’re right on my man.
I was also thinking that this is what happens to “sweet” young men. Depression really is a killer.
@@jpmnky Indeed.
Im 26 and already alone and struggling
@Maclib_ I'm sorry....that is hard. I'm 47 and my entire family is gone. Mom,Dad,Sister,Brother and Niece. Not to mention many friends. Sometimes it seems like this place is a Hell dimension. I would believe that if I weren't a Athiest. All we can do is keep moving forward.
First note Layne uttered...brought chills down my spine...ALL THE TIME
Me too every time
The media drug him through the dirt in regards to his addiction. Nothing about his life / struggle with addiction was private. Hence the "My privacy is raked"
Finally someone knows the meaning of the song. Good for you for actually listening. I hate most comments on this song
Its bullshit he got dragged for his addiction while being honest and open in hopes others would see how bad it was and not fall into it. Layne never gets the credit he deserves as the best grunge vocalist ever. I mean AIC not that they need it isn't even in the RnR Hall of Fame even though that place is a utter joke now, that's still unbelievable
You're all on point. Layne got crucified by the media back then, AIC shunned by awards shows, and they're still not in the Rick & Roll hall of fame.
I agree
One of the most intense moments in music history…
The Unplugged show in 1996 is so heartbreaking to watch because he was deep in his heroin addiction (and yes, I know he was doing other drugs on top of Heroin). His liver was damaged from the years of drug use and he knew it. He was just high enough to do the show to deal with the withdrawal symptoms and so he didn't get dope sick. He was such a ghost of himself during Unplugged. (Of course, Jerry had food poisoning) All Jerry saw when he looked over at Layne was his best friend was going to die soon due to the path Layne had chosen for his life. That show was filmed in April 1996, premiered in May 1996. They did four shows with KISS in June-July 1996, after which Layne survived an overdose and became a recluse. After that, it was a 6-year-long slow suicide.
On Unplugged, Scott Olson was the second guitarist. He was there to boost the guitar sound on the stage.
Layne was better Live than the studio version. LOVE HATE LOVE live at the Moore in December 1990 is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. Other rock bands should strive to have a live performance that perfect.
Layne Staley's vocal range can run rings around any other grunge singer in my opinion. Layne could sing the phone book and never hit a wrong note. Even at the end of his life, with no teeth and a lisp, his voice, wit and humor were all still there. Layne's voice and vocal range were so powerful he did NOT need auto tune or pro-tools until he lost his teeth and had a lisp around 1998, and even then he still killed the vocals. (He started losing his teeth in 1995 due to grinding)
Barrett Martin (who played with Layne in Mad Season) said that when he stood to the side of the stage, he could hear the sound of Layne's vocal resonance come out of Layne's body LOUDER than it did coming out of the speakers, Layne's voice was that powerful.
I'm in the camp of No Layne/No Chains, because no matter which singer you put up there to sing those songs, it'll only be a cover. Layne had a unique voice you cannot replicate or replace. A lot of those songs were great because Layne pretty much wrung his entire soul out singing them, others were personal to Layne and to have someone else sing those, the songs lose their meaning because the new guy didn't go through the ordeals those songs are inspired by.
William DuVall singing THEM BONES on the 2006 reunion tsunami gig.... William DOES NOT have the power in his voice that Layne had especially for that song. Maynard James Keenan could get remotely close to Layne's vocal range for that song (and many others). And Maynard would have the reverence for Layne's memory, he was friends with Layne, he KNEW Layne, had a history with Layne, and saw what Layne went through from Lollapalooza 93 until Layne became a recluse. Besides, Maynard already had 3 bands going on, why not join a fourth band?
He had tried rehab 13 times, but he could never completely give it up. He tried quitting cold turkey on two of the last attempts at rehab, but neither one worked either. Mad Season is made up of Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees, and John Baker Saunders and they all went through rehab. They all got together and dragged Layne out of his condo, got him excited about doing ABOVE album, thinking if he was creative he wouldn't want the drugs, and for the length of time it took to do that, Layne was excited about the project, but it didn't curb his drug habit. Layne wrote the lyrics to the songs he sang on the ABOVE album (minus the John Lennon cover song I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier) and he drew the cover art for the album.
NUTSHELL was about how magazines like FOR EXAMPLE Rolling Stone only reported on Layne's addiction as if that were the only thing that defined the band as well as Layne's depression.
Rolling Stone magazine has some unknown thing to do with the Hall of Fame, and after what Rolling Stone did to Layne and the band in the 1996 The Needle and the Damage Done article ("Oh no, it will be about the music" "Oh yeah, the band's picture will be on the cover" turns out it was only Layne on the cover and the article focused on Layne's addiction -- which Layne DID NOT want to happen -- and everything going wrong internally with the band.) that pissed off AIC management and the entire band to the point they threatened to kick the writer, Jon Weiderhorn's ass over it. I don't see Rolling Stone chomping at the bit to vote AIC into the Hall of Fame. Although if they do finally get in with William as the singer and NOT Layne. I'm going to be pissed.
As far back as late 1992, Rolling Stone has personally had a bone to pick with Layne Staley, even though I can name a dozen bands who wrote about drugs in their lyrics that Rolling Stone never cared to target before or after Layne came along. Layne’s mentioned Rolling Stone hounding him in passing to Riki Rachtman during the New Orleans episode of Headbanger’s Ball in late 1992 when Layne and Mike Starr tour New Orleans and a Voodoo museum with Riki back then.
There were other magazines and "reporters" BEFORE 1996 that hounded Layne over his drug addiction. Rolling Stone wasn't the only rag mag to do it. Spin Magazine and many other tabloid music mags only wanted to focus on Layne's addiction. It's why they stopped doing interviews for the longest time, and after the 1996 Rolling Stone interview, they closed ranks and as far as I know, while Layne was alive they never granted another interview. They DID do Rockline in 1998 (Layne called in while Jerry was promoting his Boggy Depot solo album) and 1999 (when the band was promoting Nothing Safe and the Music Bank box set). But for the most part, they closed ranks around each other.
MTV (and the music industry) has more or less blackballed Layne (and yet, they laud over Kurt Cobain every April 5th, because Kurt was the "face of grunge", meanwhile Layne gets a "by the way"). The Grammys went so far as to invite Jerry, Mike, and Sean to the Grammy show in 2003 and then refused to put Layne's picture up in the memorial of the musicians who died in 2002. (Or they "forgot" to) which pissed Jerry, Mike, and Sean off and they walked out on the show.
Even though the music industry would like to have written him out of history, Layne DID exist. He was on this earth for 34 years. In that time he wrote songs that gave a normal person insight into the mind and journey of an addict. The pain and depression he endured to write the most brutally honest lyrics a musician could write concerning his feelings on his own addiction, his depression, and the tumultuous relationship with his former fiancee Demri. The emotional and physical strength he had to perform those songs live when all he wanted to do was curl away and lose himself in the drug haze I can’t imagine what it was like for him. He was hounded by the press about his addiction. He was ridiculed for his addiction. The music industry blackballed him for his addiction. The Grammys forgot about him when he died. As far as MTV and music rag mags like Rolling Stone were concerned he’s just another addicted singer. They don’t want to acknowledge his contributions to music.
Layne Staley WASN'T just some rock star junkie. HE DESERVED BETTER than what he received from the people around him who he thought mattered. He wrote about drugs, his addiction, what he was feeling and what he was going through with maturity and knowledge well beyond his years. He didn’t deserve to be turned into tabloid cannon fodder by the press.
I remember a show in London on February 26, 1993 where a reporter who was based in London wrote about a concert they did in another part of Europe and got Mike Inez confused with Mike Starr. Layne got on the microphone between them finishing HATE TO FEEL and beginning ANGRY CHAIR and said, "I want to say um, I want to say hello to the guy who wrote the review on the show a few weeks back. You’re in London - an enemy. I want to introduce our bass player, MIKE INEZ, not Mike Starr, you fucking idiot! Fuck that prick! Fuck the press! We’re not playing for the fucking press, all right?”
"Layne was just an incomparable talent. He was like a fucking myna bird. Any accent or sound or voice, he could just immediately repeat it. He just had a gift. And I’d like to think that I have a bit of a gift myself. One of the funniest descriptions I’ve ever heard, and I don’t know that it’s true, but it just sounds fucking great, was we sound like “the satanic Everly Brothers.” Together we were kind of a two-headed monster. It added a lot of depth to the material the way we worked together." -- Jerry Cantrell (Noisey, June 7, 2018)
My Top 20 AIC songs... Love Hate Love (Live at the Moore, December 1990...Layne Staley in his prime and is UNTOUCHABLE PERFECTION performed live by a rock band. All other rock bands should strive to have a live performance this perfect), Man in the Box (Live at Weedsport, NY 1991 - the Layne’s Pissed Version...though the original version may be better to react to, because Weedsport was during Clash of the Titans tour where Slayer fans were giving the band crap and Layne got pissed and changed the lyrics), Bleed the Freak (Live at the Moore, December 1990), It Ain’t Like That (if you need a video use Singles Pro Shot video), Queen of the Rodeo (Live in Dallas, TX 1990), Real Thing (Live ANYWHERE), Them Bones, God Smack (Live at Hollywood Rock, 1993), Grind, Again, No Excuses, Brush Away, Frogs, Sludge Factory (During MTV Unplugged 1996, Layne screwed up the 2nd verse like 8 times, though the show only included one of those times), What the Hell Have I, God Am, Got Me Wrong, Swing On This, Social Parasite, We Die Young
Thank you for the write up, much appreciated...
You are a true fan of Layne’s; can never have enough of those. Rock on
Hola! Te saludo desde Chile Sudamérica 🇨🇱, no sé nada de inglés por lo tanto el "traductor" ayudó bastante a la lectura de tu nota y la AGRADEZCO enormemente, Layne es un Ángel aún cuando no esté entre nosotros físicamente, su voz es tan genuina y su personalidad por lo que he leído le hace justicia a esa increíble voz, los tabloides y la prensa se pueden joder e ir a la mierda cuántas veces quieran, ellos se podrán morir sin más, Las leyendas no mueren. Este año me he vuelto una "Re adicta" a AIC y me he tomado el tiempo de ir viendo y sobre todo escuchando muchísimo material y mucho más aún APRENDER gracias a otros fans que recomiendan o comentan estos post, sus interpretaciones son profundas, no cabe ninguna duda y para mí está en el centro de mi corazón, muchas gracias por compartir tu opinión con el máximo respeto que lo has hecho 🙏🏼✨ Layne 💜 seguirá por siempre en nuestras almas desoladas.
Usually don't read novels people put in comment sections, but this was well written. Although I gotta disagree with you on love,hate,love at the moor being the best version. Think the version on their live cds a little better and also the best rooster I've heard. That whole CD though had to of been Layne in his prime cause he nails every song....anyways good write up 👍
Probably the best comment I have ever read on a TH-cam video
His vocal talent was unreal, completely effortless. I pray his soul is at peace🙏🏼
This song always makes me tear up. If you know about his personal life it makes the song even sadder but beautiful at the same time.
The MTV Unplugged sessions were fantastic. I think I have seen most if not all of them back then. Listening to them now makes it clear how great they were and I wouldn't mind if new ones would be recorded.
I agree they were amazing I just can't think of a band now days that could put on such a performance like those bands did. We truly got to witness greatness back then.
Kind of difficult since Layne is no longer with us.
New episodes of MTV unplugged@@corangerc
It'll be cool to see Foo Fighters do one!
He was having a lot of trouble in his life during this stretch. He could barely sing at this point (drugs and depression), but he still sounds like an angel. He didn't live long after this performance... So sad.. He was battling a lot, and those who loved him couldn't save him. There is a decent documentary out there.
He died in 2002, six years after this performance.
@@mattyk2676 a very slow agonizing death over six years, ending with him dying alone. so I guess in spirit he died shortly after this performance.
Probably thinking of Kurt Cobain who died somewhat after his Unplugged.
@@mattyk2676 all relative
Crazy how he apparently didn’t have teeth lol
A great singer of his own pain. R I P🙏🏼
This
As if the connection between the lyrics and Layne wasn't gut-wrenching enough, the song itself is just so beautifully written, and so purely Alice in Chains. It's 1000% the sound of this band, and you can see how careful Jerry is being in how he plays every note. It's a stunning performance.
This song is so hard to listen to if you ever had issues with suicide and depression, also pls react Man in The Box live at moore to see layne in his prime
It’s hard to listen to in the best way though 😁. I been listening since I was a kid and I will listen until I die. Long live Layne. Don’t ever give up, Jesus loves you.
This song saved my life. I love you Layne. Thank you. Who needs drugs and alcohol when you have Alice in Chains. Thank you Layne.. for everything
Did you relapse yet? Stats would say yes.
@@MOAB-UT relapse. 😆
@@mcshane191 You have to find something to REPLACE that habit with. Next relapse you might not be as lucky.
@@MOAB-UTno relapse, but I have had a prolapse
Lane had a lot of internalized anguish and managed to put it on lyric sheets, lots of people were able to relate in some way, almost as if the song was written for them. And then you add the talent & skill of the band as a whole, you have a recipe for epic music.
Laynes voice was so powerful. Sure wish he was still here with us, an incredible talent.
That's "LAYNE,....IN A NUTSHELL!" 😊
Alice in Chains - Love Hate Love( Live at the Moore) or Alice in Chains - Down in a Hole(MTV Unplugged)
Hi Inna next you should react to "Come On" by Oktaf Kanis, thanks ❤
This performance isn't about "enjoying" as much as it is about expressing/reflecting something true, in raw form. It is a foreshadow of what was soon to come. Even with all the heavy darkness, the beautiful light he was still manages to cut through, captivating us, as we watch and listen to him becoming surrounded and consumed by his own shadows.
Very painful and Sad 😢,Scary to watch, this is like him saying GOODBYE, AND SINGING HIS OWN EULOGY, he looked very frail, and was not himself. A SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF, BAG OF BONES, he became a recluse after this for 6 years, and then he passed away.
Be original
@ianriegg2355 not sure what you're saying 🤔 😕
It definitely hurts to see and watch and hear this because 3 years before I saw Layne on LOLLAPOLOOZA and his vocals were AMAZINGLY STRONG and he still looked healthy! 3 years before that saw AIC at the Moore doing songs off Facelift. RIP LAYNE 💔💔💔😭😭😭
I envy you
Mark Lanegan(RIP) did an amazing cover, for when AiC was honored by MoPOP
Layne wrote this song about his struggle with heroin addiction, and then yes the 2nd verse talks about being in the spotlight, his addiction a well known fact and how he hated reading articles about him and that was all they talked about, as apposed to the good things he had done. This unplugged concert was the first time the band had performed in nearly 2 years because Layne had checked himself into rehab and also bassist Mike Starr's struggles with addiction as well left them fractured. It wasn't too long after this performance that Layne left this Earth and he is greatly missed to this day!
6 years after unplugged
@@budwhite9591 I'm well aware, I didn't give a specific time span, just said not long after. Which, at this point Layne was getting to where his addiction was spiraling
As a 60 year old man who loves music, I was stuck in the 80's for quite sometime. As I reached out to 90's grunge I found Alice in Chains. The first time and every time I have watched this video, I cry. To watch Mr. Staley write and sing about his own pain and suffering for mere others to enjoy is beyond words. As a musician I also understand that most writers write about life and self experiences, but this is over the top. RIP Mr. Staley, thank God for the music, the gift that keeps on giving.
One of the best songs ever written and one of the best singers. Addiction, Pain, Loneliness. How to go on when you can’t be your true self while struggling. One of the best ever
Just found this creator today and absolutely loving how authentic she reacts, especially to these highly emotional songs.
Thank you very much! Means a lot💕
Yes, you got it right. No one identified the trouble. The pain. Layne was hurting... and we all suffered with him. Your reaction got my subscription.❤
The best of the best. You don’t listen to Layne, you feel with him.
This song will change you.
I can watch reactions to this song all day every day.
RIP Layne
I get chills and tears every time I watch this. RIP LAYNE..........
amazing bass sound ! WoW❤
This song was very powerful for me the first time I heard it. Layne was singing about his struggles with addiction and fame, but it can apply to anyone going through hard places in their lives. For me, I just returned from War, my wife divorced me while I was in combat, and I had been estranged from my parents and siblings for years. In this complete isolation , I had been released from the Army after being wounded, and was back in the USA and having great difficulty rejoining society. This song reminded me that although I had to battle alone, it was still a battle , and when in a fight you must stay engaged until it is finished. This song helped to me to remind myself that if I kept up the struggle , and stay true to myself, that things would change. As the old saying goes, tough times come and go, but tough people stay.
If anyone is going through tough personal struggles, please reach out to those around you, don't be afraid to express your doubts and fears. But most of all, stay in the fight, and understand that life is a rollercoaster. You may be in the pits now, but if you keep striving and moving forward , life does improve. ❤
Layne battled with addiction and ultimately lost that battle. Someone said “It’s like watching a man sing at his own funeral.”
Great reaction 👏 👏 👏 ❤
Layne (the singer) had drug addiction problem and you can really see it here, he could barely sing and they weren't sure if he could pull off this whole concert, but he was absolutely incredible. Unfortunately he died not long after this. I highly recommend you to listen to Love, Hate, Love - Live at The Moore it's Layne at his best and it's one of the best live performances ever in my opinion.
Love Hate Love live at the Moore is a must see.
They really had to work hard to get him to come to the show. He was in a downward spiral. Wonderful singer. It was not much later he died.
AIC man ! this group is unique
And this song was masterpiece, the bass in this song is soothing else, best line bass for me
If I can't be my own.......I'd feel better dead. Heroin destroys your soul- RIP LAYNE STALEY-
I always wonder if it's really a first reaction
Thank you for this ❤
Lol..I knew this song would wipe that smile off your face at the beginning of the vid.Poor thing didn't know whaycha were in for ,did ya? ❤❤❤❤
It was a song about his personal addiction.
I grew up seeing these guys in Seattle. Blue collar rock n roll, success was rapid from the last time I saw them perform in 1989 when they opened for great white in Spokane Washington. Just before they got signed to their record deal. The success and the pressure made drugs an easy escape. They all battled with it, many others also famously struggled from this era including Nirvana and soundgarden. As recently as last year another friend took his own life and another guy I knew in high school passed from the effects of long term drug use. Not sure why it seems the guys from my generation in the Pacific Northwest seem to struggle so much. Anyway, the pain resonates from this song as many recognize it.
Aside from everybody else telling you about Layne and his latter stages of life, I believe you are correct and the song was originally about the price of fame, somewhat. That's the short version.
R.I.P. Layne Staley
It's almost painful reading and listening to people completely misunderstand this song. This is the most powerful, painful, and calming songs in my life. And I relate to it in way I cannot with any other song.
The most frustrating part is this song is so succinct. If it's not clear, you can't relate. But that's OK! Even if you don't
, or can't, you should really listen to it again after reading this comment . It's simply about an individual who's misunderstood and doesn't know where and how they fit into society. And refusing to try to be like everyone else just to feel accepted. At the cost of losing your identity. Your you. Your soul. Purpose. Your life. This is clear in "If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead."
We lost a generational talent. And what if it came down to him not getting a call back from someone he loves when he needed it most. If you don't have someone who has your back at all costs, you have nothing.
This is the gospel for anyone who feels like an outcast. Anyone who feels constantly misunderstood. Those who are rigid, strong, and refuse to lose who they are just for the feeling of being "normal" and accepted.
This is Layne Staleys eulogy. He wasnt crying for help, he was saying goodbye
It's about his heroin addiction and how it's taking his life.
He's on his death bed while singing this song. He's essentially singing his own eulogy, at his own funeral.
Whoa such an original comment, never saw that one
I subscribed after you finished your fiest sentence. Adore your accent
Thank you 😊
Great interpretation of the lyrics - I think it was drugs, fame, and relationship problems all rolled up in one manifested in the lyrics.
If you want to see Alice in Chains and Lane Staley at their height, I recommend "Love Hate Love - Live at the Moore". This is a great song, but you really don't get to see Lane's talent too much here. You can also listen to "Down In A Hole" from this same MTV Unplugged show for a taste of Lane and Cantrell's awesome harmonies.
Also, just wanted to say I see you recognizing Cantrell's fantastic guitar skills. His phrasing and note/chord choices are so, so good.
Try FIRE WOMAN by THE CULT 🔥🔥
Drugs owned him. It is often said that this was a man singing at his own funeral. That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.
Lane, RIP. He was an awesome singer but had so many issues with his life 😢😢
Layne and Mike Starr the basis in that performance they both struggle with depression and addiction. Layne in that state nailed it, it was his own cry out for help at the first verse but the second one is like Layne saying like I give up I m tired. As a society we don't do anything about persons that struggle with depression and other stuff. REST IN PEACE LAYNE STALEY AND MIKE STARR
The song is about addiction. He was at the beginning of the end of his life when he performed this show.
I want to make a comment about "huge tracts of land" ,but this masterpiece deserves every bit of respect that I can find
Layne, Chris, Eddie, Andrew, ect… a.k.a Grunge singer/songwriters are all Gen Xer’s. The forgotten generation. Most of us were taught: A. you didn’t talk about your feelings. B. Our feelings weren’t important. When with our parents in public we were to be seen & not heard. As with most writers/artists: poets, writers… they write about what they know. Many tormented artists of this time turned to drugs to numb the pain, sadly many didn’t make it out alive. There are many songs of this era that are hard hitting “bangers”, some that sound like love songs but many are about depression & drugs. The depression that they used drugs to try to numb, the depression from the drugs and the dark places that depression takes you. As someone who suffers from depression I love their music. It confirms that I am not alone in my feelings, that if I don’t keep it under control I could end up like Layne or Chris. Yes, Layne OD’d from heroin (and a cocktail of other drugs) but he used those to numb the pain he felt inside. At least that is my interpretation. Loved your reaction and am a new subscriber because of it. 🥰✌🏻
The best description of this song is "it sounds like a man singing at his own funeral"
Love this song.
Great attitude. 👊
It’s about depression, it’s about server loss and mental illness, it’s addiction it’s hopelessness and heartbreak all in one sitting. That’s Alice In Chains. Try The Rooster. ❤️
Breaks my heart every single time. Of all the departed tortured souls from the early 90's, this one has hurt the most.
There was a lot of turmoil leading up to this performance, I don't think the band knew how epic this performance would be, but they were well aware it would be their last. They were all dealing with some form of addiction, but for Layne, it had taken control of his life. They were no longer a band, and the pain of the breakup continued with Layne fronting the band Mad Season, and Jerry working solo. Deep down I don't think the band really thought unplugged would really happen, when it did they made sure to make it something special.
He went through a very public intervention regarding his also very public heroin addiction. "My sense of self is raped, my privacy is raked" is him relating to his feelings about that
I do love acoustic...but, that acoustic bass...😮😮😮
RIP Layne ❤
Addiction ends up being such a lonely place. You can feel his desperation through his work.
A couple of other songs from A.I.C you should look into [ Down in a hole, Love Hate Love, & Dirt ]
Early 90's PNW Heroin addicts went hard back in the day.
This was his way of saying goodbye. Rest peacefully.
This was his suicide song... Do not ever forget that he died soon after this. This song told us he was going to die. None of us were willing to believe it.
Would is another really good song by AliceNchains and yes Layne was basically singing at his own funeral. By this time the Heroin had already won and he wasn't doing well at all during this performance.
Love hate love, live at the moore is one of his best live perfomences
you can feel his pain in this version and it makes it hit more to the heart knowing he overdosed shortly after
He died 6 years after that performance if memory serves.
That was the last time he performed.
He went full hermit, then died from an overdose.
It was 2 weeks before he was discovered dead in his apartment.
No one checked on him until his accountant noted that he had not made any cash withdrawals for 2 weeks.
Layne had surrendered to the heroin and voiced more than once that his death was inevitable
You just watched a man sing his own eulogy
Feel just like this, more than I want to admit
This song was a cry for Help from addiction
Singing about his own pain R.I.P Layne
He was an addict and couldn't ever stay clean. I watched a documentary on this show and he was struggling to get thru it. He was messed pretty badly. His band tried to help him but he refused it.
Nice!
This gutwrenching performance of Nutshell was Layne Stayleys greatest. The song is about addiction. He ended his life by the embrace of his addiction. Almost as though it had been destined, and he knew it.Truely heartbreaking.
God gave him the most beautiful voice ever and it breaks my heart every time I watch it and I watch this and listen to it all the time. Only those who have gone down that road can relate.
It brings out the pain we dont want but know is there.
Life ain't all sunshine and rainbows kids!! Regardless what those fairytales teach you.. R.I.P 🙏
He wrote this song while he was in rehab at one point. The song is about how destructive drug addiction can be.
It will make you look at life
the lyrics talk about old age and how we have to face it (face the path of time). old people losing his mind, all alone and abandoned (no to cry to, no place to call home)... there is more explanation, but i think you know my point.
Song : happyness by kilowatt - Alexisonfire
No, sweetie, he was singing about his addiction to Heroin and being trapped. He was high when he was singing this.
When you look at the lyrics to this song. Remember, it was written before the internet. So, everything about them would have come out in magazines and news papers.
If you can't relate to the music of Alice in Chains, then you've lived a very sheltered life.
My favorite addiction/pain songs are this and Bad by U2
He is singing about his "love, hate, love" relationship with heroine.
Yes, being in the spotlight and having ones personal struggles, very private stuff, out in the open for everyone to judge or criticize.
His vice is why he said feeling dead