| Facelift | |
|---|---|
| |
Alice In Chains
| |
| Released | 1990 |
| Recorded | Unknown |
| Length | Unknown |
| Label | Unknown |
| Producer | Unknown |
Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice In Chains. The album was released on August 21, 1990. The album was the first grunge album to be certified platinum and has gone on to be certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States.
Background and recording
Local promoter Randy Hauser became aware of the band at a concert, and offered to pay for demo recordings. However, one day before the band was due to record at the Music Bank studio in Washington, police shut down the studio during the biggest marijuana raid in the history of the state. The final demo was named The Treehouse Tapes, and found its way to the music managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who also managed the Seattle-based band Soundgarden. Curtis and Silver passed on the demo to Columbia Records' A&R representative Nick Terzo, who set up an appointment with label president Don Ienner. Based on The Treehouse Tapes (a 1988 demo tape sold by the band at shows), Ienner signed Alice in Chains to Columbia in 1989.
Alice in Chains soon became a top priority of the label, who released the band's first official recording in July 1990, a promotional EP We Die Young. The EP's lead single, "We Die Young", became a hit on metal radio. After its success, the label rushed Alice in Chains' debut album into production with producer Dave Jerden. Drummer Sean Kinney claims to have played this album with a broken hand:
"I almost didn't play on the record - they started rehearsing with the drummer from Mother Love Bone, Greg Gilmore. I was sitting there playing with one hand, guiding him through it. Dave Jerden came in and they started to try to do it. He was like, 'Screw it - pull the plug. This is not going to be the same.' Luckily, we took a tiny bit of time off. I had that cast on for a while, and was like, 'I can't miss this.' I cut my cast off in the studio and kept a bucket of ice by the drum set. Kept my hand iced down and played with a broken hand. I tried not to do that again - your first big break, and you fuck it up."
Facelift was recorded at London Bridge Studio in Seattle and Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood from December 1989 to April 1990. Footage from the Facelift sessions can be found on Alice in Chains' Music Bank: The Videos DVD.
Track listing
All lyrics and music written by Jerry Cantrell, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Die Young" | 2:32 | |||
| 2. | "Man in the Box" | Layne Staley | 4:46 | ||
| 3. | "Sea of Sorrow" | 5:49 | |||
| 4. | "Bleed the Freak" | 4:01 | |||
| 5. | "I Can't Remember" | Staley, Cantrell | 3:42 | ||
| 6. | "Love, Hate, Love" | Staley | 6:26 | ||
| 7. | "It Ain't Like That" | Cantrell, Mike Starr, Sean Kinney | 4:37 | ||
| 8. | "Sunshine" | 4:44 | |||
| 9. | "Put You Down" | 3:16 | |||
| 10. | "Confusion" | Staley | Cantrell, Starr | 5:44 | |
| 11. | "I Know Somethin (Bout You)" | 4:22 | |||
| 12. | "Real Thing" | Staley | 4:03 | ||
| Total length: |
54:02 | ||||
Personnel
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Album
Alice In Chains - Facelift Full Album