Sunglasses disguise his blackened eyes, long sleeves cover scars left behind from shooting up and he awkwardly clutches his hands together as if afraid to emerge from the shadows and take centre stage – quite different from the powerful vocalist we'd come to know and love. The original performance is therefore a chilling look at the tragic downfall of one of rock's most charismatic and enigmatic frontmen from glam rock loving metal star to the epitome of grunge – in the most negative sense of the word: a bedraggled junkie with scruffy pink hair awkwardly shuffles from the back of the stage and takes his seat. Staley overdosed following their concert in Kansas City on July 3 and despite the frontman recovering from the incident AIC were put on hiatus, and other than one brief recording two years later, where the band briefly reunited to record the songs Get Born Again and Died for Music Bank, Alice in Chains never played with Staley again. His final ever performance was in the same year, when Alice in Chains replaced Stone Temple Pilots in an opening slot for the newly reunited Kiss. Retrieved August 15, 2022.Alice in Chains Unplugged marked the second to last performance from Staley, who was battling a crippling addiction to heroin that was poignantly chronicled through the band's dark and agonising lyrics. Recording Industry Association of America.

^ 'American single certifications – Alice in Chains – Nutshell'.

^ 'See Alice in Chains Dedicate Emotional 'Nutshell' Performance to Vinnie Paul'.

^ 'Alice in Chains Kick Off Tour in Boston: Photos, Set List, Review'.^ 'Alice In Chains - Nutshell - Live SWU 2011 Brasil'.^ '20 Years Ago: Alice In Chains Perform for MTV's 'Unplugged' '.'The 20 greatest Alice In Chains songs – ranked'. ^ 'Readers' Poll: The 10 Saddest Songs of All Time'.^ 'Layne Staley Remembered: Alice in Chains' Mike Inez Pays Tribute'.^ Liner notes, Jar of Flies, Columbia Records.^ 'Nutshell - Alice in Chains - Song Info'.Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. During their concert at the Hellfest Open Air Festival in Clisson, France on June 24, 2018, Cantrell dedicated the song to his longtime friend and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, who died two days before the concert. Since 2011, Jerry Cantrell dedicates 'Nutshell' to Layne Staley and Mike Starr during Alice In Chains' concerts with new vocalist William DuVall. The Unplugged concert marked the last time the band performed the song with Layne Staley. It was the opening song of the concert and was included on the Unplugged live album and home video release. The band performed an acoustic version of 'Nutshell' for its appearance on MTV Unplugged on April 10, 1996.

Live performances Īlice in Chains performed the song for the first time at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City on September 22, 1993. In 2014, Loudwire ranked the song number five on their list of the 10 greatest Alice in Chains songs, and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number four on their list of the 20 greatest Alice in Chains songs. 9 on Rolling Stone's readers' poll 'The 10 Saddest Songs of All Time'. Reception Īlthough never released as a single, 'Nutshell' is widely regarded as one of Alice in Chains' best songs. Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that the arrangements on 'Nutshell' recalled those of Canadian musician Neil Young. We're not looking at the audience, we're looking back at Layne, and it's pretty cool that there's still that song for us. And I look and see me and Jerry and Sean looking the wrong way.

I get a little teary-eyed, and sometimes when we're doing the arena runs especially, they'll have some video footage of Layne. That song still gets me choked up whenever I play it. And in 'Nutshell,' he really put everything in a nutshell for everybody. 1 for me is 'Nutshell.' Layne was very honest with his songwriting. īassist Mike Inez said of 'Nutshell' when asked what song makes him think of Layne Staley the most: The lyrics were written by vocalist Layne Staley, and the music was written by bassist Mike Inez, guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney. Since 2011, guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell dedicates 'Nutshell' to Alice in Chains' late original members Layne Staley and Mike Starr during the band's concerts. The band played it on MTV Unplugged in 1996, and this rendition of the song was included on the compilation album Music Bank (1999), as well as The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). ' Nutshell' is a song by Alice in Chains that originally appeared on the band's 1994 extended play Jar of Flies.

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