Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996, by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series MTV Unplugged, in which the musicians perform songs on acoustic instruments. The recording was the band's first concert since early 1994. In the interim, lead singer Layne Staley battled heroin addiction so severe that the group was unable to perform live, leading them to temporarily disband. Nevertheless, the band persevered and released their self-titled third studio album in late 1995, though they remained unable to promote the effort with live shows.
Despite Staley's poor health and guitarist Jerry Cantrell suffering from food poisoning, the performance was a success. The set list mainly consisted of acoustic versions of previously known songs, but also contained brief tributes to Metallica and one new song, "The Killer Is Me", which was performed for the first time. The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. The acoustic version of "Over Now" was released as a single in July 1996, and the recording of "Would?" followed in October. Home video releases of the MTV broadcast were released on VHS in October 1996, and on DVD three years later. The album was re-released as a CD/DVD package with bonus footage on September 18, 2007. The Unplugged show was Staley's last headlining performance; he was hospitalized due to a drug overdose weeks before the release of Unplugged, after which he stopped performing and became reclusive. He died in 2002 following another overdose.
Upon release, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart. It received a varied response, garnering praise for recreations of the band's heavier material but showing indifference toward already-acoustic recordings as found on Sap and Jar of Flies. Despite the lukewarm critical reception upon its release, it was retrospectively lauded, and went on to be certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The home video release was also certified gold by the RIAA.
Background Alice in Chains had not toured since co-headlining Lollapalooza in mid-1993, and had not performed live at all since January 1994. They had been scheduled to join Metallica's Shit Hits the Sheds Tour starting in July 1994, including a stop at Woodstock '94, but the band canceled all their scheduled dates one day before the start of the tour due to frontman Layne Staley's heroin addiction. The band parted ways for about six months, and members engaged in their own activities. Staley joined the supergroup Mad Season, with whom he recorded the studio album Above. Bassist Mike Inez appeared on Slash's solo album It's Five O'Clock Somewhere. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell began working on material intended for a solo album, and both Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney each contributed to the Willie Nelson tribute album Twisted Willie.Newquist, HP.
Alice in Chains regrouped in early 1995 to work on new material, and by late 1995, they released their self-titled third studio album. They had originally planned to tour in 1996 for the new album, but these plans were scrapped, adding to the rumors of Staley's drug abuse. In the meantime, MTV approached the band with an offer to perform acoustically as part of its MTV Unplugged series. The network had been requesting the band partake in the series for years, and the band had repeatedly declined the network's advances. Cantrell reasoned that it was too difficult to make the band sound satisfactory and worried that a televised audience would not be receptive to the band's raw and abrasive style, despite the band's prior experience recording acoustic extended plays, including Sap (1992) and Jar of Flies (1994).
MTV producer Alex Coletti, who oversaw the Unplugged series, was much more confident in the band's ability to prove their grunge sound was viable in an acoustic format. Over its six years on the air, the series had already found success in the grunge market by recording Pearl Jam and Nirvana: "They have the songs, they have the depth, they have the emotion where, when you strip it down, you really find something there. [...] There were other grunge bands, but the three that did it—Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Alice—they were the right three from that era. And there was just no denying that this band was going to shine, that Layne's voice and those songs were going to shine through," Coletti recounted. After much persuasion, Alice in Chains agreed to perform. According to Cantrell, the band made the right decision by holding off for a long time, in spite of their extensive repertoire: "The band is much tighter now than it used to be. Just because the opportunity is there doesn't always mean that it's the right time to do something."
One factor that made the band's decision easier was the lack of an active concert tour. Had the musicians been recently performing in front of large audiences, Coletti highlighted how difficult it would have been for them to adapt to performing acoustically from a style that was usually much heavier. With no other performing commitments, the band was allowed to focus all of their rehearsal on an entirely different live format than usual. In addition, the recording date for the television performance did not have to be coordinated with a busy touring schedule. Beyond the fact that Alice in Chains was returning after a long absence, what was particularly appealing to fans was that the acoustic nature of the performance aligned with the band's previous work; even the band's most recent studio album was often likened to the acoustics of Jar of Flies.
Preparation
Alice in Chains had limited experience performing acoustically in a live setting. Prior to the Jar of Flies era, the band took part in an acoustic benefit concert in early January 1994 for John Norwood Fisher of Fishbone, who was having difficulty paying legal fees. Being the first time the band deviated from their electric, heavier sound in a live setting, fans at the performance were disappointed with the drastic change in sound. In order to "expand" the sound and simplify the performance for their second attempt at an acoustic set, the band invited guitarist Scott Olson from fellow Seattle-based band Heart to join them for the show. Alice in Chains had collaborated with Heart members on multiple occasions before. On Sap, vocalist Ann Wilson performed backing vocals on two songs; one of them, "Brother", was recorded for Unplugged.
Rehearsals began in Seattle, but were continuously hampered with problems. According to Kinney, there was "barely any rehearsing at all, guys not showing up—the same shit". Cantrell agreed, "everyone always show[ed] up at different times and we usually just end up talking and goofing around anyway. [...] We always kind of end up flying by the seat of our pants." Coletti was never aware of the continuing issues the band was facing in the lead up to the performance. When he first visited the band, he was impressed with Staley's condition. He was even more so when he heard Staley sing during rehearsals, stating that choosing the band to perform was "already a home run—this was a slam dunk." In early April 1996, the band arrived in New York to prepare for the show. Alice in Chains producer Toby Wright was brought back to produce the taping of the Unplugged show; the band rehearsed at Sony Music Studios with Wright, and he was also pleased with what he heard.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theater, now known as the Harvey Theater, was chosen as the venue for filming the Unplugged performance. The semicircular shape of the amphitheater was ideal for acoustic performances. An art director for Unplugged wanted the stage's appearance to match the gloomy attitude of the music being performed, so the artistic director decided to intentionally renovate the space to look old and decrepit. Stagehands fired multiple gunshots into the walls to create cracks. Peeling paint was also applied by hand. It was Staley's idea to have big candles decorating the stage to keep it dark and moody, as the band never liked bright lights on stage. Staley bought the candles at Seattle's Pike Place Market. At the last minute, a request came to use lava lamps to decorate the stage, adding an unexpected visual element. Footage of the show shows the translucent paraffin wax in the lamps barely moving, emphasizing the mood of the performance itself. The concert organizers achieved this effect by accident, simply because they were unaware that the lamps needed to be properly warmed up in advance for their intended effect. Staley had recently dyed his hair pink, so the lighting technician decided to match the stage backdrop to it. Unique lighting color schemes were chosen for each song. The band had predetermined their setlist and provided it to MTV, so lighting was selected well in advance.
Concert The Brooklyn concert was scheduled for April 10, 1996. The performance was fraught with a number of problems and delays. Cantrell was suffering from food poisoning caused by a hot dog consumed before the gig. Before the show, he was vomiting constantly, so a trash can was placed next to him on the stage. Staley also appeared ill due to his drug addiction; when the lead singer spoke between songs, a noticeable weakness could be heard in his voice. The band's guitar technician, Randy Biro, was also addicted to heroin, and both he and Staley went into severe withdrawal before the show. Biro forgot his heroin and sent someone to get more. Staley, on the other hand, was prepared with a glass bottle sealed with a cork cap containing ready-to-use heroin, and took a hit just before the show. According to Biro, he had only used a slight amount of the drug: "He hadn't done enough where he was nodding off and drooling [...] he didn't do a lot". Wright worked from a mobile studio inside a truck located outside the venue, where he would produce the audio and communicate with the band in case anything needed redone. Coletti, on the other hand, would be responsible for producing the televised performance, rotating between the production truck outside and the venue inside. There were only 400 seats available for the show that evening, though thousands of people attempted to gain admission.
The musicians prepared thirteen songs for the concert. Some songs were eliminated immediately, while the band worked on others for some time until realizing that they would not sound good performed acoustically. Ultimately, the band put together a setlist that would satisfy both casual listeners and ardent fans. It included material from all of the band's releases up to that point, with the exception of their debut album, Facelift (1990). The omission was not intentional; the band had planned to include the Facelift tracks "We Die Young" and "Love, Hate, Love", but abandoned these when time constraints prevented them from fitting them in the taping. These time constraints also left little room for improvisation, and the songs were mostly performed as acoustic versions of how they would have sounded on their original album. Cantrell played acoustic guitar, maintaining vocal harmonies with Staley's lead. Inez made the most of his acoustic bass, while Kinney maintained the groove on drums. Olson completed the lineup as a second guitarist. According to Cantrell, he did not feel ill once the performance was under way, but was immediately sick again at its conclusion: "when the lights went green, the cameras started rolling, my body gave me some adrenaline and dopamine I needed to get through it. [...] As soon as it was over, I went back to feeling crappy again."