THE GRUNGE MATCH - 057
Match 057:
Alice In Chains "Got Me Wrong" (Unplugged) (1996)
Nirvana "Come As You Are" (Unplugged) (1994)
Pearl Jam "Do The Evolution" (1998)
Soundgarden "Limo Wreck" (1994)
"Got Me Wrong" is another in a long line of "not as good as the original" acoustic numbers that pays lie to the inherent danger of booking a band with so many acoustic songs in their repertoire and expecting their performances to be transformative. At this point, Alice In Chains could barely do the songs as is; they weren't about to try and make them different in interesting ways. And this passable yet inferior version is the result.
"Come As You Are" at least has the benefit of having been an electric song first, and in a lower key to boot. The changes are subtle, but it's enough to make it interesting to listen to.
"Do The Evolution" was the first time Pearl Jam released an official video for a song since "Jeremy" in 1992. There was a clip from the '93 VMA's of them performing "Animal" that got circulation, but this was the first time they'd dipped their toe back into that water since their career took off into the stratosphere. The song itself is kind of ahead of its time, sounding more like early 2000's garage rock than the failures to recapture earlier glory the rest of the album has spawned so far. Problem is, it's not very good. Vedder can't do the screamy stuff anymore, the riffs are uninteresting, and one of the guitars sounds kind of out of tune. "Do The Evolution" sort of sucks.
"Limo Wreck" is a song I've come to love more as the years go on. At the time, it was one of the songs I would've cut from "Superunknown" to make it a little more digestible (it came out at the crest of the "CDs hold more than 70 minutes, we have to fill them to bursting to make it look like we're giving people their money's worth" wave), but in the ensuing years, I've come to really embrace its dirge-like verses and epic as fuck chorus. See, I bag on Alice In Chains for being dirge-like sometimes, but the difference is if a dirge has soul, if parts of the song make you want to care why things have gotten so dark and slow, then it can work. "Limo Wreck" grabs you by the throat and makes you care.
"Limo Wreck": 4
"Come As You Are" (Unplugged): 3
"Got Me Wrong" (Unplugged): 2
"Do The Evolution": 1
TOTALS:
Pearl Jam: 152
Alice In Chains: 146
Soundgarden: 140
Nirvana: 132
Soundgarden just pulled within striking distance of Alice In Chains! We're gonna have to keep a close eye on this as we proceed through the next few matches.
Alice In Chains "Got Me Wrong" (Unplugged) (1996)
Nirvana "Come As You Are" (Unplugged) (1994)
Pearl Jam "Do The Evolution" (1998)
Soundgarden "Limo Wreck" (1994)
"Got Me Wrong" is another in a long line of "not as good as the original" acoustic numbers that pays lie to the inherent danger of booking a band with so many acoustic songs in their repertoire and expecting their performances to be transformative. At this point, Alice In Chains could barely do the songs as is; they weren't about to try and make them different in interesting ways. And this passable yet inferior version is the result.
"Come As You Are" at least has the benefit of having been an electric song first, and in a lower key to boot. The changes are subtle, but it's enough to make it interesting to listen to.
"Do The Evolution" was the first time Pearl Jam released an official video for a song since "Jeremy" in 1992. There was a clip from the '93 VMA's of them performing "Animal" that got circulation, but this was the first time they'd dipped their toe back into that water since their career took off into the stratosphere. The song itself is kind of ahead of its time, sounding more like early 2000's garage rock than the failures to recapture earlier glory the rest of the album has spawned so far. Problem is, it's not very good. Vedder can't do the screamy stuff anymore, the riffs are uninteresting, and one of the guitars sounds kind of out of tune. "Do The Evolution" sort of sucks.
"Limo Wreck" is a song I've come to love more as the years go on. At the time, it was one of the songs I would've cut from "Superunknown" to make it a little more digestible (it came out at the crest of the "CDs hold more than 70 minutes, we have to fill them to bursting to make it look like we're giving people their money's worth" wave), but in the ensuing years, I've come to really embrace its dirge-like verses and epic as fuck chorus. See, I bag on Alice In Chains for being dirge-like sometimes, but the difference is if a dirge has soul, if parts of the song make you want to care why things have gotten so dark and slow, then it can work. "Limo Wreck" grabs you by the throat and makes you care.
"Limo Wreck": 4
"Come As You Are" (Unplugged): 3
"Got Me Wrong" (Unplugged): 2
"Do The Evolution": 1
TOTALS:
Pearl Jam: 152
Alice In Chains: 146
Soundgarden: 140
Nirvana: 132
Soundgarden just pulled within striking distance of Alice In Chains! We're gonna have to keep a close eye on this as we proceed through the next few matches.
Comments
Post a Comment