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 This is the album that got me hooked on Alice N Chains..... Between this and Facelift, this band could do no wrong, its too bad to see them split up... their music will be around for years to come.
Now, the good points. Got Me Wrong is one of AIC's best. (The fact that it's on the movie Clerks doesn't hurt either, hehe) Great guitar fill at the beginning which serves as a perfect hook for the rest of the song. Right Turn is great as well. Very simple tune as far as the guitar work goes, but the vocals are what makes this baby shine. When Chris Cornell kicks in at the end, it makes you want to hit the repeat button. Overall, great great work by Jerry Cantrell on the guitar parts. Mike Starr really didn't get much of an opportunity to shine on the bass in this album, neither did Sean Kinney on drums. Layne of course blows 99% of all other vocalists away as usual. Again, the only real weak point was Ann Wilson on backups. If you can get by that, though, this is a definite addition to an AIC collection.
In conclusion, you really only need this CD in your collection if you are a big Alice In Chains fan. By now (for lesser fans) you can find "Got Me Wrong" on either the soundtrack to Clerks or hear its stellar unplugged version on Nothing Safe-The Best of the Box and/or Unplugged. But "Brother" and "Right Turn" are definitely exceptional tracks; and deserve to be heard. Yet you must understand Alice In Chains in order to welcome those songs into your hearts. This five-song release gets 3 stars for each of its great songs. I could've done without "Am I Inside" and certainly "Love Song"; but remember...take the bad with the good.
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Unfortunately, Ann Wilson decided to peek her head into this project. This could potentially have been a perfect album, but her vocals take too much away from the songs. Perfect example: Brother. Listen to her harmonizing with Cantrell and then go listen to the Unplugged version where Staley does the harmonizing. There's just no substitute for the Cantrell/Staley formula. Not to knock AIC for trying something new, it just didn't work. Am I Inside is another prime example of this. The harmonizing is at some points so bad that it's hard to listen to.
By now we all know this E.P. has five songs on it; not four. And we all know this is the (first) place to find Alice In Chains' hit song "Got Me Wrong". But what you may not know is that the two songs "Brother" and "Right Turn" (kudos Chris Cornell) are true Alice In Chains gems. You'll look at those three songs (especially track #1) and say `wow'. That I can almost promise you. Along with Soundgarden's illustrious Cornell, "Right Turn" features infamous Mudhoney member Mark Arm; as they, along with Layne, move through the music flawlessly. And Jerry Cantrell's guitar work on the first three tracks is some of best he has ever done. However, the final two songs, "Am I Inside" and the untitled "Love Song" could very nearly be dubbed as flat-out bad. "Am I Inside" is a modestly made song with no real basis for success. And the hidden song is just horrible; I actually wish I'd never come across it. On another down note, the sound quality of the CD isn't that great. You may have to turn up your volume two or three notches to fully appreciate the music's melody.
