Professional Singer Vocal ANALYSIS of Alice In Chains | "Would?" 

Thoroughly enjoyed checking out Alice In Chains! Such an iconic group. What else from them should I check out?

"Love, Hate, Love" live at the Moore for the full gut-wrenching experience.

Dude if you keep going with this band you're going to hear the most haunting and most beautiful harmonies of your life. nobody can touch the two of them when they're together

Layne is one of the greatest rock/metal singers of all time, and his harmonies with Jerry are awesome

I know I won’t be the only one that recommends this one, but their “Love, Hate, Love” Live at the Moore performance will turn your world upside down

I’m 55 years old. I saw AIC many times in the 90’s, including Lollapalooza. He slowly faded due to his addiction, but even when he was clearly junk sick (MTV Unplugged is a good example) he could still outperform almost any singer of his day. Sadly missed. A beautiful soul too. I met him and Scott Welland back in 1991 at club in Buffalo, NY called the Scrapyard. They were playing a show together and I was in a popular band at the time as well and Layne’s voice was so powerful that he would legit drown out Scotty. I too got into drugs in 1993, got sober, quit the music business (I still play for fun) and kept in touch with Jamie (Scott’s wife) and Scotty up until his death as well. Addiction is a sad deal man. I’ve lost so many amazing people. Not just musicians/artists. I’m still here. Sober for 24 years now with no relapses. Great video. Thanks for sharing this song and recognizing the brilliance of Layne, Jerry and AIC.😊🙌🏾👊🏽

It's ironic, Jerry Cantrell is singing an octave above Layne on several parts; Layne is a tenor and Jerry is a baritone (a pretty strong timbred low one, too). They had insane versatility together.

“Rooster” RIP Layne Staley

It's an early 90s song written about the death of Andrew Wood, singer of Mother Love Bone. There were a few other songs written about him by Seattle musicians of the same era.

You gotta watch their live performance of Love Hate Love. His vocals are just dynamite. Also, they were on MTVs unplugged and it's just haunting. Layne was in the thick of his addiction but still managed to crank out an amazing, yet sad, performance.

Ah I have some of these lyrics tattooed on me "have I run too far to get home". The yawling was strong

Love Hate Love (live at The Moore December 1990) is a MUST - Layne was in his prime, and he delivers a mind blowing vocal master class. I’ve been listening to this live performance going on 33 years and it never fails to make every hair on my body stand up. Other AIC recommendations include Down in a Hole (I’d do the studio version, followed by the one from their MTV: Unplugged concert; Them Bones (OMV); Junkhead (studio), I Stay Away; No Excuses; both Bleed the Freak, and Man in the Box (live at the Moore); and Rooster (OMV).

Wait until this dude discovers “Love Hate Love” live at the Moore and “Down in a Hole” from MTV Unplugged lol.. his heads gonna explode

Layne Staley is forever the GOAT of rock singers..rip Layne!!! ❤❤

ALICE IN CHAINS ⛓️ "THING" that made them stand out was the harmonizing between Layne and Jerry, nobody was doing it when they did it, AND THEY WERE GREAT TOGETHER

Man Layne was one of only 6 singers in the world that could hit a 6th octive with his voice. One of the best front men in history.

The lyrics there are "Am I wrong? / Have I run too far to get home? / Have I gone, / Left you here alone? Great reaction!

He will always be my favorite. Rip. He’s saying “ to get home”

You did it again - brought me a group I've heard of but never listened to because it wasn't "my kind of music". I guess my tastes have changed over the years because I found this intriguing. Now have to check out their other work. Awesome R&A, as always! I always learn so much from them!

This is honestly my favorite song of all time, so gonna try not to gush too much. I caught this official video shortly after it premiered. But not right away, as it seemed a bit over-hyped and I steered a little clear. Finally when I gave it a chance, it rocked me hard. I was only like 14 or something at the time. But its myriad elements made major impressions: the minor-key bass line giving the verses that haunting feel; the rocking chorus; then that switch-up for the outro. Plus, at the center of it all was the late, great Layne Staley, frontman and lead vocalist. That’s Jerry Cantrell on guitar and additional vocals, who also wrote the song. The rhythm section was Mike and Sean on bass and drums, respectively. But back to Layne, because he had true rock-star style, very evident here and in many other performances. The beard, the shades, the slicked hair- he always knew how to dress the part. So, the song informed my nascent identity as a music fan, and the band’s look informed my emergent sense of style. Recommend “Man In The Box”, “Love, Hate, Love” and “Rooster” for more strong vocal parts. Guess I ended up gushing too much after all.

Recorded and released in 1992 first on the sound track to the movie "Singles" and later on their album "Dirt"

The song is about Andrew Wood, R.I.P., who was the lead singer of Mother Love Bone. They were the first major player in Seattle Grunge. The album was just done and Andrew went a little too far on libations (H), and passed away. A lot of the big Grunge bands used the same converted warehouse as practice space and became friends. Andrew Wood = Would? That whole story and scene is fascinating and tragic. Also the guy with the hair you like, Mike Starr, R.I.P. Many Grunge bands wrote songs, and whole albums about Andrew and the impact it had on them and on Grunge. My other fav, Temple Of The Dogs "Say Hello To Heaven". With Chris Cornell (Sound Garden), and Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) duet. After Andrew passed, Chris introduced the other members of Mother Love Bone to Eddie and they formed Pearl Jam. There is quite a bit to the story but that is a quick "Nutshell", which is also a song by Alice In Chain you should check out.

90s teen here: every rock and alternative band had videos with the following: 1. Cuts to black and white or sepia 2. Flashes or lingering on old people 3. Hair. Lots of hair. 4. Heroin and themes about heroin 5. Grunge outfits, thrashing 6. Cuts to dirty warehouse floors and under bridges and stuff Please do “grind” it’s so classic

The AIC catalogue goes on for days. Like most have said, "Love, Hate, Love" live at the Moore is a must.

Jerry Cantrell on guitar and background vocals, the Lead singer comes in after Jerry, his name is LAYNE STALEY, unfortunately he lost a battle with addiction in 2002

You need to check out their live performance of Love Hate Love from Live at the Moore. This is the entire band at its peak! ❤

You're wrongly putting Alice In Chains and System of A Down in the same decade, Alice In Chains is early 90's, and System of A Down is early 2000's (at least all their more known songs).

Still the most unique rock voice of all time. My personal favorite!

Jumping on the band wagon to say Love Hate Love live at the Moore Theater.

"It Ain't Like That" live from the Singles blu ray for their textbook haunting harmony.

LOVE HATE LOVE....wont be disappointed 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 AIC our LEGEND 👊🏻....yes live at the Moore

Interesting tidbit: Would? (with it's abrupt/aggressive ending) was the final track of the Dirt[1992] album, while Them Bones (with its abrupt/aggressive intro) was the opening track. This is one of those albums that starts the same way it ends... with a punch to the face

Nobody takes a look at the Europe tour in 93 and those lives are pure fire! Layne was at his peak for real!

I remember listening to this song when I was around 15-16 I think… and now I’m 45…. Still a great song as a great band❤

Layne's voice is so distinctive! Love AIC. I enjoyed your breakdown . Rooster is one of my favorites. You should check out a live performance, either live at the Moore or MTV unplugged. Cheers!

This song has a really unique energy, i love it

Saw them live in 1993. They opened with this song. Freaking epic performance.

To clarify, there are two singers, however Layne had his vocals double tracked to give part of the bands distinctive tone, so a total of 3 vocal tracks, two being Layne. Also maybe I missed it, but its worth mentioning both of them were classically trained by Maestro David Kyle in Seattle, whose primary background is Opera.

Almost every song from the Dirt album is crazy good! I was 16 when this came out. I heard the intro as I was strolling in to a record store and went straight up to the counter and asked who the band was. As song came to an end I walked out as a proud owner of one of the best album from that era! Great reaction!

This song was first released on the “Singles” movie soundtrack in June of 1992, and then it was released again in September of 1992, as the last track on Alice In Chains sophomore album, “Dirt”, that’s still vital today. “Singles”, was a film written and directed by legendary director Cameron Crowe, that saw its theatrical release in September of this same year, 1992. The film was set against the backdrop of the early 90s Seattle Music Scene, monikered as “Grunge”, or the “Seattle Grunge Scene”, by the mainstream music press, that flipped the music industry upside down, and as a result changed the industry forever. The scene brought punk rock, alternative music, and really the entire underground music scene as a whole, to the surface, replacing what was popular music at the time, and becoming the mainstream. If you were alive in the late 80s and early 90s, and old enough to understand what was going on, there’s no way you would’ve missed it, even if you didn’t listen to that music, and didn’t live under a rock, you most likely heard about Seattle, “Grunge”, flannel shirts, and coffee shops. You most likely heard something about Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder, Soundgarden and Chris Cornell, it was worldwide phenomenon. And, it’s arguably the last real major pop culture, organic music scene, before the “world-wide-web”, made the world a much smaller place.

Hi Peter! I'm new to your channel and I loved your review of AIC! If you really want Layne Staley to blow your mind ,watch "LOVE HATE LOVE" - Live at the Moore version. I look forward to more of your reviews!

One of the truly great songs of the 90s era. So dark, so much feel. Great reaction.

10 years between this song and Chop Suey. Loved the video

Layne was an incredible vocalist. Saw these guys live a couple of times. Absolutely unbelievable range and power Layne had.

Layne Staley had a distinctive resonating tone in his voice that was matched only by his emotive delivery and mastery of singing on pitch. I often wonder what he could've achieved had he not fallen under the grip of addiction.

There's a youtube video isolating just Layne's vocals for this song-it's beyond amazing. Give it a listen.

Great breakdown of the vocal melody, I really enjoyed this!

That dirty bass sound you speak of is a technique called pick scrape. He sort of scraps side of pick as he strokes the strings.

I love you reviewing bands I listened to my highschool years ❤❤❤

The bass player MIKE STARR passed away too, from addiction issues too 😢

I really appreciate your analysis on Would, my favorite AiC song. It holds special meaning to me because as a child, I lost my father. Perhaps because I was so young, I didn't make it thru the 'cycle of grief,' persistent emotions circled back. This song helped me to reach anger, something I'd never felt before and that brought me acceptance. Since then, I'm able to display pictures of my father and remember him with a smile. Before, I would just cry. There's another song, Pictures of You by The Cure. It came out about 3 yrs earlier and the two combined to help me along my journey in life. It's funny that music can have such an impact. Thank you for posting this video.

Vocal harmonies and interesting chord progressions are the hallmark of Alice In Chains. They were contemporary with Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc. Of the grunge-era bands, AiC is my clear favorite for exactly those reasons. They were writing grown-up music, using chords and progressions that classical composers might use. Mussorgsky comes to mind.

First time watching one of your reactions,very impressed and learned a lot about Staleys singing!!!!!

Probably the coolest band of all time, they look and sound so badass

I thought the flip to falsetto before the solo would have been worth a mention.

Loved this!!! Thank you for your analysis. Definitely do DOWN IN A HOLE UNPLUGGED where their vocal dance is amazingly beautiful & sad but yet surprisingly the best live performance I’ve come to find of Layne, especially given the state he’s in during the performance/session in general. He’s stiff, tense, but yet looks like he’s slouched and can’t quite keep himself held up. He barely moves an inch or open his mouth wider than a centimeter the entire time and notably without facial expression. His vocals carry all the weight he can’t show on the outside. Haunting performance, but a must-see classic.

Scans feed: -AIC 🤓 -Would? 🤩 -20!!! min video…I’m in!! Loved experiencing one of my favorite songs and artists through your eyes. 20 min of edging 😂 RIP to a man who could sing like a lark, Layne Staley.

His vocals, in his prime were just as good, IF NOT BETTER LIVE

"I stay away" is a great song from AIC and obviously, "man in the box". It's really great seeing the effect Staley is having on people 2 decades after his death. Learn about his life and his passing, and the songs, "down in a hole" and "nutshell" will never feel the same again.

I am not really able to get very technical when it comes to the vocals of the guys in AIC, BUT, I must say that they are able to blend their vocals in a way that is PERFECTION. Nobody can sound like them.

Alice in Chains is my all time favorite band. Layne Staley's amazing vocals bring me to tears. Thank you for being an honest reactor. So many people on here "react" to songs they already know and it's painful to watch. You keep it real and truly react and I really appreciate that.

I love how you explained the vocal tone and differences of Layne and Jerry. Your analysis has more precision than many other so called "vocal coaches" from YT, It's evident u're a real pro. Another great song u can react from AiC is Love, Hate, Love live at the Moore 👌

Layne Staley was one of the most distinctive voices in rock music.He knew what he was doing.His voice blended so well with that of Jerry Cantrell,the guitarist.Together they created truly haunting,atmospheric vocals and songs with a lot of space in them.This is my favorite of their songs.It's tragic that Layne is no longer with us.Rest in peace,Layne.You're very much missed.

4:25 You nailed it. Jerry Cantrell, the guitarist is the back up vocals and lead vocals on many AIC songs.

I NEVER tire of watching people hear some of my favorite songs ❤thanks for sharing. And You PROBABLY already heard Man in a box or rooster at the gym or on the radio when u were younger

Layne was one, if not my favorite vocalists of the 90's and early 2000's. Unique approach and delivery. Along with Jerry Cantrell adding in his voice and harmonizing you literally "feel" the music. Awesome reaction and analysis. P.S. I love your cup👍

That bass and drum intro has been my ringtone for the last 10 years.

This is a tribute song for Jerry Cantrell's friend, Andrew Wood, who was the singer of Mother Love Bone who overdosed in 1990. Members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden did a tribute for him on the Temple of the Dog album, called Say Hello to Heaven. Pearl Jam's bassist and lead guitarist were from Mother Love Bone. I was lucky enough to see Alice in Chains at Lollapalooza 1993, as well as seeing both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, along with Temple of the Dog at Lollapalooza 1992. 😎 Side note: Alice in Chains performed this in a club for the movie "Singles" in 1992. It only a snippet, along with It Ain't Like That. There's a pro-shot clip recorded in the club they filmed for the movie... "Alice in Chains - Would? & It Ain't Like That [Singles Pro-Shot]" here on youtube that was included on the Singles DVD. It sounds amazing.

Great video from the jazzy ambient background music in the beginning to the respected analysis

Rooster ❤

RIP Layne!!🤘🤘❤❤

Layne and Jerry managed to be the perfect duo, at the perfect moment and time in history. The way their voices compliment each other naturally is unmatched. Layne brings the grit and power and Jerry brings the haunting undertone. The two combined creates the perfect storm for a haunting and ominous tone. Then, Jerry on the guitar. He adds flat tones and open strings and tuned down chords that just fracture the tone of the song even further and bring it all together.

Love Hate Love live at the Moore 🤯🔥

Bleed the Freak live at the Moore. Absolute legendary.

Nobody that reacts to this song hears that epic high note he hits in the second chorus at 13:27 mark in your video

He's not saying "together" in the chorus. The line is, "have I run too far **to get home** ".

Geoffrey Tate of Queensryche, Ann Wilson and her youngest sister Nancy Wilson, both of Heart ❤, the late Layne Staley of Alice in Chains and the late Chris Cornell of Soundgarden lived in Metro Seattle in the 1970s and were students of the late singing coach David Kyle. Marilyn Horne and Frederica von Stade, who moved to my hometown area the San Francisco Bay Area, were his students but from classical music. RIP to the deceased listed above.

I so wished Lane Stanley understood how awesome an artist he truly was. Unfortunately once again, drugs in the relation took another amazing voice out of the picture for us all. I have always enjoyed Alice in Chains! And I miss this young man's voice! Thanks for covering this group, hopefully you will cover a few more

I cannot wait for you to react to Love Hate Love live at the Moore

Also, this song was in the soundtrack for the movie 'Singles'. The video had clips from that movie in it. Would definitely recommend listening to this soundtrack. Some really incredible music on there.

Great watch man, first time I've watched your channel. Love the breakdown, I've learnt a lot from this, one of my favourite tunes from an awesome band. You made it mean a lot more now. Thanks brother

Their guitarist had 'Friends Don't Let Friends Get Haircuts' on his acoustic on MTV Unplugged, I recommend the concert. Shows their gentler side, like Nirvana's Unplugged set 🕯️

dude your explanation about the differences between Layne and Jerry's vocals is pretty much spot on

My Guy!!!! I love watching your reactions! Fun and educational!!!

Would? Has been one of my favorite songs for so long and watching this makes me so sad all over again for Layne. What a talented man. And the way he and Jerry harmonized was perfection!

Layne is the 🐐, RIP Layne, Mike, and Andrew.

Great analysis. Subscribed. Whenever you hear all of those sharps and flats it means the guitar was tuned down one half step. They tuned down on almost every song one half step or a semitone.

The lead singer's name is Layne Staley and the guitarist/backup vocal is Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains came out in the early 90s at the same time as grunge. I've always thought of them as more hard rock/metal though. This song is a favorite. Others to check out are Rooster, Man in the Box and Down in a Hole. Layne passed away tragically in 2002 RIP. A few years back they got a new singer and got the band back together.

When Layne makes that one face singing like he's mad at the mic u know he's giving everything

I had this as load as possible in my car in 92. I still love it so much.🤘

The video was a tie in to the movie Singles based in Seattle and features a dozen Seattle grunge bands just before it exploded.

You would also love the the dual voices in the MTV Unplugged version of Down in a Hole. A haunting performance, truly.

Brother, that mug is the bees knees! Btw, Layne is the "lead"singer but the guitarist, Jerry, sings often and some songs he sings exclusively Check out "I can't remember" to see Layne's range.... Forget rock or grunge, he was an amazing vocalist.

Groovy content man! Subbed

My favorite song of all time is Nutshell when they played on MTV Unplugged. Love the tone of his voice.

I like the fact that immediately. You understood arrangements that are so important to this.

Great reaction! Thanks for explaining what's happening musically.

Layne was a fabulous singer no mistaking his voice

I can't wait for luscious locks Peter!!

Great review, love it! Please, please, please, more Alice in Chains. Preferably live versions!