Ranking the Studio Albums: Alice in Chains (w/Jeff Young) 

Who’s here after the rant?

Hey Jeff ... please don’t listen to the haters. We love you, man 🤘👽🤘

Let's not forget to give a shout-out to Layne's side project, Mad Season.

Jeff, you are a class act. Don’t let the hate win out. Much respect for you and your music. Sending you a virtual high five.

Dirt is an absolute masterpiece. One of the finest albums of the 90s

Hey man. It sucks some people don't respect anything anymore. I for one love your show. I'm age 55 and I can identify with a lot of the stuff you do, not all, but a lot of stuff that you you and I want to thank you for having this channel and I agree 100% that if you disagree or whatever it is, have some respect when you're commenting. To others out there, although one man's bag of trash might be another man's pot of gold, you shouldn't go around making stupid comments and calling names. Sea of Tranquility is an awesome Channel and Pete is an awesome host! Please Pete, keep the great videos coming! And God bless you man!

Great job guys! I always learn a lot with reviews like these! Please keep it up and would like to see Pete and Jeff back for more!

Love the channel, Pete, and it's great to see you, Jeff. Your enthusiasm for music is palpable.

Awesome review guys. Pete, this channel has been a gift - love your rankings and you are introducing me and probably everyone else to great music everyday (I actually went back and relistened to the entire Deep Purple catalog after your ranking). Jeff, great to see you man and hope to see you on here again. “So Far So Good So What” was always my favorite guitar album from Megadeth - I remember first hearing “Set the World Afire” when I was 10 years old learning guitar, the phrasing on that solo at the end still blows me away!

THANK YOU JEFF n PETE! Fantastic show! Invite Jeff on much more regularly. LOVE his insight into the music. Great stuff n once again thank u fellas 4 putting on such an epic show.❤❤❤❤

Pete and SoT are one of my few go-tos on RU-vid, whether it be to listen to discussions about music/bands I love or to learn about those I am not familiar with. Both are equally enjoyable and I can't tell you how many bands I've learned about from these posts. Jeff is not only a gifted musician, but a great guest as well. I feel like I could approach either one of them, drink a beer with them and discuss our favorite subject - music. We need more Petes and Jeffs in this world. Cheers!

Thanks both. These ranking videos are great for pointing me in the right direction of where to start when delving into band catalogues. Keep it up! :)

Just love your channel, so much fun going on discussing so many bands from so many different point of views. Great channel, guests are very much appriciated (ooops cant spell..come cut my head off :) ) Keep on doin this good stuff, never give in!! Love & peace, let all the good music play..!!

Pete Pardo and Jeff Young. I am so sorry what you both went through. I am happy I didn't see the terrible comments. Power was off for 2 days. Imagine getting mad at someone because someone pronounced the name wrong. I hope Jeff comes back on, He is cool. You are cool too Pete. This is one of my favorite channels on RU-vid.

Jeff Young is one of Pete’s most awesome and informative and insightful guests ! Along with Martin Popoff and Chris Alo, Jeff is amongst my favorite Pete guests !

Dirt is a masterpiece, 57 minutes of pure bliss, unless your Layne, his personal diary put to music, his hell on earth, you knew it was only a matter of time before he bid the world adieu.

Great show gentleman! As always Pete great shows and awesome knowledgeable guests to to go along with your music knowledge! Rock on \m/

Pete, it's always hard to hear Jeff, I think a mic setup change, or a headset w/ mic would help loads. Love the work and insight both of you guys bring, keep it up! I remember when AIC released A Looking In View before BGWTB came out. I was so happy I teared up, as I hearing something that I never thought hear again.

Pete it's about time! Thank you! One of my favorite bands of all time. I know you liked them but was surprised they didn't do it for you more. Heavy, melodic, doomy, dark, off key minor tones and chorus, unique sound still. Genius!. They were so underrated. The band continues to put out top notch music and material. Not a dud in the bunch!

Pete, Jeff, thanks for this! I saw AIC in Seattle ending their tour last year. This is not only the best band of their era, but one of the best rock bands of all times. Thanks again for the conversation. Jerry’s guitars guitars and vocals... other worldly

Thanks for the great content brother. I dig Jeff and his insightful commentary.

Nice guest. Jeff, thanks for your passion for the band. Pete thanks for a great show. About to go back to some AIC I haven't heard in a while, peace.

Great list Pete. Alice is one of my all time favorites still going incredibly strong, Jerry is a riff lord but still humble like that Gibson interview demonstrates. 1. Dirt 2. Jar of Flies 3. Black Gives Way to Blue 4. The Devil put Dinosaurs Here 5. Facelift 6. Rainier Fog 7. Self-titled 8. Sap

This is one of my favourite channels to watch on RU-vid. Thank you for doing this. AIC is one of the greatest bands of all time. From the old stuff with Layne, to all the new albums they’ve done since his untimely passing, they have consistently put out great albums after great albums. \m/

As a loyal watcher of your channel Pete I appreciate all the hard work you and your guests bring! You guys do a great job! Thanks

Both you guys nailed this ranking! To Jeff and Pete thank you!!! You both literally made my teenage years worth it!!

Great stuff guys !! Keep,up the great content, love to see more !!!

I just saw the rant and had to come on to see this. I LOVE Jeff. I think it is great when he is on. I haven't read any comments and don't care to see anyone say anything negative about either one of you. I just want to say I really appreciate Jeff's contribution and of course, Pete. THANK YOU to both and keep smilin and having fun. Also, very cool "yellow" guitar over there with you Jeff.

Just to add my appreciation of this channel - in fact I watch almost all of the videos for one of two reasons. For groups that I like I just like to have my existing opinions confirmed, with the pleasure of seeing albums that I like not doing too well (speaking as a The Final Cut fan) and vice versa. Even more interesting though are the videos on groups that I have never connected with - for example a recent trawl through the vinyl bins at my record shop gave me a few Genesis albums which I am liking. Your comments and thoughts are so well presented and erudite that I make sure to listen to all the albums that you recommend. This has led me to get into groups that I had previously not liked (Kansas, Genesis) and to find that some I still don

Thanks Pete for the Alice in chains ranking the studio albums! Great job Pete and Jeff young.

When it comes to Alice in Chains, I've realized that I never had a clear favorite album. Great stuff.

Funny, just yesterday I searched for an AIC ranking in your videos, Pete! Just couple hours later there it is. Thank You! There was a time when I was appreaciating AIC so much, that I spontaneously formed a tribute band. Unfortunately, most people in the audience didn´t know the band and thought it was our songs :D

All your guests have been great and have offered great, unique perspectives. I've been introduced to so much great music through this channel and I'm incredibly appreciative. Don't let a few losers ruin it for everyone. Keep up the great work, guys

I love Jeff as a guest. Great and deeply comments he made about songs and bands. I know a little bit about Alice in Chains. I have only a live album, it's killer. Great band

Jeff is a very entertaining guest and I hope he will be on again in the future. I really like all of the guests on this show. I've learned a lot about bands I'm in to because of this show. Pete don't let the negative comments derail you or your show. Obviously there are a ton of people like me who support you and your show. Keep on rockin. You do an excellent job.

Jeff Young is a fantastic musician and a fellow Ohioan. Him and Martin Popoff are my favorite guest that you have on. Jeff , please continue to come on the show.

So I know of Alice in Chains and have a couple of albums but this show was excellent for helping me out on where to go next. Really enjoyed this and Jeff's love of the band and their music really came through loud and clear. Thank you both.

So glad you guys got to rank one of my favorite bands !!!!

I was refraining from commenting since I figured Pete would probably not ever read my comment, but after watching a recent rant I can see that he does! So, I've forever been a huge fan of the old stuff (I may be a rare one with whom Sap really resonated) but have never taken the time to get into the recent stuff. Having no idea where to start, I was always discarding the thought. It took you and Jeff to kick my ass and finally get to it. Gave a listen to the red album right after watching this video. "Voices" got to me right away. Great album. Thanks again Pete (and Jeff - I will go listen to your new release on bandcamp)!

I miss a couple daze...and then see Pete's rant. WTH. We love Jeff!!! Was just listening to Jeff's "Monsoon" yesterday. A bad ass Avant/Angular piece with Ric Fierrabracci on bass?!? Daaaamn!

My favorite band from the 90’s.

Really liked how Jeff went into detail with each album. Loved what he had to say about them.

Jeff has a really cool way of breaking down why he likes the albums and songs. I cant believe people were hating on this guy!

By the way, Jeff is one of my favorite guests on the show. So insightfull, and always makes me either check out stuff I didn’t know, or re-listen to stuff I have, but with a new perspective. Please come back for more shows, Jeff! Now I’m going to play through the AIC catalogue with «new ears», and especially the DuVall albums!

I didn't watch this video but I watched Pete's rant afterward. I love Sea of Tranquility, I like Pete, and I like the guests he has on his show. Jeff Young...you are really cool and very knowledgeable about music like Pete is. Please don't stop coming on as a guest. A lot of us like to hear what you (and Pete) have to say.

I wanted to thank you again for doing this vid. Because of the high praise for the newer albums I picked up Black Gives Way To Blue and Rainier Fog over the weekend. I still plan to pick up the other one soon.

Thank you gentlemen for terrific insight into a distinguished catalog.

Great show! Thanks Jeff and Pete!

Went to see them in '93 at a club in Nottingham without really knowing who they were. Absolutely blown away. Most powerful vocal performance I've ever witnessed.

Pete and Jeff, thanks for another great show. This is a band I dismissed way too early as I quickly wearied of the Seattle scene at the time. So I never gave Alice In Chains enough of a chance. Until now. Will be listening to this catalogue over the next few weeks. Thanks for igniting interest in yet another band. Looking forward to your next show together. Thanks for all your efforts for this show.

I love Jeff as a guest. If you read this Jeff, don't let any of these losers mess it up for everyone. We want to see you on more videos. Also, I have been introduced to new music by you through your music show.

This was a lovely episode, and I love Alice in Chains from their old material, to their brand new stuff and have been following with each album they release. Hey Pete, Any chance you guys can rank the albums or do a top 10 songs list on Katatonia? I know it was mentioned several months ago, but was wondering if it'll be happening.

Great review Pete/Jeff......I’ve never really listened to AIC but will check out the albums now.

One of my favorite bands. Definitely need a top 10 songs video for this band. The last 3 comeback albums have been killer!

Have really been looking forward to this one! Cheers mate from Australia. (p.s. still would love you to do another Aussie band other than AC/DC).

Hope to see Jeff back on the show his laid back attitude is so refreshing.

Thank's for insight Jeff! I enjoy to hear others opinions about bands out there :-)

I think Jeff is a really genuine, knowledgeable guy. It would be sad if he won't appear anymore on the show because of some immature losers attacking him. The same goes for you Pete and your other guests.

Thanks for this one Pete! One of my all-time favorite bands. This feels like trying to rank your children. So hard. Consistently great band. 1. Jar of Flies (absolute masterpiece....one of the best albums of the 90’s and in my top 5-10 albums of all-time) 2a. Dirt 2b. Alice In Chains 4. Black Gives Way To Blue 5. Rainier Fog 6. Facelift 7. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 8. Sap

One of my absolute favorites growing up, and a band I still really love 1. Dirt 2. Self-titled 3. Black Gives Way to Blue 4. The Devil Put Dinosaur Here 5. Facelift 6. Ranier Fog 7. Jar of Flies 8. Sap

Great video guys 🙏

You guys inspired me to go back and revisit AIC. Cheers

Don't pay attention to the haters Jeff. Loved this show. Heard King's X mentioned. Would love to see you come back and rank the King's X albums with Pete. ✌

Alice In Chains, one of my top favorite bands of all time. really appreciate this video. I'm a sucker for album listing. Just did one of The Black Keys with my brother last night.

I seen Alice in Chains 6 times (3 with Layne and 3 William DuVall) and really do not get "but it is not Layne". They are just different but both are amazing front-men for AIC. What people don't realize with DuVall is Jerry is much more free on his guitar playing and enables him to do more complex stuff on songs they write. If you listen to new albums, you will notice that right away. The primary reason for that is William is also an exceptional guitar player as well. A song like "Your Decision" or "Hollow" are great examples of that. Everyone knows Jerry is one of the best guitar players of past 30 years and he was able to show that a little more with William now in the band. Sure, Layne has unique sound and presence that so rare in lead singer. Layne is in my top three vocalist I seen live all time (Ann Wilson, Layne and Chris Cornell). His ability to sing and deliver about the he is pain feeling is second to none. It felt so real and genuine in such way that can not be fully duplicated. So no doubt he was one of the best to come out of 90's. Still William really give a different options that Layne never could with his ability to play guitar (and is fantastic singer/writer in his own right). Folks really ought give the new albums a chance.

I love Jeff having his road bike prominently featured in the background.

I'm a huge AIC fan and I enjoy the work that they've done throughout their entire career. I think they've been one of the most consistent rock bands of their era! It's tough ranking their albums but I'll give it a shot: 1. Jar of Flies 2. Dirt 3. Facelift 4. Rainier Fog 5. Self titled/Tripod 6. SAP 7. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 8. Black Gives Way to Blue Note: My top 3 sometimes flip flop depending on my mood. Same goes for 7 and 8. Excellent discography!!

So sorry for the negativity you had to endure from some people. Please know that we really do appreciate you both very much.

Still my favourite band to this day. Laynes vocals were incredible and so distinctive. Facelift for me is still my favourite as its where it started for me when I first heard Man in the Box on Headbangers Ball. Dirt is incredible too. They don't really have a weak album. Still love what they do

Only getting to watch this after the follow-up vid, Pete. I hope you can pass on to Jeff that I have loved his contributions and insight as your guest. I hope he's able to continue appearing on your show! Here is my list--and I agree that the Duvall-era AIC absolutely deserves to be heard and appreciated! 8. Alice In Chains (s/t) - A great record with a few of my all-time fav tracks (Grind is probably top three for me!). I've always struggled to listen to it front to back though. 7. Rainier Fog - Again, a great record, but not one that I set down sooner than the previous two. 'The One You Know', though! 6. Sap - Same concern as Jeff, it's just really short! But Got Me Wrong is another great one. Love the 'Alice MudGarden' track! 5. Jar Of Flies - Great EP that gave us 'Nutshell'--one of their best. Again, short, but still mighty. 4. Facelift - Lots of crunch, the early hits are there, but another one I never played front to back often. Absolutely a game-changer though. 3. Black Gives Way To Blue - I was blown away by this when I first heard it. 'A Looking In View' and 'Your Decision'... Damn!! 2. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here - The title track is among my top three or four all-time, and I love how the whole record flows. Took the vibe from BGWTB and amlified it! 1. Dirt - Maybe an easy/predictable pick, but it was such a watershed in hard rock, and it's potency is undeniable. Rooster remains my fav AIC track. They took the Facelift formula and perfected it here. And of course, the MTV Unplugged performance is among the best the program ever aired! Cheers, all!

This is a band that means a lot to me. Dont worry, there wont be any criticism haha. I love Jeffs passion and words he had during this whole thing. And Pete of course, the man as always.

I agree with Jeff....Layne and jerry have awesome harmonies the hard rock simon and garfunkel 🤘🤘🤘

Jeff, I couldn’t agree with you more on how much bigger No Excuses should’ve been. What a song. Always felt there was something really special about AIC compared to some of the other bands of their day. Thanks for the brilliant perspective and please come back. Pete, keep up the great work, man! Love your channel.

Jeff, you're the better man. I understand why you would be upset. You are human and no one likes unnecessary abuse. But I also know you are a level, cool headed professional and artist. You've seen this type of silliness before. Your contributions to this channel are stellar. Obnoxious voices will always be there, but your insights are too much appreciated to go unsaid. Once you've reconsidered, as I believe you will, I'm looking forward to every contribution you offer this program. See you soon. Until then, I wish you peace and joy!

I was never a big fan of 90's Rock /Grunge bands and that's my problem. I came here because I was curious about Alice in Chains. A lot of my friends like their music and really press me to check out their catalog. Thanks, Pete Pardo for what you do.

Great video! Jeff Young rules

Hi there - came here only after the Rant to make clear my support for Pete and Jeff - love the opinions and the Banter when you two get together. I'm no fan of Alice in Chains, but others love 'em I get that. Any guests that Pete invites onto SoT is more than fine with me - they are all fun. That is what its meant to be about...no need for anyone to get nasty. Keep the guests coming Pete - Jeff - you are always welcome!

Great discussion, great channel, my fave would be Jar of Flies, I have not listened to their recent albums yet but will soon I have been listening to tripod as of late, a song that does not get enough recognition is Shame In You, great song, although it can be a depressing song, something happens near the end of that song where the guitars play in what is my opinion a very uplifting/beautiful piece of music and to me it is an absolutely a highlight on the record. BEST PART OF THE ALBUM IMO

Finally getting to watch this. Great job on this Jeff and Pete, AIC were and still are a very important and relevant band. I can't pick a favorite.

At last! Thanks for suggesting this one Jeff. I saw the Jerry Cantrell interview as well. The guy is so cool he’s sub zero. I have always loved AIC but thought the self-titled album was a downturn for them (absolutely awful cover). I was blown away by Black Gives Way to Blue which I think is their best album. I love the new stuff as much as, if not more than, the old stuff. Perhaps I would have a different opinion if I had seen Layne live. I saw the band in Birmingham last year. It made my year. So good.

For a band with a fairly small discography, I was expecting this to be about 20 minutes max. It was nice to see a pretty lengthy discussion of the albums. 1. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here 2. Dirt 3. Facelift 4. Jar Of Flies 5. Alice In Chains 6. Black Gives Way To Blue 7. Rainier Fog

The timbre of Jeff Young's voice reminds me a little of Peter Coyote - great actor/ narrator of many docs. I'm sure radio appreciates his comforting dulcet tones.

It made me giddy that “A Looking in View” was the first single of the new lineup. Radio was salivating for the album and they had to play this monster track hahaha. It is their “Zero The Hero”. Heaviest track, and overlooked.

Great video, guys!!! Love it!!! AIC is one of my favourite bands from the 90s, and still they are... Very difficult to rank their albums, I think they never released a bad album, all have something special, and all have killer songs, but I'll try to do it: 1. Jar of Flies (but it could be Dirt, depends of my mood) 2. Dirt (but it could be Jar of Flies, depends of my mood) 3. Alice In Chains 4. Black Gives Way To Blue 5. Facelift 6. The Devil Put Dionsaurs Here 7. Rainier Fog 8. Sap Nice to listen your opinions, thoughts and different visions about this loved band... Saludos!!!

Really appreciate this breakdown as I haven't heard enough AIC, but I've liked what I've heard.

Alice Ranking the albums - Thank you for doing this Pete! Facelift. I think their debut is my favorite album of theirs. While Dirt is their artistic peak, Facelift has fresh authenticity to it that no one else in the Seattle scene really sounded like. Duel harmonies on this album are fantastic and anger on this record is amazing. Songs like Bleed the Freak and Sea of Sorrow are really powerful songs. The rest below are no particular order after black gives way to blue. I love their whole catalog though. Dirt Black Gives Way to Blue Sap Rainer Fog Jar of Flies Self titled The Devil put Dinosaurs here.

IS that Jeff from Megadeth? WOW....THanks for your work on SO FAR SO GOOD

Love that Jeff has so much praise for Black Gives Way To Blue. Such a great record!

Great listing guys about my favorite band from to come out of the whole grunge scene. As much as I usually agree with your ratings Pete I actually align with Jeff this time exactly. I love how the band has not only continued on with William, but they are actually better. You can't say that about many bands that lose their lead singer. I hope that after all the needless backlash that came after this video that Jeff will be willing to come back for more vids, as I love how thorough he is just like you Pete.

I know this is just for AIC, but the Mad Season record, two jerry solo records and even Willian's record are great works.

My favorite AIC, by far, is the Unplugged album. It's pretty special to me. They nailed that performance.

This was a great discussion! Jeff is awesome! :) Here are my two cents: 01 - Dirt 02 - Rainier Fog 03 - Facelift 04 - Devil put Dinosaurs Here 06 - Black Gives Way To Blue 06 - Jar of Flies 07 - ST 08 - SAP

I For one ,am very greatful AIC kept it going! 99% of bands couldn't hold a candle or sound so good after losing such a huge piece! Just want to say I really appreciate the last 3 Albums! Amazing work guys!

I love your show Pete, but I don’t know most of the metal and prog you are in to. I really enjoyed your album of the year series from 65 to 2019. Thanks for all that work.

Jar Of Flies is my #1 hands down. The album is hauntingly beautiful and the emotion in Layne’s voice in sublime. It may have only 7 songs, but they’re all incredible!!

I was not a huge fan of the Seattle Grunge music scene for the most part, but Alice In Chains was and still is a very PHENOMENAL band to me. Just like Jeff Young said they were way above over every other Seattle Grunge band with their amazing sound and especially their harmonies. I was a young teenager when the Seattle Grunge music scene exploded, and I still listened Thrash Metal, Power Metal and other types of Heavy Metal. Alice In Chains is the only band that I could get into big time. This was a great episode and ranking. All their albums including both eras Layne and William are amazing. Jeff Young is a great guest , and I love that he is very passionate about music.

First of all great video as always. Secondly, for you idiots insulting the current alice lineup. Jerry Cantrell wrote the majority of the songs. He has every right to continue the band. It is no disrespect to layne. If anything it keeps his memory alive. Thank you Pete and jeff for the video. Keep them coming

Jeff you rock i love listing to you. Much love bro you and pete great duo.

Really entertaining listen guys. Jeff great work on So far so good back in the day. I still won't be able to play things like 'hook in mouth' when I'm 50!

love the show on alice in chains great job pete and jeff