Live

1	Bleed The Freak 4:33
2	Queen Of THe Rodeo 4:40
3	Angry Chair 4:22
4	Man In The Box 4:57
5	Love, Hate, Love 7:47
6	Rooster 6:48
7	Would? 3:48
8	Junkhead 5:20
9	Dirt 5:23
10	Them Bones 2:39
11	God Am 3:58
12	Again 4:23
13	A Little Bitter 3:51
14	Dam That River 3:32

Barnes & Noble

Although the title of this 15-song concert disc might sound unduly optimistic, given AIC's dubious status over the past couple of years, there's no denying the vitality that oozes from these grooves. Culled from several separate appearances -- ranging from a 1990 gig in the band's hometown of Seattle to a 1996 show that stands, as of now, as its swan song -- Live packs plenty of primal power and a palpable undercurrent of menace. The baritone growl of frontman Layne Staley, while eerie throughout, is at its most fearsome on the earliest tracks, "Bleed the Freak" and "Queen of the Rodeo," both of which also feature original bassist Mike Starr. Several songs recorded in Glasgow for the benefit of the BBC have more of an unhinged feel, particularly "Love, Hate, Love" and a version of "Junkhead" that's all too effective in conveying the song's subtext. By the time of the 1996 show -- the final date on the band's stint opening for Kiss -- there's an unmistakable distance between the band members, a coolness that pervades "Dam That River" and "A Little Bitter." Still, given the tension present in Alice in Chains' best work, that's not an altogether inappropriate addition. Live is a worthy -- if cautionary -- document for hard rock fans who are fond of the dark side. David Sprague

All Music Guide

With Alice in Chains on hiatus by the turn of the 21st century, Columbia Records issued several stop-gap releases to fill up the space -- 1999's greatest-hits collection Nothing Safe and the box set Music Bank, and a year later, their first true live collection, titled simply Live. Despite Alice in Chains' inability (or outright refusal) to launch a proper tour after 1994, fans lucky enough to have caught one of their early tours will attest that they were quite a powerful live act. Their detuned sound and tales from the darkside are even more sinister and gripping on the concert stage, as evidenced by this 14-track set. With a healthy helping of selections from their 1992 tour de force, Dirt, Alice in Chains let it rip on such metallic standouts as "Dam That River," "Would?," "Rooster," "Angry Chair," "Junkhead," and a "drunk and disorderly" version of Dirt's title track. Also featured are the early classics "Man in the Box" and "Bleed the Freak," as well as a track that never appeared on any of their official studio albums, "Queen of the Rodeo." Live shows what a devastating live band Alice in Chains could be. Greg Prato