Jar of Flies
| Jar of Flies | ||||
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| EP by Alice in Chains | ||||
| Released | January 25, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | September 7–14, 1993; at London Bridge, in Seattle, WA mixed September 17–22, 1993; at Scream, in Studio City, CA |
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| Genre | Alternative rock · grunge · acoustic rock · blues rock | |||
| Length | 30:49 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Alice in Chains | |||
| Alice in Chains chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Jar of Flies | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Q | |
Jar of Flies is the second studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on January 25, 1994 through Columbia Records. It is the first EP in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 Chart with the first week sales exceeding 141,000 copies in the United States and was well received by critics. The EP has since been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA and has gone on to sell 4 million copies worldwide, making Jar of Flies one of the biggest sellers in Alice in Chains' catalog.
Following Alice in Chains' extensive 1993 world tour for Dirt, Mike Starr getting fired during the tour for his drug use, and appearance at Lollapalooza, the band members returned home to Seattle to find themselves evicted from their residence after failing to pay the rent. The band then moved into London Bridge Studio feeling lonely and depressed. Vocalist Layne Staley said the band "just wanted to go into the studio for a few days with our acoustic guitars and see what happened. We never really planned on the music we made at that time to be released. But the record label heard it and they really liked it. For us, it was just the experience of four guys getting together in the studio and making some music."
Written and recorded in one week in September 1993,Jar of Flies was produced by the band members themselves with Toby Wright, and marks the first major studio recording with bassist Mike Inez who replaced Starr (the band recorded two songs with Inez, "What the Hell Have I" and "A Little Bitter", for the Summer 1993 Last Action Hero soundtrack earlier in the year). Guitarist Jerry Cantrell said, "That was the first time we'd written with Mike Inez... The whole Jar of Flies EP proved to both us and the fans what a talented and valid part of the band Mike was. He plays the nastiest, darkest shit but he's got the sweetest heart in the world." The album was recorded on a DAT machine, which was state-of-the-art for the time.
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