Facelift (album)
Encyclopedia
Facelift is the debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by the American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...

. The album was released on August 21, 1990. The album is the band's second highest selling album and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States.

Background and recording

Local promoter Randy Hauser became aware of the band at a concert, and offered to pay for demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 recordings. However, one day before the band was due to record at the Music Bank studio in Washington, police shut down the studio during the biggest marijuana raid in the history of the state. The final demo was named The Treehouse Tapes, and found its way to the music managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who also managed the Seattle-based band Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

. Curtis and Silver passed on the demo to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

' A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 representative Nick Terzo, who set up an appointment with label president Don Ienner
Don Ienner
Don Ienner was the Chairman of the Sony Music Label Group during first half of the decade of the 2000s. He worked closely with his predecessor Tommy Mottola and was partially responsible for the breakthrough of Mariah Carey....

. Based on The Treehouse Tapes (a 1988 demo tape sold by the band at shows), Ienner signed Alice in Chains to Columbia in 1989.

Alice in Chains soon became a top priority of the label, who released the band's first official recording in July 1990, a promotional EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 We Die Young
We Die Young
-Personnel:*Layne Staley – vocals*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals*Mike Starr – bass*Sean Kinney – drums, percussion-External links:*[ Review of "We Die Young"] at Allmusic...

. The EP's lead single, "We Die Young
We Die Young
-Personnel:*Layne Staley – vocals*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals*Mike Starr – bass*Sean Kinney – drums, percussion-External links:*[ Review of "We Die Young"] at Allmusic...

", became a hit on metal radio. After its success, the label rushed Alice in Chains' debut album into production with producer Dave Jerden
Dave Jerden
Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer and mixer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock, punk rock and metal genres....

. Drummer Sean Kinney claims to have played this album with a broken hand:
"I almost didn't play on the record - they started rehearsing with the drummer from Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning late 1980s/early 1990s Seattle music scene...

, Greg Gilmore
Greg Gilmore
Greg Gilmore is a musician in Seattle, Washington, and co-founder of the recording label First World Music. Although born in France, Gilmore grew up in the Seattle area....

. I was sitting there playing with one hand, guiding him through it. Dave Jerden came in and they started to try to do it. He was like, 'Screw it - pull the plug. This is not going to be the same.' Luckily, we took a tiny bit of time off. I had that cast on for a while, and was like, 'I can't miss this.' I cut my cast off in the studio and kept a bucket of ice by the drum set. Kept my hand iced down and played with a broken hand. I tried not to do that again - your first big break, and you fuck it up."

Facelift was recorded at London Bridge Studio
London Bridge Studio
London Bridge Studio is a Seattle recording studio that has hosted and recorded many influential artists, producers and engineers since 1985. Founded by brothers Rick Parashar and Raj Parashar as a private studio space, the studio surged to fame with the 1991 release of Pearl Jam's multiplatinum...

 in Seattle and Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

 from December 1989 to April 1990. Footage from the Facelift sessions can be found on Alice in Chains' Music Bank: The Videos
Music Bank: The Videos
Music Bank: The Videos is a video release by grunge band Alice in Chains containing all of the band's music videos. It was originally released on VHS in 1999 and was re-released in 2001 on DVD...

DVD.

Music and lyrics

Guitarist Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...

 stated the album was intended to have a "moody aura" that was a "direct result of the brooding atmosphere and feel of Seattle." Regarding the music for "Man in the Box
Man in the Box
"Man in the Box" is a single by the rock group Alice in Chains. It was released as a single in 1991 after being featured on the group's debut full-length album Facelift...

", Cantrell said, "That whole beat and grind of that is when we started to find ourselves; it helped Alice become what it was." Cantrell also credited "I Can't Remember" for helping the band find its sound. "It Ain't Like That" came out of a riff that Cantrell cited as a mistake, however he called it "a cool mistake." Cantrell called "Love, Hate, Love" the "masterpiece of that record," adding about the song that Staley's vocals are "amazing" and that it features one of his favorite guitar solos he ever performed.
Regarding the lyrical content, Cantrell said he wrote "We Die Young
We Die Young
-Personnel:*Layne Staley – vocals*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals*Mike Starr – bass*Sean Kinney – drums, percussion-External links:*[ Review of "We Die Young"] at Allmusic...

" after "riding the bus to rehearsal and [seeing] all these 9, 10, 11 year old kids with beepers dealing drugs. The sight of a 10 year old kid with a beeper and a cell phone dealing drugs equaled "We Die Young" to me." In a recorded interview with Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....

, vocalist Layne Staley
Layne Staley
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the...

 stated that the lyrics for "Man in the Box" are about censorship in the mass media, and "I was really stoned when I wrote it." Discussing "Bleed the Freak
Bleed the Freak
"Bleed the Freak" is a song by the grunge group Alice in Chains and the third single from their first album Facelift . A demo version of the song was included on the box set Music Bank .-Lyrics:...

", Cantrell stated that the lyrics represent "us against the world, those people who put you down." Cantrell wrote "Sunshine" about his mother's death.

Release and reception

The resulting album, Facelift, was released on August 21, 1990, peaking at number 42 in the summer of 1991 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart. Facelift included the singles "We Die Young
We Die Young
-Personnel:*Layne Staley – vocals*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals*Mike Starr – bass*Sean Kinney – drums, percussion-External links:*[ Review of "We Die Young"] at Allmusic...

", "Man in the Box
Man in the Box
"Man in the Box" is a single by the rock group Alice in Chains. It was released as a single in 1991 after being featured on the group's debut full-length album Facelift...

", and "Sea of Sorrow
Sea of Sorrow
"Sea of Sorrow" is the fourth single by the rock band Alice in Chains. It was released in 1991 and featured on their debut full-length album Facelift . The song was included on the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains...

", all of which had accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s. The album was a critical success, with Steve Huey of Allmusic citing Facelift as "one of the most important records in establishing an audience for grunge and alternative rock." It was also the first grunge album to reach the top 50 in America on the Billboard 200, the first to go platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

, and second to Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

's Louder Than Love
Louder than Love
Louder Than Love is the second studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on September 5, 1989 through A&M Records. After touring in support of its first full-length studio album, Ultramega OK , Soundgarden signed with A&M and began work on its first album for a major label...

to reach number one on Heatseekers, thanks mainly to the hit songs "We Die Young" and "Man in the Box".

Facelift was not an instant success, selling under 40,000 copies in the first six months of release, until MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 added "Man in the Box" to regular daytime rotation. The single hit number 18 on the Mainstream Rock charts, with the album's follow up single, "Sea of Sorrow", reaching number 27, and in six weeks Facelift sold 400,000 copies in the US. Facelift was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 by the end of 1990. Alice in Chains was nominated for a Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...

 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 in 1992 for "Man in the Box", but lost to Van Halen for their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks...

. The music video for "Man in the Box" was nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video was first given out in , and it was one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. That year, though, the award was called the Best Heavy Metal Video. From 1990 to 1995, the award was called the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, and...

 at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
1991 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1991 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1991, honoring the best music videos from June 2, 1990, to June 15, 1991. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles....

. Currently Facelift is being voted #1 by Guitarworlds best albums of 1990.

Tour

The band continued to hone its audience, opening for such artists as Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...

, Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...

, and Extreme
Extreme (band)
Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen...

. In early 1991, Alice in Chains landed the opening slot for the Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans (tour)
Clash of the Titans was the name of a worldwide tour by several popular American thrash metal bands of the 1980s, with alternating headliners from show to show.-History:...

 with Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

, and Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

, exposing the band to a wide metal audience. The band later released the video compilation Live Facelift
Live Facelift
Live Facelift is a video released in 1991 by the band Alice in Chains containing live footage of songs off of their debut album, Facelift...

, which was filmed at the Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre (Seattle, Washington)
The Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. is a 1,419-seat performing arts venue located at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street, two blocks from Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. It is the oldest still-active theater in Seattle. The Moore hosts a mix of theatrical productions,...

 in 1990.

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...

, except where noted.

Outtakes

The songs "I Can't Have You Blues", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Social Parasite", and "Killing Yourself" were featured on Alice in Chains' 1988 demo tape. All of these songs were later included on the band's 1999 box set, Music Bank
Music Bank
- Disc two :-Disc three :-Personnel:*Mark Arm - Assistant vocals on "Right Turn"*Jeff Beck - Graphic Design*Jerry Cantrell - guitar, vocals*Chris Cornell - Assistant guitar, lyrics, vocals on "Right Turn"*Peter Cronin - Photography...

. A re-recorded version of "Killing Yourself" recorded during the Facelift sessions appeared on the 1990 We Die Young EP. Regarding the songs featured on the 1988 demo tape, Cantrell said, "I guess with all those songs we were 'discovering' ourselves." Another song from the Facelift era is "Queen of the Rodeo". A live version of the song appears on Music Bank and the 2000 live album, Live
Live (Alice in Chains album)
-Personnel:Alice in Chains*Layne Staley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar*Sean Kinney – drums*Jerry Cantrell – lead guitar, vocals*Mike Inez – bass *Mike Starr – bass Production*Compilation producer – Peter Fletcher...

.

Personnel

Alice in Chains
  • Layne Staley
    Layne Staley
    Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the...

     – lead vocals
    Lead vocalist
    The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

  • Jerry Cantrell
    Jerry Cantrell
    Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with the grunge/metal band Alice in Chains, as lead guitarist, backing and co-lead vocalist, and co-lyricist. He performs lead vocals on his solo projects, and is part of Alice in Chains' harmonizing...

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

    , talkbox on "Man in the Box"
  • Mike Starr
    Mike Starr (musician)
    Michael Christopher "Mike" Starr was an American musician, best known as the original bassist in Alice in Chains, with whom he played from the band's formation in 1987 until 1993.- Career :...

     – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , backing vocals on "Confusion"
  • Sean Kinney
    Sean Kinney
    Sean Howard Kinney is an American musician best known for being the drummer of the influential grunge band Alice in Chains....

     – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

    , additional backing vocals, piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     on "Sea of Sorrow"

Additional personnel
  • Kevin Shuss - Additional backing vocals


Production and management
  • Produced
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

    , recorded
    Audio engineering
    An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

    , and mixed
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

     by Dave Jerden
    Dave Jerden
    Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer and mixer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock, punk rock and metal genres....

  • Additional engineering by Ron Champagne
  • Assistant engineering by Leslie Ann Jones
    Leslie Ann Jones
    Leslie Ann Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer working as Director of Music Recording and Scoring at Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm, Ltd. company. She is a past Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees, the organization that awards Grammys...

  • Assistant mix engineering by Bob Lacivita
  • Mastered
    Audio mastering
    Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...

     by Eddy Schreyer
  • Management
    Management
    Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...

     – Kelly Curtis, Susan Silver
  • A&R – Nick Terzo
  • Product manager
    Product Manager
    A product manager investigates, selects, and develops products for an organization, performing the activities of product management.A product manager considers numerous factors such as intended demographic, the products offered by the competition, and how well the product fits with the company's...

     – Peter Fletcher


Album

Chart (1991) Position
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...

1
US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

42

Singles

Year Single US Main peak
chart position
1991 "Man in the Box" 18
1992 "Sea of Sorrow" 27
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