Jerry Cantrell: Degradation Trip : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Alice in Chains have finally given up the ghost with the death of frontman Layne Staley, but the band's spirit is alive and well in the solo work of guitarist (and primary AIC songwriter) Jerry Cantrell. His second outing is less adventurous than 1998's (sadly overlooked) Boggy Depot, with no brassy outbursts by errant Fishbone members or moody piano excursions. It's a gritty, cryptic, sprawling affair that takes its bittersweet time telling tales inspired by the hellhound that's been on Cantrell's trail for the past few years. Some tracks sound like wayward AIC numbers ("Psychotic Break"), while others reveal quirky streaks ("Mother's Spinning in her Grave (Glass Dick Jones)" and a not-quite-pop penchant ("She Was My Girl"). There's no happy ending when all is said and done, but it's a more poetic trip than most angst merchants offer these days, and for that reason alone it's a journey worth taking.

SANDY MASUO
(June 18, 2002)