Alice in Chains - Greatest Hits
From 1999'sMusic Bankbox set and its one-CD compilation offshoot,Nothing Safe: The Best of the Boxto a 1996UnpluggedCD, the Alice in Chains titles continue to arrive even while the band--and especially reclusive frontman Layne Staley--stagnates. The quartet's heavy, dirgelike music is aging well, but the 10 songs that compriseGreatest Hitsare the basic radio hits.Greatest Hitsfeatures no new music, no liner notes, no lyrics, no new photos, and no elaborate packaging. Still, for the rock fan, every song on the disc (five of them penned solely by talented guitaristJerry Cantrell) is a bona fide hit, from the band's earliest, their 1990 breakthrough "Man in the Box," to the lush orchestration of "I Stay Away" to 1995's dark pop gem "Heaven Beside You."Greatest Hitsprovides a quick fix for newer fans, but withThe Best of the Boxboasting 9 ofGreatest Hits' 10 songs, plus an additional 5 selections. SkipHitsand go forThe Best.--Katherine Turman