Facelift

***Facelift*** is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains. The album was released on August 21, 1990. "We Die Young", "Man in the Box", "Bleed the Freak" and "Sea of Sorrow" were released as singles. "Man In The Box" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in 1992. The album peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart, was certified platinum and has gone on to be certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States. Facelift became the first album from the grunge movement to be certified gold on September 11, 1991.

## Music and Lyrics

Guitarist Jerry Cantrell 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", 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 favourite guitar solos he ever performed.

Regarding the lyrical content, Cantrell said he wrote "We Die Young" 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 equalled "We Die Young" to me". In a recorded interview with MuchMusic USA, vocalist Layne Staley 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", Cantrell stated that the lyrics represent "us against the world, those people who put you down."

Cantrell wrote "Sunshine" about his mother's death.

## Personnel

### Alice in Chains

* Layne Staley – lead vocals
* Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox on "Man in the Box"
* Mike Starr – bass, backing vocals on "Confusion"
* Sean Kinney – drums, percussion, additional backing vocals, piano on "Sea of Sorrow"

### Additional Musicians

* Kevin Shuss - Additional backing vocals

### Production and Management

* Produced, recorded, and mixed by Dave Jerden
* Additional engineering by Ron Champagne
* Assistant engineering by Leslie Ann Jones
* Assistant mix engineering by Bob Lacivita
* Mastered by Eddy Schreyer
* Management – Kelly Curtis, Susan Silver
* A&R – Nick Terzo
* Product manager – Peter Fletcher

## References

1. ↑ https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/alice-in-chains/facelift/
2. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Alice-In-Chains-Facelift/master/21663
3. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/facelift-mw0000309001
4. ↑ https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/alice-in-chains/facelift/
5. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Alice-In-Chains-Facelift/master/21663
6. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/facelift-mw0000309001
7. ↑ https://www.last.fm/music/Alice+in+Chains/Facelift
8. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/facelift-mw0000309001
9. ↑ https://www.last.fm/music/Alice+in+Chains/Facelift
10. ↑ https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/alice-in-chains/facelift/
11. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Alice-In-Chains-Facelift/master/21663
12. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/facelift-mw0000309001
13. ↑ https://www.last.fm/music/Alice+in+Chains/Facelift