D.A.D. (Disneyland After Dark) - No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims (1989)

[Hard Rock]

In the late 1980's if you had long blond hair, an unbuttoned shirt, and played hard rock music - you were guaranteed to have a hit record. Often talent wasn't even particularly important, but a few bands - Disneyland After Dark being one of them - actually managed to release an album that was worthy of its successes. It wasn't the band's first album (and certainly wasn't their last), but it was the album where everything worked - and the inclusion of the baritone guitar lead lines through many of the songs gave it an extra edge that no one had ever heard before. They'd done similar on previous albums, but nailed it on this one. 'Sleeping My Day Away' was the perfect radio friendly first single to introduce the world to Denmark's best kept rock secret, and follow up singles like 'Girl Nation' and 'Jihad' really drove home their commercial, yet still edgy style - with infectious choruses that couldn't be ignored and the occasional barnstormer to get you bouncing around the room. Much like any bands of this style at the time, their quality didn't drop, but their audience did, and the band was mostly unheard of again, although they have continued to churn out albums of reasonable quality.

Alice In Chains - MTV Unplugged (1996)

[Grunge Rock]

On reflection, while this is one of the last times we would hear Layne sing and I hate that we never heard his unique voice on a recording again, have to be incredibly thankful that this evening eventuated. I don't have much to say apart from that. Songs picked were perfect for an unplugged session. Some not that all familiar and I understand they wanted to play more, but ran out of time. So cool to hear Layne interact with the audience in his cheeky way (LL Cool Jay video's? will now play for the rest of the concert - ha ha). Jerry is just a gem and his support vocals are spot-on. He is such a rock for that band. Big callout to Sean on drums and what an unplugged session can uncover in terms of the complexity of the sound he contributes to the session. I'll leave you with the absolute need to listen to 'Sludge Factory'. This is Layne at his best!