[oompa]

haha ye well i didnt write the topic rant-ish because i thought Layne wrote the material.

i know fairly well how important Jerry was/is in AIC. i dont give a hoot "who produced the music", to me this is about ambience and specific vocals. AIC is Layne and Jerry on vocals, nothing else. and i would be equally upset if jerry was the dead one here.

i dont care that Weiland or Vedder or Cobain wrote/write more of the music in their bands than layne did, if you say that nirvana would be even remotely ok with someone else but cobain doin the vocals, or Weiland in STP, or eddie in Pearl Jam, then we dont dig grunge for the same reasons

its not about how jerry writes these melodies or lyrics or whatever. to me vocals makes a grungeband, (i dont even find jerry to be any particularly skilled guitarrist) and i guess thats why as someone here wrote "most AIC fans are upset about this".

hell if jerry and layne recorded an album of them singing duo on beer songs id buy it

[jaredowty]

Originally Posted by GH0STrider

Layne's voice is not what carried them. the signature harmonized vocals and great songwriting carried them. Layne had little to do with some of AIC's best songwriting.

Sure, but are the vocal harmonies as good without Layne? Layne and Jerry went together like peanut butter and jelly, and when one of them is missing, it's just not the same. That's all I'm sayin.

Also, there are PLENTY of moments that Layne sings without Jerry's help that are amazing. I'm really not trying to discredit Jerry here, because he was responsible for 80% of the songwriting, but come on. It's Layne fuckin Staley!

Originally Posted by oompa

i know fairly well how important Jerry was/is in AIC. i dont give a hoot "who produced the music", to me this is about ambience and specific vocals. AIC is Layne and Jerry on vocals, nothing else. and i would be equally upset if jerry was the dead one here.

Agreed 100%.

[Seedawakener]

Im neutral on this point... But Dirt is such an awesome album!

[GH0STrider]

I don't want to sound like a dick. I respect Layne and the legacy he has left on rock'n' roll to the upmost. Am I the only one who felt like this guy chose drugs over the fans and the music? Maybe I am way off base here. Obviously he knew he had a problem. Was he that far beyond help? I don't even know if he tried. I honestly sheded a few tears the day I heard he died. I looked up to him and AIC so much. I guess all I am trying to say is I felt very let down that he lost his life over something as pointless as drugs. I just felt that if Layne cared about the fans and music as much as we all do than he would have devoted more of himself to getting better. Jerry was fucked up pretty bad too. But he did make it back and got sober. These guys are and where a big reason that I picked up a guitar in the first place. I think Jerry and the boys are doing a good thing by carrying on for people like most of us that have waited years and years for new AIC material.

[DDDorian]

^^I'm pretty sure the rest of AIC, Jerry especially, felt that way about Layne for a long while. By the same token, I respect that they didn't try and push on with Layne in the state he was in and make a mockery of the band. I mean, despite Layne's well-documented problems, AIC's catalogue is pretty much untouchable, which is more than can be said for a lot of other bands that were faced with similar situations.

As for the question of how important Layne was to the AIC sound, just listen to the MTV Unplugged album; Layne's vocals are all over the place and if you've seen the DVD you'd know that he missed his cues and forgot quite a few lyrics, but you can't honestly tell me that the unplugged rendition of "Nutshell" doesn't totally shit all over the studio version...

[jaredowty]

^^Yep, Unplugged is a great album. However, whenever I watch the DVD, it feels like I'm watching Layne dying...he looks terrible and is obviously drugged up, and it was like, their third to last show ever. Also, the mood of the songs and how the concert ends kind of seems like it's closing the chapter on AIC. Pretty sad stuff....

Ghostrider, I definitely agree with you. His death and addiction to drugs was total bullshit, and it makes me lose respect for him...however, I don't think one can judge about how hard it is to quit until he/she is addicted themself.

[GH0STrider]

Originally Posted by jaredowty

^^Yep, Unplugged is a great album. However, whenever I watch the DVD, it feels like I'm watching Layne dying...he looks terrible and is obviously drugged up, and it was like, their third to last show ever. Also, the mood of the songs and how the concert ends kind of seems like it's closing the chapter on AIC. Pretty sad stuff....

Ghostrider, I definitely agree with you. His death and addiction to drugs was total bullshit, and it makes me lose respect for him...however, I don't think one can judge about how hard it is to quit until he/she is addicted themself.

exactly,well said sir.

[Korbain]

He died like many musicians particularly ones in the rock scene do. Drugs. He obviously had an addiction, and just happened to become even more addicted with the dark side of rock n roll. He was a great musician, that sang every song from his heart. Layne knew he'd fucked up, and wanted to sing about it and stop others ever touching drugs. If he ever wanted a legacy, that would be it, he wanted to make people realise how fucked up drugs and addictions are, they control your life and fuck up your future (obviously). Anyways, his life, death and drug addiction is well documented, lets just remember him for the great singer/musician he was Everyone makes bad choices, not everyone is as strong as other people, Layne Staley is a god too me and always will be

[jaredowty]

Originally Posted by Korbain

He died like many musicians particularly ones in the rock scene do. Drugs. He obviously had an addiction, and just happened to become even more addicted with the dark side of rock n roll. He was a great musician, that sang every song from his heart. Layne knew he'd fucked up, and wanted to sing about it and stop others ever touching drugs. If he ever wanted a legacy, that would be it, he wanted to make people realise how fucked up drugs and addictions are, they control your life and fuck up your future (obviously). Anyways, his life, death and drug addiction is well documented, lets just remember him for the great singer/musician he was Everyone makes bad choices, not everyone is as strong as other people, Layne Staley is a god too me and always will be

Well said, bro.