Alice in Chains Cover with Special Guest
I'm pleased to share a cover of Alice in Chains' Man in the Box, the song that launched the grunge movement. Never one to color within the lines, I transformed the song into a Bossa Nova groove, reharmonizing the arrangement and enlisting a flutist, vibraphonist, and percussionist to give it some Brazilian bonafides. But the key ingredient is vocals provided by my lovely, secretly-talented wife, Sarah, who totally steals the show! I took on this cover project as an homage to the inspiration for my newest single, Vertigo. Both are now streaming!
Listen to Man in the Box: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Listen to Vertigo: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Vertigo is a nod to one of my favorite records as a teenager: Jar of Flies by Alice in Chains. I loved the rich vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar layers juxtaposed against the darkness of Layne Staley's bluesy vocals — man, he had a set of pipes! Despite its acoustic emphasis, Jar of Flies had some amazing percussion — I remember some of my drummer friends in high school attempting drummer Sean Kinney's distinctive opening groove of No Excuses.
Vertigo has evolved substantially since I originally wrote it almost 10 years ago, but it's kept the low drone underneath and an almost raga-like feel in the nylon-string acoustic guitar. You may hear a Norwegian Wood influence too. The song really took form with the production help from my voice teacher Nevada Jones who encouraged me to explore adding a top-line vocal over the Seven Bridges Road-esque vocal ensemble (me singing 4 different parts). My mixing and mastering engineer, Shai Fishman, did a marvelous job of blending all the disparate elements together to create what I humbly attempted as an 8th track for Alice in Chains Jar of Flies — an EP that always ended too soon haunted by the magical voice of a man whose life also ended much too soon. Listen for the motif that marks the outro as it heralds the theme of my next single, Heartbeat.
Man in the Box Personnel
Lead Vocals, Guitars, Arrangement - Jim Woods
Mixing, Mastering - Shai Fishman
Background Vocals - Sarah Woods
Flute - John Heinrich
Vibraphone - Jerry Tachoir
Percussion - Larry Salzman
Bass - Robbie Malone
Drums - Markos Vassiliou
Vertigo Personnel
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard - Jim Woods
Production, Mixing, Mastering - Shai Fishman
Vocal Lessons, Production - Nevada Jones
Drums - Jamie Parks
Double Bass - Ollie Hayhurst
Electric Bass - Robbie Malone
Stay tuned for the next single, Heartbeat, coming in May. But if you're dying to hear the whole album right now, you can always buy it today on Bandcamp.
Best,
Jim Woods
