Music Bank [Box] [ECD] by Alice In Chains (CD, Oct-1999, 3 Discs, Columbia USA)

The Alice in Chains 4-disc box set Music Bank serves as both career retrospective and B-side collection. You get plenty of material from the regular AIC albums, but there is enough bonus material to make the set worthwhile to die-hard fans.

Here's what you get in this box set that you won't find on other AIC releases:

Disc 1 - Get Born Again (the only brand new song produced for this set), 3 early demos from the Alice N Chainz days, demo versions of Bleed the Freak, Killing Yourself, Sea of Sorrow, and Rooster, and a live track called Queen of the Rodeo.

Disc 2 - There are only 3 exclusive tracks on this disc. Fear the Voices is an odd one, sounding like Alice in Chains meets the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It also features a demo version of Junkhead and a track called Lying Season. Despite having just a few new tracks, disc 2 is the strongest in the set, since it contains the most material from Dirt and Jar of Flies.

Disc 3 - This disc rounds out the collection, and features material taken mostly from the band's final studio album. There are a few tracks from the Unplugged album, a few remixes, and the track "What the Hell Have I" which originally only appeared on the Last Action Hero soundtrack. The song "Died" is the only track that isn't available elsewhere.

Disc 4 - This is an interesting item. Music Bank was released before DVDs had completely taken over, so disc 4 is actually a CD-ROM with several of the band's videos and some additional multimedia content. It's a decent addition, but one that was made obsolete when the Music Bank DVD was released a couple of years later.

All told, this box set is likely to appeal only to die-hard Alice in Chains fans who want to own every available AIC release. It's a good collection, if a bit flawed. They could have just as easily added a disc or two and collected the band's entire catalog, or just released a single-CD rarities collection (which would have been a lot lighter on our wallets).

This is a great retrospect collection of 48 Alice In Chains songs all put together on a 3 Disc set. Keep in mind that this set came out in 1999, so it doesn't have a DVD included like most box sets do these days. Only a CD-ROM containing various multimedia. For what it is, which is an ALice In Chains retrospect, you couldn't ask for much more, I just wish this box set was more focused on demos and unreleased material, sort of like the Nirvana: With the Lights Out box set, but that's really my only gripe. There was still alot of unreleased material on this set for the time it came out. Over all, I'd say this would be a great purchase for someone who liked ALice In Chains, but was too lazy to track down all of the studio albums, or for the die-hard fan... like me. :P

The loss of Layne Staley breaks my heart to this day. I hope wherever he is, he found peace and joy.
I had the great fortune to see Alice in chains at the Paramount in Seattle about 2 years ago with their new lead singer, William Duvall. (My apologies if I've spelled his name incorrectly). Any pseudo-poser-phonyass-music "fan" who shuns the band because Layne is gone is a degenerate who needs to remove their defective genes from the gene pool PRONTO.
Duvall is a good fit with the band--he brings a lot of passion and energy to the table. He sounded so good and confident--I can't wait to hear the new album.
Thank you, Jerry, Sean, and Mike, for not giving up. AIC's music has given a voice to many things I can't find the words for. Your music has been a brilliant candle in the darkness and a Great Truth that has brought people together.

I just bought a set of some of "ALICE IN CHAINS".And there are alot of their old FANTASTIC MUSIC,it's my opinion that their old music is their best,it also holds many "UNRELEASED SONGS".It is in it's original packaging(UNOPENED)I don't plan on taking the plastic wrap off.But I will look up the music,and listen to it,though!FANTASTIC BUY ALL THE WAY AROUND.

If you are an Alice in Chains fan, or feel like broadening your horizons, you need to own this. Three discs worth of music, a lot of which is not on any album and a disc of extra multimedia goodies.
Great buy!

There are some pieces that are a must for any complete music collection, Music Bank by Alice In Chains definitely falls into this category. It's one of those pieces that everytime you give it a listen you'll hear new things, each and everyone better than the last. As a guitarist I've always loved Cantrell's work and this collection encapsulates some of his best. If it's been a while since you've given AIC a listen then this is a great way to go! P.S. add the DVD and you have a great little AIC collection.

The first 2 CDs are really good. The 3rd one is alright. It's worth it though, because you get all the singles and B-sides. Also you get different versions of some of the songs.

I love Alice In Chains and that is why I purchased the Music Bank. The seller is horrible to work with and because of the service I received from them I will no longer use ebay at all.

Its a more complete collection than their music bank single cd release or there greates hits cd. This contains most (if not all) of their best songs plus a lot more unreleased tracks. If you're looking for an AIC "best of" collection this is the way to go.