The enduring music of Alice In Chains was back in the news and feeds this week, as yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the death of iconic frontman Layne Staley. As fate would have it, Alice In Chains founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and chief songwriter Jerry Cantrell plays Big Night Live in Boston tonight (April 6), the latest stop on his tour of last year’s excellent solo album, Brighten. The LP, Cantrell’s first solo effort under his own name since 2002, is led by a weathered, country-grunge single called “Atone,” and holds up pretty strongly on its own merit. But Cantrell has also been dipping into his extensive Alice In Chains catalog on this run, playing classic tracks like “Would?,” “Them Bones,” “Rooster,” and “Man In The Box” alongside selections from the band’s second chapter with frontman William DuVall (“Black Gives Way to Blue,” “Your Decision”). It should make for a pretty intense show tonight in North Station, and continue to showcase Cantrell as one of the finest songwriters of a generation.
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