Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Man in the Box
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ""Man in the Box"" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Alice in Chains | ||
| from the album Facelift | ||
| Released | 1991 | |
| Format | CD, Cassette, Vinyl |
|
| Recorded | 1990 | |
| Genre | Heavy Metal/Grunge Metal | |
| Length | 4:46 | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Producer(s) | Alice in Chains, Dave Jerden |
|
| Alice in Chains singles chronology | ||
| "Man in the Box" (1991) |
"Sea of Sorrow" (1991) |
|
"Man in the Box" is the debut single by the grunge group Alice in Chains. It was released in 1991 and featured on their debut full-length album Facelift. In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Jerry Cantrell said of the song, "That whole beat and grind of that is when we started to find ourselves, it helped Alice become what it was." The song was #19 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs [1] and its solo was rated 77th greatest guitar solo by Guitar World. It is mostly considered to be the band's signature and most well-known song, even though it did not come off of their signature album "Dirt".
"Man in the Box" has been featured in several movies, including The Perfect Storm and Lassie. The song was also used in several versions of trailers for the 2004 movie Collateral (though it was not included on the movie's soundtrack), as professional wrestler Tommy Dreamer's theme song and in Jerry Bruckheimer's television series Cold Case. It has also been used for hockey games when a penalty is called on the away team, and the skater must go to the penalty box. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine turned this song into a Lounge style on their 2005 album "Aperitif for Destruction".
One supposed theme is advocating for animal rights and invoking sympathy for the animals that some say are mistreated; another is to show the hypocrisy of some self-professed Christians who "put Jesus into a box" and go do unsavory things. In a recorded interview with Fuse TV Staley himself states that the lyrics are about censorship in the mass media, and "I was really stoned when I wrote it."[2] The original Facelift track listing credited only Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell with writing the song. All post-Facelift compilations credited the entire band. It is unclear as to why the songwriter credits were corrected.
At Alice in Chains' last concert with Staley on July 3, 1996, they closed with Man in the Box. Many see this as the perfect way they could have ended their run, with the song that got them into the mainstream.
- ^ "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1-4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com; last accessed September 10, 2006.
- ^ "Fuse TV Interview", [1]; last accessed November 21, 2006.
| Alice in Chains |
| Jerry Cantrell | Mike Inez | Sean Kinney | William DuVall |
| Layne Staley | Mike Starr |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio Albums: Facelift | Dirt | Alice in Chains |
| EPs: We Die Young | Sap | Jar of Flies |
| Live Albums: MTV Unplugged | Live |
| Compilations: Nothing Safe: Best of the Box | Music Bank | Greatest Hits | The Essential Alice in Chains |
| Singles: "Bleed the Freak" | "'We Die Young" | "Man in the Box" | "Sea of Sorrow" | "Would?" | "Them Bones" "Angry Chair" | "Rooster" | "Down in a Hole" | "What the Hell Have I" | "Got Me Wrong" | "No Excuses" "I Stay Away" | "Grind" | "Heaven Beside You" | "Again" | "Over Now" | "Get Born Again" | "Fear the Voices" |
| Videos |
| Live Facelift | The Nona Tapes | MTV Unplugged | Music Bank: The Videos |
| Related content |
| Articles: Grunge music | Singles | Mad Season | MTV Unplugged |
| Categories: Alice in Chains | Alice in Chains Albums | Alice in Chains songs |