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| Jerry Cantrell performing live in 2018 with Alice in Chains. |
It's important to note that Alice in Chains had not broken up when Cantrell went solo, but the band was at a complete stand still, and it was a reluctant move from Cantrell to actually move forward on his own as he wanted the band to keep going. He released his first record 'Boggy Depot' on March 31st, 1998, and the harsh contrast to his previous work in Alice in Chains is very noticeable, but brilliant. It peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, and stayed on there for 14 weeks. The album deals with themes of depression, alcoholism, love and anger, but not in the screamy/shouty way that Metallica or even Alice in Chains would. Overall Boggy Depot leans in the direction of experimental, softer acoustic songs rather than the heavy or grungy riffs that littered Alice's discography.
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| Jerry Cantrell's Solo Debut, 'Boggy Depot' (1998). |
My favourite track here is 'Hurt A Long Time', with the song alternating between a mellowed acoustic piece to a loud fantastic classic Cantrell song. When the electric guitar kicks in here though, it's not metal or grunge, it's more used to further express the depressed vibe of the song, but then mellows out again, it's so good! 'I wish it was a bad dream, cause it's gonna hurt a long time.' Another track that I love on here is 'Cut You In'. What he produced here as a debut was an overall beautiful and unique album that in a way fully reveals the potential behind Alice in Chain's Acoustic EP's, 'SAP' (1992) and 'Jar of Flies' (1994).
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| Jerry Cantrell live in 1998 on the Boggy Depot Tour. |
Following the release of Boggy Depot in 1998, Cantrell once again went back to writing. Two songs that Jerry wrote during this time, 'Get Born Again' and 'Died', were actually not used for a second Cantrell Album, but were recorded with Alice in Chains for a new Box Set being produced by the band, entitled 'Music Bank', a reference to the the infamous Seattle recording studio. Layne Stayley's heroin addiction really had taken a toll by this point, apparently showing up to the studio looking like a ghost of his former self, and with no teeth. But I'm glad these songs actually weren't used by Cantrell for a solo album, as with Stayley's still somehow powerful voice behind them, they turned out brilliant. These were the last songs that Alice in Chains ever recorded with Layne, as he died in 2002.
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| Layne Stanley (left) and Studio Assistant Elan Trujillo (Right) during the final Alice in Chains Studio Session; 1998. |
In 1999, Cantrell was suffering from alcohol and drug problems, and went into complete isolation for three to four months, writing 25 songs. It was 14 of these that would make up his 2nd Solo Album, 'Degradation Trip'. This is a whole different story. Cantrell even said before it's release, that 'Boggy Depot is like kindergarten compared to this', the album is wild. But is a great piece for Alice in Chains fans, as that grungy heavy style is very much back, and more than ever in many ways. When knowing the back story about alcoholism, drug issues and isolation, the album makes much more sense, as it's insane.
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| Jerry Cantrell's 'Degradation Trip' (2002). |
This album is just wild, but again does have that differentiation between songs, some are heavy as f*ck, but then some are quite mellow and beautiful. The albums opener, 'Psychotic Break' pretty much sets the tone, exploding as soon as you press the play button, but it's an amazing song and I highly recommend it. I'd recommend 'Boggy Depot' over this to any casual listener, but to any fan of Cantrell I think this album would come out on top. Other songs like 'Solitude' are very beautiful yet sad, and this song deals with the loss of a loved one. This song became very difficult for Jerry to perform, and took on a whole new meaning, when Layne Stayley was found dead in 2002. Cantrell was touring following Degradation Trip at the time, and the live performances of 'Solitude' two weeks after Layne's death announcement are heart breaking to watch. During this tour, a member of Jerry's backing band was a certain William DuVall, who would go on to be the next frontman of Alice in Chains, after they reformed in 2006, and are still going strong.
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| William DuVall (left) and Jerry Cantrell (right) performing live in 2002. |
Five months after the release of Degradation Trip, a Deluxe Edition of the original album was released, called 'Degradation Trip - Volumes 1 & 2', and contained all those original 25 songs written by Cantrell in isolation. It's just more brilliance from Jerry, with a standout track being 'Anger Rising'. The original album was meant to be all 25, but was deemed to long and had to be cut down to 14. In my opinion, they should've allowed the full release the first time around, as the tracklist in it's entirety is a masterpiece. Cantrell said in a 2018 interview however that he doesn't like to listen to any of Degradation Trip, as it's a reminder of his alcoholism, drug addiction and loss of loved ones. Of course you can't blame him, but it's sad that he looks down on some of his best work.
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| Jerry Cantrell's 'Degradation Trip: Volumes 1 & 2' (2002) |
So to finish up, Jerry Cantrell's solo material is an astonishing overall music discography, that sits perfectly inbetween the old and new versions of Alice in Chains. Boggy Depot and Degradation Trip are both masterpieces in their own right, and are extremely underrated so I cannot recommend them enough. I hope one day, Jerry will perform some of these songs live again, or even make a third solo record. With 17 years passing since the last, god knows what it would sound like, so I hope we get to hear it some day. Thank you for reading.
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