| Class of '99 Another Brick in the Wall- Single |
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 | Tracklist:
1. Another Brick in the Wall part 1
2. Another Brick in the Wall part 2
Release Date: 1998 | |
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| Summary: Layne Staley's swan song is a fitting tribute to the declining years of his life, with four excellent musicians contributing to a masterful cover of a legendary song. |
1 of 1 thought this review was well written
It's funny, but I remember exactly where I was on the day Layne Staley died. It's funny because I had no idea who he was at the time, and it hurts me to think about it. I was young back then, very young, and having just returned from school I managed to catch a quick glimpse of his brief televised obituary on God knows what news channel. My eyes, having not yet experienced anything near the musical level of Staley's work, obliviously gazed at the scowling face on the television for under a few seconds, then never saw the face again for six years. It pains me and captivates me at the same time--- my dismissal of the tragic news, the seemingly nonexistent possibility that I would remember those few seconds years later, and the incredibility of the whole situation. Myself of seven years prior could not have known the posthumous impact the scowling face would have on me.
Layne was a fighter, we can be sure of that much at least. It sickens me to imagine the downward spiral he went through, on a path that, as hard as he fought, he couldn't get off. His death was the result of a lost war; he wouldn't have gone down any other way but fighting. That ominous fact is part of the magic of Class of '99--- the two Pink Floyd covers are the last songs Staley ever contributed his vocals to, emerging from a year of self-imposed exile to do so and rarely emerging again afterward. The supergroup, consisting of Staley, Tom Morello, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction and Marty LeNoble of Porno for Pyros, puts an even more mysterious take on the original, thanks mostly to Morello's masterful guitar work. Part 1 is solely instrumental, but plays mainly by the book with the exceptions of a few added synth lines and mini-solos by Morello. Its successor allows both Morello and Perkins to display their considerable talent while Staley's haunting and lethargic vocals (recorded with no teeth) echo in the background, experimenting perhaps a little more than the first part dared to.
I'm not going to lie to you and tell you a two-song single made for a movie and not even written by the band, a side project, is a classic. It's far from it. What it is, however, is the last music ever recorded from a man who finally lost the fight, a legend who could see his impending doom, performing one of the greatest songs ever written with three excellent musicians. What more could you really ask for?
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
I get it, obvious fanboy is majorly obvious. But I'd been trying to do this review for ages and just couldn't find a way, it was really difficult to write.
Digging: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago | | | Album Rating: 4
I will definitely check this out since I love AIC and Pink Floyd. Good review.
Digging: Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream | | |
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