There’s a specific kind of quiet that only a room full of unplugged instruments can hold, and Alice in Chains found it back in 1996 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. What they came away with was one of the defining performances of the MTV Unplugged era, a set that stripped away the distortion and let songs like “Nutshell,” “Down in a Hole,” “Rooster,” “Would?” and “Brother” breathe in a completely different way. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell’s harmonies, already the band’s secret weapon, sound almost impossibly close in this setting, like you’re sitting three feet away with nowhere else to be.
That performance is finally getting a proper vinyl pressing, and it’s arriving on yellow vinyl, a bright, unexpected colorway for a record this heavy with feeling. It’s a nice reminder that unplugged doesn’t mean unarmed. This is still Alice in Chains, just with the volume turned down and the songwriting turned all the way up.
If you’ve only heard the studio versions of these songs, the Unplugged versions hit differently. Acoustic guitars, cello, and Staley and Cantrell trading vocal lines without anything to hide behind. It’s one of those records that rewards a good turntable and an evening with nothing else on the agenda.
We’re taking pre-orders now for $30.99, with the record set to arrive September 25th. As always with pre-orders, get your name on the list early. These indie pressings and special colorways have a way of selling through before release day, and we’d rather you not miss out on the yellow vinyl because you waited a week too long.
Swing by the shop or order online, and if you want to talk Alice in Chains, Seattle grunge, or just need a recommendation for what to spin next, you know where to find us. Charlotte’s crate diggers, we’ve got you covered.
- Available on September 25, 2026
