| One of the most surprising things about this well-executed four-CD box set is the number of great songs Alice in Chains amassed after one decade and a mere six LPs and EPs into their career. Forty-seven songs, a CD-ROM game, and a multimedia version of the tune "Jar of Flies" populate Music Bank, which, true to its name, looks like a bank vault. Box sets are judged by their booklets and the quantity and quality of unreleased and alternate tracks. Music Bank succeeds amply--but does not excel--on both fronts. Early group photographs and even baby photos of Alice members make the booklet a hoot, while track-by-track liner notes from guitarist Jerry Cantrell are brief, if sometimes illuminating. The live, previously unreleased "Queen of the Rodeo", remixes, demos, and two new tunes make Music Bank a wise investment for fans of the foursome's memorable modern gloom-metal. --Katherine Turman |
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