Thoughts on Degredation Trip...

Coathanger HalosCoathanger Halos Posts: 137
edited February 2007 in Other Music
I found this album to have a sort of bipolar/personality disorder. It contained some FECKING AMAZING songs such as:

Bargain Basement Howard Hughes
Solitude
Hellbound
Chemical Tribe
Spiderbite
Gone

And then there were extraordinarily crappy ones:
(notably)

Anger Rising
Glass Dick Jones
Give it a Name


Just wondering how everyone else percieved the album as a whole...
I'll cut you in.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • I love this album, Jerry is amazing.
    Astoria 20/04/06, Leeds 25/08/06, Prague 22/09/06, Wembley 18/06/07,
    Dusseldorf 21/06/07, Manchester 17/08/09, London 18/08/09, LA 06/10/09, LA 07/10/09.

    Ain't gonna be any middle anymore.
  • Bargain Basement Howard Hughes is an awesome track. I like Anger Rising as well though. It is definatley not AIC, but overall it is ok.
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  • releeseme wrote:
    Bargain Basement Howard Hughes is an awesome track. I like Anger Rising as well though. It is definatley not AIC, but overall it is ok.

    I would like Anger Rising...except I can't help but find the lyrics to be laughably "woe is me".
    I'll cut you in.
  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,228
    I love this album.

    some other great ones not mentioned chemical tribe, Pro False Idol, and the instrumental i think it was called hurts don't it.

    I thought that Degradation trip was my favorite full length work jerry did since Dirt (jar of flies was an ep)
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  • Bad ass album. Different than AIC, but it should be. Jerry Cantrell is a musical beast. And Anger Rising is a bad ass song. Such a great riff.
    "Strangers passing in the street, by chance two seperate glances meet, and I am you and what I see is me."
  • mole1985mole1985 Posts: 1,119
    I think his first was better
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  • justamjustam Posts: 21,410
    I mostly like it. I like the way he uses vocal harmony a lot.

    I don't like all the songs, but I like enough of them to pull it out when I'm in the mood for it.
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • just an amazing album. to fully appreciate it, you have to get the double album. There are 2 songs that i would say are average: s.o.s and what it takes, the rest is pure genius. i hope he puts out that solo album he was working on before he got back with aic. this man is insanely talented.
    I caught a flash of flash of your smile through the fog of a dream, I'll have a hell of a time I clearly see, I can't be by your side, see you when I sleep.
    - Jerry Cantrell "Gone"
  • DOSWDOSW Posts: 2,014
    I bought Degradation Trip (the two disc version) a long time ago, but I can never seem to get in to it. It definitely is growing on me lately, but a lot of the lighter songs sound eerily Nickelback-esque.

    I can't really pass judgment on it yet, though.
    It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win
  • mole1985 wrote:
    I think his first was better

    definitely agree. only liked one or two tracks on this one.
    Cheat the odds that made you
    Brave to try to gamble at times
  • Yeah, I thought Boggy Depot was better as well. Degradation Trip still has some good songs though.
    “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’” - Kurt Vonnegut
  • brain of cbrain of c Posts: 5,213
    it's jerry. it's great.
  • great album.

    it was written shortly before layne staley's death and released soon after. a lot of the material seems like it was highly influenced by layne's situation. very powerful and emotional album. classic jerry cantrell songwriting.

    different from boggy depot, but equally as impressive in my opinion.
  • Boggy depot is a great album. But degradation trip is much better classic album by Jerry.
  • after listening to it the first time, i felt physically sick and ill. I had a migraine, and I just felt nauseous.

    The imagery the songs create and the lyrics create is really top notch.

    I think Jerry is able to create an album that really spoke about what a heroin addiction felt like.

    I have doubts if Jerry will be able to top this record. Its his masterpiece.

    I still think My Song off Boggy Depot is his best solo song, but this double record is really mindblowing.

    They really should have this record be required listening for kids in school, as well as all other Alice songs, to show kids the effects drugs can have.

    Even the songs not specifically or explicitly about drugs are creepy and sinister and disturbing. Anger Rising is a perfect example of this.

    The images he puts forth of burnt arms and spiders and all that is really powerful.
  • The atmospheric quality of the album is indeed amazing. As you said, it's terribly dark and sinister. It just SOUNDS dirty...like you want to wash your hands and take a shower after listening to it.

    It seems to me that most of the songs are actually written about cocaine addiction...such as Howard Hughes and Glass Dick Jones (crack pipe), Spiderbite (seems like its actually about shooting coke), and Chemical Tribe.
    I'll cut you in.
  • D-Trip is a great album

    I love Chemical Tribe, Owned, Pig Charmer, Angel Eyes...I don't think there's a song I dislike...
    Is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?
  • VEDHEAD27VEDHEAD27 Posts: 3,091
    Ah Angel Eyes. :o Love that one! Sooo beautiful.

    My thoughts on Degredation Trip have pretty much been summed up by everyone in here. I think it's an amazing album by one of the most gifted musicians out there. I'm diggin this thread. Really awesome descriptions of the album in here!! I especially liked your breakdown Cheguevara6. Nice!

    With that said, I personally still find myself listening to BOGGY DEPOT a lot more. I find myself more connected to it.
    ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤

    "Lo√e, you know the word
    ...YOU invented it!" ~ E√

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    ...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
    ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
  • I've always been disappointed by Degredation Trip (both the single and double disc versions). I have no problem with Jerry trying something different, but with the exception of a few songs, it just didn't work (for me). Boggy Depot was excellent though, and of course, his work with AIC is legendary.
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  • VEDHEAD27VEDHEAD27 Posts: 3,091
    This thread had me on a serious Jerry kick today. :D
    Thank you!

    It's interesting and even more apparent now... I really do agree with much of the negative and positive that's been said here about it. Coathanger Halos, your "bipolar/personality disorder" is actually a good way to put it. Overall the album is amazing but it's just not as consistent as BOGGY DEPOT imo. There's more misses on it but not enough to keep me from praising it.
    ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤

    "Lo√e, you know the word
    ...YOU invented it!" ~ E√

    ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
    ...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
    ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
  • Great album pure genious, it has a lil of everyhtnig.
    Guita mag did a very big article on this and him, he had a major drug problem during his writng of this album, he goes on in the article about layne, his failed maraige and extremly violent dad. Listen hard to the lyrics it speaks for itself. He basically locked himself in a closet and wrote a big portion of this masterpiece.
    I Saw the tour and and when he started playing aic tunes I wanted to hear more solo.

    His first album was great but like most first solo projects its usually a bunch of material written over a long time and very sporatic. This double album is like a mini rock opera or modern day seattle version of the wall.
    The double album is a must. Jerry had a real hard time finding a lable for this. I remeber the delays and when we first saw him they were selling a homeade 4 song sampler. Then he put out the single album, and eventually the double surfaced a year after the hype. In philly they played 2 songs on the radio.
    Their is deffinatly aic style on this album. sidhara is my favorite it wraps the whole album into 1 song.
    I will agree the vibe on the album is strong and their is a lot of good new metal sound on it so that may be a turn off for some, but his range with his guitat work is great on this.

    Good thread!!
    Some people have religion I have Pearl Jam.


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  • Well for the last few posts on who doesnt like it much, you will never have the originalty of aic, but this album rocks hard, its vastly differant but yet simmiliar to aic.

    His harmonizing and singing is the real progression for him.
    You really cant expect more than this on a solo album. its very tuff for a mainstream/ great musiican to put out a second solo album within in 5 years of his first. and 7 of 1 of the best bands in the history of rock. He obviously put most of this work together after all of that.
    Some people have religion I have Pearl Jam.


    no more shows
  • This double album is like a mini rock opera or modern day seattle version of the wall.

    YES. thank you for posting this. this was the first thought that popped into my head when i listened to the single album for the first time... especially after hearing "gone."

    when this album came out, i wasn't listening to grunge-era music as much anymore. degradation trip made me re-discover the entire period.

    then the double album came out and it made even more sense.

    i don't suppose you have a link to that article?
  • YES. thank you for posting this. this was the first thought that popped into my head when i listened to the single album for the first time... especially after hearing "gone."

    when this album came out, i wasn't listening to grunge-era music as much anymore. degradation trip made me re-discover the entire period.

    then the double album came out and it made even more sense.

    i don't suppose you have a link to that article?


    give me a few days.
    Some people have religion I have Pearl Jam.


    no more shows
  • BADASS MOTHERFUCKIN' ALBUM!!!!

    Oh man, even the limited edition double album was great!! I'm really looking forward to another Cantrell solo project!
    "Darth Vader would say 'Impressive'."

    -Eddie Vedder

    6/24/06 Cincinatti, Ohio
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  • I'm really looking forward to another Cantrell solo project!

    i've been under the impression that the surviving members of alice in chains are looking for a new singer to start an entirely new band.

    as long as jerry cantrell is still writing music, that's all that matters to me.
  • as long as jerry cantrell is still writing music, that's all that matters to me.

    He had a handful of tunes finished a few years ago. Back in 2004 he was playing 4 or 5 while opening for Kid Rock out west. Can't remember all the names but some of the tunes were Unfillable Hole, One Eyed Jack, and maybe Glory Lane? Not sure on the last one. I used to have a recording of the Phoenix show, and all three new tunes played that night kicked ass. Too bad it's been three years and those tunes haven't seen the light of day since.

    As far as Degredation Trip goes, it's a great double disc. As others have said it has such a dark, emotional vibe. Coupled with the complex arrangements of some of the tunes and it can be unsettling to listen through all at once. It's a shame so much of it was never played live.
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