'Live' a tribute to band's glory days

It is a shrine to that which might never be again. Seattle's alt-rock scene has essentially perished, and Alice In Chains, once a leader in the grunge market, has long since slipped into obscurity, an existence put into serious doubt by the success of guitarist Jerry Cantrell's solo debut. But Live stands tall as a testament to the power Alice In Chains once possessed on the road. \nWhat one must remember is that Alice In Chains is not technically broken up, just on an indefinite hiatus. But the fact that it hasn't released an album of truly new material since 1995 is strikingly obvious in Live, which contains no new tracks. It provides little hope.\nDespite all these songs being old and somewhat played out, it still retains its original power and emotion. Live documents Alice in Chains' live power as the band blasts through 14 alt-rock classics. Grunge might be dead, but not on this album.\n"Dirt," "Would?" and "Man In The Box" are all on this collection in their full rock splendor. Cantrell burns away on the guitar as Layne Stanley rages on the mic. It's nostalgia at its best. While none of the songs deviate much from their studio counterparts, producer Peter Fletcher was able to capture the live-feel lacking on many modern live albums.\nThere is the occasional lesser-known track. "Queen of the Rodeo," released commercially only on the band's box set Music Box. It's a "country tune" about a boy who feels a duty to be his mother's daughter and resorts to cross-dressing. While slightly humorous and slower than most Alice In Chains tracks, it still manages to meld its anger with the rest of the album.\nThis album was not taken from a singular concert, but rather several concerts during the band's career. This enables the band to capture each song when it was still fresh in the band and not weighted down by endless touring or radio airplay. While it is a far cry from a much needed new album, Live at least gives fans the electric live album they have been craving.