''Sap'' is the second studio EP by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

, released on February 4, 1992, through Columbia Records. ''Sap'' is mostly acoustic and marks the first time that guitarist

Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internation ...

sings lead vocals in an Alice in Chains release, with the song "Brother". The EP was produced by Alice in Chains and

Rick Parashar Rakesh "Rick" Parashar (December 13, 1963 – August 14, 2014) was an American record producer, recording engineer and musician. Along with his brother Raj, he founded London Bridge Studio in Seattle, Washington, in 1985. During his career he wo ...

and features guest vocals by

Ann Wilson Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

of the band

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave ...

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...

and

Mark Arm Mark Arm (born Mark Thomas McLaughlin; February 21, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, ...

of Mudhoney. The track " Got Me Wrong" became a hit two years later after being featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and adminis ...

''. On January 14, 1994, ''Sap'' was certified gold by the RIAA for the sale of more than 500,000 copies.

Background and recording

Following the tour for ''

Facelift A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () "wrinkle", and () "excision", the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are mul ...

,'' Alice in Chains entered the studio to record a song for the

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...

movie ''

Singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

'', but decided to turn the engagement to their advantage. As the guitarist

recalled: "So in the session that was meant for recording that one song Would?'.html" ;"title="Would?.html" ;"title="Would?">Would?'">Would?.html" ;"title="Would?">Would?' we ended up demoing about 10 songs, which included all the stuff that ended up on the [1992] ''Sap'' EP, '

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

' and a couple of others from ''Dirt (Alice in Chains album), Dirt''.” While in the studio, drummer

Sean Kinney Sean Howard Kinney (born May 27, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Alice in Chains. Kinney also founded the short-lived supergroup Spys4Darwin, and has collaborated with other artists such ...

had a dream about "making an EP called ''Sap.''" The band decided "not to mess with fate," and ''Sap'' was recorded and mixed in 1991 with producer

London Bridge Studio London Bridge Studio is a recording studio near Seattle that has hosted and recorded many influential artists, producers and engineers since 1985. Founded by brothers Rick and Raj Parashar and now currently owned by producers Geoff Ott, Jonatha ...

. The EP was recorded in four or five days in November 1991.

Music and lyrics

Lead vocalist

Layne Staley Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part ...

encouraged guitarist

to sing lead vocals on the EP. Cantrell sings lead vocals on "

Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

" and splits lead vocals with Staley on " Got Me Wrong". The EP features guest vocals by

from the band

, who joined vocalist Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell for the choruses of "Brother" and "Am I Inside". It also features

of Mudhoney and

, who appeared together on the song "Right Turn", credited to "Alice Mudgarden" in the liner notes. The song was featured in the 2001 film '' Black Hawk Down''. It was guitarist

who invited Wilson, Cornell and Arm to sing on ''Sap''. Regarding the lyrical content, Cantrell said he wrote "Brother" about his relationship with his younger brother.Liner notes, ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'' box set. 1999. The song specifically refers to the period after Cantrell's parents divorced, when his younger brother went off to live with his father while he stayed with his mother, and Cantrell said that the song "was a way of trying to build a bridge." Commenting on " Got Me Wrong", Cantrell said he wrote the song about a relationship where one person thinks he or she can change the other person, and added that the song speaks of "the different ways that men and women see each other." A version of the song "

" was recorded during the sessions for ''Sap'' and was to be included on the EP, but the band then decided to use the song on their second full-length album instead. This version is featured on the band's 1999 box set ''

''. The hidden track, "Love Song", described by Cantrell as "the most bizarre song we've ever recorded", was Kinney's idea. All four members switched instruments for the recording, with Kinney on lead vocals and piano, Starr on guitar, Cantrell on bass, and Staley on drums.

Release and reception

On February 4, 1992, Alice in Chains released their second EP, ''Sap.'' The band did not want any ads or promotion for the EP, they just put it in the stores to see if people would buy it. Cantrell said that Alice in Chains released ''Sap'' "without any fuss or fanfare so as the real Alice fans could find it." The EP was released while

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

's ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, '' ...

'' was at the top of the ''Billboard'' 200 charts, resulting in a rising popularity of Seattle-based bands, and the term

grunge music Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of pu ...

.Gill, Chris (September 1999). ''Dirt''. '' Guitar World''. ''Sap'' was soon certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. The album was re-released on March 21, 1995, when " Got Me Wrong" became a hit after its inclusion on the soundtrack to the 1994 film, ''

.'' The re-released version included lyrics and slightly different artwork. The aforementioned song, as well as "Brother," were performed live during Alice in Chains' ''MTV Unplugged'' concert. In addition to the CD, the album was also released in a limited edition double vinyl along with ''

Jar of Flies ''Jar of Flies'' is the third studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on January 25, 1994, through Columbia Records. This is Alice in Chains' second acoustic EP, preceded by 1992's '' Sap'', and it is the first EP in music ...

'' (''Jar of Flies'' was on sides 1 and 2, ''Sap'' was on side 3, and an etching of the Alice in Chains logo was on side 4). In the UK, ''Sap'' and ''Jar of Flies'' were issued as a double CD, as ''Sap'' had not previously had a UK release. In the UK, "Brother" and "Right Turn" were initially released on the "Would" single and "Got Me Wrong" and "Am I Inside" were released on the "Them Bones" single. Hidden track "Love Song" never appeared on a UK single release and was previously unreleased when ''Sap'' was released with ''Jar of Flies''.

Track listing

All lyrics and music written by

, except where noted. "Alice Mudgarden" is Alice in Chains with

of Mudhoney and

. "Love Song" is a hidden track and there are no credits for it in the album. The ASCAP database lists all four members as songwriters.

Personnel

;Alice in Chains *

– vocals, drums on "Love Song" *

– guitar, vocals, bass on "Love Song" * Michael Starr – bass, guitar on "Love Song" *

– drums, percussion,

megaphone A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced int ...

and piano on "Love Song" ;Alice Mudgarden (performs "Right Turn") *Alice in Chains *

– vocals *

– vocals ;Additional vocalists *

– vocals on "Brother" and "Am I Inside" *

- vocals on "Right Turn" *

- vocals on "Right Turn" ;Production * Produced by Alice in Chains and

. *

Mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

by Eddy Schreyer at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood, CA * Art direction by David Coleman *

Photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

Rocky Schenck Rocky Schenck (born April 18, 1955) is an American photographer and music video director. Schenck has photographed several album covers and has written and directed numerous music videos and short films. He has shot fashion, editorial and portr ...

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

by Kelly Curtis, Susan Silver

Charts

Singles

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sap (Album) 1992 EPs Alice in Chains EPs Columbia Records EPs Albums produced by Rick Parashar